Animation in Storyline through the Morph Transition

Thanks for the thoughtful reply, Math!  I am definitely looking at ELB (along with others) with a very careful eye, and your input is exactly why.  Building a comprehensive learning platform now requires a number of moving parts, of which course authoring software is only one component.

For a while, Captivate was the only game in town, even though it was difficult to learn and had security protocols that didn't always play nice with Enterprise sized systems.    Then Articulate moved in with a more intuitive approach and a less steep learning curve, and sliced into Captivate's market by targeting the middle-of-the-road customer who didn't need the might of Captivate.    But both were the big players in town.

Now, I'm seeing more and more "portmanteau" learning platform offerings, where course authoring software is one of a number of tools available to design and deliver content.  If your course authoring needs are fairly straightforward, and you don't regularly design complex, highly triggered, multi branched material, we have choices now.  And with separate microlearning software, and adaptive learning services like Qstream, course authoring software will be one of many, or just a starting point in the "which approach will we take?" analysis.

Companies like ELB are building by buying up other companies that offer tools in each major area of their proposed platform.  https://www.reworked.co/learning-development/elb-learning-makes-acquisition-rebrands-next-day/amp/    It's intriguing, but it also can mean a lack of cohesive company support, and a squashing together of different corporate cultures that may not initially fit.  And I don't want to be their guinea pig.  So I'm carefully watching with an eye to the future.

Meanwhile, Articulate's failure to continue to support its initial customer base with basic industry-standard feature growth while pursuing a roadmap intended (I think) to make it look innovative has left it standing in the middle of the road.  Platform integrated authoring tools are going to be no-brainers in the future, and if they can offer even roughly what Articulate does now, then companies are going to start having those conversations...soon.

To put it another way, Articulate has made it possible for instructional designers to outgrow it.