Particl V3.0 Updates and More
In the past few weeks, the development of Particl V3.0 has been going particularly smoothly which has allowed the Particl developers to make a lot of progress on every front.
Here is the latest development progress report from Particl’s Development Manager Henk Swardt.
Note: All screenshots included in this update are work-in-progress and subject to change before the mainnet release. Most of the screenshots are not in their final version and will be tweaked/polished before going live.
Recently Completed and Released Items
Particl Desktop 2.3.4
The Particl team released Particl Desktop 2.3.4. This update added new coin icons for use with the current in-app swap engine implementation. This kind of update won’t be required with the new swap engine implementation coming for Particl Desktop V3.0.
Particl Desktop 2.3.5
The Particl team released Particl Desktop 2.3.5. This update provides a new validation to ensure that the SMSG local address used in the marketplace is still registered in core. This fixes the issue where some users couldn’t decrypt SMSG messages addressed to them anymore, making it impossible to progress in escrow without manual commands being entered in the debug window.
This update also included a visual indicator in the menu bar of the ‘market’ wallet notifying the user that bid messages (new orders, escrow progression, etc) cannot be processed while the wallet is locked (clicking on the indicator prompts for the wallet to be unlocked).
Improved Discord Tipbot
Particl developer Ludx worked on an improved Discord tipbot built from scratch. This improves on the previous bot’s performance and adds features such as user and pool accounts, user authorization, commands to check balances, deposit and withdraw, tip, giveaway, and rain. The tipbot is currently enabled on Discord. Just join Particl’s server and type %help to get started.
Progress Report
Sell Section Layout Update (In Progress)
In the previous update, we mentioned that we had to make changes around how in the ‘sell’ section the publishing of listings to single and multiple markets needed some modifications. A rework of the layout was done for us to make the flow on the GUI feel seamless, where the backend needed to distinguish between Base templates and Market specific templates. This ensures that one could edit a market template specific to a market and save the details to be posted at a later stage. The implementation of the re-worked layout is in progress.
Pull to Push Websocket Connection (Complete)
In order to improve the performance of the new 3.0 desktop application, a websocket connection to the marketplace engine allows for the Particl Desktop to receive various push event notifications rather than polling for updates every few seconds.
Market User Dashboard Improvements (Mostly Complete)
The Overview page of the market module has been recently improved on, ensuring all wallet info is displayed correctly. As the Sell and Buy sections of the desktop application are completed, their respected section will be added to the Overview page. These include information like Sell and Buy page filters, new questions on listings, funds locked in escrow, and various visual badges indicated your attention is needed somewhere.
Link Listings to User Identity Instead of User Profile (Complete)
While working on the Cart and Checkout integration we did pick up an issue where the listings displayed in the cart were being identified at the profile level and this needed to be changed to the Identity level.
With the Profile as listing identifier, listings added to the cart from all subscribed markets across all Identities would be displayed. This would mean that continuing with the checkout, a buyer would need to pay for all items and multiple wallets would need to be unlocked at a single time. For example, if the buyer is browsing with Identity “A”, we ideally would want to only display listings linked to that identity’s markets. This has been successfully changed and completed.
Listing Browser (In Progress)
Listings are now being created and displayed correctly with the correct Categories and Markets linked to them. All filtering and processing around the listings are working as expected. There is still some integration left to be done as other components get completed.
New Shipping Profiles section (Complete)
A new Shipping Profiles section for the managing of shipping addresses outside of the cart/checkout process has been added to the new desktop application. This item is now complete.
Refactored Market Functionalities (Complete)
A bunch of core market functionalities have been refactored and successfully integrated into the new desktop application. This includes the display of listings, the flagging and voting of listing items, adding items to the cart and the checkout process, the favoriting of items, and the managing of shipping profiles. These have all been marked as complete.
New Updated Place Bid Modal (Complete)
In the Cart section of the desktop application, the Place Bid modal has been redesigned to provide more information to the user and fit with the updated look of Particl Desktop.
Bug Fixes and General Improvements (Constantly in progress)
A significant number of bug fixes and improvements to functionalities across the GUI implementation of the marketplace has been made. This, of course, is an ongoing process and is always something on which the Particl developers are working on at every release.
User Interface and User Experience Improvements (Constantly in progress)
As development goes on, numerous changes are being made to the design and layout of the desktop application to ensure the user has the best possible flow and interaction within the GUI. This is an ongoing process and is always being worked on at every release.
New Changes to the Market Codebase
Since the last Development Update, a lot of changes have been successfully implemented into the new market codebase (the underlying “backend” code of the marketplace).
Here’s a detailed list of all the recent changes:
- Changes in ListingItemTemplates with market specific ListingItemTemplate and versioning support.
- Added additional validations for all marketplace messages.
- All search commands refactored, added more validations.
- Changes in ListingItemAdd/Vote message signing.
- ShoppingCart linked to Identity rather than Profile.
- Identity Vote calculations fixed.
- Added push notifications for new Proposals.
- Market specific ItemCategory support.
- Market specific Proposals.
- Bug fixes related to ListingItem/Image message separation.
- Added Default Market and Profile commands.
- OMP Library changes/bug fixes.
- Smaller and larger API changes in ~45 of ~115 RPC commands.
- Fixed some issues running the market with node v12.
- Fixed/changed/added around 900 automated and integration test cases.
- A number of changes all around as a result of the test case results.
- Marketplace 0.2.10 bugfix release.
Note: Automating the build/upload into a more regular process is planned to be looked into again soon after the v3.0 release.
Direct Buyer/Seller Communications Coming to V3.0
A new and highly anticipated functionality is making its way onto Particl Desktop 3.0 — buyer and seller communications.
Whether you are a seller or a buyer, this major improvement to the Question and Answer feature will let you communicate with the party you’re transacting with in case there is a need for it. It uses the same system as the Question and Answer section and is integrated directly as part of the escrow process.
Communication is vital for any mistake or issue to be resolved. But it also opens up the door to fraud, blackmail, and scam. For this reason, all messages sent between the two parties are publicly recorded directly in the Question and Answer section. The system is directly linked to the user market dashboard and notifies you whenever you receive a question or answer.
Note: This communication module is different than the encrypted instant messaging app being worked on by DeMarkets.io. Keep reading for more details on it.
This completely transparent solution is to keep both parties in check and ensure that they do not use this communications module to blackmail or threaten the other party which would then weaken the game-theory behind Particl’s two-party escrow system. Of course, it doesn’t prevent two users from exchanging contact information (i.e. sharing their Particl chat keys with each other or using a third-party messaging app like Telegram), but it provides a great level of transparency that can be used for vendors to build a reputation for themselves. But more importantly than anything, it simply provides the ability for two transacting users to touch base and resolve issues.
Updates From DeMarkets.io
Over the last few weeks, the DeMarkets.io developers have been quite active. If you don’t know about DeMarkets.io already, a web browser for decentralized marketplaces with additional features to come and have been contributing to the Particl project for the last several months. Their website currently displays Particl Marketplace statistics and provides a listing browser that lets you see marketplace listings from the web, without having to download Particl Desktop.
DeMarkets.io has recently been working on two items that will be major contributors to the Particl ecosystem. Here’s an update on each of them.
New DeMarkets.io Website
The DeMarkets team has been working on a major update to its website that changes most of it. This update is planned to be released shortly and adds the ability to view and share individual listings. It also lets you create shops on the website so that you can aggregate and easily showcase your listings as a vendor. DeMarkets estimates the update will go live within the next 1 to 2 weeks.
Encrypted Instant Messaging App (Particl Desktop)
Their team has also been working on an encrypted instant messaging application that will be integrated as a new Particl Desktop module. The app is powered by SMSG and lets users safely communicate without worrying about any third-party being able to intercept and read messages.
The encrypted instant messaging app is still under development and has taken a second priority, behind the release of DeMarkets.io’s new website. It is currently scheduled to go live shortly after Particl V3.0.
It’s All Coming Together Nicely
As you can see, the Particl developers have been putting the pedal to the metal for the last few weeks so that they can complete the remaining items required for launching Particl V3.0 as fast as possible.
The great majority of the core components required for it to be ready are now complete or are well on their way to being ready. This leaves fewer and fewer items left to integrate into the new desktop application and brings us closer to the release every day.
Keep in mind, Particl V3.0 is Particl’s biggest update to date. It not only significantly changes the marketplace codebase but also the desktop application as a whole. For this reason, this particular update has taken much longer to be ready than other past releases, but the difference in user experience will absolutely speak for itself.
Particl V3 is going to be much faster, lightweight, easier to use, and feature-complete than it has ever been.
