As usual, the lead developer (c'est moi) is happy to answer any questions.
(I know that especially VCAs are different here, but in the end, they are groups of groups if you squint hard enough, are they not?)
Persistent and quick groups are definitely related; we've already a few trenchant observations about what we've done with quick groups, and we will work on taking them into consideration as we refine how this works. But fundamentally, I see persistent groups and quick groups as orthogonal, and their main job is not to interfere (too much) with each other.
As an aside, is there any way I can add functionality to a control surface (that isn't writing C)? I use a behringer X-Touch (heavily) and moved to Reaper because there were plugins that provided much deeper integration with my X-Touch (which as a result has me working a lot faster in certain areas).
1. hardware surfaces have had different use conventions for a long time (certainly things that look like mixing consoles). They are effectively multitouch devices, and human interaction with them just isn't the same as with a mouse & GUI.
2. for Mackie Control Protocol devices, we already provide a nifty multi-target action there where you just press and hold one eg. solo button and then press another, to apply it to the range that was pressed.
We do not providing scripting for developing control surface support. I've written extensively about my thoughts on Reaper's scripting [0] and I remain conflicted by the questions it raises. There's nothing that can be done in Reaper via scripting that can't be done in Ardour via C++, and a huge amount that theoretically could be done in Ardour via C++ that cannot be done in Reaper. I know this is not a satisfactory answer for people who do not want to master (a) C++ (b) the build environment.
[0] https://discourse.ardour.org/t/is-open-source-a-diversion-fr...
Totally minor feedback in case you value this kind of feedback: the website’s layout is freaking out on my iOS Safari. I can scroll sideways like four page widths and then see nothing at all. Same with the front page.
A short video if it helps: https://youtube.com/shorts/2dItDk_FtkI?si=WSsM2fgWR91IR7wU
I've seen Ardour for a long, long time but haven't ever tried it. What, if anything, would I be missing by switching? I primarily do composition, so lots of VSTs etc.
But if you have become used to the FL Studio workflow, Ardour (and the list of DAWs above) are likely to feel clunky and unproductive.
I'll give Ardour a try, thanks for the response and congrats on the release!
However, I don't think that's due to FL Studio somehow being architected better or worse. I just think its score ("piano roll") editing controls are much better than most other DAWs I've used and it gets out of my way for the most part when trying to get things from brain to screen ASAP.
If you're making something like hip hop or EDM, where there's a lot of repetition, then this functionality in FL Studio can be helpful. But it also has a lot of weak areas compared to other DAWs.
What about MIDI 2.0?
MIDI 2.0: no plans at this time.