Following a gap of nearly two years,
Cerilica [4] !Vantage has been updated from version 1.01 to version 1.10 closely followed by 1.10a.
This so called 'stability' release has had, and indeed still does have, a few teething troubles. In particular, users running on
RISC OS [5] Select 4.29 - 4.36 will not be able to run the current version.
So what's new in this long awaited 'upgrade'?...
Firstly, and perhaps most intrusively, there's an extended security system, as well as the existing Cerilikey protection, each installation has to be registered within 14 days of installation. This involves running the program and copying the generated key into an email, Cerilica then send back the registration code which has to be pasted in to the registration window.
In terms of useful features, the update Alpha sprite blending to control transparency. SVG export also makes an appearance producing files compatible with
Microsoft Internet Explorer and Adobe SVG viewer, however the
RISC OS [6] SVG plugin does not display them correctly.
The most interesting and perhaps of most use, especially to anyone connected with the design world is the Photoshop .psd format export. This should allow those of us who deal with commercial printers to have a wider choice as .psd is considered by many to be a standard.
As regards !Vantage 'stability', it's a bit worrying when, regarding the bug that prompted the swift update to version 1.10a, the programmer posts to the product mailing list that 'there was a silly typo ... I must learn not to change minor things AFTER testing'. Controlled release cycles, regression testing anyone? Perhaps that goes some way to explain some of the problems during the somewhat chequered history of this product!
Currently !Vantage is not 32bit friendly, althogh a beta version does exist. A 32bit compatible version is due some time soon, hopefully before 2005!
