I do agree that it is a little aggravating that those of us who have proven our loyalty to Cakewalk end up being left out of any sort of upgrade deal. I had used Cake products in other studios since 1998. It was those experiences that led to me setting up my own room and buy 8.5. I have upgraded every year since just as quick as the new versions became available. After that investment it seems a little hard to swallow that I only used AD1 for less than a year before having the door slammed shut when it comes to updating.
I just don't see where this upgrade is worth the price but I explained before. A lot of the features in AD2 would not be used by me anyway. I play my drum tracks in from a controller or write them in the notation window. The only benefit would be an upgraded sound engine or better sampled kits.
My major issue is how long before the kits for AD1 are no longer available and we are forced to upgrade. I don't like that word forced. I will continue to use Toontrack and BFD. I am not mad or ranting but this situation has made me question XLNs business ethics. I wonder if this is a Cakewalk decision by the new owners or is XLN holding out. I would gladly pay a reasonable amount of money for the upgrade but almost 100 dollars would almost buy EZD2 if I were just starting out buying drum software.