Moai version 1.7 is now available.
Moai is a pixel editor designed to mimic the look and features of Autodesk Animator.
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Version 1.7 introduces the following features:
- Fixes for several work-corrupting bugs
- Numerous improvements to color selection and favorites menus
- Replaced screen configuration utility (config.exe)
- Newer BMP files will now load (Gimp 2.8, for example)
- File browser can now preview saved favorites
- Added classic computer and console palettes (found in FAVORITES dir)
Please note that this is a Win32 release, and you will need to run the program in a non-write protected directory. Unicode characters are not supported yet. This version is compatible with version 1.6. If you are upgrading from an earlier version, you should back up your existing frames, and start with a fresh install.
The link in your post currently goes to a file called moai_v1.6.zip (ie. not v1.7).
I haven't checked if it is actually v1.7 on the inside.
Derp. You're right. Link fixed -- thanks!
I hate to sound like a broken record but I'd love to see a Linux port of this if possible. I assume Moai is written using Allegro? I'm 100% willing to help you with a port.
For the rest, well done!
I hate to sound like a broken record but I'd love to see a Linux port of this if possible. I assume Moai is written using Allegro? I'm 100% willing to help you with a port.
No, that's fine. I'm happy to see interest in it.
I'm getting close to the point where I'd consider a port. I'm running out of features to add, and most of the bugs cropping up are with new(er) features, so eventually those will run out.
I'm also working on adding in some unicode support for non-US users, and some other minor things... like trimming the code and making sure as much stuff as possible is POSIX. The program uses a lot of libraries and I'm slowly weeding them out. I'll keep you in mind when the moment arrives.
OK, thanks for your consideration! 
As or removing external libraries, if there is anything that needs to be added to Allegro to make Moai easier to port, such as certain image file formats, then please mention it and I'll try to convince Peter to add those into Allegro proper as well.
and I'll try to convince Peter to add those into Allegro proper as well.
To be honest, this is something that I think Allegro shouldn't do. Allegro is, first and foremost, a GAME programming library, and while it can obviously be used for writing things other than games, that is its focus, and the core library should only support image formats useful for gaming.
Of course, you can always add your own addons to Allegro to load other formats. I've written code for both A4 and A5 for loading and saving the various PNM formats, but this is not something that Allegro should do itself.
Moai is an A4 project. I don't think it's useful to add things to it at this point (A4, that is). So long as the add-on process is easy and well documented, I think that's enough.
That said, I did find it amusing (read: irritating) that A4 out of the box doesn't support any web-friendly formats: no gif, no png, no jpg. I had to turn to external libs for those. Alpng worked, the jpg add-on I tried was buggy and didn't support all variations of jpg options (not surprising -- the spec is huge). Hard Rock wrote a no-nonsense gif add-on, and I adapted the official JPEG stuff myself.
Fblend, obviously. I used Neuquant for fast color reduction, and some other things I can't remember. All said, it was a very interesting project and I'm rather shocked at how quickly I got to a public release, given my spotty track record.
I'm not quite sure what the point of this program is. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it's not pointless, and judging by the screenshots, it looks pretty badass. But I' just not seeing what's the difference between using this and Paint (errr... Paint.NET. Paint is just useless).
Is this made with Allegro? Does it have resizable windows and all that? How does it compare to Graphics Gale or Allegro Sprite Editor? (the last one I've found is excellent except performance of some operations is too slow to be usable, at least on my netbook.)
Ok. ASE is A4 too with some resizable window patches. I find it really difficult to work with graphics without that feature (ie ASE before it had resizable windows.) David Capello has a git branch I could dig up that is a stripped down version of A4 (sound etc not in there) that has resizable windows for Win/Mac/Linux.
I'm not quite sure what the point of this program is.
Each art program is unique in its tool set and workflow. You sample what's available and pick one that suits your needs. Moai has a unique workflow as it allows you to attach pixel shaders to any drawing tool via ink selection, and work with layers in a nontraditional manner.
Edit: And I suppose the most important detail is that it's tailored to feel familiar to Autodesk Animator users, so there is definitely a purpose to its existence.
Does it have resizable windows and all that? How does it compare to Graphics Gale or Allegro Sprite Editor?
I don't know what all that is, but window size is fixed, although resolution and frame size are not. It runs full speed on my Mini 10. I haven't used either of those editors, so I can't comment on what features they might share.
I've really enjoyed following the development of Moai, and the current build is excellent. I will probably find myself using it a lot in the near future, since I'll have some free time again.
And I suppose the most important detail is that it's tailored to feel familiar to Autodesk Animator users, so there is definitely a purpose to its existence.
Exactly. Software lives and dies quickly, but after people have spent hours (years?) getting proficient with a program, it means a lot to them if their skill can still be used on more recent hardware.
(Another step in this direction is to make keyboard shortcuts user-settable)
(Another step in this direction is to make keyboard shortcuts user-settable)
It is rather disturbing how much software has totally hard-coded hotkeys.
If you hit the USER menu you can remap all of your hotkeys as well as your mouse buttons. The default key set closely matches Animator's, but I like to remap most of the keys Being left-handed, I like having most of the cel operations on the right side of the keyboard.
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The config program also got a facelift.