After a promising start, and with some great updates in release 3.2.6.7 (mesh deformer, Firestorm build floater, visuals and other elements from Exodus, etc.), Milkshake’s “public” development has ceased – which is a shame however you look at it.

I was in the middle of a review of the latest updates in 3.2.6.7, which included updates to Preferences as well as the inclusion of new code when word came in.I’d actually been discussing an issue with the release with Cinder when word came that, “Unfortunately, there will be no more public releases of milkshake, sad to say.”

I’m not privy to the exact reasons work has ceased on the public side of Milkshake and to pry into things to any great depth would not be fair on Cinder – she deserves her privacy as much as anyone else. But maintaining a Viewer *is* hard work – there are matters from getting time to develop / merge code options through to handling support and so on, all of which can take their toll. Cinder already has a busy in-world life, and it is clear that support issues were concerning her when the Milkshake User Support Policy was published. One cannot blame her for this; I seriously doubt that – even assuming I had the talent for Viewer coding – I’d want to pass over a large part of my in-world time to all the ancillary elements that go into maintaining a popular Viewer – not without a lot of help.

That said, there is no doubt I will miss the public Milkshake. It was shaping-up to be a handy Viewer with plenty of core features from other TPVs that strongly distinguished it from its core base of LL / Catznip. However, a little birdie tells me that it is not all sad news; the chances are, we may be seeing Cinder’s work adding flavour to Viewers elsewhere in the near future.