7.4 notes + thoughts on what's next

Hey y'all,

I updated Bitsy to version 7.4 the other day! (I just haven't got around to posting a blog post about it until now.)

✨ Update 7.4  ✨

Here's a list of the changes:

• new find tool!
• @seansleblanc contributed improved stability of persistent data storage
• bugfix: duplicating dialog fixed
• bugfix: duplicating palettes fixed
• bugfix: stop dialog tool from always opening at start

The most visible change is the new find tool, which now lets you search for rooms, color palettes, and dialog, in addition to sprites, tiles, etc.

And here's a GIF of it in action!

This is a totally re-written version of the tool, so there are likely some bugs and usability issues! If you see anything you think is broken or could be improved, please let me know in the comments below.  💙 ✨

✨ What's next for Bitsy?  ✨

So you may have noticed I'm back to making updates to Bitsy after a bit of a hiatus! There's this latest update, and the week before there was one with a few smaller tweaks and fixes. I definitely won't be updating Bitsy weekly, and I don't think I can promise any specific schedule, but I am planning / hoping to make them more often than I have been. You can also expect the updates to generally be on the scale of these last two. All in all, this is a bit of a change from how I've worked on Bitsy in the recent past, when I tended to release roughly one or two fairly big updates a year. There are a couple of main reasons for the change in approach: 1) you may know I had a baby recently, so this kind of development fits more easily into my life right now, and 2) I'm hoping more frequent, smaller changes will make it easier for me to adjust to feedback as I go.  ☺️

So that's the plan! (At least for now!)

I expect I'll do a follow up update relatively soon to fix whatever bugs folks find in the new find tool. After that, I'm hoping to improve Bitsy's mobile layout, so it's easier to use on phones. After that, I'm not entirely sure! 😅