Is there something we need to know?
Hey.
Let me start with this PrusaSlicer commit graph ( https://github.com/prusa3d/PrusaSlicer/graphs/commit-activity):
At the beginning of the year the development process seemed fine, and since june - stalled. Any insights anyone? Nextruder, XL's toolchanger? What scares me is the fact that no dev is assigned to the maintaining the slicer any more. Even if there's R&D happening for other priorities, lack of a single dev at main piece of software is odd, it can indicate no devs available. And no devs available at Prusa? What?!
The blog updates about PrusaXL are waaaaaay infrequent and don't deliver that sense of excitement for upcoming features, but instead they deliver some updates with few-to-none details and an excuse, that everything is hard and Josef cannot speak how many difficulties he(they) had/has/will have to overcome. Difficulties are understandable, lack of details - not so much.
However, absence of R&D showcases, communications in general, questionable quality of PrusaXL (showcased hefty of bad layers at ERRF), a uncertainty based blog updates (btw, chip shortage is gone), stopped development, all of that is... well, worrying.
Does anybody know some info?
Thanks
RE: Is there something we need to know?
well I can tell you what I know, all of my MK3's are still working great, and Slicer version 2.4.2 is still the best software version available.
RE: Is there something we need to know?
Development is going on in a private repository, and with 2.6.0 release all commits will be pushed to GitHub.
Pretty standard practice, you want your flagship features to be incorporated in all other slicers after you, not before.
RE:
Pretty standard practice, you want your flagship features to be incorporated in all other slicers after you, not before.
Yeah, I have same hopes. What still doesn't fit there is that 2.5.0 bugs aren't being closed/pushed.
RE: Is there something we need to know?
Also chip shortage is not gone and was forecast to last well into 2024-2025. The company I work for makes electronics and those dates are based on internal estimates. That was before China dropped its zero covid policy, now they have its going to cause another wave of shortages as their workers get hit with massive downtime in all likelihood. So you can extend those dates out further now.
RE: Is there something we need to know?
Also chip shortage is not gone and was forecast to last well into 2024-2025. The company I work for makes electronics and those dates are based on internal estimates. That was before China dropped its zero covid policy, now they have its going to cause another wave of shortages as their workers get hit with massive downtime in all likelihood. So you can extend those dates out further now.
Thanks for info, that's interesting. I see no queues in automotive market in my country any more, down from 10 months to 2.
RE: Is there something we need to know?
Yeah, that actually somewhat adds up to my fears. As prior 2.5 prusa was actively developed and earned your personal "best slicer" award. When they were active they made something great. And that has stopped.
RE: Is there something we need to know?
I just watched this video - it doesn't look like "nothing" ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
PrusaSlicer 2.6 Organic Supports preview and interview with Diamond Kinetics - PRUSA LIVE #47
(the link jumps directly to the chapter about prusa slicer 2.6)
RE: Is there something we need to know?
@guddl
I will answer with this, your looking at this from a new user or hobbyist POV. Many basic features needed for more serious or professional users are being ignored by the development team in lieu of, toys for new users, so that they might increase sales. Examples A text tool, warping text, fuzzy skins, measuring tools, slapping the unfinished Arachne perimeter generator in as the default, changing for no good reason the Seam algorithm, to one far worse then the one before it. just to name a few, and I could go on.
Instead of fixing some very very long standing issues with the software, and I'm not going to type them here because you can read all about them on the forums and at Github.
As new users start learning they will start realizing, hey I want to do this very basic thing (like add a draft shield to individual objects or expecting your brims to print with your sequentially printed objects, or not having the object change positions if you don't click the exact center of a gizmo handle just right, etc etc,..) but it's to late, the software is going down hill, and many of the problems I just mentioned are Years and years old, but have never been addressed. They more they just slap new crap together the harder it gets to correct the problems. It's very likely they never will be.
RE: Is there something we need to know?
Yes, I am new to the business of 3D printing and I see it more from a hobbyist's point of view.
Everyone likes new software features. Whether they should be the default settings in the version is another matter.
But I think users would complain just as much if there were no new features.
Furthermore, there are users who go deeper into the business and care about software and firmware versions (and post in forums 😉 ).
But I think a large part are also those who buy a printer - install the software and just print. They don't care about the software version.
Since Prusa Slicer is not the only one on the market and you are dissatisfied, why don't you use another one?
RE: Is there something we need to know?
Because even with all the outstanding issues its still the best there is (currently). For some of those outstanding long issues theres the fork of PS called Super Slicer, which unfortunately appears to be stagnant and dead. But even that has its own issues.
RE: Is there something we need to know?
Thanks for the video link, @guddi, the latest build version I picked up was tr 29 of November, which means that the work is done, but now in a more closed and proprietary manner. The latter has it's own pros and cons, but the good sign that it's being developed.