I'm using 5.1 bugs and all with the 5.2 update sitting on my desk for the last couple of months... For me, it's not the yearly fee that deters me from staying on maintenance but the install processes, another learning curve to deal with and the inevitable changes to perfectly working features. Surfware recommends a clean install which means backing everything up, uninstalling the old version, install the new, re-load models, re-setup posts and re-tweak the editor while I'm still having to make new programs so the production floor doesn't shut down.... Needless to say, this is the real reason I seem to only upgrade every two to three years. Of course the last time I upgraded, Surfware took away "Velocity" and made it a pricy separate upgrade once I learned how to use it! So I have lost my enthusiasm to share it's potential to anyone...
Do I think 5.2 is worth upgrading to? I would say that I’m sure there are some cool new features to like but you have to ask yourself: "How much time do I have to install and learn the new stuff again?"
It seem to me that every time I find something new to love about Surfcam, something old that I loved even more gets taken away. Let me give you one example.
When I first started using Surfcam back in the days of DOS, Surfcam use to spiral pocket into the corner and left the coolest pattern on the floor. Then they "improved" the next revision to feed from the plunge point straight into the wall. I swear, I wanted to beat someone; even my customers questioned the change in my floor finishes. If Surfcam was gonna change a perfectly good function, they would at least include an option to choose how to finish floor. To this day, I can't stand their pocketing routine, it looks to much like Mastercam. This is a perfect example of how Surfcam likes to disappoint with their idea of "new and improved". That is why 5.2 is still sitting on my desk, because it’s new and improved.