Firstly, if you haven’t seen it already – check out MCprep v3.0.2 which fixes a number of bugs and very widely increases compatibility for earlier blender versions. There are people using MCprep with versions of blender as far back as 2.72, released in Jan. 2015!
Some quick stats and figures: Since its 3.0 release on November 27, 2016 (through May 5, 2017), MCprep recorded 10,107 registered installs (first-time enables + re-installs), and 7,345 unique users*. MCprep operators were used 120,860 times (only counts while opt-in is true). March and April both had over 2000 monthly unique users.
* an active user is one who used at least one MCprep operator while anonymous tracking was enabled and connected to the internet.
But what does MCprep look like moving forward?
A whole lot cooler!
There are a ton of features that I have always wanted in MCprep, but haven’t been the focus yet. I am finally putting my foot down and addressing the great features-to-be by populating the 3.1.0 roadmap.
Roadmap features include:
- Minecraft material library
- Time & Weather one-click setups
- Big meshswap improvements and expansions
- Extending spawner to add blocks and items (v3.0.2 release is a first step towards this goal)
- Get closer to covering all mobs in the mob spawner (I’m looking for contributors!)
- A couple useful operators, like individual UV face scaling, selecting transparent faces in the 3D view, and turning 2D images into 3D blocks (again, removing alpha faces).
Many of these issues were originally proposed or reinforced in the feedback form. If you’ve got feedback, don’t hesitate to fill it out! The above milestones are not set in stone.
Get involved
Want to pitch in? Here’s a few ways to help out
Additionally, reach out if you have interest in contributing rigs to the addon (can be done by logging an ‘issue’ above).
Some interesting MCprep stats
Firstly, a small disclaimer: MCprep has some anonymous usage tracking included which allows me to understand how the addon is used and installed. Details of the information collected are in the privacy policy labeled on each download page, but if you are concerned – the below is truly all the information I can see. I cannot trace back to an individual user. Tracking code all runs in a background thread and does not slow down blender or the interface.
ID gen is a random ID generated, used to distinguish a new install versus reinstall and to see an aggregate view of how long or frequently individuals use the addon.
Now, onto the interesting part. All stats below are reported from the nearly 6-month data range: November 27, 2016 through May 6, 2017.
MCprep install and usage graphs
There are significantly more windows users than any other operating systems. The vast majority of all users utilize the prep materials operator. Coming in at a distant second place for most used is skinswapping, the newest feature in v3.0.1. Meshswapping is the least-used operator – but with the 3.0.2 release, I suspect the newly added Meshswap Spawner operator will be very popular.
So what does it all mean?
I find this data very interesting, but is also critical in driving development. It is clear that there is a strong focus on the use of materials, which is driving the priority around creating a material library and improving the MCprep materials options. Knowing the operating system use helps provide an understanding of what platforms and blender versions to test against.
I will close this out by saying thank-you, to all the loyal users and I really look forwarding to seeing what you all create with MCprep!