News

Another smaller patch of Vectoraster 8 has now been released with some bugfixes and smaller changes.

Fixes and improvements

• Point size is now renamed Line length for simple line points.
• Properly deactivate color well and close the color picker when hiding an active color parameter.
• Fixes the preview sometimes not reverting correctly back to the current time after exporting an animation.
• Fixes an issue where the source layers list would not display correctly after reordering sources.
• Fixes some precision issues in applied Multiscale when using the slider instead of the scale field.
• Sparkle version checking framework updated.

A new update of Patternodes 3 has been released. This new version adds new string connections and some new associated nodes, letting you connect and work with strings and text in a lot of new ways.

Changes and improvements:

• String value connections allow you to now connect text string values between nodes and parameters just like values.
• New Value String node to define and combine linked strings.
• New Value Substring node to extract parts of strings.
• The Data Table node can now also output strings for table cells.
• New editor context menu item to center the nodes in the view, and an option in the settings to always do this on file load.
• Element Text node can now use both size modes and tracking adjustment for any length text for better consistency with dynamic text input.
• Updates some components for future compatibility, raising minimum required macOS version to 10.15.

• Fixes a bug in the Table data editor panel when toggling the first row headers option while editing a table cell.
• Stroke width is now included in path bounds calculations when set, even if stroke opacity is 0.

A smaller patch of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. This updates some legacy components for future compatibility and fixes some issues introduced in the 8.5.0 update.

Changes and improvements

• Updates components for future compatibility, raising minimum required macOS version to 10.15.
• Fixes a bug where animation exports would not correctly apply a scaled export size.
• Fixes using the animation export panel size slider while the height or width field is active.

A new bigger update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. The new version brings support for multiple custom point shapes, something that has been requested for a long time. So now you can use a set of different imported shapes or images for the points, and use them in sequence, at random or based on your sources. Along with this the backend has also been rebuilt a little to make rendering and generation more responsive along with a bunch of other improvements and fixes.

Vectoraster 8.5.0 Changes and improvements

• Multiple custom shape support use different imported point shapes based on sources, index or at random.
• Improved generation/rendering with better performance, responsiveness and stability.
• Source opacity point removal with a new alpha threshold parameter. Makes it easy to remove points regardless of size where the source image is transparent.
• Animated GIF import support for Video source layers.
• Point fill opacity can now be applied to bitmap custom shapes as well.

• Fixed a bug with Multi-scale where clicking Apply button while typing in a value would not apply the scale.
• Fixed an issue with quicktime video exports dropping frames if the encoder was busy.
• Fixed a bug where animation export panel size fields would show the wrong values.
• Fixed a bug where some settings would reset when re-opening the settings panel.

Another update of Patternodes 3. This new version adds a new node that helps making periodic alternating value animations much easier to set up along with some other fixes and improvements.

Changes and improvements:

• New Time Period value node making it easier to set up periodic alternating value animations.
• Group Apply Function node now has an index offset parameter when unsing index input.
• Increased the max number of supported variables in the Math node to 10.
• Added a warning to GIF animation exports explaining some format framerate limitations.

• Fixed an issue with quicktime video exports dropping frames if the encoder was busy.
• Fixed a crash when adding a new node index node directly connected to a group apply function node.

Another small update of Vectoraster 8 has been released today. This update fixes a couple of issues with bitmap based format exports and makes the animation timeline a little easier to work with.

• Fixes a bug with jpg export pixel aspect.
• Fixes an export dialogue bug whith bitmap format height/width would not be displayed correctly.
• Clicking in the animation timeline now deselects any selected value field, so you can use spacebar to play/pause.

Another couple of small updates have now been released for Vlobs, on the App store for iOS and macOS and the steam Windows and Linux versions.

Changes and improvements:
Version 1.0.4

• Progress is now saved if you quit during a game so you can continue later.
• Save game window size if it's been resized and restore next time game is launched.
• Properly center window mode game window when using multiple displays.
• Fix some shadows on mobile at later level far camera distances.

• Better connection select spotlight size based on game zoom level.
• Better game window size based on monitor resolution when switching to windowed mode.
• Added little name labels to the special power icons to help remember what they do.
• Added a dialogue asking once if you want to turn off fancy graphics if the game is running very slowly.
• Fixes a graphical glitch with moving blocks on some devices.
• Fixes a bug with the game over screen highscore display after restart.
• Fixes a bug with the time bar max value after restart.

We're also working on an Android release, and a version is currently in testing. There are however some issues we've yet to resolve, so it's uncertain if/when when it will be released. If you're interested in testing the Android version you can contact us and you'll be invited to test the current version.

Get Vlobs on the App Store (iOS, macOS) or Get Vlobs on Steam (windows and linux)

Since the original release of Vlobs we've now sent out two smaller patches, the first 1.0.1 just for iOS and now the second 1.0.2 for iOS and desktop platforms. The first brought a big improvement for mobile players in the form of portrait mode support, and the second now fixes some other small issues.

Changes and improvements:

• Portrait support on mobile!
• Prevent board clicks while the board is animating to avoid misclicks.
• Removed gray vlob color as it was a little too similar to the black.
• Better Settings and Credits menu scaling on narrow screen mobile devices.
• Fix bug that could sometimes cause incorrect game over on the last vlob placed, even if it should have saved you.

For those of you who've wondered we're also working on an Android release, and a version is currently in testing. There are however some issues we've yet to resolve, so no promises on when it will be released.

Get Vlobs on the App Store (iOS, macOS) or Get Vlobs on Steam (windows and linux)

A small update of Vectoraster 8 has been released today. This update is just a bug fix to a bundle validation issue that caused an error message when trying to start v8.4.9 on some systems.

The full 1.0 version of the casual puzzle game Vlobs has now been released!

You can get it all kinds of platforms using the buttons below, or click read more to get more information.

Get Vlobs on the App Store (iOS, macOS) or Get Vlobs on Steam (windows and linux) or Get Vlobs on Itch.io (windows, macOS and linux)

A new update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. This update updates SVG support, fixes some bugs and adds a nice new convenience feature to re-center source layers when updating the document size.

8.4.9 Changes and improvements

• Improved SVG image mode imports/rendering (Upgrade to IJSVG 3.0 framework).
• Added an option to re-center centered source layers on document size change, making it easier to resize a document to a new source image.
• Added link to user Discord channel in Help menu.

• Fixed being able to select the source measurement channel parent item in the parameter sources menu and not just the items.
• Removed a tooltip in the sources menu that was interfering with selecting items in submenus.

Another smaller update of Patternodes 3. The new version fixes a couple of issues in the new expression variable parsing introduced in 3.1.2 along with a couple of other smaller fixes and improvements.

Fixes and improvements:

• Added an option to Pivot point node to ignore stoke when automatically aligning the pivot, useful for stroked elements that will later be scaled.
• Fixed an offset issue with pivot-offset elements reprated with the Radial repeater node.
• Fixes the Math node variable detection picking up decimal separators in expressions as variable names.
• Updated and corrected the Math node reference documentation.
• Fixed dark mode selection type icons.

Another update of Patternodes 3 has been released. The this new version adds some imrpovements to SVG imports and rendering and adds some long awaited flexibility to the Math node variable parameters. These now adapt automatically to the variable count and names you use in the expression.

New features and improvements:

• Math Node now has support for up to 8 variable parameters that are automatically named and shown based on the expression.
• Improved SVG image mode imports/rendering (Upgrade to IJSVG 3.0 framework).

• Fixed bug where typing in new values into an animated value field would revert the value displayed in the field.
• Fixed bug with undo/redo in expression parameter fields.
• Fixed a bug with some rare SVG path commands parsing.

Another early access build with is now available on itch.io for playtesting. Try it out for free if you're into casual puzzle games and let us know what you think!

The game is available for windows, macOS and linux.

• Added a new Fancy effects toggle in the settings to turn off post processing and reduce shadow quality on low-end machines.
• Added post processing glow and anti-aliasing (when Fancy effects is on).
• Tweaked pop/glow animations and effects with more particles and glow (when Fancy effects is on).
• New menu game start transition.
• More performance improvements.

• Fix taskbar and window app icon on Windows.
• Fixed offset Game Over Highscore animation on wide screen resolutions.
• Fix shadows disappearing on later levels where the camera is further away.
• Fix to accidental buttons clicks in the game over menu trying to place a last vlob on time up.

Try the test version on Itch.io or Wishlist on Steam

A new testing build with is now available on itch.io for playtesting. Try it out for free if you're into casual puzzle games and let us know what you think!

The game is available for windows, macOS and linux.

Try the test version on Itch.io or Wishlist on Steam

Today another update of Patternodes 3 has been released. This new version makes some changes to the way colors are handled, with better support for non-rgb colors (like CMYK and Grayscale), but mainly it fixes a lot of big and small bugs.

New features and improvements:

• Better color model support. Color parameters can now be set and stored in different colorspaces/models (like Grayscale and CMYK) instead of always being converted to RGB and losing precision. This will also mean some exported colors will look different compared to older versions, so there is an option added in the settings to keep the old conversion to get the same output.
• Made it easier to find the Value Time function node by also placing it in a new Animation category in the add node menu.
• You can now use middle-mouse button for panning in the preview just like in the node editor view.
• Updated manual.
• Added link to user Discord channel in the Help menu.

• Some fixes and improvements to the Color node numeric color mode based on the new color model features.
• Fixed dragging a selection box outside of the node editor not scrolling it correctly.
• Fixed the cursor not resetting properly after middle-mouse button panning of the node editor view.
• Fixed issue where right-clicking a second time after dragging out a new connection would leave a broken connection with a loose end.
• Fixed issue where it was possible to duplicate the Artboart node, causing issues since there should only be one and it can't be deleted.
• Stability improvement and better error messages if something goes wrong during file exports.
• Stability improvement and better error messages when trying to save files that have invalid connections or nodes.

A new update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. This update makes a number of small improvements and fixes a lot of issues related to converting/importing more complex projects from Vectoraster 7.

8.4.8 Changes and improvements

• Optimized Randomization distortion.
• Improved generation and rendering progress updates for long processes.
• Updated manual and bundled sample files.
• Improved conversion of legacy source measurement exponent parameters when importing Vectoraster 7 files.

• Fixes a bug with dynamic distortion strength parameters in rasters with raster offset.
• Fixes initial loading preview image incorrect aspect for zoomed in rasters.
• Fixes source color/light filterers not being applied when the document legacy blur setting was enabled.
• Fixes an issue with converting some dynamic distrortion strength settings from legacy Vectoraster 7 files.
• Fixes an issue with importing legacy Vectoraster 7 files with invalid incremental step parameters.
• Fixes an issue with importing use source color mix parameters from legacy Vectoraster 7 files.
• Fixes an issue with converting separate Y spacing in alternating grid legacy Vectoraster 7 files.

A new testing build with a some new mechanics and fixes is now available on itch.io for playtesting. Try it out if you're into casual puzzle games and let us know what you think!

The game is available for windows, macOS and linux and will hopefully be ready for a full 1.0 release at som point in 2023. But you can try it out for free right now via itch.io and let us know what you think!

Some users have started a Discord channel for users of Vectoraster and Patternodes.

So if you're interested in discussing the apps, looking for help or want to connect with other users with check it out: Vectoraster and Patternodes discord

You can now try out an early access version of our latest little side project, Vlobs, a casual puzzle game based on our (very) old game Blobs. This new re-imagining started out as a project to try out the game engine Godot and while it's far from finished it's now enought to show all of you.

The game is available for windows, macOS and linux and will hopefully be ready for a full 1.0 release at som point in 2023. But you can try it out for free right now via itch.io and let us know what you think!