The VI version is still available, & they are essentially the same samples.
As for being discouraged from the entire ecosystem, by the same logic you could boycott any library that doesn't sell individual instruments out of a larger collection. I get that you feel that this specific bundle is an odd selection, but applying that line of thinking to collections that are more "cohesive" makes no sense to me.
(I don't want to turn this thread into a thread about me and my purchasing decisions, but I'm not sure I got my main point across)
"Boycott" sounds overly dramatic. I'm just not interested in having to buy stuff I don't want to get the stuff that I do want, I have plenty guitars already and as a customer I value choice, so, without any hard feelings, for the time being I'll look elsewhere where I am offered that choice. The ecosystem thing: if a developer might make future, improved versions of an instrument only available in curious bundles, that's not a huge deal or risk, but it does affect my purchasing decision (especially if they already have a bit of a reputation for handling bundles in ways that aren't universally loved).
I am not expecting every single instrument to be sold individually, no matter what, neither by VSL nor anyone else. However, we're talking here about an instrument that was (and still is) being sold individually in its old form and now has been updated, so if you want that, the GUI /workflow improvements and according to some who own both improved scripting, you're now expected to buy two other instruments along with it, because they happen to be excited the same way and I guess they didn't fit in the standard orchestral collections (I mean, might as well go all the way and toss in a harp, too, those are plucked, right?
) If you liked a car model and the latest version of it came out and you suddenly could only buy it if you also buy a motorcycle and a surfboard along with it, would that not seem strange to you?
I am not against bundles. I am not against, where appropriate, for instance bundling orchestral sections, obviously, and only making them available that way. Or instrument variations (guitar bundles with electric, acoustic, nylon, even bass guitars make sense). Or stylistic bundles (like Swing! and Swing More!). Some developers like Orchestral Tools and 8dio are even starting to sell individual instruments out of perfectly sensible orchestral section libraries, and it's been a well-received move, but it's perfectly ok (great, even!) for each developer to have their own marketing strategy. Some just make more sense to me and I'll gravitate towards those, while others have me going "wait, what?" and moving on. *shrug*
