If anyone is wondering why the pace of updates has dropped off in recent weeks to LaserTank Java, it's because of an email I received about it, suggesting that the current code base may be too complex for its own good. I think there's a valid point to be made... so with that in mind I'm currently mulling over what to do with the project.
I definitely wish to continue its development, but what I'm not sure about is whether I should just start over, release one last update for the Java version with the bug fixes made thus far THEN start over, or do something else. One of the problems I'm running into with a rewrite is how to handle both a traditional GUI and playing sound in a cross-platform way. I've found several solutions, but none of them are ideal from my perspective:
1. Rewrite in C++, using wxWidgets library and wxAudio addon
Advantages: reasonably portable
Disadvantages: no 64-bit support
2. Rewrite in Python 2.x with pygame library
Advantages: very portable, powerful yet expressive language, 64-bit support, built-in GUI support with Tkinter
Disadvantages: Need to learn language, No easy way to handle GUI dialogs and other similar things with pygame
3. Rewrite in Python 3.x (with library? having trouble finding one)
Advantages: very portable, powerful yet expressive language, 64-bit support, built-in GUI support with Tkinter
Disadvantages: Need to learn language, no sound playback solution
I definitely wish to continue its development, but what I'm not sure about is whether I should just start over, release one last update for the Java version with the bug fixes made thus far THEN start over, or do something else. One of the problems I'm running into with a rewrite is how to handle both a traditional GUI and playing sound in a cross-platform way. I've found several solutions, but none of them are ideal from my perspective:
1. Rewrite in C++, using wxWidgets library and wxAudio addon
Advantages: reasonably portable
Disadvantages: no 64-bit support
2. Rewrite in Python 2.x with pygame library
Advantages: very portable, powerful yet expressive language, 64-bit support, built-in GUI support with Tkinter
Disadvantages: Need to learn language, No easy way to handle GUI dialogs and other similar things with pygame
3. Rewrite in Python 3.x (with library? having trouble finding one)
Advantages: very portable, powerful yet expressive language, 64-bit support, built-in GUI support with Tkinter
Disadvantages: Need to learn language, no sound playback solution