FX, Bling and associated matters.

[iamtheblues]

Back in the day when the FX feature was introduced, we all marvelled at the stunning effects that could be produced. (see Fig.1 attached)
Rather like the 3D Tool and 3D Maker before it, it was considered amazing what this Xara thingy could do.
Nowadays, however, it has all become a little Old Hat, Been There, Done That sort of thing. A Bit Meh, if you like.

The world has moved on, but Xara is still in the age of Bling. All of the above-mentioned shiny effects end up as rasters.
If the back-room-boys-and-girls could throw away the platform shoes and glitter and concentrate on making extrude and 3D that remain as vectors like Affinity Designer, CorelDraw and Illustrator do, then perhaps we won't moan quite so much at the subscription model.

And here's another thing: the little blue Play-School graphics (see Fig. 2 attached) on photos that require precise mouse-work to get a hold to move and resize are really a step in the wrong direction. Time was, one could grab hold anywhere and do the job in a fraction of the time.
Too much time is spent on programming the stuff to look nice which ends up breaking something that didn't need fixing in the first place. (ie skewing)

It looks to me like Attention Deficit Disorder rather than something useful.

Xara you charge far too much for a product that is some way behind the competition. Concentrate on the core values that made the product a ground-breaker - VECTOR TOOLS - and forget the window dressing!