Darkstar2
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Posted on: January 29, 2014, 02:24:46 pm |
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 1238
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First I'd like to say I am happy I found this site, as I accidentally stumbled upon it by reading online about game engines! I am not familiar enough with programming to do the things I want to......and game maker is the first, easy game making tool I used on a PC so far, and probably the easiest to learn! I was looking for something that was not a 100% click and build type of app, where you use prefabs etc, but something that was easy to learn and at the same time allowed me full freedom to customize my projects.
I am actively seeking rapid development tools to help me reach certain goals. I would like to eventually write some educational / interactive apps/ games and publish them (some free, some commercial) but to start mostly just as a hobby /free stuff.
Times are a bit difficult and so my budget is very limited, happy I found this site.
There are several things I want to do that I cannot get done with gamemaker studio,
1) I would like to do interactive apps/games that use cut scenes/cinematics/videos. I would like the ability to embedd videos inside my game window and choose the size of the frame within the game, and also have full screen playback.
2) I would like to publish some of those to Android (compile to APK ?) Right now for what I need be done, $199 is not something I can afford. I just want to get into this a little and further get better with GML and such.
I asked some help in the GMC community, and unfortunately nobody could help me with the specific things I was looking for. One day someone contacted me by PM there and offered to help with a DLL to allow the video playback, but as I soon discovered, even with much tweaking and modifications to the code, that the results where really bad. After doing some key searched in google I stumbled across enigma. !
I used enigma for some time now, impressed by how easy it is to use and it is very familiar to what I'm using so that's a great plus.
However, I have a problem and was wondering if anybody could help. Video playback, the only way to use video playback is through the splash video functions......When I use this function, the video plays, but it has to play to the end... There is no way to abort playback. In many games you can skip cut scenes by hitting ESC or whatever keys they have configured. I don't see any commands where I can set video playback to stop once a key is pressed (stop as in exit the video playback). Also I see no commands for customizing video playback (target size, window size, etc.) I've seen reference to such commands in your wiki but they are not recognized by the parser when I compile them, even when I have the API enabled.
Any help there would be much appreciated.
Also, the only compile option I see is windows, I am using windows, but would also like to export my project to android eventually, now these are serious projects once they get done, which I can publish in the google play store, setting up an account there is not a problem, how would I be able to generate a store compatible file format ? I heard there are signatures and special requirements for the app to be sent ? Any help there would be appreciated.
Back to video playback, I also found out the video add, video stop, etc commands that you support, however, these load up the video in memory. Is there a way to modify them to allow streaming the video from an external file ? the video splash allows this but is not flexible, and does not allow stopping / ESCaping the video.
Thanks.
P.S. Oh yeah one more thing, I got some rather odd suggestions from some GMC community members to use a cracked edition of studio, (for the android export) ! so I let them know clearly that it is out of the question and not an option at all and will never be even considered.
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« Last Edit: January 29, 2014, 02:29:03 pm by Darkstar2 »
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DaSpirit
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Reply #1 Posted on: January 29, 2014, 02:38:24 pm |
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Location: New York City Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 124
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We're glad you're enjoying ENIGMA. While I do not know about ENIGMA's video playback support, I can answer your questions about Android. There is no current supported ENIGMA Android port. There was a WIP one, but it's no longer being developed (the lead developer of it has abandoned the project). Although we'd like to have Android support, ENIGMA does not yet support OGL ES yet (but the devs are working hard on this!). Someone on this forum was offering to compile to Android from GM Studio for free. You can contact him if interested.
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Darkstar2
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Reply #2 Posted on: January 29, 2014, 03:04:15 pm |
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 1238
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We're glad you're enjoying ENIGMA. While I do not know about ENIGMA's video playback support, I can answer your questions about Android.
There is no current supported ENIGMA Android port. There was a WIP one, but it's no longer being developed (the lead developer of it has abandoned the project). Although we'd like to have Android support, ENIGMA does not yet support OGL ES yet (but the devs are working hard on this!). Someone on this forum was offering to compile to Android from GM Studio for free. You can contact him if interested.
Hmmm ok thanks, but I am wondering of any legal implications by doing that. Doesn't the program grant a one user license ? Also this means the person would have to have my source code and they would also have all my in game assets. Since some of the projects I am working on are unique and have not been done with this type of tool I think I will pass on that. Guess I will have to wait for android support ! /update: I clicked on the link I recognized that user from the GMC community, nice offer he's making there and his requirements are reasonable, but that post dates from august 2013, I don't know if his offer still stands, I will think about it, but for now I will just focus on my windows projects. Some on the GMC community (in private) are telling me I should use a cracked version with all the exports, they use as arguments that if I will use it to publish free apps/games that nothing bad will happen. In fact I became aware that some publishers in the play store allegedly use a cracked master collection. (!) I have heard and read (coming directly from YoYoGames) that they can track if a compiled app was made with a legit version, then some other people said there are embedded signatures in the final compile, which can be decoded back to the license holder's serial........then some rumors about callbacks, etc. So if a free app becomes too popular this can be trouble too. I want to remain 100% legal in my projects since they are big and eventually looking for them to be used on a wider scale. I would have gladly offered all my efforts and free time to contribute to this open source project myself but lack the programming knowledge. I think your project is exactly what many people are looking for. Right now I am aiming to get better, experiment and make free apps. Nothing would justify me paying $199 for the android export. More so, even if I could pay the $199, there are functions I would require in my projects that are not available in studio. Meanwhile I really hope the video playback functions will be supported, as many people are after this function from what I read on the forums. Some have mentioned this in the GMC forums as well.
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« Last Edit: January 29, 2014, 03:17:10 pm by Darkstar2 »
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Goombert
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Reply #3 Posted on: January 29, 2014, 03:20:31 pm |
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Location: Cappuccino, CA Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 2993
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Howdy darkstar2! Although I am one of the leading contributors here I can give you some unbiased advice. I would like to do interactive apps/games that use cut scenes/cinematics/videos. I would like the ability to embedd videos inside my game window and choose the size of the frame within the game, and also have full screen playback. I understand the importance of this, and have been planning something similar for ENIGMA, specifically, rendering videos to Direct3D surfaces or OpenGL framebuffers. Unity3D also has this capability. We do however offer basic fullscreen video playback support for Windows currently provided by the DirectShow extension, it supports all formats Windows Media Player does. http://enigma-dev.org/docs/Wiki/Audio_and_Video_FunctionsIt has been a pet project of mine. 2) I would like to publish some of those to Android (compile to APK ?) Right now for what I need be done, $199 is not something I can afford. I just want to get into this a little and further get better with GML and such. We are working on getting our OpenGL3 graphics system to not use any of the Fixed-function pipeline, so that we can convert it to GLES or OpenGL for embedded systems. Then we can begin fixing up our Android port again, will also help once Josh has his compiler finished. However, Unity3D's free version does allow publishing so long as you don't make over $100,000 I believe, but I am not sure if they have Android. There is also construct which is very cheap and exports to a TON of devices, it is also more advanced than GameMaker in many areas as far as game design is concerned, much easier to learn as well. https://www.scirra.com/construct2Video playback, the only way to use video playback is through the splash video functions......When I use this function, the video plays, but it has to play to the end... There is no way to abort playback. In many games you can skip cut scenes by hitting ESC or whatever keys they have configured. I don't see any commands where I can set video playback to stop once a key is pressed (stop as in exit the video playback). Also I see no commands for customizing video playback (target size, window size, etc.) Yes I wrote that extension to work like GameMaker, but as I said above, I plan on extending it when I have some free time. Specifically so that it can thread video playback and stream. I've seen reference to such commands in your wiki but they are not recognized by the parser when I compile them, even when I have the API enabled. The ones that are red I haven't added yet, they are just planned because I haven't decided how to best design the interface for the functions, they are currently only there to provide the Video Drag and Drop action. Also, the only compile option I see is windows, I am using windows, but would also like to export my project to android eventually, now these are serious projects once they get done, which I can publish in the google play store, setting up an account there is not a problem, how would I be able to generate a store compatible file format ? I heard there are signatures and special requirements for the app to be sent ? Any help there would be appreciated. This is because currently you have to have the platform you want to compile for, eg. you have to be on Linux to compile for Linux, though someone was working on a cross-compiler patch. Now as far as Android, we are rebuilding it from the ground up and still working on graphics, however, when we do get it working you will be able to build and run the game inside the NDK emulator. https://www.google.com/#q=ndk+emulatorAs far as publishing goes, we are going to work all of that out. But basically, you don't need to worry about that, as we will help in w/e way we have the resources to do so when we get to that point. We may also look into a good free publishing solution to help indie developers get their games onto different stores and what not. Not commission based or anything, just simply community resources and the likes. Is there a way to modify them to allow streaming the video from an external file ? the video splash allows this but is not flexible, and does not allow stopping / ESCaping the video. Yes I would like to add all of that but I do not have enough time on my hands. P.S. Oh yeah one more thing, I got some rather odd suggestions from some GMC community members to use a cracked edition of studio, (for the android export) ! so I let them know clearly that it is out of the question and not an option at all and will never be even considered. I am going to have to go ahead and suggest you don't bother with that software it is pretty buggy and has even corrupted peoples projects. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GameMaker:_Studio#Digital_rights_managementI would have gladly offered all my efforts and free time to contribute to this open source project myself but lack the programming knowledge. I think your project is exactly what many people are looking for. Right now I am aiming to get better, experiment and make free apps. Nothing would justify me paying $199 for the android export. You're right, it is isn't worth 199$, it is pretty buggy and as I said above, you should try to avoid it, there are plenty of programs out there that do the same thing and more even for free. Another thing you may be interested in is Nokia's Qt framework, it can export to a host of mobile devices and can do hardware accelerated rendering, it is just frankly amazing, and now it's open source and libre too! https://www.google.com/#q=qt+framework
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« Last Edit: November 16, 2019, 02:26:56 pm by Goombert »
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I think it was Leonardo da Vinci who once said something along the lines of "If you build the robots, they will make games." or something to that effect.
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Darkstar2
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Reply #4 Posted on: January 29, 2014, 04:05:55 pm |
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 1238
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Howdy darkstar2! Although I am one of the leading contributors here I can give you some unbiased advice.
Nice to meet you and thanks, I could use every bit of unbiased advice I can get I understand the importance of this, and have been planning something similar for ENIGMA, specifically, rendering videos to Direct3D surfaces or OpenGL framebuffers.
Interesting, does this mean one could create Myst type or games that blend CG with actual game footage ? That's more advanced stuff, but to begin I would like to be able to add cut scenes (full screen) with ability to skip (ESC), and also include windowed (embedded in game) where I can control target size of the video, and finally allow video to be played in a mask / alpha mask, etc. used in main menus, etc. Unity3D also has this capability. We do however offer basic fullscreen video playback support for Windows currently provided by the DirectShow extension, it supports all formats Windows Media Player does.
Doesn't Unity3D require coding skills ? It uses languages that I am not familiar with at all. I've used game maker for a very long time and learned GML and still not really advanced with GML but can handle it somewhat. Unity3D is a different league. Also don't think the free version supports video playback, and it is limited. This is what brought me to ENIGMA and using LateralGM within it, keeping the familiar look and ability to work with something I already know However, Unity3D's free version does allow publishing so long as you don't make over $100,000 I believe, but I am not sure if they have Android.
Don't think so, but if they don't it would defeat the purpose as I can use ENIGMA. $100k ? lol. No I don't think anytime soon. And if by miracle I do, I will gladly then buy their full product BTW, I am more into doing 2D stuff for now and educational type apps (non game related). This is because currently you have to have the platform you want to compile for, eg. you have to be on Linux to compile for Linux, though someone was working on a cross-compiler patch. Now as far as Android, we are rebuilding it from the ground up and still working on graphics, however, when we do get it working you will be able to build and run the game inside the NDK emulator. https://www.google.com/#q=ndk+emulator
Well I have an android tablet (SamsungGalaxy) and a smart phone. If there could be a way to plug in my phone or tablet, use windows to develop and run/test the product directly on my Android devices ? As far as publishing goes, we are going to work all of that out. But basically, you don't need to worry about that, as we will help in w/e way we have the resources to do so when we get to that point. We may also look into a good free publishing solution to help indie developers get their games onto different stores and what not. Not commission based or anything, just simply community resources and the likes.
That sounds really nice for those who are started and don't have the money to spend. I personally would not mind paying a commission after all it's fair and besides all the money saved with a free tool is a plus. I see a lot of indie game releases.........Some are really bad and many are really good. I recognize a few that were made with studio. I really wonder those who spend the $800, are they really making good money from their work ? I heard stories about the popular apps being ripped and distributed in the black market, is it common for an apps store developer to become rich from their apps ($100k ) let alone even $10k ? I am a skeptic about that. Personally not looking for a get rich quick scheme, I'd be happy to do it as a hobby and if I can eventually make some $ out of it I will be happy, and if someone is willing to make me rich out of it, I would not mind either, but that's not what I am after. Yes I would like to add all of that but I do not have enough time on my hands.
I hear you, I wish days had more than 24h, I can relate to that too. I am going to have to go ahead and suggest you don't bother with that software it is pretty bug and has even corrupted peoples projects.
Are you talking about the pirated GM that is circulating or the GameMaker Studio itself ? I am a legit owner of GameMaker Studio, personally it has not corrupted or caused me any issues so far, only thing it is missing specific functions I am after, also want something with better performance since my larger project will use more computing power and resources. I don't think I will be purchasing any further version of their software if I can do everything I want to inside ENIGMA The company is also known for lawsuits against indie developers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GameMaker:_Studio#Digital_rights_management
interesting read. I knew about the skull thing, luckily I was not affected by it, but it would not have been an issue as I always keep a backup of all my game assets and project files and they are stored on a different physical drive. I don't recall exactly what triggered this to happen to some people. What amazes me is that they use this to combat piracy but it did only the opposite. it sure did not stop GameMaker Studio and Master from being pirated. Nothing stopped major games with the heaviest protection to get pirated. I remember they had issues with softwrap going back. I was not aware of the IOS / decompiling thing. At the time I was aware of some GM5/Gm6/GM7/GM8 decompilers going around where people could decompile and steal resources ..... That was my major gripe at the time as the last thing I wanted was for my projects to be decompiled. I guess I would not have to worry about that with ENIGMA right ? You're right, it is isn't worth 199$, it is pretty buggy and as I
Good to know So I guess this would mean $799.99 for the master collection would be out of the question too I guess ? yikes !
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time-killer-games
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Reply #5 Posted on: January 29, 2014, 04:40:47 pm |
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"Guest"
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Hi and welcome to the forums. Unfortunately I was banned from the GMC for insulting a moderator repeatedly over something completely unrelated to android porting. But before I was banned I actually posted a topic on the GMC offering free android ports and everyone including the admins were alright with it, so to answer your question yes it is perfectly legal and won't get you in any trouble. If you think I am I lying or misinformed please ask YYG themselves on their help desk. http://help.yoyogames.com/ this should give you the full assurance. Let me know if you are ever interested I'll be more than happy to help you out. There is a new game console that is android based called OUYA that I've been publishing for too recently let me know if you want OUYA ports in addition as I'm offering that as well. Also you can check out my games on my site, including android versions. http://www.timekillergames.tk/@DaSpirit: thanks for recommending me I appreciate it. =)
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« Last Edit: January 29, 2014, 04:46:16 pm by time-killer-games »
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Goombert
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Reply #6 Posted on: January 29, 2014, 04:59:11 pm |
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Location: Cappuccino, CA Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 2993
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Interesting, does this mean one could create Myst type or games that blend CG with actual game footage ? It means a number of things, it also means you could use HLSL and do special hardware accelerated effects, and also render the video to a 3D billboard or as the texture of an object. That's more advanced stuff, but to begin I would like to be able to add cut scenes (full screen) with ability to skip (ESC), and also include windowed (embedded in game) where I can control target size of the video, and finally allow video to be played in a mask / alpha mask, etc. used in main menus, etc. Having it escape is easy, you just put video_play inside a script and then call the following code. var thread; thread = script_thread(scr_videoplayback, myvideo); if (keyboard_check(vk_escape)) { video_stop(myvideo); }
But I don't think threads are implemented to Windows yet, I think only Linux has script_thread right now. Doesn't Unity3D require coding skills ? It uses languages that I am not familiar with at all. Oh yes you are Unity3D uses C# and JavaScript, GML uses a ton of JavaScript things such as the with() construct. This is actually why it is much better to just learn something like JavaScript, most game engines allow more than one programming language, GM is the only one that doesn't. ENIGMA offers GML compatibility or full blown C++ such as structs and classes. http://enigma-dev.org/docs/Wiki/ENIGMA:SpecificationAlso don't think the free version supports video playback, Yeah you're right it doesn't http://docs.unity3d.com/Documentation/Manual/VideoFiles.htmlConstruct 2 does have a plugin in JavaScript though. http://www.scirra.com/forum/can-construct-2-play-videos_topic53140.htmlQt Framework also has multimedia support. http://qt-project.org/doc/qt-5.0/qtmultimedia/multimediawidgets-player.htmlWell I have an android tablet (SamsungGalaxy) and a smart phone. If there could be a way to plug in my phone or tablet, use windows to develop and run/test the product directly on my Android devices ? No not at the moment, when we do however, you won't even have to do that, you'll just install the NDK and SDK and open your game in ENIGMA and switch the platform to Android and hit the green run button and it will open in the emulator or start on the device depending on configuration. I really wonder those who spend the $800, are they really making good money from their work ? I've yet to see any game using the new features that warranted the massive price increase that weren't already in GM8.1. Take for instance vertex buffers, the only example I've seen is there official one, and there is one on the GMC 3D editable subforum showing how to draw basic shapes with it. In fact there hasn't been any significant example posted on that specific subforum for quite some time. Personally not looking for a get rich quick scheme, Well that is a good prerogative, I actually have some rather strong feelings regarding this. Too much people focusing on just making poor games so they can make money as fast as possible, and not focusing on quality and making a fun game. PC gaming is still PC gaming and the greatest gaming platform there is, but the state of it I feel is declining. Remember the days when there were good Command and Conquer games? So many RTS titles you couldn't possibly play them all? Those days are quickly vanishing. EA botched SimCity and cancelled their new C&C Generals 2 game. Are you talking about the pirated GM that is circulating or the GameMaker Studio itself ? The legitimately authenticated version, the pirated version is actually known to work better and have less bugs believe it or not I am a legit owner of GameMaker Studio, personally it has not corrupted or caused me any issues so far, only thing it is missing specific functions I am after, also want something with better performance since my larger project will use more computing power and resources. I don't think I will be purchasing any further version of their software if I can do everything I want to inside ENIGMA Well I can provide examples, one was TKG's game, another was egofree's game, it wrote his shaders into his sprites folder and placed undefined objects all through his rooms everywhere he placed a tile, was pretty annoying to clean up. There is also the case of GMK 820, where they didn't version the format and instead of trying to fix it just completely dropped support causing me to follow suit. http://enigma-dev.org/forums/index.php?topic=1444I guess I would not have to worry about that with ENIGMA right ? No, our primary concern with the development of this project is the protection of user rights, like many Open Source projects. Our project being open source has nothing to do with being free as in price, but free as in libre and user rights. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_softwareGood to know So I guess this would mean $799.99 for the master collection would be out of the question too I guess ? yikes ! Well that's up to you, I tend to be overly critical, and I am not here to tell you how to spend your money, I am only here to educate and inform. However, at least you have a place to go if you do end up with a corrupted project, which is here, where LateralGM and its contributors have a history of fixing broken games and aiding people in fixing them. Unfortunately I was banned from the GMC for insulting a moderator repeatedly over something completely unrelated to android porting. This is another thing I'd like to point out as well, although you were not aware Darkstar2, you are not allowed to discuss competing projects on the GMC. YYG's tries very hard to stiffle competition, including the removal of myself for criticizing them in an announcement once and many others from their forums. It is a violation of the global forum rules, however we here at ENIGMA, do allow your freedom of speech and you are allowed to discuss competing projects however you like (I do it all the time) we just ask that you be polite and stay on topic and not for instance hijack people's topics as our other new user Johnny D did a few days ago and spam all over the place.
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« Last Edit: January 29, 2014, 05:04:46 pm by Robert B Colton »
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I think it was Leonardo da Vinci who once said something along the lines of "If you build the robots, they will make games." or something to that effect.
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time-killer-games
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Reply #7 Posted on: January 29, 2014, 05:57:40 pm |
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"Guest"
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I seriously doubt the cracked version has less bugs. For that to be remotely possible the people who made the crack would also need to know an outstanding amount of crap about several different languages Studio is made up of.
5piceIDE.exe - Borland Delphi GMAssetCompiler.exe - MS VB Runner.exe - C++/VisualStudio Mac/iOS runners - C++/XCode Android - XML/C/Java Html5 - JavaScript/CSS/HTML
Not to mention Ubuntu, WP8, Win8 and the Tizen runners. In order for the hackers to make a crack with less bugs they'd need to be amazingly experienced at all of these languages plus they'd need to write from scratch a working dissasembler and decompiler for EACH of these languages THEN fix bugs, assuming the dissasembled code would even be still readable after decompilation which isn't nearly possible. all the code, variables and function names would be fucked up completely.
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Goombert
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Reply #8 Posted on: January 29, 2014, 06:08:10 pm |
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Location: Cappuccino, CA Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 2993
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I was saying in the context of DRM, the pirated version had completely removed that Skull and Bones DRM and that is why it only ever misfired on legit customers. Also, Delphi, VB, and Java do not require expert knowledge, hardly at all, it is Visual BASIC ( Beginners all-purpose symbolic instruction code) for a reason. And reverse engineering is significantly easier than forward engineering. Every program is subject to reverse engineering even compiled programs, MSVC or GCC. https://www.google.com/#q=decompile+C%2B%2BYou just usually end up with a jumbled mess of jump instructions and what not, but if you have a DLL or LIB that was used to compile the program those can aid in reloading symbols. You would basically end up with something more assembly looking. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_language; Uses S-C Assembler variant. ; .or is origin ; .as is ASCII String ; .hs is Hex String .or $300 main ldy #$00 .1 lda str,y beq .2 jsr $fded ; ROM routine, COUT, y is preserved iny bne .1 .2 rts str .as "HELLO WORLD" .hs 0D00
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« Last Edit: January 29, 2014, 06:42:25 pm by Robert B Colton »
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I think it was Leonardo da Vinci who once said something along the lines of "If you build the robots, they will make games." or something to that effect.
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Darkstar2
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Reply #9 Posted on: January 29, 2014, 07:29:00 pm |
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Joined: Jan 2014
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It means a number of things, it also means you could use HLSL and do special hardware accelerated effects, and also render the video to a 3D billboard or as the texture of an object.
Interesting. But I don't think threads are implemented to Windows yet, I think only Linux has script_thread right now.
Indeed, and I am a windows user I've yet to see any game using the new features that warranted the massive price increase that weren't already in GM8.1. Take for instance vertex buffers, the only example I've seen is there official one, and there is one on the GMC 3D editable subforum showing how to draw basic shapes with it. In fact there hasn't been any significant example posted on that specific subforum for quite some time.
Interesting ! The massive price is more towards exports for those who need it. Personally have no regrets for buying GM:S from GM8.1 (which I purchased too and barely used ) I did not like at all the way full screen was handled in GM8, and I remember when you changed game resolution it messed up people's desktops. I don't see this problem in GM:S.......also they have a new audio engine, no regrets, in fact I remember there was a good deal / special for GM8.1 to GM:S, even got the HTML5 deal too. The legitimately authenticated version, the pirated version is actually known to work better and have less bugs believe it or not
LOL. That's inspiring But I read long topics where Mike mentioned how they track cracked copies and they have some code that calls home (?) or exposes your compiled games made with a cracked version. Regardless, maybe one day I might be tempted to use it just for fun just to play around and see what I am missing, but I would never release stuff (free or otherwise) made with a cracked version, ever, whether it can be tracked or not. I read on the GMC forum a topic (now locked) where someone exposes someone openly bragging and using it to release many games and even profiting from it. That is really disgusting and I heard from other sources that it was alleged that some people made far more than the software worth .... That's not me. Well I can provide examples, one was TKG's game, another was egofree's game, it wrote his shaders into his sprites folder and placed undefined objects all through his rooms everywhere he placed a tile, was pretty annoying to clean up. There is also the case of GMK 820, where they didn't version the format and instead of trying to fix it just completely dropped support causing me to follow suit. http://enigma-dev.org/forums/index.php?topic=1444
Well I intend as much as possible to build my future projects from scratch using ENIGMA through the LateralGM. There are certain things I notice are present in the GM IDE that are not in LateralGM such as autocomplete / suggestion box that pops up when you type a GML command, and proper syntax checking. I'm still not 100% fluent in GML, and far from the advanced stage so I have no problem running both program in parallel and using the official GM as reference /guide until it all gets incrusted into my brain cells Well that's up to you, I tend to be overly critical, and I am not here to tell you how to spend your money, I am only here to educate and inform. However, at least you have a place to go if you do end up with a corrupted project, which is here, where LateralGM and its contributors have a history of fixing broken games and aiding people in fixing them.
Don't worry about that, I am well aware of all the criticism regarding game maker and yoyogames. You would not be the first or last. Personally I have lots to say on those topics but less vocal than some. I'm not as active as many in the GMC community, but I do read some topics, and am aware of the sometimes not so friendly people responding there, I try to stay far FAR away from these type of topics Unfortunately I was banned from the GMC for insulting a moderator repeatedly over something completely unrelated to android porting. Yes so they don't take criticism well, sometimes the forums there are full of such topics and they don't always get the proper responses from the staff. Personally I have never had any issues with anybody there, member or staff, nor did I have issues with the license. This is another thing I'd like to point out as well, although you were not aware Darkstar2, you are not allowed to discuss competing projects on the GMC.
That is standard on most company forums. I personally never discussed competing products on the GMC forum, I am very discrete when it comes to that. If you discuss any competing products you would probably be perceived as paid shills. I did mention though about some standard function on competing products that are not found in GM. I think they are tolerant to some extent, don't think they will automatically ban you if you mention other software, providing you don't over do it or praise the competition too much They have a huge fan base anyway I don't think ENIGMA is a threat to them. They still make good money! If ENIGMA became a 100% compatible equivalent to Master Collection, with the same exports and more then I guess maybe they will make it a felony if you even mention competition or think about it YYG's tries very hard to stiffle competition, including the removal of myself for criticizing them in an announcement once and many others from their forums. It is a violation of the global forum rules,
I think any good, honest, serious company (serious about their product and the very people that put bread and butter on their table and reason for existing) should openly accept criticism, providing it is genuine and constructive. If a company will ban a member who raises facts and makes constructive criticism based on problem(s) / fact(s), then that says a lot about a company.....not in a good way. however we here at ENIGMA, do allow your freedom of speech and you are allowed to discuss competing projects however you like (I do it all the time) we just ask that you be polite and stay on topic and not for instance hijack people's topics as our other new user Johnny D did a few days ago and spam all over the place.
I am well aware of these problems on forums, many of those on the GMC, like I said, I stay away from those and try not to get involved although some of the more vocal people have points that I may share too BTW, if I were to compare GM Studio and ENIGMA in terms of GML, how compatible would you say is your program in terms of % ? BTW I really like how you can trim down your compiled EXE by checking only the required extension and API for the compile......Makes for far smaller EXEs. I experimented a little with this and could bring some EXE as small as 350k +/-. It would be good to have the LateralGM automatically determine which APIs to check, based on the project, to avoid having to check anything, allow manual or automatic would be nice. Example if a project uses audio, the proper default setting would be selected and greyed out, so you cannot disable it as your project would NOT compile otherwise. If a program uses video, then directshow would be checked and greyed out.....if you used physics, same......etc.
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Goombert
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Reply #10 Posted on: January 29, 2014, 09:49:03 pm |
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Location: Cappuccino, CA Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 2993
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Indeed, and I am a windows user Not anymore, I just added threads for Windows to couple our POSIX threads so that script threading will work on all platforms. This way you can do the above mentioned escape key to close video playback with DirectShow. If you don't mind I am also going to move this over to off-topic. Please read the following topic for details, however it is not merged to the main repo and is not quite yet available for use. http://enigma-dev.org/forums/index.php?topic=1742When I it is merged I can write you an example with a basic threaded video playback if you like. also they have a new audio engine, no regrets, in fact I remember there was a good deal / special for GM8.1 to GM:S, even got the HTML5 deal too. The new audio system was overdue, their first implementation of OpenAL which we had for years was pure butchery. Then they just recently deprecated all of the music functions after they realized how dumb they were. It is great but their execution of their ideas is really botched. That is standard on most company forums. That is really bad though, because people have their freedom of speech, and competition is good for consumers. There are certain things I notice are present in the GM IDE that are not in LateralGM such as autocomplete LGM has automatic completion in the code editors and the shader editor, start typing and hit CTRL+Space. I think any good, honest, serious company (serious about their product and the very people that put bread and butter on their table and reason for existing) should openly accept criticism, providing it is genuine and constructive. Exactly, this also allows them to publicly address it and with good PR skills they could even for instance apologize and promise to do better making it a positive for their image and say "hey look at least we don't ignore your complaints and criticisms like other companies" etc. BTW, if I were to compare GM Studio and ENIGMA in terms of GML, how compatible would you say is your program in terms of % Well it depends, to Studio, about 70% of functions are there, 20-25% you may experience bugs or issues with. But as for deprecated functions we have most if not all of the deprecated functions. It would be good to have the LateralGM automatically determine which APIs to check, based on the project, to avoid having to check anything, allow manual or automatic would be nice. Example if a project uses audio, the proper default setting would be selected and greyed out, so you cannot disable it as your project would NOT compile otherwise. If a program uses video, then directshow would be checked and greyed out.....if you used physics, same......etc.
Save your project as an EGM and it will save all of ENIGMA settings, so you won't have to set them each time you run. We just can't save those settings to Global Game Settings or GMX or GMK because those aren't our formats, so we invented our own.
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I think it was Leonardo da Vinci who once said something along the lines of "If you build the robots, they will make games." or something to that effect.
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time-killer-games
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Reply #11 Posted on: January 30, 2014, 10:13:12 am |
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"Guest"
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@Darkstar it appears you don't seem at all interested in my offer of android porting. Might I ask why? =P Either you want your games on android or you don't it's a little confusing.
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Darkstar2
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Reply #12 Posted on: January 30, 2014, 01:32:05 pm |
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 1238
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@Darkstar it appears you don't seem at all interested in my offer of android porting. Might I ask why? =P Either you want your games on android or you don't it's a little confusing.
There are 2 things I am looking to do, initially I want to focus on learning more skills and experiments. It will be windows for now as I would really like to work on original/unique, big projects and those will be windows exclusive. Later on when I am comfortable and more advanced, now that I have a good platform to work with I would really like to eventually be able to release some apps and games to android. All these are projects, I do not have anything ready yet to export to android. Right now I am hoping to do some big stuff on the windows side, and the smaller games initially for android. Yes I read your replies and was about to write a reply, and it's ok I don't have to check or ask YYG, I believe you, I do know you from the GMC forums remember seeing you there. Thanks very much for your offer,and confirmation that you have a the green light for doing so (legalities and all), I appreciate that. However, those are all projects. For now I need lots of time, and am focusing on experimenting and getting more advanced with game making / GML etc, and will initially work on big projects for windows, (lots of resources, etc.) things that will be windows exclusive....Eventually in the future for the smaller games I would like to include some of those in the google play store or other (android markets). I read your requirements and so you don't want blocky sprites and retro type games can't blame you for that, I think the same, however, people around me love those, I might make a few of those for friends and family But as far as my projects I'd rather not do anything than make crappy games OR work on things with UNIQUE, original elements (original music scoring, weird twisted ideas, etc.) I will keep your offer in mind, I also have absolutely no problem giving you credit inside my projects regardless of which options I choose.) I would trust that my source code and game resources not be shared or used as well Structure programming are not my strong points, if you saw my source you'd probably go nuts and certainly tell me there are faster, better ways to compact code a little. I want to learn all that stuff and get more advanced before doing the more serious stuff. I want to focus more on educational software in many areas rather than flashy graphics at first..... See the thing is I am aiming for quality and not quantity. Thanks.
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time-killer-games
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Reply #13 Posted on: January 30, 2014, 02:16:59 pm |
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"Guest"
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At this point if you want to make pixel art games we can still talk in the future about porting whether they use pixel art or not. I used to hate pixel art with a passion but yep I'm little by little actually growing to like it. I even released a game recently that is mostly blocky and pixelated (called "attack of the naked blockheads" and can be found at my site). Anyway my views have changed since I posted that topic., I don't want to port so I'll get anything out of it (branding, credits, exposure, etc) I want to do this simply for the sake of helping out people when they want help. That by itself is my motivator so even if you think your games in the future aren't any good that won't stop me from doing you favors. =) we'll talk in the future, keep me posted!
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Darkstar2
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Reply #14 Posted on: January 30, 2014, 04:05:34 pm |
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 1238
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Well thanks a lot.......It's amazing that someone is offering this to others, it's a big thing. As far as blocky / retro I think there is a market, believe it or not, some people around the world are still playing those type of games inside emulators and they would pay if newer games were made. Perhaps people make those kind of games either because they are lazy or they suck at art. I have to confess, I totally suck at sprite design, but I do have lots of good ideas and concepts so in the case for example that I want to do a platform with a moving character, I would have trouble designing it from scratch, although I do have a clever idea on how to achieve this and I have the means, but it would require so much time and work to be done! But anyhow, before making my first android point I have several questions that would have to be addressed since I am not too familiar with the specifics of android and the like, such as, are there are any boundries, limits I have to respect ? as I am working in windows and would not want issues when game is ported - what screen res should I use (optimal) to get best android ports ? Ideally for windows I would prefer using HD graphics and HD resolution for those bigger projects, but that would be pointless (no pun intended) for certain type of games / apps that would not requirei t. Any limitations on RAM usage, resource sizes, project sizes, sound usage, etc. Besides I know how people work, good or bad, even the best of games gets you negative remarks. I see the android market there are always a group of people who always post negative and always will fnd something not to like in your game regardless if others liked it mostly. You know what I like, those adventure type games / puzzles, not exactly point and click but more interactive where you can move your character around a scene, have it scroll left right, engage in puzzles, cinematics, etc. I don't know if you've ever played Syberia I & II and the likes, but these were engaing adventure games. I just don't want to limit myself to platform / run and jump type of games, my only problem is my extremely limited ability in art ! lol. I,d like to make Myst type games too, adventure/intrigue/puzzle, a mixture of everything, etc. Now this is clearly something I can do now using ENIGMA, given its speed and supported functions that are not present in GM.
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« Last Edit: January 30, 2014, 04:12:32 pm by Darkstar2 »
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