Retirement of ForceEffect family of apps

[ChrisHall]

On August 31, 2016 we will be retiring the ForceEffect family of apps, this includes the following:

• ForceEffect
• ForceEffect Motion
• ForceEffect Flow

FAQ's:

• What is happening to ForceEffect™ , ForceEffectMotion™  and ForceEffectFlow™?

As of August 31, 2016 Autodesk is retiring Autodesk® ForceEffect™ , ForceEffectMotion™  and ForceEffectFlow™ applications. Users will no longer be able to download and install the iOS or Android apps and the Google Chrome plug-in will also be retired.

• Why is Autodesk retiring ForceEffect™ , ForceEffectMotion™  and ForceEffectFlow™?

Autodesk seeks to address more critical customer needs in the core engineering industry. Moving forward, we will focus development efforts on the Forge platform.

• Will the mobile apps still work after August 31, 2016?

Yes, the apps will still work; however, you will no longer be able to download them from the app store. 

• Can I still download ForceEffect applications after August 31, 2016?

No, you will not be able to.

• What will happen to my diagrams that are stored in the A360 drive?

You will be able to access them until August 31, 2016 . We strongly suggest you download them to your mobile device prior to August 31.

• Will there be any additional releases of Autodesk ForceEffect™ , ForceEffectMotion™  and ForceEffectFlow™?

No, the current versions available are the final versions of the product.

[Anonymous]

Good Point Curtis - Just how do we see Forge tools if this is the replacement... excellent point.

Mike B

[scottmoyse]

Definitely the messenger, but no use in burying his head in the sand. I.e.: "Hey guys, I'll see what else information I can get you"

[Anonymous]

Autodesk:

ForceEffect and ForceEffect Motion were two applications that I have used in my college classroom for several years now.  Both applications were significant components of my statics and dynamics curriculum.  I am now four weeks into the semester with no comparable package to support my students.  If this decision to retire these pieces of software had been made earlier, I could have used the summer to re-work my classes and write ForceEffect out of the curriculum.  As it stands now, I'm redeveloping my courses on the fly.  I beg you to make these pieces of software available to us again, if only through May of 2017.  Give us the summer semester to find a suitable replacement for what you have suddenly taken away.

I am extremely disappointed with your decision, and even more so with your timing.  Please re-consider.  Don't cause me to look to your competitors for a solution.

Regards;

Craig A. Miller

[admaiora]

I don't understand.

Why from a side asking for good ideas in Ideastation, and how improve Fusion or adding new tools...

and in the other side removing a really good and appreciate tool as ForceEffect?

[ChrisHall]

Craig

I am sorry this has caused you re-work of your class. Our goal was to try and get it retired prior to the school year to minimize impacty, but this does not seem to be the case with your class. As an education customer you can download Inventor 2016 and the R2 release contains an integration of ForceEffect that you could leverage in your classroom

[ChrisHall]

The plans around what technology will be leveraged on the Forge platform are at the beginning stages, so the best information that I have for all of you is to monitor the Forge site as the platform matures and technology becomes available.

[ChrisHall]

Curtis

When you talk about connecting the dots, we are in the very early stages of looking at what the connections look like and there are no definitive information that can be shared out at this point.  

For our current Inventor 2016 users the R2 contains an integration of ForceEffect and this can be used the same way the tool worked with the online app and the files will be locally.

[ChrisHall]

JD

I am sorry to hear this! You have been a great contributor to Autodesk for many years. I hope that you and your students can take advantage of Inventor 2016 R2 or R3 which contains a ForceEffect integration that is similar to the online version that was recently retired

[admaiora]

Hi Chris,

the Inventor R2 version, has many problems.

[Curtis_Waguespack]

Hi ChrisHall,

Firstly, thank you for following up.

• If I understand correctly there is no alternative solution on the Forge platform at this point. I think I can speak for most in saying that having a solution on the Forge platform before killing the existing offerings would have been a much more customer sensitive approach for Autodesk to have taken.

• Concerning the use of Autodesk Inventor 2016 R2 & R3:
• Obviously there were Autodesk customers (AutoCAD customers for example) who were using the ForceEffect tools that were not using Inventor. So the fact that Inventor 2016 R2 & R3 is offered as the solution is meaningless to them. And the net affect is a poor view of Autodesk and Autodesk's handling of this.
• It appears that the 2016 R2 & R3 documentation needs to be updated, as it currently states that the "ForceEffect continues to be available on forceeffect.autodesk.com and on iOS and Android mobile apps". See the Concept Engineering section at this link. I suspect there is other documentation that hasn't been updated properly as well, so someone at Autodesk should likely spend a bit of time communicating with someone else at Autodesk concerning this.
• Concerning customer data: The way that this transition was handled concerning customer data on the cloud suddenly being in accessible is alarming. Have I misunderstood the situation, in thinking that Autodesk has cut customers off from access of their data on the cloud? If I have understood correctly, and this is the case, then I hope you can understand that this will impact future business decisions for many customers concerning Autodesk and all things cloud. I would like to have this point confirmed one way or the other, please.

I can not stress enough how the perception of Autodesk's mishandling of this product retirement is impacting the willingness of Autodesk champions to recommend products and services to others. For instance, as the Fusion Connect tools are introduced, I suddenly feel very reluctant to point anyone to those tools.

Thanks in advance for anything you can do to further clarify any or all of this,

Curtis

[JDMather]

---

@ChrisHall wrote:
... I hope that you and your students can take advantage of Inventor 2016....

---

.

We use only the latest version of Inventor.  We do not have 2016.

We cannot ghost hundreds of lab computers 5 weeks into the semester.

We need ForceEffect or we will have to scramble to find a replacement.

[derrek.cooper]

All.. Apologies that this has caused so much disruption. For a variety of reasons, ranging from a decrease in commercial usage to changes in the cloud and mobile architectre, we decided to End of Life the ForceEffect family of products. 

Our intention was to reduce future usage but not disrupt those that were using it today.

However, we appreciate that this has caused some unexpected disruption in coursework at universities and institutions. We are looking into ways that we may be able to help.

If you are a university or institution that has been impacted this semester, please reach out to me direct so that we can discuss. derrek.cooper@autodesk.com

Again, apologies for the disruption.

Derrek

Director, Inventor Products

[scottmoyse]

What about your customers that have been impacted by this Derek? The ones who allow Autodesk to exist as a company and who have also been screwed by this? It's not just educators and students. Like Curtis pointed out, you should have only retired this once a replacement was in place and you graduated a transition phase.

Regards
Scott Moyse
Manufacturing & CAM Technical Specialist
Autodesk Expert Elite

[derrek.cooper]

Scott.. Any existing customer that has the mobile app installed is able to continue to use the app, so existing customers shouldn't be dramatically impacted. We try our best to reduce disruption and still do what we think is best for the products and the business.

I appreciate your point of view regarding a replacement. But, the reality is we have to make difficult decisions to retire products and brands that do not have an immediate replacement. 

Keeping in mind, FE was a free app that was launched a few years ago. We felt that it served our customers well and that it reached a point in its life that we should retire it for future users. Again, existing users can continue to use the mobile apps as long as they like. 

I appreciate that these things are not always the most popular decision. Happy to chat further if you would like, feel free to ping me direct.

Derrek

derrek.cooper@autodesk.com 

[scottmoyse]

Can you clarify the data issue please? And why did you announce it in a forum instead of emailing the users?

Regards
Scott Moyse
Manufacturing & CAM Technical Specialist
Autodesk Expert Elite

[derrek.cooper]

not sure what you mean about data.

The forum has historically been the main way we have communicated to customers using free apps. Honestly, we get varying feedback as to ways that customers want to receive communication. Some prefer email, some hate itl. A forum post seemed like the least disruptive considering it was an FYI for existing users as they are able to continue to use the apps. 

Perhaps we should consider emailing people in the future, but I will leave that to the community to respond. We are trying to keep people informed without over communicating and flooding inboxes. 

[Anonymous]

I am sure institutional customers can't use Autodesk' lollipop Force effect and Force effect motion because none has tablet screen larger than 10 inch. If the lollipop is gone we don't need to cry but we should remember these guys for future who show us lollipop and now they take out from our mouth. This might be the Autodesk's way to get input from customers while developing something big. I am sure they will release something big in future which could cost us minimum 2000$. They did not even care for customers because this could be a huge lollipop from which they can earn a lot. This product may be launched with other name by AutoDesk in near future with 3D, who knows Autodesk's future plan. Wait and watch but don't cry. Use Algodoo until you all get free license from Autodesk for similar product.             

[Curtis_Waguespack]

---

@derrek.cooper wrote:

not sure what you mean about data.

---

data issue:

What will happen to my diagrams that are stored in the A360 drive?

You will be able to access them until August 31, 2016 . We strongly suggest you download them to your mobile device prior to August 31

---

@Curtis_Waguespack wrote:

• Concerning customer data: The way that this transition was handled concerning customer data on the cloud suddenly being in accessible is alarming. Have I misunderstood the situation, in thinking that Autodesk has cut customers off from access of their data on the cloud? If I have understood correctly, and this is the case, then I hope you can understand that this will impact future business decisions for many customers concerning Autodesk and all things cloud. I would like to have this point confirmed one way or the other, please.

---

So, to re-state the question:

Will people who did not happen on to this forum and read the notice within the days that it was posted, before August 31... will they have lost access to their data (I.e. "diagrams") that were stored on the A360 drive?

[scottmoyse]

People at Autodesk in this part of the world including those involved with Autodesk education had no idea this was happening.

I've been working on getting a customer to switch from Solidworks and mastercam to an Autodesk solution for months. I showed him force effect and he started listening... Now I look like a fool. I wouldn't have even brought it up if it had been communicated appropriately.

I had downloaded and used force effect numerous times, and not once has I visited this forum until I started looking for why the product didn't exist anymore. I had no notification that this product existed.

I don't think anyone here is begrudging Autodesk of its right to kill off a free product. I think they are all rather unhappy with the way it's been carried out and communicated.

Regarding data, iOS, Android and chrome app data want exclusively stored on the device was it?

Regards
Scott Moyse
Manufacturing & CAM Technical Specialist
Autodesk Expert Elite

[derrek.cooper]

The data is still there and accessible. Existing customers should be able to access their data from A360Drive and edit it through the mobile apps.