Hello everybody! I hope you've been enjoying the Redux beta of AArcade. Today's article is to update you on how Redux's development is progressing, and to get you all ready for AArcade coming out of early access at the end of this year. So start things off, I'll give a very brief explanation of how AArcade has evolved up to this point.
But first I want to let everybody know about the AArcade Discord where you can talk to me & other AArcade users live at: https://discord.gg/8cxtuKY
AArcade's Purpose
The core purpose of AArcade is to launch your applications & turn your desktop into a 3D world, without hindering your normal use of Windows. Fulfilling this unique purpose is the reason why AArcade exists. And I'm happy to say, even after being around for all these years, it's still filling the niche very nicely.
Evolution of AArcade
AArcade has been around for about 7 years. The old prototype, called Legacy version, was already starting to show its age even before its release. It was limited to a very old web browser which failed to work well even on sites like YouTube, and it looked like the issues were just gonna get worse as the years continue to pass by.
AArcade is something its users have used for years, and will continue to use for years to come. So in order to ensure that AArcade continues to be capable of providing us with the modern experiences we desire, a *complete* & more versatile design overhaul of the prototype was required. So the old prototype was preserved as the Legacy version, while this completely overhauled build is called the new Redux version.
Redux is like AArcade 2.0. It aims to do the exact same thing as Legacy version, but do it better, be easier to use, and have less bugs. It also is backward compatible with our Legacy stuff, so we don't lose the arcades we've already been using for years.
And that's where Redux development is at right now. I'm in the process of making the Redux version have all the same features as Legacy version. In addition, Redux also has a lot of other highly requested improvements that were just not possible before in the old Legacy version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3XfJcfeD4Q
Redux Development Progress
Instead of just summarizing recent development, I'll break down the progress into 5 major feature categories. Redux is trying to do everything Legacy does in these feature categories. Redux is also able to add great improvements to nearly all of these feature categories that were not possible before in Legacy's design, along with many bug fixes. Keep in mind that certain features might only become useful when they reach 100%. Also, some features need to be implemented after other features that they depend on.
Source Engine Sandbox
Progress (90%)
- Compatible Source engine games are automatically detected & mounted, if they are installed.
- Searchable prop & item library w/ a complete set of on-screen transform tools.
- Unlimited amount of save instances per-map.
- Backward compatible with (most) Legacy saves & content.
- Screenshots work as teleport destinations.
- On-screen menu of fun & useful cheats/commands.
- Quick Load allows you to return to the most recent instance & location that you used on a map without having to choose from a menu.
- Firstperson or thirdperson mode w/ customizable camera options.
Pending
- Can't add MDL files as props from the Windows File Browse dialogue yet.
- Can't bulk "Detect All Models" to scan for new MDL files as props yet.
- Can't detect new workshop subscriptions during runtime yet.
- Can't bulk "Detect All Maps" to scan for new BSP files during runtime yet.
- Can't create & publish new workshop shares from Redux yet.
- Redux needs to be improved to properly use the older "gen 1" legacy workshop content.
- Nodes (which are physical clusters of objects) don't work yet.
3D Desktop
Progress (90%)
- Versatile shortcut library to easily manage, search, spawn, or launch shortcuts even for people with huge collections.
- Launches any shortcut that Windows can launch.
- Launches Steam games, Origin games, Oculus Home games, everything.
- Soft-pause to reduce performance impact w/o a long delay upon returning to AArcade.
- Borderless window mode for continued regular use of your Windows operating system.
- Open-with style of apps are supported w/ customizable launch option syntax.
Pending
- Doesn't have hard-pause yet, where AArcade optimizes performance impact but also causes a moderate delay when returning to AArcade. (This pause mode is *required* to launch other Source 1 engine games.)
- Can't launch other Source 1 engine games yet, like L4D2 or Counter-Strike: Source.
- Can't launch AArcade once & leave it open all day yet because it has to be closed to launch other Source 1 engine games still.
- The menus for creating new open-with apps & customizing them haven't been made yet. Only open-with apps that were imported from Legacy work so far.
- The instructions on how to create addon JavaScript meta scrapers are not included yet.
Embedded Frameworks
Progress (80%)
- Steam Client WebHelper to provide a modern Chromium web browsing experience directly on the in-game screens with a web browser maintained by Valve themselves as part of the Steamworks SDK. Works perfectly on nearly all sites, but does not support WebGL or Adobe Flash.
- Awesomium framework to power AArcade's interactive menus & user interface that often gets layered on top of a web tab or other embedded framework.
- Libretro framework to allow the many compatible homebrew, app, & emulator cores to render directly to the in-game screens. Complete with a comprehensive set of dynamic menus to allow access to the many features of Libretro.
- All embeded frameworks are no longer bound to in-game framerate. That means no more sound stuttering, even if you're getting a bad framerate in the Source engine map itself.
- You can now have as many in-game web tabs open as you want, you aren't limited to just 2 anymore. The framerate that your in-game web tabs render at is distributed among how ever many you have open, to provide the best experience.
Pending
- Most of the Libretro features & menus are disabled for now, because they depend on the menus for creating & customizing open-with apps. Only the FFMPEG Libretro core is currently enabled.
- There isn't a button for switching between the Steam Client WebHelper & the Awesomium framework for displaying web pages. The reason we want a button to switch is because the Awesomium browser, while very outdated & not very good, does support Flash, while the Steam Client WebHelper browser does not.
- There's no on-screen UI for cores such as the FFMPEG core to adjust volume or skip around in a local video file yet.
- The in-game web tabs need a handful of multiplayer enhancements, such as syncing & visualizing everybody's pointer positions together and the option to sync URL changes in a web tab, if desired.
Multiplayer
Progress (30%)
- A prototype of Redux's metaverse was already written. It was the first work that I did on Redux.
- Metaverse mode isn't very different from singleplayer mode. It's fast to implement.
Pending
- The prototype of Redux's metaverse needs to be updated & implemented.
- Redux's workshop support needs to be completed before multiplayer mode can be finished.
- Hosting your singleplayer arcades in multiplayer mode will be first.
- Persistent servers will come soon after that.
Virtual Reality
Progress (40%)
- HMD render fix w/ hand tracking exists, created by Marulu & HLVR team. (THIS IS HUGE!!)
- VR friendly in-world UI system.
Pending
- The VR render fix is not yet fully implemented into Redux.
- There is no teleport system yet.
- No hand-interaction with physics objects yet.
- The selection pointer is not bound to your hand yet, still uses what you're looking at.
- Unknown if the VR fix will hinder AArcade's ability to launch VR games.
Release Date
I'm working to have AArcade Redux parody all of Legacy's features by Christmas, at which time AArcade will come out of Early Access some time around December 25, 2017. I'll be able to give a more exact release date as the end of the year approaches. (You never know if development might go faster than expected.)
AArcade is something its users have used for years, and will continue to use for years to come. Redux allows for development tasks ranging from minor maintenance, all the way to major improvements, such as additional embedded frameworks, to be added with ease when ever the need may arise. Thus, insuring that we will never be stuck out in the cold like we were with Legacy's aging web browser.
After AArcade comes out of early access, that's when my development effort will shift towards supporting the community with organization & events. We will also be building our community multiplayer server together and watch the melting pot of personalities take physical shape right before our eyes, just as we saw with Legacy mode's community server.
There's no need to wait until December to jump in and start watching your own personal corner of the metaverse take shape around you though! The latest Redux beta is always available in early access & already has most of the features to fulfill AArcade's core purpose of launching your applications & turning your desktop into a 3D world, without hindering your normal use of Windows!
And remember, if AArcade can't do it yet, screw AArcade! Just do it normally in Windows! AArcade's not the boss of you!
Until next time, I'll see you in the metaverse. Talk to me live in the AArcade discord https://discord.gg/8cxtuKY or look me up on Twitch during a Wednesday http://www.twitch.tv/AnarchyArcade . Party on!