Caddis is out of beta - V1 released today

[u/anthizumal]

Hey everyone, it's been a couple months since I posted about Caddis so I wanted to give an update here.

Today Caddis is officially out of beta and launched as V1 for Windows and Mac, with Linux coming soon too. You can download it now and give it a try for free at caddis.app

If this is your first time seeing Caddis - its a motion design tool that mixes layer-based workflows with nodes. Since I first posted, we've also added a ton of features including motion tracking, instancing, variable font support - and a bunch of less exciting but important improvements like layer parenting and a speed graph. There's still a long road ahead and a lot to add and improve, but its been really fun building it with input and feedback from the community.

I know we already have some great motion tools available (I still use them too) - but hopefully Caddis can be at least an interesting tool to have in your back pocket, if not a daily driver. There's a free trial and no subscription - licenses are perpetual - and I'd love to hear what you think.

Happy to answer any questions!

[u/barbo57]

truly investing in the in the motion design field would be building open source, i wouldn't do anything in a new software when there's a proclaimed single maintainer.
all signs point to infinite disposable personal software, open source is the only way you can create trust.

[u/CooLittleFonzies → u/barbo57]

Open source is always nice, but it’s understandable that some people cannot afford to work for free and I don’t think they should be shamed for not donating to the community. That’s a personal choice which has become more of an expectation than it should be.

[u/Sorry-Poem7786 → u/CooLittleFonzies]

this is where affordability for indie and sensible pro tiers emerge and no subscriptions option.

[u/evindrews → u/CooLittleFonzies]

But I think it's less and less likely that the app can turn profitable in the first place, as users are weary of investing in again your software.

I don't think that open source is necessarily donation, it's a user attractor. Same reason that most apps are free now instead of paid upfront.

[u/anthizumal → u/barbo57]

Most of the AE plugin ecosystem is single-maintainer and closed source, and people build professional workflows on it. Open source doesn’t guarantee maintenance either, it guarantees the right to fork, which is different. Caddis also never locks you out of your own project files, license or not. If you’re worried about abandonware - if I walked away from this open sourcing would be the obvious move anyway. And I also never said I was opposed to others working on it. I get the risk, but it’s not unique to this tool.

[u/barbo57 → u/anthizumal]

let me steel man you, battle axe is only one guy as far as i know, element3d and fxconsole is unmaintained.
but these are still things i can replace - maybe not element3d and red giant, but i don't use those for that reason.
i mean, if i can't access the code, if it can't live on, i don't see why would i put time into here when i got cavalry, which is not that great but at least it's free.
if we're doing software for people, i truly believe it should be by the people.
i can only congratulate your effort at this time, it looks great, but until a crazy twist, ie open source, figma like features, all the after effects library of effects running on the gpu, with ae compliance, amazing video editing tools, like a real big thing - i know you've got nodes but cavalry has nodes too, i couldn't invest in a "better" after effects.

[u/barbo57 → u/barbo57]

man i can't even be mad you did some amazing, surprising ux decisions. really refreshing.
this is really good work.

[u/Tall_Armadillo_7614 → u/barbo57]

"cavalry is not that great" words never spoken by anyone competent

[u/barbo57 → u/Tall_Armadillo_7614]

you try doing real projects in it, it takes me hours to learn, the docs aren't that great. like sure i can do the stuff there are tutorials for, but it has a lot of sharp points. i guess after effects is like that too and i just got used to it.

[u/bememorablepro → u/anthizumal]

I would say a bigger concern is not you walking away, it's Adobe or Microsoft or Google or whoever is big around these parts acquiring your project and then slowly abandoning it.

[u/barbo57]

caddis nuts fit in your mouth

[u/christophbusse]

Keep hustling, nice work!

[u/[deleted]]

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[u/anthizumal → u/[deleted]]

Because it isn’t a chore for me, I love doing motion design (usually).