Post Sun Mar 03, 2019 10:57 am

ISBoxer 2 Development Update - March 2019

ISBoxer 2 has hit some internal milestones since our last Development Update post (2 months and a few days ago). Shit got real, and now shit's getting HANDS-ON, and pretty soon shit's getting out of Alpha and into Beta. :D

So what's the deal then, where are we at now? It's done, right?
Ahhh, to be done. :lol:

Let's take a step back. In 2009, ISBoxer began as a bit of a hodge-podge of pieces with which to build things -- there was no standard configuration or Quick Setup Wizard or any of that. But having that groundwork of building blocks made it possible for us to imagine where to go next. Some pieces were originally conceived of by our users. Indeed, the Quick Setup Wizard was designed specifcally to set up a standardized way to configure World of Warcraft and similarly-played games based on ideas from some of our users, like Zanthor.

So for direct comparison to ISBoxer 1-world, ISBoxer 2 is there at the 2009 "we've got all these pieces now" level. That is a bit of an understatement, as ISBoxer 2's pieces are leaps and bounds ahead of where ISBoxer 1 was at the time and we still have ISBoxer 1, but that's the equivalent of where we're at, and we can look at that period of time for some clues about where we're going next. Most of the things people will be doing with ISBoxer 2 are possible to have, right this very moment, but will need to be designed and built -- either by myself, or other users and developers -- before most users will have a shot at those features.

DEVELOPERS? BUT I DONT WANT TO CODE! JUST GIBS ME ISBOXER 2 AND MAKE IT DO EVERYTHING I WANT!
We know. :) First things, first!

So, most people will not need to "develop" anything. Much like WoW players download Addons for the game, ISBoxer 2 users can download Modules for ISBoxer 2. You don't code or develop anything to use a downloaded WoW Addon, and you won't need to code or develop anything to use a downloaded ISBoxer 2 Module. As with WoW Addons that have Settings screens, ISBoxer 2 Modules will have Settings.
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But, someone had to create those WoW Addons for you to download, and likewise, someone will have to create those ISBoxer 2 Modules for you to download. We're getting there! :)

Tinkerers wanted!
We are especially interested in helping anyone learn to make ISBoxer 2 Modules that would like to do so. Our first tutorial on getting started with ISBoxer 2 Module development is available right now! Yay!

For people who don't want to learn to make Modules, but might be interested in tinkering with part that are available through the GUI in the same way as tinkering with ISBoxer 1 Mapped Keys and Actions and such, we have our first tutorial on that as well!
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Near-future Roadmap
The next things for me will be to correct bugs and known issues, add new types of controls that can be used to configure Modules and Tasks, add new Task Types to match the "Actions" available in ISBoxer 1, and of course building out the first official ISBoxer 2 Modules. This will bring about the initial feature set that you might expect -- broadcasting mode, standard combat hotkeys, party mechanics like Follow/Assist, WINDOW LAYOUTS, and so on.

Meanwhile, ISBoxer 2 Users and Tinkerers will be integral as well. As folks start going through the tutorials and coming up with ideas, I will be here to make sure you can realize those ideas. User questions/requests/feedback/etc will be of great importance in prioritizing what to build or document next!

ISBoxer 2 Alpha availability
ISBoxer 2 Alpha is available RIGHT NOW via the ISBoxer Beta group. See http://isboxer.com/wiki/ISBoxer_Beta for instructions to join! If you've joined the Beta group, please see me on ISBoxer Discord to access the ISBoxer 2 section on Discord!