CodeWalker Desktop - April Update
This version massively speeds up the user experience, fixes a number of bugs, and sets the stage for some incredible upcoming features.
Bugs
C++ parser
The parser choking on some issues in the Quake source code. Fixed. And then we found more and fixed those, too. C, C++, and C# should be fairly bulletproof now.
Linux file and folder browser
We didn't have a native one. Fixed. We're using the same file browser code under the hood for all platforms, which should greatly simplify a lot of boring bugs.
Large chunks of "data" like an embedded structure, were causing crashes. Fixed, and we'll likely be adding a "data" object soon that will encapsulate data like that.
C++ Classification
C++ code was incorrectly being classified. I mean, classes were not being correctly identified. Mostly fixed. This is an ongoing situation we will soon have a more general solution for, that hopefully will catch any loose ends.
Features
Caching system
You now cache files by default, into your local CodeWalkerFiles folder. This massively accelerates the time it takes to load a graph in 3D, after the first time you look at code. We'll be expanding on this feature going forward, for our upcoming code repo visualization, and the cache can be leveraged by all of the upcoming satellite apps as well!
Vast Navigation Improvements
This was a beast before. But we've had some great feedback and made some pretty solid changes. So we're not done yet, but we did add precision RTS style navigation to the 3D and 2D versions, which should make it MUCH easier to move around. This is very much a work in progress. In terms of tech levels, I'd say we're still closer to advanced Terran at the moment, with a goal of becoming Protoss soon.
In-app Screenshots
We've added support for in-app screenshots in Steam. For a primarily visual product, I noticed there are no screenshots. Well there's a reason for that. The in-app screenshot features saves them to its own folder, and Steam only allows screenshots from its own overlay. And the overlay wasn't active. Turns out that's because CodeWalker is classified as an application, and not a game. We have now activated the Steam Community feature in the app, allowing you to take screenshots. As of this writing, it is untested, because we had to enable it just to get it to the point where we could post this, then it will activate. Kind of a catch-22. But we're hoping it works, and if it doesn't we'll just try again, until we get it. The machine gods are a bit like Dormammu in that way.
The Future:
CodeWalker in augmented reality, running on a Quest 3
We don't have a final roadmap yet, but will soon support SteamVR, Oculus Desktop, Oculus Quest, Pico, iOS, and Android platforms. These will likely require the use of the desktop app to do the initial parsing.
Upcoming collaboration tools:
We will soon allow you to collaborate with other users on your team or in the community, in real time, in the app. More on that as well. But our plan is to make CodeWalker a vital part of your development workflow by adding features unlike anything the software industry has ever seen. Set small goals, they say.