Storyline 2 is now available!

I too am a bit disappointed and agree with everyone that this should have been an update.  If it needs to be a new version, then the upgrade price needs to be much lower, and the price to upgrade should stay that price permanently, not only for a limited time.  Some folks just purchased Storyline 1, or just started learning it really well through purchases or text books or classes, and shouldn't have to cough up more money for things that are simply bug fixes.  I also wouldn't be able to get a purchase order approved and processed in the "window of opportunity" to upgrade by September 30th!  13 days!  Really?  I would like to reserve the option to upgrade when I am ready and when my company has the budget to do so.  This is a sad day for the Articulate Community.

What ... still no Certificate option for the quizzes? My clients really want to be able to print out a Certificate of Completion for completed quizzes. I was expecting this feature to be available in the new version.

I agree that the other improvements should be an update to StoryLine 1.

Ah yes, I was forgetting the certificate option. This would be very useful indeed, as would a return of the email function.

Maybe Storyline 3?

We paid for the service contract (Platinum, was it?) that entitles us to a free upgrade to the new version. How do we go about getting and installing the upgrade?  Thanks.

@Christian - Can you send a note to biz@articulate.com re: your Platinum plan? Those folks will help you out!

It seems a little odd to me that people are giving the thumbs down to a product based on a partial list of features. There is more to SL 2 than the feature set listed in this post. I think all software is too expensive so can't really justify whether or not the upgrade cost is worth it. I guess that is something you have to decide for yourselves. I would suggest that those of you who have doubts should download the trial version and give it a try before condemning it. You might be pleasantly surprised.

I've been using SL 2 for awhile now (as an early beta tester) and have completed a couple of projects with it. Some of the features that I really like are the new move, pause timeline and resume timeline triggers, and the fact that you can now add triggers to cue points or to a specific time on the timeline. People have been belittling the motion paths in this post and although I think they are a little clunky to work with you can do some amazing things with them. The sliders are beautifully implemented and the fact that they can be tied to variables opens the doors for all kinds of interactions.

I too was pushing for responsive design but am starting to rethink this a little because there is so much more to designing a learning experience for a mobile device than just dynamically resizing objects. Having said that, the html 5 output in SL 2 is much improved and I do believe that Articulate did include some of these enhancements in the last SL1 update. SL 2 now supports Android and there is a new Android app available for download in the Google store.

There are some features in SL 2 that I was hoping to see that did not make the cut this time but all-in-all I really like it and give it a thumbs up.

I like the new features that come with Storyline 2 but I'm not sure the powers that be will like the upgrade price!

Also, when looking at the price breaks there were 4 levels:

1 no price

2 $599 (next version free)

3 $979 (next 2 versions free)

4 $$$$$$$ can't afford (next 3 versions free)

When I added 2 to the cart it came up with $2773 which is a little above $979.

Now when I click on pricing there is an option for New or Upgrade and the upgrade is $699. But does that then entitle me to get the next version free, or am I just upgrading SL1 to SL2 and have to go through the same process for SL3?

I realize Articulate is in the business of making money but most of the new features in SL2 have been long awaited as an update. While I don't agree that this particular update should be free (although I'd certainly take it) you should be able to do a little bit better for existing owners.

At the end of the day, however, it is what it is! The SL team spent some time rebuilding Storyline and the newer features look pretty cool. In some cases they are just enough to make it so I don't have to use an outside program to accomplish something fancy.

Here's a thought: Anyone having to report to the 'Powers That Be' and having to justify the cost of an upgrade may find all these comments give them some leverage for the Premium Member Package. (And I gotta say, it was pretty slick of SL to throw that arrow pointing down to Future Proof on the sales page. Well played. Well played, indeed!)

As someone else said if you don't think its worth it don't upgrade.

Sounds/looks like there are some nice new features in v.2 but this to me sounds more like an update and not a $700 new product. I agree with many others that most of these features should probably have been updates to the current version. Oh well, I'll keep using my V1 and be happy with it.

We welcome your feedback, and we're sorry if we missed the mark on your expectations for Storyline 2. Our brand and engineering teams worked for over 2 years listening to customer feature requests and building the best Storyline product based on customer and marketplace requirements. If we haven't offered a value proposition that would otherwise compel you to pay for an upgrade, then you shouldn't upgrade. Many of our customers are delighted with the new features and are more than happy to receive a free upgrade via their Platinum Membership Plan (PMP) or via a paid upgrade. Perhaps we'll meet that mark for you in the future.

Rick, I know it can be confusing.  Please feel free to contact success@articulate.com to determine your upgrade and future upgrade pricing.  

The $699 upgrade price for current Storyline 1 customers should be available well beyond Sept 30 and well into next year. And if it's not feel free to include a screen shot of this post in an email to us so that we can offer you that price. As you desire, you reserve the right to upgrade if and when you like.

Despite all the complaints you do have to hand it to Articulate. Who wouldn't want to have developed a product that everyone absolutely must have, and sells for top dollar!

One other thing, really appreciate sticking to the US dollar pricing and not doing what some grabbing retailers do outside the US.

As a comparison - look at the Apple site. The Thunderbolt display in the UK is £899. In the US it's $999, which is about £620.

Just interested, is Articulate any closer to a Mac version of Storyline?

I'm not going to get too scientific about this.

I have been lucky enough to beta this product for several months.

I have never wanted to go back to SL1.

Every time I have done an SL1 project, I have tried to include features that I realise are only in SL2.

OK - so there are things I would like included - many, and I hope they come - soon.

But this is a GREAT product.

I understand the boosterism of the staff...but sorry, it's a money grab.

Hi Kevin. I'm not sure if you are referring to my comments about the product but I am definitely NOT staff. I am an Articulate customer who happens to really like the product.

Articulate has put together some good videos showing the new capabilities. Here is a link if you are interested in seeing what SL 2 can do.  

https://www.articulate.com/products/storyline-arlyns-favorite-features.php

I'm disappointed that in "e-learning software" still there isn't equation editor like in PP 2013 which science teachers needs a lot

I don't have a problem with charging for the upgrade. This is common with software products. Companies need to charge for products. If a company wants me to develop training for them I expect to be paid, if they come back later for some changes and if they are minor I'll do it for them. If they want to re-build the project with new graphics and interactions I would expect to be paid for the upgraded project.

Wow, some strong feelings are being shared here. 

I can understand that if you’ve just purchased SL1 only to find out that SL2 was about to be released you’re disappointed and a little angry even. Heck I’d be too.

I also get that if you just superficially glance at the product feature sheet and play around with the trial version of SL2 for a few minutes you might think this is no more than an update. I had the same initial feeling when I joined the Betá for SL2. But if you take the time to really work with it, you’ll discover so, so much more.

Yes, there are features that I would like that are not present but realistically… I’ve been sitting behind a computer for over 27 years and have never had that ‘this is perfect, nothing could be better, there will never need to be an update for this, ever’ feeling, simply because everything evolves, always. And we don’t always have an insight in how and when…

All you can do is spend some serious time with the fully functional free trial version, go through the free training that you can get at Articulate to maximize your experience and decide if the upgrade is worth your money. 

I have had the benefit of working with the new product during Betá phase for several months and like Bruce Graham can only vouch for a job well done. In my opinion Storyline 2 is the best product on the market and, like everything else in this world, it’s not perfect but thanks to the people at Articulate will always evolve.

Please note that I am not employed by Articulate, I work as a Senior eLearning specialist at a large multinational where I am responsible for online learning within the Global L&D functions, I facilitate 200 Studio and Storyline licenses to our internal SME’s and local L&D professionals to support our user-generated-content learning strategy. In the 5 years I’ve been doing this we’ve developed approx. a 1000 courses internally, saving the company in between €7,5 million – € 30 million on external development. This is only possible because of the powerful and intuitive software that Articulate develops.

Hi everyone! I am like Nancy, I think the new update is great. I would definitely check out Arlyn Asch's 26 Favorite Features of Storyline 2. His videos show some really helpful tips and pointers that every developer should take a look at. Great job on this update Articulate!

Also, if you want a quick overview of Articulate Storyline 2 features you might appreciate this blog post. 

Hi,

Downloaded the trial version of Storyline2 earlier today. I'm a new user so not familiar with Storyline.

As a test, I inserted a 200 MB MP4 video from one of our webcasts and then tried to publish it. I'm looking to create a web accessible, streaming version that will play on all devices (including mobile). About 10 minutes into the publish my computer crashed. Tried again with the same result. My computer doesn't regularly crash, so I'm sure it's related to Storyline 2.

Is there a size limitation I don't know about?

Any guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks

-B

At least the disabled next button and read only seek. so many work arounds and extra work due to this in V1. that would be a good gesture for existing customers.