Are XF2 add-ons better than XF1 add-ons?

[Mouth]

The entire software architecture has been rewritten for enhanced efficiency, stability and speed of development. Systems such as XF2's entities provide for easy, rapid, error-proof fetching and manipulation of data, allowing new features and add-ons to be developed with hitherto unseen speed and reliability (1), (2).

- https://xenforo.com/community/threads/welcome-to-xenforo-2.132146/

Given the above selling point for XF2, I'm interested in the general feeling if in the past 6+ months we've realised or seen this? Those that have upgraded from XF1 to XF2, or are actively considering and testing for a upgrade in the near future, do you feel for add-ons the stability has increased and the bugs/issues decreased (over XF1 add-ons) and thus seeing XF2 as a much stronger add-on platform? Especially where XF1 add-ons have been upgraded to XF2 versions by the same developer?

I'm also interested in thoughts on whether XF2 has attracted additional quality add-on developers because of it's improved development framework? Is there any XF2 add-ons being released by new developers to XF, and what is the general consensus on the quality of these add-ons?

 

[Anomandaris]

I can tell you that the number of addons for XF2 has increased dramatically the past 3 months and the addons that I'm watching are getting regular updates. When I first got XF2 in March I was a bit disappointed by lack of addons but not anymore, I've found a bunch of unique and cool ones. I have also noticed that very few people are reviewing addons, so if you're basing the reputation of an addon by number of reviews, you won't have an accurate representation. You just have to try them out. (p.s. if you read this please review addons and stop being lazy )

ThemeHouse has several high quality addons, Xon is another name that comes to mind

 

[ichpen]

- https://xenforo.com/community/threads/welcome-to-xenforo-2.132146/

Given the above selling point for XF2, I'm interested in the general feeling if in the past 6+ months we've realised or seen this? Those that have upgraded from XF1 to XF2, or are actively considering and testing for a upgrade in the near future, do you feel for add-ons the stability has increased and the bugs/issues decreased (over XF1 add-ons) and thus seeing XF2 as a much stronger add-on platform? Especially where XF1 add-ons have been upgraded to XF2 versions by the same developer?

I'm also interested in thoughts on whether XF2 has attracted additional quality add-on developers because of it's improved development framework? Is there any XF2 add-ons being released by new developers to XF, and what is the general consensus on the quality of these add-ons?

So far knock of wood no XF2 addon has killed my site (yet) which is something that would happen on occasion with XF1, of course good reason to run a staging site and test before you deploy. I can't say I've seen new devs on board but the existing devs are hard at work and quality (I think) has gone up a bit. XF2 for me is in pretty good shape notwithstanding some addon gaps. I upgraded 3 months ago.

 

[Mouth]

I can tell you that the number of addons for XF2 has increased dramatically the past 3 months

I've found a bunch of unique and cool ones.

Are they mostly XF2 releases of add-ons that existed for XF1, or are you seeing plenty of new add-ons with functionality that didn't exist through XF1 add-ons?

I have also noticed that very few people are reviewing addons, so if you're basing the reputation of an addon by number of reviews, you won't have an accurate representation.

Yeah, this is an ongoing issue with the XF Resources functionality. It just doesn't have the necessary information and functions that many need.

 

[ŽivaAkcija]

my vote for third option

 

[Mouth]

I can't say I've seen new devs on board

Thanks. That's what I was keen to tease out, if the majority of XF2 add-ons are coming from existing authors converting their XF1 add-ons to XF2, or if there's a sizeable proportion of XF2 add-ons that are coming from new developers and/or functionality that we've not seen in XF1 before? Innovation etc.

 

[ChrisTERiS]

From my experience:

1. Most of styles already released for xF2 and I found them better than xF1
2. As for plugins
   1. To be better? For sure no if you mean the features. Most of them are missing features that exist in version for xF1. It has a logic, as coders are in rush to release something before a competitor does it.
   2. Lots of big words and promises. eg (example in random). Someone confirmed that new version should be ready at "First fortnight of 2018". After 6 months he says "Version for XF 2.0 has been delayed". There are plenty of similar topics.

And something else that I noticed, but can't prove it. Have seen xF2 plugins released from coders who never released anything for xF1, and "all by luck", these plugins are those which are delayed to upgrade from xF1 to xF2. Coincidence? Maybe yes. But if it's not, then someone tries to make money with tricks. As I said before, this is just a feeling. My instinct.

 

[ŽivaAkcija]

Lots of big words and promises. eg (example in random). Someone confirmed that new version should be ready at "First fortnight of 2018". After 6 months he says "Version for XF 2.0 has been delayed". There are plenty of similar topics.

+++

 

[ŽivaAkcija]

And something else that I noticed, but can't prove it. Have seen xF2 plugins released from coders who never released anything for xF1, and "all by luck", these plugins are those which are delayed to upgrade from xF1 to xF2. Coincidence? Maybe yes. But if it's not, then someone tries to make money with tricks.

That also is a BIG true if i have license for XF1 plugins WHY i need pay again for same ones for xf2 THAT why i never buy any plugin for any developer who forces my to buy same license twice.

 

[Mouth]

After 6 months he says "Version for XF 2.0 has been delayed". There are plenty of similar topics.

Other than a small handful of devs with many add-ons or large/extensive add-ons (and in both cases you'd expect they've clearly identified they are actively doing so), would it be fair to say that anything that existed for XF1 that hasn't yet been converted to XF2 is very unlikely to be done so?

 

[ChrisTERiS]

...that hasn't yet been converted to XF2 is very unlikely to be done so?

I think so. And the main reason is that those plugins, in most cases, had a low amount of sales. Also I do expect to see less free plugins for xF2. Let's face the true. Someone releases free stuff to become well-known in the market, something that helps him to have easier sales for his commercial stuff. That said, he does not needs anymore the help of free plugins for xF2.

 

[Jaxel]

From a programming standpoint... I think it's FAR better. It's so much easier to make addons for XF2. I think my turn-around time for converting my XF1 addons to XF2 was about 2 weeks of 18 hours a day per addon.

 

[Mouth]

From a programming standpoint... I think it's FAR better. It's so much easier to make addons for XF2. I think my turn-around time for converting my XF1 addons to XF2 was about 2 weeks of 18 hours a day per addon.

Why do you think that means, 6 months later, we're not seeing many more dev's and innovative add-ons with functionality largely not available in XF1 add-ons?

 

[Jaxel]

Why do you think that means, 6 months later, we're not seeing many more dev's and innovative add-ons with functionality largely not available in XF1 add-ons?

Because necessity is the mother of invention. I doubt there will be many things new to XF2, that weren't available in XF1 before hand.

 

[Robust]

Why do you think that means, 6 months later, we're not seeing many more dev's and innovative add-ons with functionality largely not available in XF1 add-ons?

There's still a fair bit of time investment into some more heavy functionality that could be made, especially in supporting and maintaining it. Sometimes these just aren't going to be profitable. For the most part I think the majority of in-demand solutions are available. Particularly niche or complex solutions are just going to result in losses, though, so I doubt developers will venture too far beyond the norm.

 

[LPH]

Are XF2 addons better than XF1? Some are. Some are the same. Overall, the code quality is better because of some standards put into place by XenForo as well as the base code itself.

The developer manual is absolutely a huge help in figuring out how to build add-ons. I think this will help new developers and companies approach building add-ons in a positive way.

There's still a fair bit of time investment into some more heavy functionality that could be made, especially in supporting and maintaining it. Sometimes these just aren't going to be profitable.

I agree. Six months is hardly any time for a developer to create something complex. Some of the most complex add-ons took years to develop under XF1. There were very few XF1 add-ons at the beginning, too. In the beginning, many people were sharing how to do different things. The alpha/beta threads for XF2 was similar with lots of people asking questions.

I suspect people will slowly branch out as they learn how to develop add-ons.

Sometimes these just aren't going to be profitable.

I agree. There is no way my time will ever be compensated. It's just the nature of things for some add-ons.

f i have license for XF1 plugins WHY i need pay again for same ones for xf2

Some developers don't charge and some do charge. XF2 code is very different from XF1. It's really a brand new product.

 

[CoZmicShReddeR]

I was able to duplicate everything I used for XF1, was great to see all the support from my favorite addon makers! Some were a bit slow to get on board but the wait was well worth it!