When I am working on C2 I don’t follow any “task list” and I don’t have any fixed priorities. Mostly I work on a feature and when I reach the point where I can’t continue or finish the feature because some other feature is not yet implemented, I go working on that one. Or maybe get some new ideas how to expand or improve something I am working on and then, well, I spend more time working on it. All this means that amount of work and time which goes into a feature of C2 is often completely unpredictable. Any (self imposed) deadline is just some made up date. I was hoping to put out a beta this summer, but that, unfortunately, won’t happen. I still wish to put out a beta but I can’t say when will that be.

In my last post I mentioned a new implementation of the transformation tool. It is not complete because some other connected features are not yet implemented. This is what I talked about at the start of this post – many features are connected and you can’t finish them until everything is in. So I was jumping from feature to feature until I reached one I am working on now – a new vector engine for smooth shapes. When I was looking into ways to implement the panel border I decided I need a new vector solution as Comicado´s splines are not well suited for creating smooth curved shapes. Those who edited Comicado splines know that curves are constructed from quite a lot of “controling” points. This provides flexibility when drawing detailed lines but it is hard to construct completely smooth longer curves and cumbersome to edit them. So C2 will feature a much better solution for that kind of curves. Here is a screenshot with some shapes produced with the new engine.

You can see that curves are constructed from rather small number of controlling points, which make them easier to build and edit. It is very easy to mix curves and straight lines –  each curve is actually just a rounded corner within a polygon shell of controlling points. E.g. – rectangle with rounded corners become ellipse. There are other cool features of this vector engine (and not everything is yet implemented) like shapes groups. See that thinking balloon? This s actually a group of many circles which together form one compound shape.

The new vector engine should provide ability for creating shapes and curves where smooth and “correct” look is required. The old splines engine is still better for creating shapes of arbitrary curvature. Does that mean C2 will feature both? I haven’t really decided yet 100% what to do in that regard but I do have an idea. Stay tuned for more C2 news in future.