Calling all Brave and Curious Souls!
Perhaps a little bit prematurely, as I’m not quite there yet. But I’d like to start collecting a list of volunteers for testing features in the upcoming v1.4 patch. The problem is that, at this rate, v1.4 will contain so many changes, that’ll it’ll be truly chaotic to test all at once (and very likely to fall over).
The plan then is to instead test it in the following stages:
Stage 1: Editor Port, Like for Like
Largely a feature-to-feature conversion (although the editor itself adds some enhancements). So besides an enhanced editor experience there will be little to no shiny new features/tabs/functions.
At this stage I’ll be primarily looking for:
- Feedback on the ‘editing experience’
- Identification of any bugs or features that missed the port
- Feedback/suggestions on editor configuration options (defaults, customization etc.)
- Necessary differences in hotkeys/shortcuts
- Documentation discrepancies or shortcomings due to the above changes
Stage 2: Editor Port, Enhancements
Once it’s obvious that the editor port is relatively stable, and is considered an improvement, we’ll move on to enabling some extra layers of functionality atop it, including:
- Advanced syntax validation
- Ability to find/jump to variable definitions/references
- Enhanced autosuggest (variable names, label names, scene names)
- Overhaul of the Issues Tab in relation to the above
At this stage I’ll be looking for feedback on these enhancements’ usefulness/intrusiveness, reliability, and their breadth of configuration options (can you turn stuff off/tweak to the right level).
Stages 3+: Additional Features
Once we’re happy with the state of the editor port (and the enhancements it offers), I’ll move on to adding all the new features I’ve been working on outside of the new editor, including:
- Project Wide Find and Replace
- Custom Project Stylesheets
- Breakpoints
- Automated test enhancements
- Docs overhaul (with a search bar)
- etc.
This isn’t an exhaustive list, and of course, things may change or get the cut, but it should give you a rough idea. There’s no timeline on when each of these stages will arrive (as that’ll depend on feedback), but rest assured I’d like to start getting them into your hands ASAP.
Interested? Great, then please shoot me a PM, but before you do, please also consider that you…
- Need to be active, and able to give detailed regular feedback (weekly is ideal, though more often is welcome!)
- Must be willing to face bugs, quirks and other nasties in all their glory (i.e. don’t volunteer if you’re on a tight deadline with your latest release)
- Have some prior experience with CSIDE (so you can draw comparisons/compare changes)
- Should be willing to mess around a little more than you would with a regular CSIDE install: e.g. install/uninstall several times, or make minor modifications to computer settings to help troubleshoot etc.
Thank you!
CJW