MD2 is now open-source!

[redi jedi]

Why hello there... I may have to give this a spin again

[fed0r]

Yep, me too! Would be nice to see shader iterations or some kind of back buffers, or just to implement a feature request. Good thing is - I didn't forget my C skills.
(Although real hackers like Martin do it the hard way; coding in constrained environments is kind of a challenge for these guys, i think.)
I'm back from the dead, by the way. Have been banned for a couple of years, happens every time

[Nitorami]

Yes, nicely put, coding in a "restrained environment" is a challenge to me. But, this is largely owed to the fact that I joined this community rather late, when the normal features of milkdrop had already been exploited to a large degree, and I wanted to make more than just another clone of existing effects. I would however not object to having an environment with larger possibilities.

I thought about getting involved in milkdrop3 development myself, but C is not my native language, and there are just too many different issues I would have familiarize myself with, wasapi, ns-eel, DirectX etc. Plus, I am really quite pessimistic about the number and engagement of contributors who would actively use such an environment.

[AuralArchitect]

Martin: your presets ROCK!!!

I thought about getting involved in milkdrop3 development myself, but C is not my native language, and there are just too many different issues I would have familiarize myself with, wasapi, ns-eel, DirectX etc. Plus, I am really quite pessimistic about the number and engagement of contributors who would actively use such an environment.

That's a shame… all of it… But particularly that you (nor anybody else it seems!) will be working on any further development of MD. It also seems that the authoring of presets has all but come to a stop.

And now with the death of Winamp the future of MilkDrop presets looks bleaker than ever!

I have to give you major props for the presets you authored- they have topped my list of favs since I first saw them- they really stand out not only in their uniqueness but also in their aesthetic appeal. It's really amazing how you were able to find ways of expanding a "constricted environment" and essentially reinvent what was possible with MilkDrop.
I offer you my sincerest thanks for sharing your creations with the world- they have been the backdrop for many hours of great times with friends (I ended up adding a bunch of my own images into the textures folder and editing a bunch of presets to call those files instead- most of them being of us or our artwork- with some truly amazing/amusing results that have been tattooed into our memories).
I may be wrong about whether you are actually responsible for the innovation, if not you certainly perfected it- but your presets seemed to be the first (and certainly the best) at mastering the use of color & shaders in such a way that perfectly mimics liquid, reflections on a liquid/fluid surface & realistic metallic/iridescent coloring.

A few years ago I ended up switching to using Mac OS X as my primary OS for a variety of reasons- and the main thing I miss & primary reason for creating Windows virtual machines is MilkDrop. I'm well aware of ProjectM but I have never been able to get it to build successfully with the ability to properly use shaders or access 'textures'- without which it is useless to me. I haven't given up yet- but I haven't tried in a while. I just upgraded my OS for the first time since I switched over, so I think it's time I made another attempt. Someone was able to successfully build ProjectM for Mac this summer and explained how he was able to accomplish it- he just didn't include the components necessary for enabling shaders. So hopefully I can utilize his work as a starting point to getting a working binary that will play your presets...

It makes me sad to see this whole scene sort of withering away… I wish I could have been more active, and that I had the knowledge & ability to further develop MD on my own! Sometimes one talented, enthusiastic & active person is all it takes to be the catalyst of inspiration for others.
I tried to get into software development way back when I was in college- but I just found it impossibly difficult & practically incomprehensible, and one of my teachers kindly advised me to find another field to pursue. It seems my brain just doesn't really work that way!