I can totally get where AndyCap is coming from, but I would argue that there have been a lot of hopeful signs of life in the platform lately.
Things like:
- The Starless Image Starless unofficial Dwarf image - ALABS - #260 by AndreasL with perhaps some future version incorporating AndCap’s work for bidirectional midi communication Changes for bidirectional midi and NRPN support by AndrewCapon · Pull Request #1 · sejerpz/mod-host · GitHub
- A polyphonic guitar synth plugin in development New plugin GuitarMidi-LV2 - #151 by jimsondrift
- New plugins that expand the potential of the platform like DaveM’s sequencer
- People building their first plugins like the * Echomatica or the * Megalo
- Access to Slimmable NAM files NAM A2 and Slimmable - #8 by MikeOliphant
- More people interested in the platform because of MOD desktop
But clearly, most of the activity has come from the user base, and the original developers have had their hands full with the Anagram (which is where they most definitely should be putting their energies).
Given these new glimmers of hope, a viable beta process would be a welcome step in the right direction and a more user friendly way to get new plugins on machines.
The next step would be to have plugins licenses tied to user accounts rather than individual devices so that movement between the hardware devices and MOD desktop would encourage further development of plugins and/or the ecosystem. That step is likely a challenge to implement and would have to be undertaken by falkTX at whatever pace is possible given his other commitments
I know that AndyCap and Dreamer are aware of this given their posts in the MOD Reboot Phase 2 thread MOD Reboot - Phase 2 - #89 by AndyCap . I’d encourage guarded optimism for the future, appreciation for all the great things the platform does today, and trying to figure out a viable beta process given available resources (if those resources can be mustered) to help bring these new ideas to more users.