News

A new update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released, fixing some UI issues and restoring the use to dynamic values for some optional parameters.

Fixes and improvements:

• Fixes not being able to dynamically vary optional parameters like additional point scaling and additional point rotation.
• Fixes tabbing between min/max value fields for newly enabled dynamic varied parameters.

You can download and update from free from within Vectoraster, or download the new version via the product page linked below. If you've bought the app via the Apple App Store the update should be rolling out there as well today.

With the 8.5.10 update released today Vectoraster is now also available to purchase on the macOS App Store:

The application will still be available to purchase outside of the App Store as well and this change should not affect the functionality of the application. Future updates will continue to be released both the App Store and non-App Store version, so you'll get the same functionality regardless of version. It will however not be possible to convert an App Store purchase to a license for the non-App Store version or the other way around.

A small update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. This update fixes some minor compatibility issues with macOS 14 and addresses some sanbox file-access related issues some users have been experiencing.

You can download and update from free from withing Vectoraster or download the new version via the product page linked below.

A pair of small updates have now been released for SketchFighter 4000 Alpha, this update mainly fixes some issues where the game would run too fast on some new macs with high or variable refresh rate displays.

• Fix for the game running too fast on high refresh rate monitors on M1/M2 macs
• Minimum OS requirement is now macOS 10.13. Users with older macOS versions can just keep using 1.2.6 this is just related to fixing the issue above on newer macs.

A new update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. This update modernizes some underlying file reading and writing code that should improve future (and current) compatibility and might get around some tricky permission issues. Along with this there are a couple of other little fixes and improvements.

Changes and improvements

• Fix generation of innermost spiral raster points when generating line rasters.
• New setting to automatically convert background color colorspace to match point color (for CMYK exports for example).
• Add clipping rect to exported SVGs.
• Changes to export file writing and saving APIs.
• Changes to file reading handling when importing source files APIs.

I've been working for a while on a new parametric graphic design project that I'm calling Paragraphic. It will aim to combine some of the key ideas and strengths of Vectoraster and Patternodes, but wrapped in a slightly more traditional UI, and crucially available cross-platfrom for both Windows, macOS and linux.

It's still very early in the development, but as a sort of experiment I've decided to start a development blog of sorts for the project. Inspired in part by some indie-game developers it'll feature progress reports on the development and some discussions about the thinking behind the structure of the app.

If you want to learn more about this project or and follow the development going forward, click below. You can also sign up already if you're interested in helping out as a tester during development, or just getting a notification when the app is eventually released.

A new update to the puzzle game Vlobs, has now been released just in time for the holidays. While the previous updates only targeted the mobil version, this one now brings all platforms up to date on both mobile and desktop, Apple App store and Steam.

Changes and improvements:

• Improved bomb and block clearing special effects.
• Added leaderboard row for the player ranked one step above your score, so you know what to beat to advance.
• Added billions score number format separator and adjusted leaderboard layout to fit higher scores (Wow Player#503!).
• Fixed issue with global leaderboard ranking not being shown correctly unless you were in the top 20.
• Separated fancy graphics setting into individual antialiasing, shadow quality, post-processing and particle settings.
• Continuing a game with the current best score will no longer show the new best score effect each time.
• Fix combo tiles sometimes being incorrectly rotated when continuing a game on a rotated level.
• Game now defaults to windowed mode instead of full screen on first launch.

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

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

A new small update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. This is another small update that fixes some UI issues in recent versions and macOS updates.

A new update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. This is a smaller update that primarily fixes some issues on macOS 14.

Changes and improvements

• Fix issue with collapsed bottom UI panels still showing on macOS 14.
• Improved load times for files with large source images.
• Removed deprecated EPS export format on macOS 14 and later (still available on earlier macOS versions).

A new update of Patternodes 3 has been released. This update is a maintenance release fixing some issues and making smaller adjustments.

Changes and fixes:

• Some improvements to connection socket snapping and highlighting of suitable sockets.
• Fix a rare issue where it would be impossible to add connections to specific valid node sockets.
• You can now no longer connect node graphics connections to inputs/outputs in the same node, avoiding the infinite recursion error you'd get before when trying to do this.
• Fixed nodes created with drag and drop files would not align properly to grid snap.
• Removed deprecated EPS export format option that is no longer supported on macOS 14 and later (still available on older versions).

It appears that Apple has removed system support for the EPS format in macOS 14 Sonoma, which means that sadly importing or exporting EPS files in Vectoraster and Patternodes will no longer work on macOS 14.

This was unexpected, so unfortunately current versions of Vectoraster and Patternodes will not give you any warning about this and may behave erratically trying to load/save EPS data as they relied on these system features. It's unlikely EPS format support will come back at this time, so if you're still working with EPS files, now is a good time to switch over to SVG or PDF.

A new update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. This adds some initial CMYK color support and interface optimizations along with a couple of bug fixes.

Changes and improvements

• Added support for CMYK and other non-rgb color models in static colors (varying dynamic point colors will still convert to RGB in rendering and exports). CMYK colors are only supported in PDF exports.
• Improved interface performance.
• Improved support and handling of pasting graphics as source image layers.

• Fixed bug where exporting to CSV or SVG would result in the preview going blank.
• Fix issue with new source images pasted in getting the wrong initial size.
• Fix issue with importing vector graphics with very large sizes causing memory issues.

A new update of Patternodes 3 has been released. This update is a maintenance release fixing some issues and making smaller adjustments.

Changes and fixes:

• Fix issue with importing vector graphics with very large sizes causing memory issues.
• Fix Group Arrange node not arranging elements with change mode set to a selection instead of all elements.
• Fix incorrect text size in Element Text nodes imported from Patternodes 2 files.
• Improved handling of file access errors on import.
• Added Lost Minds Mastodon link to Help menu.

Sadly, due to wide ranging compatibility issues on Android we're removing the Android version of Vlobs from sale in the Google Play store for now. It's been a lot of work from launch to get the game running on all different Android devices and OS versions, and still we've just enountered more new issues. So until we're sure we can offer a quality version on Android we're removing the game from sale on Google play. It might come back in the future, it might not.

This will not affect any other platforms, and people who have already bought the game on Android will still be able to play it and get future updates.

A new update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. This adds some new functionality with support for complex unicode characters in text rasters (like SF symbols and ligatures) and some new point index options where you can chose to vary raster parameters based on the row or columns in the raster pattern for some new interesting effects.

• Added new point Row, Column or Row+Column index source options, letting you base parameters on the row or column of the point.
• Added support for complex multi-byte unicode characters like SF symbols and ligatures in text rasters.
• Added Lost Minds Mastodon link to Help menu.
• Added some more helpful information to error messages when failing to load files.

• Fix issue with importing vector graphics with very large sizes causing memory issues.

Another smaller update to the puzzle game Vlobs, this time just an update to the mobile versions as it primarily fixes some device compatibility and orientation bugs.

Changes and improvements:

• Mobile version compatibility changes.
• Fix risk of getting stuck in wrong board rotation when saving/loading game in different device orientations.
• Improved bomb special effect with new screen shake.
• Performance improvements.

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

Get Vlobs on the App Store (iOS, macOS)
Get Vlobs on Steam (windows and linux)
Get Vlobs on Google Play (android)

We now have a Mastodon account, so if you're using that platform please follow for news and updates on our software.

After the big 1.1 update of Vlobs here's a follow up with some smaller fixes and improvements.

Changes and improvements:

• Improved antialiasing to make the game less blurry on low resolutions.
• Improved adaptive camera zoom on smaller phone screens.
• Show a hint message about placing vlobs if you tap the Next panel.
• Fixes a bug some tile graphics could get out of sync with board rotation.
• Fixes a possible bug with locks count getting out of sync.
• Fixes vsync framerate issues on some platforms.

Also, after the introduction of the global leaderboards in v 1.1 I'm completely blown away by the scores some of you have been getting in the game. It's far beyond what I expected, and I guess goes to show some of you really have enjoyed the game (maybe a little too much). Play in moderation kids!

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)
Get Vlobs on Steam (windows and linux)
Get Vlobs on Google Play (android)

A new update of Patternodes 3 has been released. This update adds a number of smaller improvements and fixes across a number of areas.

Changes and improvements:

• The Group Arrange node can now sort elements based on size.
• Improved precision hovering and clicking connections in the node editor.
• Dropped/imported graphics are now get their physical size set automatically in the new node.
• Improved error messages on file access permission issues when importing files.

• Correctly handle complex unicode-pair characters (like SF symbols) in the Value Substring node.
• Fix incorrect size issue on scaled animated svg exports.
• Fix incorrect physical size shown for imported vector graphics.
• Fix animated artboard background being static in animated svg exports.
• Fix Edit menu Copy artboard bitmap copying vector graphics.
• Remove incorrect file permission dialogue when exporting animated svg file.

Another smaller patch of Vectoraster 8 has now been released with some fixes and smaller changes, this time relating to file imports.

Fixes and improvements

• Fixes issue with incorrect physical sizes when importing image source layers.
• Better error messages on file access permission issues when importing files.