QA Graphic

Biff 2.0

Exciting features in Biff. Still falls short of worth buying

Back in November, the Escapers announced a new updated to their graphic application called Biff. Since I reviewed version one of Biff in March of 2017, I thought it would be good to check out the changes

New Features

Three big changes in Biff: Scenes, SVG Import and Code Generation. This is text from an email that announced the new features

Scenes allow you to add perspective to your work, ideal for publicity shots. SVG import allows Biff to take advantage of great resources like The Noun Project, quite simply, you can now use thousands of free SVG resources in Biff. Finally, we've got code generation for both Mac and iOS. This means you can draw out anything you like in Biff, then export the Swift code to draw the elements in your Mac or iPhone app.

Biff2

Scenes

This is a pretty cool feature. One of the neat things is the ability to easily create isometric images. Simply create a design, a couple of clicks later you can have an isometric layout.

There are six different perspectives: Reset, Left Tilt, Right Tilt, Left Angled, Flying and lie Flat.

Anything can be made a Scenes, including text. (Think logo design?)

Biff Scenes

SVG Import

This didn't work at all. Epic failure is one way to describe it.

I dragged and drop several SVG files and they didn't render correctly. One file, a "happy face," rendered upside down and other SVG files didn't render correctly at all.

Looks like there's some work needed with the import. (In fairness, they do say that Biff doesn't rasterize SVGs, it imports and converts them into regular Biff shapes.)

Files I tested were downloaded from the internet, no special compression or features.

Biff SVG Import
Not sure what happened to the image when I dragged/dropped into the workspace.

Code Generation

This is pretty cool, there's support for UIKit and Cocoa. I don't do any coding that requires this functionality but it's neat to see an application that has this feature.

Worth the Upgrade?

Biff 2 cost $24.99 and I still don't think it's worth getting - especially since SVG Import didn't work for me. Many of the features can be found in other products, such as Affinity Designer, for a bit more money but they do offer additional functionality.

Having said that, the repeater/tile functionality is pretty cool. It's really easy to use and I have seen it available any place else.

Getting Biff 2

Try Biff 2 and see if it meets your needs. You can download a 30-day trial from The Escaper's Website.

 

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A Mac veteran since 1989, I'm here to share my experience with tips and tricks every Friday. Witnessing the evolution of Mac software and hardware firsthand, I've gained a deep understanding of how these machines work and can help you troubleshoot any issues that may come up.

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