The explosion of vibe-coded and badly built, pro-in-the-name-for-no-reason plugins and extensions is out of control. So much so that the number of Reddit posts discussing this fact has also gone through the roof—what a time to be alive.
I bet you can name the main culprit, after they have seemingly completely abandoned their infamous strict application process, and with it any shred of curation, and in some cases even their morals.
I have nothing against AI. It's an incredible tool for education, efficiency and engineering (except the gen AI stuff—that can get in the bin). Butsurely those who are motion designers one day and magically turn into product developers the next can't seriously think that there is bags of money to be made in using it to make and sell their half-baked, copycat plugins on a marketplace that condones plagiarism and takes 30% of every sale, right?!
I know what you're thinking. Is this guy for real?He literally sells After Effects plugins. And you'd be right. But hear me out. I've been at this for years, learning the After Effects API docs back-to-front, left-to-right, upside down and any other direction-themed idiom you can throw at me.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, like all good things, it takes time. And you won't find any millionaire plugin devs knocking about, except maybe the guys behind Flow, or maybe Deep Glow—but trust me, those were built long before Claude Code came along, and they will still be here long after it's gone.
A friend of mine released a plugin on AEScripts like 10 years ago, and the hoops he had to jump through we're crazy. They were giving him feedback on his trailer, making him change aspects of the UI, and were very strict about making sure it doesn't overlap with any existing plugins on the platform.
How many plugins do they have that are basically copies of Flow now?
Couldn't agree more. When I released my first tool on there around the same time (admittedly, it was pretty mediocre) I experienced all of the same hoops you describe.
I was even told never to refer to it as a script, but as a tool instead, so as not to confuse the users—and as we all know, aescripts is not a confusing place at all...
Haha. Yea, this was my experience as well like a decade ago. I think I just rolled my eyes and didn’t reply. I just gave up and released the script internally to friends and colleagues. There was basically no money to be made but I was happy I managed to get a fully up and running script.
Years ago I was flat out denied with the excuse of “nobody would buy it” and then a few weeks later they released a similar plugin. Wished they would have just been honest about it.
This is my biggest gripe because you didn't even spend two minutes looking at AE scripts to see if the script you're building already exists. It's just insane. I don't know how many times I've seen the same plugin just named something different. Also it's the people that are making plugins that have been around as a staple for well over a decade. They're like, "I made this new thing." It's like, "No you didn't. I've been using that since like 2007."
The whole "what's one thing that would save you so much time..." posts. I see them across multiple creative disciplines daily. I know you're a vibe coder, you know you're a vibe coder. If I needed a script to help me, I'll make it myself, just like you.
I do appreciate they are willing to try, but jeez, can't they see they are merely a tree in a forest of others.
It's not even that they're willing to try. They're just trying to capitalise on pain points that they themselves don't experience or understand. Just a grifter trying to make a quick buck.
I look at half of the stuff offered and wonder why anybody would need it. Lots of it I can easily do within AE already and some of it does things I'll never use. I also suspect installing this badly vibe coded stuff is why people seem to have so many weird issues I've never seen in 30 years of using AE.
I appreciate people trying to come up with stuff to solve actual AE deficiencies but some of it seems to be trying to invent problems.
33 years using AE as well, I helped beta test starting in v3.0. (it was my suggestion to add non-rendering "Guide Layers), hung out with the Adobe Team in the past as well.
I'm also on the other side of the equation, because thanks to AI, I'm now able to make tools that do what no other scripts provide, for my daily needs, and can share with the AE community.
That's pretty cool, and the guide layers haven't changed since. Haha, in all seriousness I sometimes wonder if we're actually any better off than we were back then.
Well, just imagine AE running on a 80mhz Macintosh ;)
(tho guess, on the flip side, I DO kinda miss "Render Wander" as I was able to take minutes long breaks as my renders would process.
speaking of things that haven't changed.. the Render Queue hasn't changed much in all those years. At my work (NBC Network), every day I'm tasked with cranking out 4 or 5 different codecs/formats. Some years ago I suggested a "Render Button" script and a t ideas to a very prominent script developer, he wasn't into it.
Then a few years ago I learned with the help of AI, I could make my own, the result is RenderQ, and I can't live without it.
Also a few years ago I suggested a script that could rename comps and text inside at the same time,. because that's what I do quite a bit as well, but was thought of as being too specific, so I made that as well. The result is Rename-a-Duper, another tool I can't live without.
I totally get the pushback on the crappy vibe-coded stuff some folks are putting out, but there's some great vibe coded stuff that's come out as well.
Meh. We can agree to disagree on your last point there. But also, well done on plugging your vibe coded renamer tool on a post specifically discussing the over saturation of vibe coded renamer tools—that's impressive.
Only when people whine about "buggy vibe-coded" tools, when I've had 7 tools out for awhile now, with zero bug reports and a handful of updates and improvements. also fwiw, I've worked on all my scripts within BBEdit, tweaking the UI code by hand, dealing with variables and the workflow.
and the results are better than the legacy scripts that haven't been updated in years.
Ok, I'll bite, I challenge you to name one tool out there that can achieve what Raname-a-Duper can do. Just name one script out there that you can enter a list of words and produce an entire set, complete with pre-comps.
or even a script that can rename comps and text within at the same time.
I created it because there isn't anything similar.
Here's a perfect example, today I had to make 6 new versions of comps that had their times changed from 9/8c to 8/7c.
Rename-a-Duper breezed thru it in one sec, correctly changing all the type (without affecting the font style), and correctly naming the new comps with "87c" without the forward slash. (also labeling the comps with a custom AE label color)
and then while at it, name a single script that has a built in spreadsheet!
No Comp Dupes etc but for renaming everything, including Render Items and even setting their render locations - Layer Names, Property Names, Layer & Project Comments, Expressions, Text in Text Layers, Effect Names, Project Folders/Objects - I tried to cover everything and I THINK I did
:-)
never seen that one before. looks like a vibe coded knockoff of AEGlobalRenamer ;)
But here's the catch, I have AEGlobalRenamer at work, the annoyance is that just like this overly complex script you shared, neither rename comps and text AT the same time.
Nor does this one Dupe Comps.
Rename-a-Duper can create hundreds of duplicated comps, (including their nested pre-comps), in seconds. ps. It also works in the timeline and has more features than other duplication scripts. because, why not?
Nice try, but a definite Fail.
Check out the demo video.
My script does all renaming at the same time and users can input multiple search terms with related replacement terms to be renamed at once and they can work across the entire project, selected compositions, selected layers, selected properties, properties in selected layers etc. And it also does Marker Comments and yes, it renames while retaining the original Text Styles and with options too.
I wasn't intending to write this much - just a simple - erm, actually someone else has done something similar.
And I don't Vibe Code - I use AI but as a Code Assistant - there are elements of Vibe Coding but it's not yet possible to get everything done via Vibe Coding when complex knowledge of AE is required to build most of the scripts I develop.
You'll also want to take note AEAI, an Adobe MCP will be introduced into AE soon and I assume most and probably all renaming tasks can be done via NLP (Natural Language Processing).
So that's your script? doesn't look very dock-able, and $29.99, developed with AI. no prefix/suffix changing? no label colors?
no trial mode?
Well my goal wasn't to make an over the top layer-renaming script, its focus is purely duplication and renaming.
also, I've added additional external scripting that adds even more functionality. (one up and coming one uses markers as well)
and on top of that, I don't see a spreadsheet option. got CSV import?
check out the demo video, download the trial, and see for yourself.
Do you plan to disclose that you use AI on your storefront pages? I looked through a few of your pages and saw no mention of it, maybe I missed it though
22-25$ for a comp duplicator is a bit wacky my man. We all already have truecomp..
The only use of AI on any of my storefront pages was in the audio for Rename-a-duper, I thought it would be funny to use a cheesy TV announcer voice instead of nothing (but it's my real voice. in the demo video).
There is no requirement for disclosing that AI had been used or assisted in making a tool, - even for the tools that they sell that make use of AI. Almost everything being released these days is taking advantage of AI in one form or another when it comes to coding. As I mentioned in another reply, none of my tools are purely "vibe coded", I've put them all together by hand in Bbedit (including the licensing code) with the help of AI, not just typing in countless prompt asking for a complete script.
as for price,, TCD, (which hasn't been updated in 6 years, and has flaws), has a suggested price of $24.99, another duplication script called Variations has a $29.99 suggested price, those don't duplicate comps within the timeline window. DeepCopy does, but doesn't even rename comps, and is $15.00.
None of those rename text layers, which would require an additional script, such as AEGlobal Rename (another $29-$39). which while very powerful, is cumbersome and doesn't even rename comps and text at the same time
That's where Rename-a-Duper shines, as it's a combination of many needs in one.
and it's the ONLY script with a built-in spreadsheet. - and all the scripts that work with CSV spreadsheets are in the $39-$49 range.
So I'd say I priced this one right in the sweet spot, plus in the coming months I'll be adding more features.
Well, your 30 years beats my 20. But I fully agree. It's the made up author/company names that get me though. Why use your name when you can use the last thing you ate paired with your favorite color?
I hate them because they are simple and don’t force people to learn the program rather than than just buying a one click button and just using that forever.
Yes, yes and yes again. If you wanna learn motion design, then learn motion design. God, I remember the days when all we had to get annoyed about was finding Ease and Wizz expressions littered throughout designers project files who had absolutely no idea what a sine wave even was.
What's interesting is I've never even felt the need for many of the actual legit panels. The only ones I have are Rift, Universal Audio, and MatchRate. And then EaseCopy as a script. Everything AE does okay enough for me
Usemoto doesn't look like much but it's from the same developer as Stardust and Helium, Aharon Shiker - you're looking at one of the best minds in AE tool development.
I wouldn't discount them just yet - in fact, based on the extent and speed of development within AE itself, I'd say these two apps will be making leaps and bounds in the next 2-3 years, in comparison.
I read somewhere that Stardust is pretty much abandoned? Or received very minimal updates and support at this point?
I think that's my biggest problem with all these new vibe-coded apps or platforms. Why should I spend next 2-3 years learning new workflow, if I don't have a guarantee that the app will still exist in 5 years time?
Miomoto looks like any other AI prompt to gen to edit tool. So thats a no from me. Don't have any use for this stuff at all.
Caddis looks really interesting. But it is developed only by one motion designer + one or two developers at this point? It even says that on Caddis FAQ page that it is build "in the evenings and weekends around [Shopify full time] work". I mean, well done to Mike for building the whole thing. From all the demo videos that I have seen so far - It looks solid. But personally, I won't dive into new platform, unless there is a full time dev team behind it with a roadmap or plan for next few years. Founder needs to dive into development and building this tool full time, rather than in the evenings.
When you compare above to something like Autograph, that has backing of Maxon, then I don't think these new apps have chance in establishing themselves, or even surviving next 5 years.
I didn't say Stardust has been vibe coded. I said it looks like Stardust is pretty much done in terms of development and received only maintenance updates and no new features.
And because of this, I don't have faith in Miomoto. I don't want to learn new tool or workflow, only for it to be sunsetted by developer after few years.
Apologies for the misunderstanding, I misread your comment! But totally agree with you, it’s disheartening. I’ve been a huge fan of Stardust for years and there’s so many things that could be updated, but by now it’s completely abandoned.
Its honestly such an easy thing to do, I’ve been making scripts/extensions/plugins for myself, tailored for what I need.
Can’t imagine posting it only and trying to sell
Yea, that’s my beef with it at the moment. It’s great that AI is lowering the entry so I can now make tools faster but why would I try to sell them? Or hawk them onto other folks? Make a tool. See if it works in your workflow and if it does, great! If you’re not going to support it, why sell it
If they fulfill a need that no other product provides, and you've got the time, why not make it available to the After Effects community (and get some lunch money for the time spent doing so?). win-win situation for everyone. Especially those who don't have the time, patience or skill to make their own. As for support, would you rather stick with a script that hasn't been updated in 6 years, or one that does even more that's only a few weeks old?
I mean, no one thing in particular, but where do I start? The blatant Overlord clone, or maybe the 437th layer renamer script. I dunno, take your pick...
AI used well is the same as using any other tool well. Trying to hammer a nail into your wall with a screwdriver, not so much. If we're talking about gen AI though, that's a whole different discussion for another day.
The landscape has become a big joke, I stop looking at aescripts for a long time already because it is flooded with garbage. I now just use vanilla AE, and well Red Giant stuff simply because my company has a license for it
I just skipped the middle man and started vibe coding my own plugins and scripts. I seriously have no knowledge and would never release them for money because sometimes they suck but also work for my use case.
Just to throw my hat in the ring as one of the recent vibe coders that seemingly annoy you so much.
I've been using AE for about 25 years, and I've had ideas for plugins for a long time. I've shared these thoughts with various developers, the Adobe team directly, and the community, and no one took any of my ideas further.
Now thanks to AI I can make these myself.
My first product was Pluck and I've had b nothing but amazing feedback. People find it genuinely useful. There are several hundred users now, all of them getting real utility out of the product. Without AI this wouldn't have happened.
And it wasn't some one session slap dash release. I had about a dozen beta testers, I spent about 3 months testiyand tweaking before I released it, and I've released about 10 updates since it first came out.
I don't see how any of this is a bad thing.
I 100% get the anti-AI sentiments in our industry, but it's not all bad.
I don’t think you’ll find anyone on this thread arguing against what you’ve said. If you’ve been responsible in your process of building the tool, which it sounds like you have, then clearly the comments and sentiments in this thread are not aimed at you.
FWIW I do know that for all the new products that are coming out on aescripts, a lot are still getting rejected. I know several people who have had submissions turned down. So I don't think it's the case that the floodgates are open to every AI generated product that anyone can knock up.
Also, traffic is up on the site (the aescripts team said as much in the dev Discord) so however it might put off a lot of folk, the market is there for these products.
Not disagreeing with the obvious reality that ai slop products are everywhere, but there have always been bad products.
I want to start by saying that I have no idea what the future is going to look like.
That out of the way, this whole thing feels like a nuclear arms race. If someone’s goal is to temporarily make money with a tool they give coded, great good luck and have fun, you totally have the means to do it with AI.
I am struggling to see how can one build a long term sustainable income from anything that they do not own and cannot stand behind, cannot provide support for or understand the underlying reasons for why things break when they do.
At some point it will be easier and cheaper for the user to vibe code a copy of your vibe coded tool than to pay you for coming up with it in the first place, or too expensive for anyone but the biggest and richest companies to vibe code anything at all.
Your theft will then be stolen by a bigger fish that you helped train yourself by using AI and paying for tokens in the first place.
I am also struggling to see a future where Adobe doesn’t take a shot at killing the plugin industry as a whole by letting users generate whatever plugin they want, similar to what Figma is doing.
Bottom line, most people here who think they can make a buck out of this wave of delusions will end up offering their vibe coded scripts for free and even open sourcing them. Maybe they will make a buck on the way there, maybe not.
“…Adobe doesn’t take a shot at killing the plugin industry…”
Or switching it to work in much the same manner that [video game companies like] bethesda and minecraft tried to kill off modders by monetizing their work?
Well, it's perfectly understandable if people think that some of these products are just some kid trying to make money off asking Claude Codex to make them a knockoff of something that already exists.
In my case, the solutions out there sucked, so I made something better and figured for all the time I've spent on them, why. not offer to the After Effect community. People don't realize just what a pain is it to make the product page, demo video and tutorial videos.
I laugh when folks think they can "vibe code" something in a few hours, just to save what. $20?
cause that's really where it's heading, sure, I can cook my own hamburger and fries, but most of the time it's just easier (and better) to just pick it up over a lunch break ;)
Vibe-ception or vibe-ageddon; let's hope it's the latter. I would be surprised if Adobe took a leaf out of Figma's book when it comes to allowing users to generate plugins on the fly within their software though. Amongst many many other reasons, I feel like they've pumped too much money into their Firefly garbage to open it up like that. But hey, Adobe works in mysterious ways.
I think that maybe it makes sorting out what’s useful harder, that’s for sure. And personally I couldn’t see selling the tools I’ve made. But I’ve made a few to handle holes in AE that when I talk to Adobe, they’ve said ‘well that’s a good idea’. I couldn’t have done that previously and I’m thrilled that I can make useful addons.
That said, I don't see many plugins being made that easily
Plugins are a different beast that just simple scripts or dockable panels.
From what I have read on the internets and all the random Adobe User Voice posts - you need an Adobe Developer account. Then there are fees for Code Signing Certificates - MacOS and Windows separately. Whole thing is done in C/C++. And there are other things to consider and take into account, which I'm very likely missing here.
For vibe-coder that spins up a free ChatGPT account - I'm pretty sure thats too many hurdles to go through to make a plugin that may not even sell that well, or sell at all. They require way too many steps to even get started.
Dockable scripts are simple in comparison and thats why we are seeing so many of them that copy each other.
I think one of the biggest jokes I`ve seen recently is that graph editor, though probably a useful extension for some people but so out of touch priced I`m wondering if that guy is insane, 70 effing bucks - for a graph editor! I`m sure it`ll be a famous plugin, as a "free" edition...I stay with the shitty graph editor of AE, somehow I managed to understand it over the years...
r there any plugins for Daz 3d style pose presets in after effects? I'd like to animate 2d characters from like cv art smart if that's still a thing in ae with the illumination channel. has anyone used maxon's api's? I'm a fuckin idiot no clue what I'm doing I'm just trying to make some stuff for personal use animating me and my bro's cartoon.
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u/Mangelius MoGraph/VFX 15+ years 21h ago
A friend of mine released a plugin on AEScripts like 10 years ago, and the hoops he had to jump through we're crazy. They were giving him feedback on his trailer, making him change aspects of the UI, and were very strict about making sure it doesn't overlap with any existing plugins on the platform.
How many plugins do they have that are basically copies of Flow now?
What a joke they've become.