Hi there!
In short, my suggestion is:
Create a custom client that is a collaborate work like the rA server, with all it's support (forum section, bug tracker, git/svn).
In details:
The problem with the current system is the following:
- By now we have only 2 "officially" supported clients, and there will be a 2013 one as well, this is good, but still, server owners have to diff em and some times hex edit them to make them work the way we want
- The whole diffing thing is just hax. It's not nice, and it has many limitations what can we achieve
- We can't prevent Gravity form breaking/removing features we want to continue using (like mailing, vending, etc)
The benefints would be:
- The now existing client haxing torture would cease to exist. (no server owner wants to spend time with figuring out the correct settings just to make it work)
- Fixes could be done to client related bugs.
- Gravity wouldn't break our features.
- Configurable, flexible clients (set everything we want, instead of bithaxing lottery)
- No more waiting for "the least bugged client". ( or the most stable )
Downsides:
- Needs time and work
- New features won't come automatically (but we need to implement them serverside anyways don't we?)
What we already have:
- Large, and capable community
- Expert devs
- Infrastructure
- Bunch of custom client projects stuck in the development, so we don't have to start from 0, only select a few and ask their owner if they are willing to share their work with us. There's no piont in everyone doing their own client but never finishing it.... We could incorporate everyone's knowledge and talents into one, good client.