The setting is question was to untick the box in the G-code settings for "5D firmware (include E dimension)" The setting was probably erroneous and so should not have been unticked (I have no idea what it was supposed to do), but no user input should result in a program crash, so I will be reporting it as a bug. Some of the more advanced settings are pretty enigmatic - it is not clear exactly what they do and the instructions are not 100% comprehensive, so it is a question of "suck it and see" One setting resulted in the application crashing when slicing. There is no minimum skirt length feature, so you have to remember to set extra skirt loops on small prints (to get the plastic flowing). I'm not that bothered by the lack (Simplify 3D gives a good estimate of print time after you slice) and it could again be fixed with a simple post-file automatic modification program. DC42's web interface is aimed at Slic3r's G-code, so I did not have any print time estimations. You cannot use variable names in the custom start and end G code, and the G code it generates always starts by setting bed and hotend temperatures so I had to make a small change to the way I set up & start a print (or I could hand-edit the G files or write a simple post-process application to modify them). Bug fixing is less enjoyable than writing new features, so as far as I can see bugs in Slic3r are simply ignored - and as it is a free program the user has exactly zero rights or influence. It is also a commercial product and so customers have a legal right to reasonable support and bug-fixes etc and are not at the mercy of a group writing code as a hobby - Slic3r had become too frustrating for me, with every release having bugs that had a major impact on some of my prints and none of the developers willing to address them. The circa £100 price tag is significant, and so you will need to decide whether it is worth such an investment - it is certainly not a "must have" that I would be inclined to rave about, more like "significantly better than the free alternatives". It is not however a fantastic, huge improvement - just enough to be "nice". I've not yet played around with too many of the settings, so it is probable I could get it a bit better with some fine tuning.
I had control over exactly where to place support, and the support broke away easily from the completed print with almost no clean-up required. One of my prints needed support, and that is where this application really shines. That is probably due to the "coast to end" feature, but I'm not certain. A major improvement is that I get far less curl-up on overhangs (such as the top of horizontal holes) and corner blobbing. The finished prints are noticeably better than Slic3r and generally take less time to complete (due to the tool paths being more sensible). Having now made 5 prints using Simplify 3D, here is my initial opinion on the product.
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