overall processing speed significantly improved due to caching of groups
nice new vector cut options
smooth stroke options!
polar coordinates filter
improved external app link: now pdf can be used as well to link up other applications. Works really well with InkScape, for example: select a vector layer in Photoline, send it to InkScape, edit (even add layers, etc), and save. The original layer is automatically updated in Photoline.
You can also use other bitmap editors as a plugin: GIMP can be hooked up to Photoline, and Krita as well. Or stand-alone tools like Fluid Mask, effectively turning almost any external application that can deal with bitmaps or a pdf into a plugin.
and many, many small workflow enhancements that make working in Photoline that much more of a pleasure. For example, ctrl-clicking layers and channels to load up selections, improved alignment options, Windows 8 touch gestures improvements, vector editing tools improvements, and so on.
Also improved speed when working with many pages of connected text boxes (yes, Photoline does pages too!)
If you have access to the devs, please encourage them to take a break from the usual development and spend some time working on both the visual UI, Website and branding. Once done, target Steam as a distribution platform.
The reason I say this is that if this really is a good app, then its not reaching the kind of market it deserves. A little bit of marketing via website design, simple but catchy logo, and a streamlined visual interface (icons, colors, borders…ect) + the right platform (steam), will net it a ton of new users and development funds. I dont think PhotoLine will ever really take off without at least as visual update.
On the GUI side things are quite configurable now: the interface can be set to just about any “darkness” setting you wish, and the icons can also be changed from colourful ones with shadows, to monochrome ones without shadows. A lot of work was done in the past year to accommodate different visual preferences - in fact, its GUI is more configurable than most other image editors at this point. Icon size is configurable in three sizes too.
All the icons are stored in a Photoline file - they are already vector based. Those could be easily replaced by users. Just needs one or two motivated people.
As for the website and marketing: yes, you are absolutely correct. The devs have no real interest in marketing or web page design - there are only these two brothers who work on the product, and they predominantly are interested in making Photoline a good image editor, and listen well to the requests and bug reports of their users.
I have to admit that since two years I have been mentioning and pushing Photoline in different forums and places on the web (with some success, I feel) - but the website is indeed hurting Photoline in the eyes of (semi)professional designers. That said, the product can speak for itself, as long as it is given a fair chance. Speaking for myself, I almost left pl32.com the first time I visited the Photoline website. The website completely warps any expectation that Photoline is even worth a look initially. I did give it a chance, though, I have not looked back.
I have not had to touch Photoshop for my own personal and professional work in the last almost two years - only for file conversions (not counting that I also have to teach Photoshop as an instructor, though). And this is coming from someone who breathed and lived Photoshop since version 3.5!
On the other hand, I noticed a distinct lack of enthusiasm from people after their encounter with Photoline’s website - it really does hurt their credibility and trustworthiness. The average human (especially humans calling themselves “a creative”) tend to judge a book by its cover - more true in this day and age then ever before, in my opinion, with quite short attention spans ruling most people’s lives.
I think the devs are quite happy with their current user base - they have noting to prove to themselves or to the outside world, as far as I can tell. They seem very pragmatic, and level headed. I have to say I have experienced only a few cases in all my experience as a software user where the devs support and develop their product so consistently while listening to their users’ requests and criticisms.
So, in the end Photoline may indeed not be reaching the audience it deserves. Certainly, every time I see one of those “best Photoshop alternatives” lists appear on the web, there is a 99 out of a 100% chance Photoline will not even be listed. Most creatives have no idea that Photoline exists.
A second challenge is the lack of tutorials and articles online. Photoline is pretty advanced in its scope and depth in regards to image editing, about on par with Photoshop. Some things better, other things identical, and yet some things not as good. It means Photoline is not very accessible to beginning users: Photoshop is also kinda daunting to start off with for novices, but at least a wealth of learning materials exists to choose from. That is certainly not the case with Photoline. Even Gimp has books. When I check the web for Photoline related learning materials perhaps two pages come up - as if we are transported back into the beginning of the web! There is literally almost nothing - zilch.
Thirdly, some conventions and terminology are slightly different in Photoline. Nothing too serious - for example, it took me ten minutes to find the “levels” adjustment layer (in Photoline it is called a “Histogram Correction”.
However, if you are an accomplished image editor looking for a professional alternative for Photoshop, you will find Photoline quite astonishingly powerful. I mean, even 32bpc multi-layered EXR files can be opened in it (not even possible in Photoshop).
By the way, the latest Photoline betas introduced some really useful new features as well (like a grid creator for guides of which the positions are based on FORMULAS!). Anyone who registers and purchases Photoline can gain access to the beta version, and give suggestions and request new features and/or improvements.
It truly looks interesting, but the one thing I can’t understand is why they wouldn’t roll out a Linux version. Both Win and OSX have some excellent image processing softwares, while Linux is is still behind. From a technical perspective, I would assume (not knowing anything about the codebase, of course) that a Linux version ought to be viable, as OSX is *nix-based as well. Of course, desktop Linux still is no major player, but with the Steam support aso. that seems to be slowly changing. I predict that whoever grabs a foothold here, is looking at a bright future.
That very question was posed to the two devs in 2010 - at the time their answer was that, with development and supporting the Windows and Mac version, also building and supporting those builds for Linux would take up too much time.
Photoline does work well with Wine, though - even the devs support that unofficially, and they do take action when something breaks in Wine. There are a number of Linux users on the PL forum who do use it on their Linux platforms.
But the Steam idea is quite interesting. I asked the devs today whether a Linux version is still a no-go for them.