Skip to main content

A Look Back and a Glimpse Forward

· 3 min read
Alper Alkan
Alper Alkan
Co-Founder of Phalcode

Hello,

It's been a while since we caught up here, but if you've been following the action on Discord, you're up to speed. Nevertheless, this blog remains your spot for the key updates and announements.

Let's dive into what's been happening with GameVault since release and what's on the horizon. We've hit version 9 on the backend and 1.7 on the frontend, showcasing our commitment to continuous improvement.

Alongside the usual optimizations and bug fixes, we've been paying a lot of attention to your feature requests and implemented a bunch of them.

Here's the highlight reel:

  • Auto Extraction and Installation of Videogames
  • Uninstalling Games through GameVault
  • Uploading Images
  • Support for more Archive Formats
  • Bandwidth Control Features
  • Database Backups & Restorations
  • Crash Reporting
  • Random Game Finder

So, what's cooking now? We asked for your top three desired features recently, and here are the results:

  1. UI Redesign for the Library and Installations Tab
  2. Support for ROMS and Emulators
  3. Support for extra files like Soundtracks, Mods, etc.

By the way, if you want to take part in polls like this in the future aswell, make sure to become a council member on Discord!

Right now we're knee-deep in redesigning the Library, the heart of our application. Big changes are on the way, waving goodbye to the installations tab and ushering in a sleeker UI for Library, Game View, and Game Settings.

Here are some sneak peeks and mockups: (still work in progress):

  1. Library (Mockup) Filters Empty States
  2. Library (current implementation) Library
  3. Game (Mockup) Game View
  4. Game Settings (Mockup) Game Settings

Remember, these are teasers. Anything can look different once it ships. There's a lot of work left, and we're on it. To be technical here: Most of these modern controls require us to rewrite WPF Controls from the core. On the backend, we're not slacking either – tons of end-to-end tests are being written to ensure our app's reliability.

Excited about the new UI or got something to say? Head over to Discord and spill the beans!

We're eager to wrap up these tasks and ship the update out to you guys.

We also wanted to mention we've already crossed 2000 GameVault users with a growing engaged Discord community of 350 members!

And your donations help keeping the lights on, though we're not rolling in dough just yet. Every penny counts, and we're truly grateful. Thanks a lot. ❤️

Help us promote GameVault among fellow self-hosters. Your efforts could inspire a bored developer to join and contribute to our project!

Stay tuned for the UI update – we'll be back in touch soon.

Until then, happy gaming! 🎮