webchem
Adding chemical databases with one hand while public ones close programmatic access with the other.
Comparison · Analytics
marquee vs simulist
A side-by-side editorial comparison of marquee and simulist — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
marquee vs simulist: at a glance
What is marquee?
marquee is filling in the typographic details — outlines, border types, real font metrics for underlines.
marquee renders markdown text onto R graphics devices, and backs element_marquee() and geom_marquee() in ggplot2. Development ran in a tight burst through August and September 2025: 1.1.0 added text outlines, a size shortcut and remote PNG/JPEG support, 1.2.0 added border and outline line types and moved underline placement onto font metrics, and 1.2.1 cleaned up the bugs those introduced.
What is simulist?
simulist stopped simulating clean outbreaks and started simulating the mess real surveillance data arrives in.
simulist generates synthetic line list and contact-tracing data for outbreak analytics as part of the Epiverse-TRACE stack. It reached stable status in 0.6.0 and was published in JOSS alongside 0.7.0 in February 2026. Its distinguishing feature is no longer the epidemic simulation itself but the post-processing layer that degrades the output into realistic data.
marquee vs simulist: editorial side-by-side
marquee
0.0ANALYTICS
marquee is filling in the typographic details — outlines, border types, real font metrics for underlines.
◆ Current state
marquee renders markdown text onto R graphics devices, and backs element_marquee() and geom_marquee() in ggplot2. Development ran in a tight burst through August and September 2025: 1.1.0 added text outlines, a size shortcut and remote PNG/JPEG support, 1.2.0 added border and outline line types and moved underline placement onto font metrics, and 1.2.1 cleaned up the bugs those introduced.
◆ Where it's heading
The package is converging on typographic fidelity rather than new capability. Early work settled layout semantics — CSS margin collapsing, inline padding reserving space during shaping, devices without glyph support — and recent releases refine how decorations are drawn and measured. The naming cleanup in 1.2.0, border_size becoming border_width, reads as an API being tidied ahead of wider use rather than one still being explored.
◆ Prediction
Expect continued small releases sanding down rendering edge cases in ggplot2 contexts, since that is where the recent bug reports come from; nothing here signals a new feature area.
simulist
0.0ANALYTICS
simulist stopped simulating clean outbreaks and started simulating the mess real surveillance data arrives in.
◆ Current state
simulist generates synthetic line list and contact-tracing data for outbreak analytics as part of the Epiverse-TRACE stack. It reached stable status in 0.6.0 and was published in JOSS alongside 0.7.0 in February 2026. Its distinguishing feature is no longer the epidemic simulation itself but the post-processing layer that degrades the output into realistic data.
◆ Where it's heading
The scope moved outward in two steps. 0.5.0 added truncate_linelist() and messy_linelist() to produce right-truncated snapshots and data with missingness and inconsistencies; 0.6.0 added censor_linelist() for grouping dates into intervals with a weekend-reporting effect. The simulation core has meanwhile settled — 0.7.0's changes are interface polish: weighted sex sampling and <epiparameter> objects accepted for reporting_delay.
◆ Prediction
Post-processing is where the recent work is, so further realism controls — additional reporting artefacts or interval schemes — are a likelier next step than new epidemic model structures.
Alternatives to marquee and simulist
Other Analytics products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either marquee or simulist.
sftime
The spatiotemporal companion to sf, moving at the pace of the packages around it.
ReLTER
An interface to Europe's long-term ecosystem research network that went quiet after 2.0.
waywiser
Spatial model assessment that spent the last year on cross-platform arithmetic and CRAN rules.
taxizedb
Stopped trusting the cloud to prepare its taxonomic databases and does the conversion locally.
fellingdater
Went from estimating felling dates to doing the crossdating that produces them.
See all marquee alternatives → · See all simulist alternatives →
Recent activity from marquee and simulist
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 6mo agosimulistJOSS paper corrections
- 6mo agosimulistWeighted sex sampling and epiparameter objects for reporting delays
- 11mo agomarqueeBug fixes for relative sizes, outlines and guide width
- 11mo agomarqueeBorder and outline line types; underlines follow font metrics
- 11mo agosimulistcensor_linelist() adds interval censoring and a weekend effect
- 11mo agomarqueeRotated text width fixed; factor input supported
- 0y agomarqueeText outlines, size shortcuts and images from URLs
- 1y agosimulistPost-processing arrives: truncated snapshots and deliberately messy line lists ⚡
- 1y agomarquee1.0 settles margin collapsing and inline decoration spacing
- 1y agosimulistEvery sim_*() argument gains a default
- 2y agosimulistInfectious period replaces contact interval; time-varying fatality risk added
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between marquee and simulist?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. marquee and simulist are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is marquee better than simulist?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. marquee and simulist are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to marquee?
Top marquee alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "marquee alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/marquee for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to simulist?
Top simulist alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "simulist alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/simulist for the full list with editorial commentary on each.