Stardock Magazine: May 2019

Welcome to Stardock Magazine! In this issue, we discuss DeskScapes 10, Groupy, and a game that makes games. Stardock Magazine May 2019 By Brad Wardell, CEO (@draginol) Topics: • [How do we find out about stuff?](#editorial) • [DeskScapes 10](#ds10) • [Groupy](#groupy) • [A game that makes games](#game) Discuss this month's issue [here](=/aHR0cHM6Ly9mb3J1bXMuc3RhcmRvY2suY29tLzQ5NDg0MC9zdGFyZG9jay1tYWdhemluZS1tYXktMjAxOS1kaXNjdXNzaW9uP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9c2RtYWcmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1qb2luLWRpc2N1c3Npb24tdHh0JnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1zZG1hZy1tYXkyMDE5JnV0bV90ZXJtPXNkbWFnLW1heTIwMTktMjI5MDc=) [Editorial] by Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock It's really hard to get the word out on new software. That was really apparent with the recent release of DeskScapes 10. Many tech sites don't seem to cover that much tech anymore. Where do I even go to find out about new software? The paper magazines are gone. Their web versions often only cover superficial hardware news. I used to find out about things at Download.com, but they (like most tech sites I visit) seem to only cover the same handful of major topics as everywhere else. It's just getting harder and harder to find out about new software. So how do you find out about new software these days? Let us know! [DeskScapes 10] As you may (or may not) have heard, we released a major new version of our desktop background program, DeskScapes™, this past week. Version 10 integrates directly into our WinCustomize.com animated and static wallpaper libraries, giving you instant access to thousands of desktop backgrounds that can be applied with a click. [DeskScapes](=/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zdGFyZG9jay5jb20vbWVkaWEvTWFpbGVycy9zdGFyZG9ja19tYWdhemluZS9tYXkyMDE5L2ltYWdlcy9kczEwX3NjcmVlbnNob3QucG5nP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9c2RtYWcmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1kZXNrc2NhcGVzLWltZyZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249c2RtYWctbWF5MjAxOSZ1dG1fdGVybT1zZG1hZy1tYXkyMDE5LTIyOTA3) DeskScapes is best known for animated backgrounds. It has a highly optimized graphics engine so that it uses virtually no CPU or GPU resources when it's running. It's part of our Object Desktop™ suite of programs, as well as available on its own. Check it out at: [www.stardock.com/products/deskscapes](=/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc3RhcmRvY2suY29tL3Byb2R1Y3RzL2Rlc2tzY2FwZXMvP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9c2RtYWcmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1kcy13ZWJzaXRlLXR4dCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249c2RtYWctbWF5MjAxOSZ1dG1fdGVybT1zZG1hZy1tYXkyMDE5LTIyOTA3) [Groupy] Groupy™ is probably the closest thing we've made to a "killer app" since the release of Fences®. It lets you combine multiple windows together into a group with tabs to navigate. Users can use the windows-~ key to quickly tab between the various windows within a group, too. [Groupy](=/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zdGFyZG9jay5jb20vbWVkaWEvTWFpbGVycy9zdGFyZG9ja19tYWdhemluZS9tYXkyMDE5L2ltYWdlcy9ncm91cHlfc2NyZWVuc2hvdC5wbmc-dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1zZG1hZyZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9jb250ZW50PWdyb3VweS1pbWcxJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1zZG1hZy1tYXkyMDE5JnV0bV90ZXJtPXNkbWFnLW1heTIwMTktMjI5MDc=) You can combine any number of windows together of any type. Above, I have a couple of explorer windows combined. [Groupy](=/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zdGFyZG9jay5jb20vbWVkaWEvTWFpbGVycy9zdGFyZG9ja19tYWdhemluZS9tYXkyMDE5L2ltYWdlcy9ncm91cHlfc2NyZWVuc2hvdDIucG5nP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9c2RtYWcmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1ncm91cHktaW1nMiZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249c2RtYWctbWF5MjAxOSZ1dG1fdGVybT1zZG1hZy1tYXkyMDE5LTIyOTA3) Here, I have Excel™ and Word™ combined. My day to day use though is combining a couple of command prompts, explorer, Visual Studio™ 2017, Perforce™ and Adobe® Photoshop® together so I can quickly zip through them. I do it this way because I tend to have a lot of different programs open on my system and it's super easy to just Win-key-~ through these few of them and have them all on the same screen. [Groupy](=/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zdGFyZG9jay5jb20vbWVkaWEvTWFpbGVycy9zdGFyZG9ja19tYWdhemluZS9tYXkyMDE5L2ltYWdlcy9ncm91cHlfc2NyZWVuc2hvdDMucG5nP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9c2RtYWcmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1ncm91cHktaW1nMyZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249c2RtYWctbWF5MjAxOSZ1dG1fdGVybT1zZG1hZy1tYXkyMDE5LTIyOTA3) Here's an unremarkable example from my desktop. But that's the thing, Groupy is designed to let power users be power users. Try it out for yourself. Like many of our other programs, it's part of Object Desktop. Check it out at: [www.stardock.com/products/groupy](=/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc3RhcmRvY2suY29tL3Byb2R1Y3RzL2dyb3VweS8-dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1zZG1hZyZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9jb250ZW50PWdyb3VweS13ZWJzaXRlLXR4dCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249c2RtYWctbWF5MjAxOSZ1dG1fdGVybT1zZG1hZy1tYXkyMDE5LTIyOTA3) [A Game that Makes Games] As many of you know, Stardock makes PC software that lets people create their own desktop experiences. We also makes games. So it probably wouldn't surprise you to find out that, for the past few years, we've been working on something that combines these two things. This program hasn't been announced. You will see no mention of it anywhere but here. So here's one of the benefits of subscribing. [Game](=/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zdGFyZG9jay5jb20vbWVkaWEvTWFpbGVycy9zdGFyZG9ja19tYWdhemluZS9tYXkyMDE5L2ltYWdlcy9nYW1lX3NjcmVlbnNob3QucG5nP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9c2RtYWcmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1nYW1lLWltZyZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249c2RtYWctbWF5MjAxOSZ1dG1fdGVybT1zZG1hZy1tYXkyMDE5LTIyOTA3) The idea here is: what if we made a video game that could make video games? Not a developer tool, but rather something that pretty much anyone could use. In fact, it's something where someone could just download and play a basically endless number of 1980s/1990s style games if they wanted. Or as they were playing, they could just hit the TAB key and start editing. I was a big fan of the Ultima™ series. Ultima IV was my favorite. Imagine if there was a way to make Ultima games easily? Or Zelda™-like games, or Mario games, or what have you? As you can imagine, the idea is super ambitious, which is why it's been in development all these years and still not announced. But it's getting close. We are pretty close to having designed something that makes it easy for non-developers to make games and share them with others. It still has a long way to go, but if you think you might be interested in being in a beta program for this, post in our [feedback thread.](=/aHR0cHM6Ly9mb3J1bXMuc3RhcmRvY2suY29tLzQ5NDg0MC9zdGFyZG9jay1tYWdhemluZS1tYXktMjAxOS1kaXNjdXNzaW9uP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9c2RtYWcmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1mZWVkYmFjay10eHQmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPXNkbWFnLW1heTIwMTkmdXRtX3Rlcm09c2RtYWctbWF5MjAxOS0yMjkwNw==) [Discord](=/aHR0cHM6Ly9kaXNjb3JkLmdnL3N0YXJkb2NrP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9c2RtYWcmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1kaXNjb3JkJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1zZG1hZy1tYXkyMDE5JnV0bV90ZXJtPXNkbWFnLW1heTIwMTktMjI5MDc=) [YouTube](=/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vdXNlci9zdGFyZG9ja2dhbWVzP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9c2RtYWcmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY29udGVudD15b3V0dWJlJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1zZG1hZy1tYXkyMDE5JnV0bV90ZXJtPXNkbWFnLW1heTIwMTktMjI5MDc=) [Reddit](=/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cucmVkZGl0LmNvbS9yL1N0YXJkb2NrLz91dG1fc291cmNlPXNkbWFnJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NvbnRlbnQ9cmVkZGl0JnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1zZG1hZy1tYXkyMDE5JnV0bV90ZXJtPXNkbWFnLW1heTIwMTktMjI5MDc=) [Facebook](=/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZmFjZWJvb2suY29tL29mZmljaWFsLnN0YXJkb2NrP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9c2RtYWcmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1mYWNlYm9vayZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249c2RtYWctbWF5MjAxOSZ1dG1fdGVybT1zZG1hZy1tYXkyMDE5LTIyOTA3) [Twitter](=/aHR0cHM6Ly90d2l0dGVyLmNvbS9zdGFyZG9jaz91dG1fc291cmNlPXNkbWFnJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NvbnRlbnQ9dHdpdHRlciZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249c2RtYWctbWF5MjAxOSZ1dG1fdGVybT1zZG1hZy1tYXkyMDE5LTIyOTA3) [Instagram](=/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaW5zdGFncmFtLmNvbS9vZmZpY2lhbC5zdGFyZG9jay8-dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1zZG1hZyZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9jb250ZW50PWluc3RhZ3JhbSZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249c2RtYWctbWF5MjAxOSZ1dG1fdGVybT1zZG1hZy1tYXkyMDE5LTIyOTA3) [WinCustomize](=/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cud2luY3VzdG9taXplLmNvbS8-dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1zZG1hZyZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9jb250ZW50PXdpbmN1c3RvbWl6ZSZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249c2RtYWctbWF5MjAxOSZ1dG1fdGVybT1zZG1hZy1tYXkyMDE5LTIyOTA3) [View this email in your browser.](=/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zdGFyZG9jay5jb20vbWVkaWEvTWFpbGVycy9zdGFyZG9ja19tYWdhemluZS9tYXkyMDE5L2luZGV4Lmh0bWw-ZW1haWw9dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luOTJAZ21haWwuY29t) Stardock, 15090 Beck Road, Plymouth, MI 48170. 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