No, but it was in danger of becoming one.

Thanks again saulgoode.
Works ok.
Gerard.

We can certainly discuss our opinions of new GIMP versions while maintaining civility. We just need to be mindful not to disparage other members' opinions, while voicing our own. Everyone has their own needs so updating to the latest version might not be for everyone.

Personally, I plan on waiting for the official release of 2.8.x. I'll check it out to see if it's stable and determine whether or not it meets my needs. If it does, I'll upgrade. I'm currently leaning toward upgrading due to the improved scripting functionality, other enhancements not withstanding. It's possible an issue could arise that would make upgrading to the new version a show stopper for me.

Bottom line. if you like and need the functionality included in a new version, use it. Otherwise, stick with the old version ...simple.

I'm not trying to "bicker" with you, it just seems like you have a bit too high expectations of what people can do with limited resources...

Of course we'd all love to get all the cool features we'd personally want in a nice, compact package, free of charge. But it's not really realistic to expect something like that.

I'm far from an accomplished artist.
I used to use Gimp to enhance photographs I took and printed for family and friends only.
My daughter asked me to make a logo and that's when I started to use Gimp for "painting".
The design has been changed a zillion times so far.
This was mostly on Gimp-2.6.x.
I installed Gimp-2.7 in the /opt directory (folder) and could run them both if I wanted to.
One big problem I encountered was plugins like for scanning and printing in /opt.
So I made a second Gentoo install on a separate partition with Gimp-2.7 and deleted the install in /opt.
I now have 2.7.5 from the Gentoo repository on my regular install and 2.6.12 on my separate partition (just in case).
Alas there is very little in the way of documentation so I'm just experimenting with it to find out how things work.
And I must say it's overwhelming.
The mile-long list of brush dynamics I found a way of finding out what they all do.
Choose one and click on the "Edit" icon you'll get a greyed out window which shows what's ticked so you have an idea
what it will do.(You might need a magnifying glass,I do)
No script or plugin in 2.6 that can do what these make possible AFAIK.
One thing I noticed that I hope will be solved:pen pressure doesn't work as well as in 2.6.
All in all it's a big step forward.
Gerard.

Edit: Just saw this after running Gimp_2.7 from a terminal

That's not funny it's a memory leak.

dd - subject closed!

Again, I just wish you can run the old plugins in the 64-bit version (such as Mathmap, and Filter Factory (user filter) Converter). Still, with Shellout, I can use the features needed in 64-bit GIMP 2.8 and continue my edit in the 32-bit version of GIMP. If you can't install both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of GIMP 2.8, then, I will be using GIMP 2.6.12 as my main editor since I have to have Mathmap; that's the issue. So far I've yet to see Mathmap compiled for 64-bit GIMP. Again, with Shellout, there is at least a viable work around though it's definitely not ideal. Also, I do hope the developers have the forethought to include Python with the installer for Windows users please like it already is for Inkscape.

Here you go...

Here are the dynamic brushes that came with 2.7.5.
You can make your own too very easy.
Gerard.

OK; a clarification 64-bit GIMP for Windows. Yes, you got me Saul. lol

Yep - mine's actually 2.7.6 I believe and it's much the same - hardly a mile long list and "confetti???" What on earth is that all about? I'm sorry but painter has more and is far more practical.

I've been playing around with 2.7.6 and I'm gradually warming to it. I take back what I said in an earlier post about the brushes - I'm getting used to them but I still find the rotating action annoying and impossible to work with. The brush engine as I said before has a lot of potential but it will be have to be better than that if I'm going to give up painter to switch to 2.8. It's a shame Painter isn't included as a default tool. I think I'll keep 2.6.11 but also have a portable 2.8 to play with. My original post was perhaps a bit harsh and I hope nobody was offended by it.

I really like the new brush dynamics in Gimp-2.7 versions.Without it you wouldn't be able to paint with gradient.
As for some reason it was left out of the new builds.

I'm going to experiment a lot more with these brush dynamics to see exactly what they are capable of. I don't think I've gone far beyond the surface yet. Painting with gradients sounds interesting though I'm not sure what I would use it for.

I'm trying to work with the brush dynamics but the mapping matrices seem to be read only. How do I create my own dynamics?

Open the "dynamics" tab, there's an icon for new dynamics

I'm either blind or stupid! Thanks dd.

Some people never heard of "figure of speech",they take everything literally.
Confetti is definitely not useful to paint shop window mannequins.
But some people have uses for it.
Gerard.

My apologies. I can be a bit cynical at times about things that I consider to be "Gimmicky" and forget that some people enjoy playing with such. The brush engine is quite good actually. It might not be Gimp Painter but it's a step in the right direction.