Redshark Update - anyone interested?

M

mai_kingdra

Aspiring Trainer
Member
(former) Redshark Users,

As Redshark's creator, I want to apologize for the lack of program updates over the past several months. There have been several factors involved with this delay, but they mainly relate to a major change in my professional job status and minorly due to new & upgraded computer issues.

Anyway...I'm glad to be working on Redshark again...and I plan to release the XY version by the end of April. Currently, due to technical software development challenges, I plan to only release a Windows version, not a Mac platform version. This may change in the future, but for now, that's where things are.

However, before I sink a lot of time into it, I'm trying to figure out if there is any interest or value in Redshark.

If you're not familiar with Redshark, it's a free computer program that allows players to practice and improve their Pokemon TCG skills by creating and playtesting decks. Redshark can be played in a solitaire mode (single or dual decks), or against an opponent over the internet (using Hamachi or similar VPN app) or local computer network.

"Is there any interest in the program?"
"Is it helpful to TCG players?"
"Are cardscans a must?"

Feel free to reply to this post, PM me, or email me at [email protected] .

Thank you very much for your feedback, it's much appreciated.


Sincerely,

Mike - mai_kingdra
 
I would be very interested in a Redshark update! I'm getting quite fed up with PlayTCG's problems, and a new Pokemon simulator would be awesome! I forget, does Redshark have built in card mechanics like TCGO? Or do you have to do everything manually like PlayTCG?

Also, to avoid users spamming the thread with "I want Redshark back" posts, without any other insightful discussion, might I suggest making a designated post that users "like" to let you know that they're interested in seeing a Redshark update?
 
There's nothing Redshark offers that current programs don't do 100x better. The only way you could salvage the program is if you completely rewrote it from the ground up with brand new features (which would take you years based on how advanced current programs are). But that probably wouldn't be worth your time. If I were you I would just let the project go. Back when we were working with you I tried to get you to change it, but you didn't want to listen to anything I said and now the program is so behind it can't be salvaged. Redshark had a good run and you should be proud of that, but its days are long over.
 
Still, WPM, it provides an Offline alternative(once you downloaded the scans, of course) for people that want to practice without needing internet connection, because PlayTCG needs to have a connection even to play test. And also, the simplicity of the program and the fact that many commands are implemented on it makes it, at least for me, the best simulator except for PTCGO, of course.
 
This isn't the mid-2000s when people didn't always have Internet. Everyone has constant access to the Internet now. That one feature is hardly a reason for people to use Redshark over TCGOne, PTCGO, and PlayTCG, especially when they have tons more features.
 
Well, it's not to be rude or anything(especially to the Webmaster XD), but I've seen more positive feedback than bad reviews, TBH. To be fair, if mai_kingdra wants to keep updating Redshark, we are not to stop him, he can do it as freely as he wants, really. Will people keep downloading it? Probably not as much as Pre-Plasma Blast when the program was last updated, but there certainly will be a lot of people that prefer that simplicity or just because the like it.
 
He asked if he thinks it's worth it to update the program. I'm just giving my opinion based on what's out there now vs. the time commitment he would have to put into Redshark to make it a program people want to use. Very, very few people would use it even if he did update it, so I'm just saying it's most likely not worth his time. That's what he was asking in his post, that's my opinion. TCGOne alone gets a crazy amount of activity and it hasn't even been promoted by anyone. Even if Redshark did get promoted here or elsewhere, people would be like "Uhh, why would we use this out-of-date program that is lacking in so many essential features?" Like I said, if he wants to update it, it'll probably take him years to match the features currently available in other programs. And by the time he gets there (if he chooses to go down that path), those programs will have even MORE features. Redshark lost the race a long time ago because it refused to progress forward and now it's hopelessly behind the times. I love Redshark and think it had a very good run, but like I said, its days are long over. Don't disillusion mai_kingdra into putting all of his time into a program that maybe a dozen or so people will actively use.
 
...unfortunately, I have to agree with WPM here. As someone who does almost all of my testing via simulators, I feel as though even with an update, Redshark would be behind most current ones. I currently use PlayTCG and will instantly switch over to TCGOne once it has all modified sets, and a Redshark update won't change that. Sure, it'll see some use, but I don't think it's worth the massive time investment given, as WPM mentions, that most other simulators are going to outclass it.
 
I do not play the game, but I see something that I view as handwriting on the wall. When I Google Redshark, I only found 1 place to download it at. The owner of that site does not think Redshark is worth updating. How long will Redshark be anywhere for downloading? If it is not available for downloading, it is D.O.A.
 
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