A message specifically for MaraGame24 & friends

Since you seem to be keeping a close eye on these forums, I assume you’ll eventually read this too.

So, hello.

If you’ve been following the beta releases here, then you’ve also seen exactly how much work goes into Winstep. You know this isn’t a big company with a development team. It’s one guy - me - sitting in front of a computer, writing software you apparently find interesting enough to keep cracking.

I have a three-year-old son to support. Winstep is how I make my living.

So I’m asking you - and your friends - to stop for a moment and think about what you’re actually doing.

Every hour I spend studying cracks, changing the protection system, and writing anti-crack code is an hour I’m not spending fixing bugs or adding new features. You’re not hurting a corporation. You’re taking time away from a single developer who would much rather be improving the software for everyone.

And let’s be honest: you’re clearly following Winstep closely. If you’re following these forums closely enough to pick up new beta builds, then you know how much work goes into each release. You know exactly who is doing that work. You know this isn’t faceless software. You know there’s a human being on the other side of the screen.

And since you’re apparently reading the forums, here’s a little piece of Winstep trivia you probably didn’t know:

Ever wondered why the speaking clock supports so many languages but still doesn’t have a Russian voice? Because every cracker I’ve personally had to deal with over the years has been Russian.

So no Russian clock voice has been my own tiny way of pushing back. You can crack and redistribute what I create, but you can’t create the next version of Winstep yourselves. For that, you still need me.

My legitimate Russian users, on the other hand, have always been very welcome here - one of them will probably show up shortly to give me hell for that missing clock voice. lol

Anyway, MaraGame24, if you’re reading this, I’m not going to pretend I can tell you what to do.

I’m simply asking you to think about who is sitting on the other side of the screen, what you’re forcing me to spend my time doing instead of improving the software you clearly have an interest in, and whether this is really something you want your life to be about.

Ok I see why I got confused. Self-contained. I did not read that properly. Gotcha!

For the ridiculous price you sell it at, hacking it is almost like stealing from the homeless, despicable. Then again if even half of what people say about Putin is true, there is a possibility the people who are hacking it are starving. The other side is if that also is true, they wouldn't be putting it out into the world for anyone to download they'd only be giving to other starving people. I am not going into Politics either it is too messy and ugly.

@JORGE - Last question to make my life easier please on this. If they are going to be colored, a SINGLE color also needs to be picked so they can can color it any way they wish. PLEASE pick one. Because they are self contained there also only needs to be one of each of the nine and can be stacked behind/in front, as they will all be the same size and stretched anyway depending on the user's resolution. I do not mind what color you consider neutral that is the best because you would know doing all the experimentation.

If you want users to use the **Tint** colorization method, use a fairly light neutral gray - perhaps around RGB 180, 180, 180 (`#B4B4B4`) - as the main color, with lighter and darker grays for highlights, shadows and other detailing. Pure middle gray may make some selected colors appear unnecessarily dark.

If you would rather avoid gray base themes and design them specifically for **Hue Shift** - probably the better method for themes intended from the outset to be colorized - try a salmon color such as RGB 250, 128, 114 (`#FA8072`).

Use a subtle gradient for the Shelf body and tabs, as a completely solid color will look too flat. Hue Shift preserves differences in brightness, so gradients and shading will give the recolored Shelf more depth.

Keep the same basic salmon hue throughout, varying primarily the brightness:

* Top highlight: `#FFB0A5`
* Main color: `#FA8072`
* Bottom shadow: `#C95F55`

Avoid gradients between distinctly different hues, as some target colors may then shift unevenly. Of the handful of templates, one could be deliberately flat, but the others should use subtle gradients or shading.

404 — the file or directory was not found.
The resource you are looking for may have been deleted, the name changed, or temporarily unavailable.
I can't download the latest beta version 26.9 (Beta 11)

Wouldn't it be better to have a download section on the website where you could download everything—including version 26.6 and the betas—without having to spend half an hour searching the forum website?

Because v26.9 has been officially released, so the betas were deleted. Manually check for updates or wait for the prompt that a new version is available. The Update Manager checks once every 24 hours.

You already do.

As for the betas, no, it would not.

If I wanted them public I would have released them as public betas via the Winstep Update Manager.

Got it! Thank you very much!

Thanks, winstep.
Even if it's a little hidden.

I think what I find disconcerting is that either forum users are giving a BETA copy to their friends or members are the actual hackers. Neither is particularly good.


___________________________________________________________________________

@JORGE

Thanks for the info please see your email and send me one kindly I am not asking you to do it for me that defeats the purpose but if I have one physical/digital image example in the dimensions/orientation/shape - I can do the 9 exact to specifications because I know you need to insert them in an update. I hope that makes me easier to understand

For my part, I want to assure you that I don't share beta versions with anyone. I use them only for myself. And I don't have any friends here. I really appreciate Jorge's work!

@JORGE
There aren't any in the Dock things ideas I cannot do shape-wise, other than a couple of them - I am unsure if doing a rounded corner with the opposite being straight, like bookends (round-straight, straight-round) may not work, unless you intend to do the same bookends thing with the tabs/buttons? I am happy to do them if this your new addition?

Andrew, please ignore the DockThings example with a separate button-like area around each icon. I do not particularly like that treatment and WorkShelf cannot reproduce it anyway.

The DockThings link was only intended as inspiration for the general appearance of simple Shelf bodies and tabs. I already described the variations we would need:

* A rectangular Shelf body, and a variation with rounded corners.
* Different tab shapes.
* Tabs connected to or separated from the Shelf body.
* Tabs overlapping or not overlapping the Shelf body.

There is no need for special “bookend” graphics, per-icon buttons, exact reproductions of those examples or any new functionality. Just create a few SIMPLE variations using those combinations and your own judgement.

1st draft - yes I am moderately quick once I begin to get a little more confident. I am sorry f I seemed unsure. Here is a Salmon one first off you asked for. I can lose the soft bottom gradient if you wish it super plain. I hope I am on the right track. I separated them and joined them and they're all separate (but can easily be joined.

If I am on the right track, then I will go hard with 9 variations. I will scale them to the Dark Tech Workshelf size.