0.9.0 and STKP Update
2 years ago
Delays
So there has obviously been some significant delays in updates recently, I've been taking some time to handle a lot of IRL stuff and issues out recently that have just hampered my ability to spend as much time as I would like on STKP. Whilst the project pays for itself through user donations and Patreon users month to month, I still have to get the bills paid so that eats into the development time for STKP. In addition to some recent health issues and having to move house in the next few months it's been a busy old time! In any case 0.9.0 development has continued albeit at a slower pace. So here is a quick update on the planned larger changes.
STKPDataStream
Data stream that was tested last year is coming back. This is a realtime socket based traffic system, previous versions only included STKP data, this newest iteration will get all network flight data from the server too. So what does this mean? Well, currently SimToolkitPro downloads data regularly from the STKP servers for all network traffic, the repeated processing of this can cause lag spikes and slowdown although only when there is larger datasets to go through. This new system will fully remove the need for this system meaning all flight data will be realtime and only the data that has changed.
Ticket System
An entirely custom and fully integrated ticket system will ship with 0.9.0 making handling support requests much much easier. This will initially be accessible through your account and the SimToolkitPro website with app integration planned shortly after.
There will be a number of current staff that will have access to this system to provide support and I may look expand the team as necessary once its released!
Youtube Streaming Support
Currently the streaming bot only supports Twitch as a streaming provider, I'm bringing support for Youtube to the 0.9.0 release. This will be subject to change as the Youtube API is changing a lot at the moment with new streaming features being added.
Simulator Support Improvements
With plenty of new addons releasing every week its a challenge to make sure all features are supported to there will be a fresh look at making sure all major features are supported on all addons that I can. The new ticket system will be the best place to report issues and compatability problems!
Sunsetting of some features.
The growth over the past 2 and half years has introduce a large number of features, some of these aren't used enough to warrant the development upkeep so through the 0.9.x cycle a number of features may be cut out to streamline the app and improve performance and maintainability of the codebase, which handily leads into the next point;
Further Stability and Optimisation
There are plans to improve the codebase greatly over the remainder of this year to make it more user friendly. I would also like to transition over to Typescript ideally but that is a long term goal currently.
I hope everyone is well, and I will hopefully be back soon with more details on 0.9.0!
Dan <3