I know this post will echo annoyances from all directions.
I am perfectly fine working with Scrivener 3. I want to state that outright. Maybe less happy with the iOS version, but I do not spend a lot of time there.
However, I am a human being and looking at the future feels inevitable.
I am aware I cannot be given undisclosed information just because, yet I was curious to know how the development is going and if we should expect an incremental update or an overall refreshment of the application.
Would this include changes and optimization on the interface (given the aboundant featurs already present)?
I feel guilty opening theis thread so go easy on me, and forgive me for my self-endulging curioiusties.
You can always ask questions and yours are certainly justified. I am convinced that many people would be interested in the answers. And now let me try to be a clairvoyant. “We’re not talking about future updates,” will be L&L’s answer. Well, it’s their app. They can do whatever they want. We may or may not buy it. I say that in a relaxed manner. It’s as simple as that. It doesn’t really matter what we want either. They just do, implement what they think is right. Sometimes that works well, sometimes not so much.
About the only answer you will be able to find is in the announcement asking for beta testers for the new app (https://www.literatureandlatte.com/blog/something-new-beta-testers-needed?category=58):
When we eventually start thinking about Scrivener 4,…
… Scrivener will continue to be the powerhouse writing app it’s always been. It’s just being joined by a new member in our family of writing apps.
I doubt Scrivener 4 is still in pre-production but I can always be incorrect.
My feeling is that the application has been in development for quite a while, while the new application (not sure the name can be said for the non-beta users) had been in a parallel development —as in “what if” stage.
I guess my question for the developers is if the overall interface is satisfactory for them or they would like to tweak it.
I can imagine there is a lot of work and thinking in the syncing and my gut feeling is that the L&L developers would like to move away from DropBox.
I am so proud of my clairvoyant abilities. L&L does not talk about “future product plans”. Unless, of course, it’s about a new app. Then they are happy to make an exception. Which is less about commenting and more about marketing. After all, we should know in advance what we are supposed to buy later. That’s perfectly fine. But I would feel strange if I had to argue so obviously contradictorily for my employer. No offense, but something to think about.
It’s difficult to solicit beta testers for a new application without admitting that a new application exists. But the information available about that application is hardly at the level of specificity that the OP is requesting.
If it was just about finding beta testers, then more “mysterious” would have been even better: Hey, we’ll be launching something new before the end of 2024. We won’t say what it’s about. But do you want to test it now?
I’m not trying to push anyone, just pointing out that … But, it’s all good. Most people are looking forward to the new app. Meanwhile, even I am.
If a developer posted a message which just said “We’re developing a new app for which we are looking for beta testers, but we’re not revealing what sort of app it is”, I for one wouldn’t put myself forward as I’m not going to waste my time beta testing an app for which I have no use. And from the developer’s point of view they risk ending up with a lot of beta testers on the list who actually have no interest in the app and so do nothing to help.
