UPDATE: 15/1/2024
It turns out you can in fact open newer files (4.0) from an older Blender version where the addon still works, meaning I can continue to work on this. I will still not provide any estimates on when the newer version will be finished, and the balance decisions may be reverted if needed, but I'll try to continue the progress of the new version and release it as soon as I find it good enough for release.
Hello, it's your boy, NeverLoseGuy, or just Guy, and I have an update to share for you. No, it's not a sneak peak this time, and I'll tell you why in a second.
In the past few months there has been ups and downs in my creative brain juice, which is one of the reasons why it's taking so long to even update all the aesthetics of the units and command centers, let alone the fact that there are 40 models if not more that I have been working on in order to bring it up to an acceptable standard I have in mind (which that in of itself is also a problem but that's not important).
^ That's just me struggling with models and textures.
But more importantly, there seems to be an external issue that is beyond my control. Recently Blender has been updated to 4.0, and in doing so, it ended up removing a certain properties that made W3D plugin made for older versions unusable. Because I already made work and edits in the newer version, going back to 3.9 or earlier could pose a risk of corrupting the files (as if the aforementioned removed properties isn't an obvious clue already).
As you can see, one of the developers working on the plugin pretty much said so himself, and as a further proof, I have tried using it myself but to no success. Given there seems to be no indication of when it's going to be updated, this pretty much makes it impossible for me to progress with the visual overhaul, thus halting the progress of the new update entirely.
But...
It's also important to take into consideration that the internal version (I will call it 1.6 for now) brings quite a number of changes both to the visuals and the gameplay itself, namely how things will be much faster in pacing, and new features that may significantly impact the way the mod is played out. From what I recall, the current version is relatively stable (for the most part) and as such, the idea of updating this mod to 1.6 isn't (or rather, shouldn't) be a decision to be taken lightly. For a long time, I had this feeling in my mind that it's an obligation to update this mod to 1.6, but given what I said earlier, it's not really a feasible mindset to have. Maybe it's just an excuse to not work on this for a unforeseeable future, but nevertheless, the saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" may still hold weight in this context.
Feel free to leave what you think about all this, but one thing is clear: this mod will not likely be updated for a while, at least until the plugin is updated to Blender 4.0, the main roadblock that prevents this mod from being updated.
