Scratch 3.0 - Scratch Wiki (original) (raw)

Scratch 3.0
Release Date	January 2, 2019
Programming language	HTML5 / JavaScript
Download	Link
Predecessor	2.0
Successor	4.0

Scratch 3.0 is the third and current major version of Scratch. It was released on January 2, 2019 and is a complete redesign and reimplementation of Scratch written in JavaScript.[1] It features a new, modern look and design, and fixed many bugs present in Scratch 2.0. It does not require the Flash Player, enabling users to view and edit projects from mobile devices.

Development

Main article: Development of Scratch 3.0

The development of Scratch 3.0 was a long process which started long before the official release.

In May 2016, the Scratch Team announced a partnership with Google to create Scratch Blocks, a library of graphical programming blocks. Later in 2016 and 2017, many changes were made to the User Interface.

On January 18, 2018, a preview of Scratch 3.0 was released at preview.scratch.mit.edu. On August 1, a beta version was released at beta.scratch.mit.edu which added new extensions, and the Scratch 3.0 Beta forum was created so Scratchers could give feedback. During the beta, many major bugs in the editor were fixed.

Interface

Main article: User Interface

The different areas of the User Interface.

The Scratch editor is designed to make coding easier for beginners and New Scratchers. The area for editing the project is on the left, while the stage (for viewing projects) and the Sprites Pane are on the right.

Organization

Scratch is organized into multiple sprites, which act as multiple characters that can interact with each other using blocks. The Sprites can be accessed using the Sprites Pane in the bottom right under the stage. Each sprite has its own blocks, costumes, and sounds, and can move on its own.

Code Area

Main article: Code Area

The Code Area is located on the left of the editor, where one adds and edits blocks, which are bits of code that act as scripts that run the project. To the left is the Block Palette, the area from which blocks can be dragged. Blocks are grouped into 9 sections: Motion, Looks, Sound, Events, Control, Sensing, Operators, Variables, and My Blocks. There are also multiple extensions that can be added to the project. The extensions have extra features or let Scratch interact with external devices.

Paint Editor

Main article: Paint Editor

The Paint Editor is Scratch's built-in editor where costumes for sprites can be made and edited. It has vector and bitmap (raster) versions that one can easily switch between. The Costumes Library has many premade costumes that one can use in their projects.

Sound Editor

Main article: Sound Editor

The Sound Editor is Scratch's built-in editor where sounds for sprites can be made and edited. It has several tools that can be used to edit sounds such as a sound recorder and a sound library where premade sounds can be used.

Changes

Blocks

• Many blocks are replaced in a different order.
• Events Blocks are the color of the Scratch 2.0 Control Blocks, and control blocks are a bit lighter than the old events blocks.
• The blocks have been slightly enlarged for mobile users.
• More Blocks has been renamed as My Blocks and is a shade of light red, closely resembling pink.
• Default inputs have been changed on some blocks.
• Music blocks, Video Sensing blocks, and pen blocks have been moved to extensions.
• New extensions: Text to Speech, Translate, micro:bit, and Lego Mindstorms EV3. (The Makey Makey Extension and the Go Direct Force & Acceleration Extension were added after the release.)
• PicoBoard and LEGO WeDo 1.0 are no longer supported.
• Scratch 3.0 introduced the following new blocks:
  • go to [ v] layer
  • go [ v] () layers
  • (costume [ v])
  • (backdrop [ v])
  • change [ v] effect by ()::sound
  • set [pitch v] effect to ()::sound
  • clear sound effects
  • set drag mode [ v]
  • <() contains ()?::operators
  • delete all of [ v]
  • (item # of () in [ v])

Scratch 3.0 also added many new extensions. For the list of new extension blocks, see Blocks#Extensions.

Paint Editor

Main article: Paint Editor

• The Vector editor is now the default.
• New color selector and eraser tool.
• Many tools have been moved
• Many options, such as deletion, going forward/backward layers, copying and pasting, and grouping are now shown by default instead of only appearing when a specific tool is selected.
• Fonts have been replaced with Sans Serif, Serif (Times), Handwriting, Marker, Curly, Pixel, 中文 (Chinese), 日本語 (Japanese), and 한국어 (Korean).

Sound Editor

Main article: Sound Editor

• The Edit and Effects tabs have been combined.
• Some Edit tools have been moved above the sound viewer.

Website

Main article: Scratch Website

• The website has been updated with a new look.
• Projects can now be created on tablets and played on both tablets and phones.
• Some pages, such as the Ideas Page, have been overhauled.
• Internet Explorer, Opera, and Silk are no longer supported.
• Profiles, the my stuff page, and account settings are still using the Scratch 2.0 styling as of 2023

Updates

Main article: Scratch Update History

On January 9, 2019, the Scratch Team released new updates for Scratch 3.0, fixing many bugs Scratchers had reported.[2] This included projects getting stuck on the loading screen, and the love and favorites not showing up. This announcement was shown on the Front Page.

In early-mid January 2019, the front page banner was changed from "The new Scratch is here!" to "Create stories, games, and animations" and "Share with others around the world". Below the banner, there are two buttons: "Start Creating", leading to the project editor, and "Join", leading to a page to create a Scratch account. There was also a video demonstrating what you can create with Scratch.

On April 19, 2019, some more updates were released.[3] It included the Go Direct Force & Acceleration Extension and bug fixes.

On August 1, 2019 updates to the sound editor were released.[4] It made improvements to the sound editor, including the option to select portions of the sound, copying and pasting, and basic keyboard shortcuts to the editor.

On February 13, 2020, an update to the Paint Editor was made. It included the Costume Centering Feature. The tool allows a costume to be centered more easily.

On May 18, 2020, more updates were made to the Paint Editor. It included a feature that made it now possible to zoom out beyond the canvas and more of the Paint Editor can now be seen on different browser sizes.

On June 28, 2023, an update to the project editor was made. It included the feature to change between normal blocks and color contrast blocks, and the navigation bar changed from blue to purple.[5] This was the first feature from Scratch Lab to transfer over to the main website.

On November 6, 2024, an update to the project editor was made, adding an additional confirmation message when a Scratcher attempts to delete a Sprite. The tutorial menu was also reorganized.[6]

On December 16, 2024, an update to the project editor and website was made, adding the Debugging Help button to the editor. It also completely redesigned the Community Guidelines and Ideas pages.[7]

File Formats

Main article: Scratch File Format

Scratch 3.0 uses .sb3 file format for projects and .sprite3 for sprites. These formats are more efficient than Scratch 2.0 file formats.[_citation needed_]

Reception

Negative reception

Scratch 3.0 was criticized for its lack of new features and changes to the user interface. Some users quit Scratch because they were dissatisfied with the new design and/or did not like the changes made to Scratch as well as compatibility issues with old projects.[8] Many community members critical of the new version used the icon of "Thanos Cat",[9] a combination of the Scratch Cat and the head of Thanos from the Avengers film franchise who eliminated half of the universe's population by snapping his fingers. This is supposedly because the upgrade caused half of the community to disappear, but information from Statistics does not reflect this.[10]

Positive reception

There has been much praise for 3.0 as a smaller countermovement but is also evident by the Scratch Cat's project "Scratch 3.0 is here!" receiving over 6000 Loves, almost 5000 Favorites, and over 2000 Remixes as of July 2024.[11][12]

Gallery

• 
  A comparison of the horizontal and vertical block layout
• 
  Design charts for various blocks
• 
  Another design chart for some vertical blocks
• 
  A third design chart for some vertical blocks
• 
  Some of the Scratch 3.0 blocks and the block palette
• 
  A design chart for the horizontal Reset block
• 
  An old design chart for some horizontal blocks
• 
• 
  Editing Audio in 3.0
• 
  The February 6, 2017 concept sketch of Scratch 3.0
• 
  The paint editor of Scratch 3.0
• 
  Scratch 3.0 in full-screen mode
• 
  Music extension picture
• 
  Pen extension picture
• 
  Video sensing extension picture
• 
  The extensions library for Scratch 3.0.
• 
  W3 WCAG compliant blocks with increased contrast

See Also

• Flash Player
• HTML5 Player
• Scratch 2.0
• Development of Scratch 3.0

References

1. ↑ Development of Scratch 3.0
2. ↑ topic:331439 "We want to thank you all for the great feedback you’ve been giving us about Scratch 3.0! We’ve been busy reading what you have to say about it and wanted to update you about some of the work we’re doing in response to this. We designed Scratch 3.0 to be easier to build on than Scratch 2.0 was, so while Scratch 2.0 didn’t change very much, you will see Scratch 3.0 grow over time with new features and extensions."
3. ↑ topic:348127 "We wanted to give you an update on some of the things we’ve been working on since our last post."
4. ↑ topic:365737 "One thing we heard a lot of feedback on has been the Scratch sound editor and today we are excited to share an updated version!"
5. ↑ topic:689659
6. ↑ topic:787947
7. ↑ topic:795061
8. ↑ jandrewg. (2019). ""I have quit scratch[_sic_] because Scratch 3.0 has broken so many good projects."" users:jandrewg
9. ↑ Johannes08. (21/01/2019). "Why do so many people have a "Thanos cat" Profile picture suddenly?" topic:337096
10. ↑ Za_Chary. (29/08/2019). "Thanos Cat spread […] because people claimed that Scratch 3.0 made half of all users want to quit Scratch, much like Thanos from the Avengers movies wanted to kill half of the Earth's population (or so I heard). The Statistics page says otherwise — there hasn't been an unusually major drop in activity around that time, from what it seems." post:3686460
11. ↑ studios:5821632 "Scratch 3.0 Supporters"
12. ↑ projects:276660763 Scratch 3.0 is here! by the Scratch Cat (@ScratchCat)

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