im talking about expensive versions from both worlds, not indie versions Gabe..full version of Shiva is more expensive than Unity Pro...
Yes, but that's just the point. The advanced version of Shiva offers very little over the Unlimited version for the Indie developer. It's really just a bunch of extra tools, separate from the engine. The collaborative tools, for example, probably wouldn't even apply. The Indie version of Unity, on the other hand, has a lot of missing engine features, many of which I think an Indie developer is likely to need. Comparing the most expensive versions simply *because* they're the most expensive versions is illogical.
Although it's likely that also in the future there will be Indie versions around, they will be stepping away from smaller Indie developers, bedroom coders, those who don't want to spend a lot of money. These customers were helpful for a specific period (income and qa wise) but i don't see them as the main target audience anymore.
That's my reading of the situation. It's a shame, but I guess if we were in their position, we would be tempted to do the same thing? I mean, I know from ShadersForGames, that support requests tend to come disproportionately from the Indie users, which means you spend most of your time supporting the people who are paying you least. I can see how that could get annoying. As much as I hate to admit a cliche, time is money.