[scooterlord]

...some of us also being developers, we know how tough development can be, however there is a subsantial lack of information from the admins, and there are a million bugs, there is no complete documentation, there isn't a bug list, there's nothing but silence.

You people might not be sleeping to get your new features right, but you should take care of your current clients first. Your product isn't a cheap one. I paid it, and don't even get the support I am bound to get. I have encountered a ton of bugs, I keep posting every day in the forums and I barely get any answers. At least a simple CONFIRMATION of the problem, it's the least you can do.

Spare a dev, just to maintain the forum. We need it. Yes, the new features sound exciting, but here we don't have the tools we were used to. The reason I bought a cs-cart license for the THIRD time was that I was kinda used to it. Previous versions I had were 1 & 2. The most useful thing for me was the design/translation mode. Where is the translation mode now? What about the lack of documentation?

Looking forward for someone at least to CARE enough to share some details. I am very unhappy at this point.

Aftersales is as important as the product itself. Even more important. It's not just getting a client, it's holding him on your side.

[cscartrocks]

The hosted version of cs-cart is a big news. Will it open to third-party developers like Magento Go does? Thanks.

[cscartrocks]

Translation mode will be back with the release of cs-cart version 4.0.2 in next 1-2 weeks.

[admin]

Scooterlord, translation mode is coming back in 4.0.2, we just needed some more extra time to polish it, that's why it was not included to 4.0.1.

Documentation is on its way too.

Unlike version 3, CS-Cart 4 with its architectural changes is supposed to be a long-term support release so there be a plenty of time for third-party developers and designers to create the apps and themes and to get a reasonable payback.

Thanks for your feedback and support!

[scooterlord]

Thanks cscartrocks, but what about other bugs and missing features?

No localization in custom menus?

The order notification being sent in the selected admin language than the customer's language?

New shipment notifications not being sent to customers?

Ability to change top menus according to language selection?

Parent categories not filling new products block from their children?



There are a million things that aren't working as they should, some of them not working at all, and there's no way to determine if the devs actually know about them, if they are working on them, or if they are simply unaware of them.

However, most clients are difficult and keep asking and complaining about their store not working as it should. What are we supposed to tell them? How are we supposed to explain that 'we are waiting for the devs to release a patch -that wasn't supposed to exist in the first place- and see IF what we are waiting for is fixed?

[admin]

By the way, here is a little short note on how to test the Widget mode right away.

Go to the following page at CS-Cart labs(user your CS-Cart forum credentials to authenticate):

http://labs.cs-cart....ch_company_id=1

Copy the text inside the Widget code textarea in the left column and paste it to the any HTML page where you want the CS-Cart store to appear.

Just a kind of sneak peek for those who are interested

[tbirnseth]

My "guess" is that a hosted version of cs-cart will NOT support 3rd party addons. But this is only a guess. Like any SaaS product, it will be more expensive for the merchant over time, otherwise there would be no motivation to do it.

Right now, if helpdesk goes into a site to diagnose a problem, the first thing they do is disable 3rd party addons. Then they go find the problem and usually forget to re-enable the 3rd party addons they disabled. Then my clients contact me and say "looks like the mailchimp addon has been disabled for the past 3 months, can you help me get things back in synch?".

Nice to see other frustrated developers finally coming out of the closet. Was beginning to think I was the only one (or at least the only vocal one).

IFF (if and only if) SaaS product is successful, then the open-source version will probably go away. It will be too difficult to maintain both. Just like they found in V3 having all the separate editions/versions.

Will be most interesting to see pricing model and performance guarantees. If you do it by inventory count, then site with huge order volume but few products will dominate their S3 resources. If they do it by orders, then sites with huge inventories, but low order volume (the drop-ship merchants) will also dominate the DB/S3 resources. I personally think that a SaaS version is only applicable to small merchants who "dabble" rather than run real businesses. Just MHO.

[admin]

My "guess" is that a hosted version of cs-cart will NOT support 3rd party addons. But this is only a guess.

First version of hosted CS-Cart, of course, will not allow installing custom user add-ons. However later there will definitely be a possibility for the 3rd party developers to make their add-ons available for the hosted CS-Cart users after CS-Cart team approve them.

Like any SaaS product, it will be more expensive for the merchant over time, otherwise there would be no motivation to do it.

Actually, SaaS product can be significantly cheaper for the end-user mainly because of the scalability and uniformity of the infrastructure.

The main downside of the SaaS store is that it does not allow modifying the source code. However, template files can be customized so there is still a lot of options to make the store quite a unique one.

IFF (if and only if) SaaS product is successful, then the open-source version will probably go away. It will be too difficult to maintain both. Just like they found in V3 having all the separate editions/versions.

I would say the opposite, if hosted CS-Cart is successful, the open-source version will get more options to be evolved and enhanced and improved as we get more resources.

Anyway, Tony, you are right, hosted CS-Cart is for those who match it and for others there is(and there will be) CS-Cart downloadable with 100% open source and same level of control

[scooterlord]

So, can an admin gives us the current changelog, todo list or ANYTHING for that matter for the version to come?

[StellarBytes]

And I want to make it very clear that we do NOT have any plans to discontinue the open-source downloadable version of CS-Cart. We are adding MORE options, no cutting. And that is the main idea.

Unfortunately I got the same answers from the CEO of Interspire (now 'BigCommerce') - inevitably, it meant more sales for Interspire all the while they never had any inclination whatsoever to continue with the downloadable version (no future updates, no support, nothing). I sincerely hope this won't be the case with CS-Cart, but time will tell. I'll give it 12 months after the launch of the hosted version. If CS-Cart can at the very least maintain the current bug fixes, updates and support for the downloadable product, I see no reason to find another platform.

[vanderex]

lets focus on import tool , then we can be live bugs and see what needs to be addressed.

[jackyboy]

I’m somewhat discouraged about the future of cscart transforming to a hosted only cart. While i was shopping for a licensed shopping cart, interspire looked great. There was an active forum, active add-on developers etc. Well all that disappeared when the licensed version was left for dead while the hosted version was the focus.
All the same concerns that are being voiced here about a (hosted only version) were being voiced on their forums.

Choosing my own host was/is extremely important to me. So I chose cscart as my future platform.
I'm not sure I'm being negative or just seeing the writing on the wall. Deja-vu all over again.

When the people involved in the community here are apprehensive and or discouraged. It worries me. Especially since if it had not been for these people such as Tbirnseth, I would have never purchased cscart. I was able to (for a reasonable fee) call tbirnseth and have him walk me through every inch of this software top to bottom. Quite an advantage.

I have purchased V4 and am developing a new site. Hope it wasn't a mistake.

[Galactica]

I too am very concerned about this, as I am a new cs-cart user who has been down the interspire/bigcommerce road. One of the main reasons I chose cs-cart was it's supposed stability.

After using the product and being a member of this forum I am feeling VERY nervous as to where things are headed. So far I have seen buggy releases, NO DOCUMENTATION or if there are docs, they are horribly written and typically don't apply to the new version of the cart or are just plain inaccurate.

I am worried about all the time being spent on a hosted solution, when the versions they have are seriously lacking in fixes, bug tracking, documentation and support. I really want to be pro cs-cart and would love nothing more than to support them wholeheartedly, but I can't shake the feeling that they really don't care. Why else would you leave so many customers twisting in the wind or left guessing?

I would feel much better about things if the current versions of the cart were actually fixed and properly documented.

This is starting to look like what I went through with Interspire all over again...

</endrant>

[admin]

Guys, I want to make it clear once again. With hosted CS-Cart with are adding more options, but not replacing or transforming CS-Cart anyhow in this way.

And actually, hosted CS-Cart project is more about server configuration rather than software development. Both hosted and downloadable CS-Cart use the same codebase. This means that our CS-Cart architects do not spend their time on hosted version instead of working on core CS-Cart improvements. They do work on new releases, actually we have more engineers than ever working on downloadable CS-Cart now.

In addition, I would like to put a little bit more of your attention to the fact stated above that CS-Cart 4 is a long-term support release in terms of its architecture. And this is the decision we made specifically to encourage third-party developers and designers to make CS-Cart the platform of their choice.

Long-term support also will allow us to polish the software and complete the documentation in a more faster and effective way. Just need a little time since v.4 is only one month and a half old.

And thanks for feedback. Productive criticism is always welcome!

[tbirnseth]

In addition, I would like to put a little bit more of your attention to the fact stated above that CS-Cart 4 is a long-term support release in terms of its architecture. And this is the decision we made specifically to encourage third-party developers and designers to make CS-Cart the platform of their choice.

If I'm not mistaken, this is very close to the same statement that was made when V2 was forthcoming.

No one wants the software to stagnate. However, evolution of a "product" is much preferred to revolution. But this would imply that there is a road-map and that others can plan around the road-map, not just have it dumped in their lap. There was zero effort applied to support compatibility or to help 3rd party developers transition.

People do NOT want change for change's sake. Most of the V4 changes that affect a 3rd party developer are cosmetic or naming changes that add zero-value to the product or its functionality or performance and it did NOTHING (so far) to improve stability or supportability.

Unfortunately, as a 3rd party developer, "encouraged" would not the term I would use to describe my feelings about the changes that have been made and the manner in which they have been rolled out.

Update: My, my has this area brought out the emotions of the user-community. I hope someone is really listening....

[admin]

Tony, this is the first time we declare the lont-term support for the release.

I understand, at first sight this may be not obvious why we made a lot of changes in CS-Cart architecture but there were reasons for that. And most probably one must be a part of CS-Cart core team and be involved into the everyday development process for a while to understand most of those, but this was our decision that we were sure was necessary at the time.

We are listening. And moreover, developers are our main focus currently. I'm sure you have already noticed that. You've pushed a lot of feedback and support to us and we really appreciate that and would be glad to continue getting more.

Thanks.

[jackyboy]

To be clear about my point of view,
I am totally committed to the cs-cart platform. I even backed my actions with a purchase of the latest version. In addition, I fully understand cscart offering a hosted solution. I'm for it. Especially if new revenues are created to continue to build and improve there software. I would assume the more revenue they generate, the more improvements will be made, the better product we all can enjoy.
When I say all, I mean the licensed and the hosted peeps.

[ghostrider]

I hope CS-cart is not another "Interspire to Bigcommerce" story. If that's the case, I will walk away to some other options out there. Please keep in mind why people choose Cs-cart. Don't lose the edge.

[ThomH]

Interesting way...

[Flow]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I have the feeling cs-cart simply does not have enough manpower to pull this off. Mails are left unanswered, bugs that have been in cs-cart since 1.35 are STILL in version 4 and the bug tracker for these issues is simply being ignored.

As for the hosted version, well I do understand they need to do this but share the feeling that others have: I'm afraid this will be the beginning of the end of the non-hosted version. I really hope I'm wrong.

Anyway, I also choose to support cs-cart, have bought some licenses that go until end 2015 and I am developing for cs-cart 4 - my skin is 85% ready and 80% of my add-ons and modifications are done. Now I'm just waiting for the new version to fix the numerous bugs in 4.01 and to see if the shopping importer is useful this time. I really, really hope this will all work out for the best because I already spend hours and hours in cs-cart 3 that turned out to be useless, and am doing the same for 4 now, which I have to say looks promising but is still very buggy.