Hello all, what with the summer holidays and all that I've decided I'm bored enough to get cracking on a new version on my icon editor, Artex. If you're not sure what I'm talking about then shame on you, and check it out at my games.

Now, the big news is that Artex2 is going to be about three times as fast as the original Artex, it's going to have support for full alpha mapping (in fact, this is already implemented in an early build, together with proper antialiasing combined with opacity on a transparent backdrop, a feature that was always prominently missing from the original Artex), and more importantly we're going to adress all the issues that pissed you off and that we missed in the original Artex. Now is the time for feedback because development is still in a very early stage, so get those suggestions in!

Also, because of Pjotr's rampant world of warcraft addiction, he won't be taking on a programming role, but he'll help out in the visual department. How big his part in the project will be is up to him.

And I'm happy to say that I've enlisted the help of an incredibly knowledgeable wiseguy who goes by the somewhat corny alias of "decowboy" on the GMC. He's just finished writing a script for me in game maker to save icons with a proper alpha mask, and this is big for him because he usually sneers at people like me who use such lowly vessels for my creations as game maker.

If anyone gives a damn I'll keep you guys all posted on the proceedings and the development of Artex2. Note that Artex2 is the development title, something of a codename, and that the eventual name may change.