I'm updating this post to reflect the massive changes coming in the next update. Feature development has gone by a LOT faster and smoother than I initially thought (Features I assumed would take months to develop have all been nearly finished and bug tested in less than two weeks!). Here's an updated post on what to expect in the version 1.0 Alpha 1 release (Alpha meaning there could still be new features added in the next alpha. A beta release will see a "feature freeze" where no new features are added, only existing ones being managed and improved).

Backend Upgrade [DONE]
MapPad started as a simple but useful channel notating tool - to help you take notes on your channel usage in a visually pleasing way, with plans to add features to improve that down the road. But the long-term goal for MapPad has always been to add some incredibly useful features to cover a wide range of issues a Fortnite Creative developer might run into - and to have all of those features in one place. I'm glad to say that the upgrades under the hood will allow new functionality to be added on the fly, as everything that creates new data is being kept separated now to avoid conflicts (there's still only one save file per project of course). This wasn't necessary when MapPad was only doing one thing, but now it's imperative to the future of MapPad's feature-set.
"w-wait! I already use MapPad! Are my save files safe?"
Yes, your save files are safe with this update. When loading a save file, MapPad will check your save files data structure and import that data to the new structure, and that change won't be saved until you manually press Save yourself (or CTRL+S).  I'd feel free to use the tool a bit when loading a save file before saving it, or create a backup copy of your save file just in case. IF there was a worst case scenario, your save file won't get corrupted because MapPad doesn't auto-save, so if it does run into an error and crash, your save file was only read for a brief moment before the app had an existential crisis- and you can of course submit a bug report here if that does happen for some reason.

Tagging - Channel Notes [DONE]
There will be a channel tagging system in this update. You'll be able to add tags to Channels and Filter your channels by Tags to access certain channels quickly.

Groups - Channel Notes
The other half of the organizational update is channel grouping, a better way to categorize channels outside of tags. There's a reason that groups and tags are two different things. Tags can be filtered and searched, but groups will be in it’s own tab section on the interface (clicking a group tab will display all channels in that group).  Example: A party games map with groups for each game ; Color Slide's channel group displays those channels added into it, and channels associated with Color Slide group can be tagged by what they are used for - Add score, change color, decide winner, etc. - without having to clutter the tags with the otherwise additional “Color Slide” tag that would be needed to filter through to your Color Slide channels. This also helps when you only want to filter tags that are specific to a certain group. For example, you may have several channels tagged "Score System", but if you only want to see "Score System" channels for your Color Slide game specifically, grouping helps you accomplish that.) Grouping can be used however you want, it's just another way to categorize channels and save you from adding unnecessary tags as well as narrowing down your view so you can have less on your screen.
*EDIT : The Groups feature has been shelved for a future update. This one is tricky to implement, not functionally, but visually. I try to keep a no-tolerance rule with MapPad - things should never look too cluttered. The Groups feature was, unfortunately, beginning to clutter the UI, and while I have some plans to get around this, right now it's causing a bottleneck and slowing progress down too much. Groups will make a debut as a feature eventually.

Search - Channel Notes [Moved to 1.0.2]
The search bar in Channel Notes is pretty straightforward. Whether you're tabbed into a specific group, filtering for specific tags, or just searching through all channels, the search bar will return what you're searching for (By channel number or channel summary).

Sidebar [DONE]
Before getting into the new features, I'll show you how you can access them first.

The sidebar is where functionality will reside in MapPad from now on. Here's the buttons in order from top to bottom:
1. File - Create New, Open, & Save Files
2. Channel Notes - Access the Channel Notes feature
3. Channel Usage - Access the Channel Usage feature
4. Loot Manager - Access the Loot Manager feature
5. Task Manager - Access the Task Manager Feature (not included in this release)
6. Help Button - Access Bug Reports, Tutorial & Changelog
7. Settings - Access Theme Settings and Channel Limit settings
There may be slight changes to the sidebar throughout the Alpha stage of development, but the overall functionality will remain.

Channel Usage [DONE]
Knowing how your channels are adding up can be helpful - especially when you can just take a quick glance at your channel usage through a pie chart.  You can view channels that are tagged, channels that have a description despite being untagged, channels that exist in a group, and also of course the channels that are currently unused. 

Loot Manager [DONE]
The loot manager is my favorite feature to have implemented so far. It's something I've gotten annoyed with in the past when working on maps - managing loot pools among item spawners, item granters, chests, and anything else you can drop an item in and never take it back out without clearing the entire device and starting over. I used to take notes on what items I had in what devices, but those text files strained my eyes over time, and I thought - why can't I just have  a drag and drop interface where I can add items to a loot pool and just use that as a reference instead? So I made it happen. The Loot Manager will ease your mental struggles when managing loot pools in your maps, and can even prove useful when planning a loot pool in advance! This feature will, of course, see some changes throughout the alpha development stage, but will mostly be attempts at making the UX more intuitive and easier to use (like changing item quantity for example).




Any picture examples that aren't included are still undergoing UI design/implementation (aside from Task Manager, which is still in development). It's one thing to develop the feature, and a whole other mess of things to get it to fit with the rest of the application without feeling out of place. Feedback is appreciated, and I look forward to the full release of this version so everyone that's interested can use these features!

That's all the news for now. Make sure you've downloaded MapPad through the itch.io APP to receive this update and future updates automatically!