I get emails from people almost every day asking me to make a version for Mac, some of whom have also offered cash to support it. I really appreciate the idea of this petition/fundraiser, but I have to say that it probably won't speed anything up in terms of getting it ported to Mac. The limiting factor here isn't really money, it's my own free time (or lack thereof). The development of the plugin has occured almost entirely in the few spare hours I get between working my day job and doing other essential tasks.
Another factor is the code itself. I didn't know anything about coding VSTs when I started this thing back in August or whenever it was, and apart from 2 or 3 very basic test plugins I made in the beginning, Glitch is basically the first VST I've ever made. I am a pretty fast learner, but I don't mind admitting that the code itself is a total mess. It works pretty well overall but it's unoptimised and messy - the result of a person jumping in at the deep end on a subject he knew nothing about. So I would not wish it on anyone to try and decipher my mess trying to port it to another OS.
Currently I have two main goals for Glitch:
1) Rewrite the guts of the current version to be more efficient and modular, creating properly structured classes to handle all the various functions. Basically coding it the way it should have been done from the beginning, if I'd had a better understanding of the whole process. I will also add some useful features that I've overlooked, a few new effect types, as well as a few useability suggestions people have made. This version will probably be released as v1.5. I'm hoping to get it out of beta very quickly since I've hit most of the major bugs/stumbling points already (though I'm sure, as with all things, that there'll be a whole new series of bugs to deal with!).
2) Create "Glitch 2.0" which I am aiming to be a much more powerful system based on the same basic concept. There will still be a sequencer which triggers the effects, but I plan to allow people to create their own new effects in a fashion somewhat similar to Reaktor or Max/MSP, by combining together simple modules which perform specific tasks. You might, for example, create a new effect by combining a retrigger module and a bitcrusher, then add an lfo module to automate the parameters for you, then add a filter and distortion unit on top of the whole thing, etc, etc. I'm sure you all get the idea (and sorry for the tease)
So, right now I am in the early stages of goal 1 - creating Glitch 1.5. I'm not sure how long it'll take me but so far it's going quite well. I should make good overall progress simply because I've already created the core logic of the plugin. Now it's just a matter of refactoring the code itself.
When 1.5 is done and I really feel good and comfortable with the code, like it wouldn't be a complete nightmare for someone else to try and work through it, THEN I will put more effort into finding a solution for a Mac version. Until then save your money and petitioning energy
As for Glitch 2.0, that one is anyone's guess. I think I want to hold off on starting it until I've further explored the Mac version issue. Suffice to say, it won't be happening anytime soon.
Anyway, that's it I guess. Just wanted to let people know where things are at.
Later.
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