Welcome to the new ASCIImator!

Published on May 16, 2014

EDIT: If you have issues accessing the site, hard refresh (Shift+F5, Ctrl+F5, Cmd+R, your mileage might vary).

Hello! Today, ASCIImator.net has changed hands. After 9.5 years of being owned by karaboz and brutto, I became the new owner.

This means that I have the chance to add many requested features and bugfixes… and we’re beginning with a massive amount of them:

  • All ASCIImations are now stored in a unified, JSON format. This means big code simplifications, security fixes and the ability to use ASCIImation data in almost every programming language on Earth - all in one! No more pains when trying to parse a .js file - now reading ASCIImations is very simple! This also fixes certain bugs with handling of old ASCIImations.
  • More social integration. Every ASCIImation now has a “share” button to the right, letting you share on Twitter, Tumblr, as well as easily export a forum code. Share your favourite ASCIImations with friends!
  • Import to/Export from ASCIImator Pro. You can now export and import animations directly in the editor using the JSON format mentioned earlier.
  • The speed has been improved. From optimized HTTP server configurations, through code changes to beginning work on caching - you can feel that the site is faster than it used to be!
  • Cleanup. Parts of the site that were not updated were removed and things were reorganized to accomodate the new, slightly lighter layout. Certain misspellings were also fixed.
  • Minor features. Here’s a semi-complete list of new features:
    • ASCII2gif now optimizes GIFs and caches them. This makes ASCII2gif-converted animations small and fast enough to embed on websites!
    • Searching by amount of favourites and comments.
    • Tags look a bit better.
    • You can now link directly to a comment.
    • You can now see the total views and frames of a person’s ASCIImations.
  • Bugfixes. Here’s a semi-complete list of bugfixes:
    • Avatars can now be changed properly.
    • The dreaded backspace bug has been fixed. The site will now warn you if you try to leave without saving.
    • Text-to-speech has been fixed.
    • Error messages in ASCIImations now display properly.
    • Tags with certain special characters can now be deleted.
    • All ASCIImations now render properly, even if you’re missing the font.
    • Spaces in comments are now not trimmed.
    • Changed the default frame speed in ASCIImator Pro.
    • ASCIImator 3.0 is now removed due to being incompatible with the current codebase.
    • Many other small bugfixes throughout the site.

Overall, I hope that you will enjoy the new ASCIImator. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to contact me or post in the comments.

~ asie