Edit September 28 – Version 3.1.13 was released for Android over the weekend. I didn’t really announce it as it wasn’t too major, below is the changelog for it.

Changelog 3.1.13

• (Android) Updated FFMpeg library to fix certain Samsung (and other devices) failure to export videos near 100%.
• (Android) Fixed a very rare and odd glitch where some devices (for me, an old Kindle) would have stickfigures with filters disappear or look wrong during export.

Planned for this week is to release 3.1.14 to both IOS and Android.

On Android, this will change nothing except the build target of Android when compiling (Google is soon enacting a policy where app updates need to be built with Android API level 28 (and next year, level 29 which will change the way SN can store files unfortunately, we’ll deal with that in 2021)). While I do not believe this will break anything, I want to change nothing but this and release an update, to limit the number of possibilities if things go wrong.

On IOS, I will be updating the RoboVM framework used to compile for IOS, which supposedly fixes a rare app-freezing glitch.

Both will not be noticeable changes, but are necessary. Once 3.1.14 is released, that should be it until 3.2.0, where more exciting things are planned.

Edit September 18 – Version 3.1.12 is out for IOS users! Yes, IOS users get an update first! I mean, it’s because they’re the only platform with the bug but that’s besides the point.

Changelog 3.1.12

• (IOS) Fixes frame thumbnail scrollbar issue.

To keep versions the same, Android will be receiving an update soon.

Edit September 7 – Another quick patch! Look, just…programming is hard.

Changelog 3.1.11

• (Android) Fixes faster playback affecting some users.
• (September 12) This update is now released for IOS users!

Edit September 6 – A quick patch was just uploaded for Android users (still 3.1.9). (May take a few minutes to appear.)

Changelog 3.1.10

• (Android) Fixes the blank Open/Import windows that was affecting Android 10+ users.

It was a storage permission issue with new Android versions, I’ve reverted the build targets so essentially the app should no longer NEED to abide by the new storage restrictions.

What?

That means, if you were affected by this issue, if you update the app it should be fixed. If it’s not, try a combination of uninstalling Stick Nodes (Free/Pro), restarting your device, and reinstalling the app. This may be necessary to get the system to recognize the new permissions.

Time for new updates again! Fun fact, this update was supposed to come out relatively quickly after the last release of 3.1.8 (mainly to fix the wonky text issues on some buttons).

I ended up having a good idea (I hate that) and, well, over a month later – here we are.

Changelog 3.1.9

• Lag improvements, especially during playback with tweening. Improved some math calculations.
• Added an option to cache single-frame Movieclips as an image. This will make rendering these Movieclips very quick and reduce lag. It is best to use this for backgrounds or high-node objects, placed inside of a Movieclip.
• Added an option to have the “Trace Frame” background in Movieclip Editing mode increment as you add frames to your Movieclip, allowing you to easily animate something while using your project frames as a reference.
• Added visual indicators to the timeline to show where the currently-selected frame is (to the left or to the right). Related, when deleting a frame, the timeline no longer snaps to that frame. These two changes should make visually manipulating frames in the timeline easier.
• Can now paste text copied from outside the app into textfields (using the “Paste” button, under the textarea in the menu).
• Max camera wobble increased (shouts out to vamrack).
• Fixed visual text layout issues.

And guess what, this new version comes with a brand new Ain’t Don’t Nobody Read™ video update by yours truly. ASMR edition!

This video covers Movieclips in general, as they are very powerful objects that help with memory usage and, as of this update, lag – when used properly. So check that out. Smash like. Subscribe. Buy Stick Nodes Pro.

What is caching?

The video covers this, but here’s a quick tl;dw summary.

This update has a new checkbox for non-animated Movieclips, “Cache”. Checking this box will essentially turn the movieclip into an image. It will lose quality, look blurry, and basically no longer be vector-based art (sharp, crisp) but rather a rasterized bitmap.

Well cool, but…what does this mean?

It means it will render quicker. A lot quicker.

As the video shows, caching a very complex background (5,000+ nodes) increased playback speed 300% and completely eliminated lag.

Here’s what you need to do to take full advantage of Movieclips:

• 1) Place any high-node object into a Movieclip. This includes backgrounds, weapons, cars, etc…
• 2) Add this Movieclip to your project’s frames as a single-frame (non-animated) Movieclip object. (This alone reduces memory consumption throughout your project.)
• 3) Check the “Cache” checkbox on these Movieclips – this will make them render much, much faster.
• (Note: Movieclips will not export at this lower quality, it is just a temporary visual side effect that will only be seen in-app.)

And there you have it. Hopefully the final update in this 3.1.0 – 3.1.9 saga…mainly because I’m out of subversion numbers until we break into 3.2.0…which I have saved for, something special – just wait.