David - Hello. I'm an existing LumenRT 2015 (Studio) user and new to this site/Community as well. Could you please help communicate more exactly what is happening with e-on based LumenRT, and users, relative to Bentley "assuming" the product now? 1. First things first, it does appear that LumenRT is no longer an e-on based (named, sold, etc) product...is that right? Sorry for such a basic question (that I think I already know the answer too), but unless I'm mistaken, there's really been no official announcement of this, other than just a short email to current users with very little detail. Also, the upcoming new Bentley LumenRT 2016 is now going to be just a single version, no comparable version to Studio (or other lower level versions) for instance, for users that may have no need for features previously part of only GeoDesign? Again, just looking for official confirmation... 2. The e-on Forums for LumenRT disappeared without warning. Is this specific Community the replacement or something else still to come? ContextCapture / Descartes / LumenRT / Pointtools make me wonder... 3. The email mentinoed above that has been sent (more than once) to current users under e-on based maintenance states: "As an existing LumenRT user who purchased a license and maintenance from e-on Software, you will receive Bentley LumenRT 2016 at no additional cost when it is released in the next few months." That's obviously good news to see confirmed and certainly what I would expect. While I didn't have (and don't need) GeoDesign features, I did have and use Publisher. Anyway, will the same be true should a Bentley LumenRT 2017 also be released prior to expiration of e-on maintenance? 4. While I already renewed my e-on maintenance not that long ago (before receiving any emails to make me aware it was no longer an e-on product!), I was just curious if further e-on maintenance renewal is still an option and if so, do all the usual terms continue to apply (support, updates, upgrades, etc)? This seems perhaps unlikely if now a Bentley product right (see also next question)? 5. The same email mentioned above stated: "In order to ensure uninterrupted future updates and upgrades, technical support, and a variety of other unique licensing options including network licensing, you should consider enrolling in Bentley’s SELECT subscription." Ok, this is where it starts sounding not so good for e-on users... Am I interpreting that correctly to mean that current users under e-on maintenance will not actually have the terms of their already paid for maintenance fulfilled? Or only if they enroll in Bentley Select...whatever that means exactly. I surely hope that additional cost is not actually a requirement, or at least not until after expiration of e-on maintenance? 6. Is Bentley LumenRT 2016 still being developed to work in conjunction with e-on based Plant Factory 2016 and Vue 2016? I (and I assume many others) purchased all 3 products since they previously worked together (so one could make trees in Plant Factory and use in LumenRT etc). 7. Will Bently LumenRT 2016 continue to to work with non Bentley products (SketchUp, ArchiCAD, etc)? If so, will this continue in future versions? 8. How exactly will non-Bentley (until now) users receive the new version and updates...any steps that need to be taken? 9. Finally, the last part of the same email stated: "To learn more about the additional capabilities that Bentley LumenRT and Bentley SELECT provide along with specific pricing, contact your local sales representative." It seems that those clicking on that Contact Sales button are not getting any reply, though. But is that really the best way anyway...shouldn't pertinent information (such as all of the above) be communicated to existing users directly and automatically? Sorry for the length, but given that there has been no real detailed communication to existing e-on users on these issues, I know that many have these or similar questions. Thank you, Lee PS For what it's worth, I'm an architect who "grew up" on CAD through MicroStation and still consider it to be probably the best software I ever used, so even though it's been a while, I am at least familiar with and otherwise would have good faith in Bentley...
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