State of GameSalad on 11-13-2013

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Comments

  • CaptFinnCaptFinn Member Posts: 1,828
    I do not feel that anyone at GS is being lazy, nor not putting forth 110%. I just feel that the " to-do" list of priorities is a lil out of whack. I admit that as far as goals being meet are faster than they use to be. And the greatest leap so far has been keeping us in the loop more than we use to be. I do however feel that in regards to some issues. One doesnt have to be in the conference room and know every details to see that some logic is off. Things that reduce time used to accomplish a task. Save a user more time and money than a "ad service" income.

    Im sure there are and have been tons of ideas from users who feel that some UI changes would help them if not others in time and headache. Currently all these ideas have been put on the back burner because GS feels there are other issues more important. Instead of putting 110% going to all these new ideas and features that can be added to the advertising of the product. Things that at a glance will bring people in. Put 75% of that effort to those ideas. But at least put some effort into slowly adding changes to the UI. Each new UI change can help a developer in time and headache. And I do believe time is money. Ad Service Income... not so much.

    If everyone listed 3 ideas toward a UI change. And if only 10% of those ideas where made reality. So much time and frustrations would be lifted. Just imagine how many " HELL YEAHs" there would be if 1 UI change was released tommorrow.

    Again I used Adobe as a example. If tommorrow Adobe PhotoShop went back to using its first UI. How many triple takes would there be. The weight of a improving UI is worth more than any "add-on" or " Feature still in the works"

    If you started a Topic Poll. And asked each of us if we could have only 3 of the many possible UI changes. You would get a lot of people wanting the same change. Many others wanting a different change. And if you took that list and only picked the top 3 chosen. And made just those 3 changes priority over any other project you have going. You would get so many "Thanks Yous" and "Hell Yeahs"

    And that is a lot of Customer BANG for such a lil buck.

    Now let the trash talking commence. Tell me how Im such a GS Basher. Tell me how Im showing so much dispresect to the GS team. Oh please dont forget to tell me how much I am whinning. Or better yet. Let some childish moderator take it upon himself to delete this post.
  • quantumsheepquantumsheep Member Posts: 8,188

    What happens in another years time when they've stayed the course...


    :D

    Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home...
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/Quantum_Sheep
    Web: https://quantumsheep.itch.io

  • lycettebroslycettebros Member, PRO Posts: 1,598
    edited November 2013
    For people to express so much passion it is clear to me that they are sticking around and the positives still outweigh the negatives for all. So hooray for all!

    If forum posters stop making games and just hang around to complain, that'd be a bad sign.
  • PhoticsPhotics Member Posts: 4,172
    edited November 2013
    @Photics
    That's exactly what it means. We're making changes to the version of GameSalad deployed to schools so that metrics gathering is disabled. Yes, that also means that we'll have the ability to disable this for Pros optionally sooner. We still have some stuff to figure out on that front. But we're making progress on it.
    @CodeWizard THIS IS AWESOME NEWS! (At least I think it might be.)

    The secret project is for a University. So, to clarify, is the version of GameSalad without metrics gathering the same version of GameSalad that's ordered through Studica?

    As for the pro version of GameSalad without metrics gathering, I have some games I've been thinking about for Photics. Is there a rough timeline on when the tracking removal is going to happen? When will metrics gathering be disabled for Schools and then for pro?

    Wow, this is great news!

    I was thinking about updating the Unofficial GameSalad Textbook for 2014, but I was having trouble getting motivated. I'm starting to feel that energy returning.

    Any news on HTML5 exporting? If the files could be exported to offline files, I could probably add them in iBooks Author and create visually impressive examples. That could be another publishing option for GameSalad - iBooks Author. I think the creation of .wdgt files is well in reach of GameSalad... http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5068 ...and could open up a new market for GameSalad.

    It looks like I might be around here more often.

    Good stuff GameSalad!
  • dgackeydgackey Austin, TXInactive, PRO, Chef Emeritus Posts: 699
    @Photics Education is a huge part of GameSalad's future plans and the plan is to roll this out to institutions first to relieve COPPA issues but as you've been one of the biggest proponents of this feature I'm sure we can work something out ;)

    Dan Magaha · COO · GameSalad, Inc · [email protected]

  • lebiscuitlebiscuit Member, PRO Posts: 220
    can't wait for the sprite sheets and draw call batching. if This is going to be a huge win performance-wise!!!

    i'v notice that my game run pretty fast on ipad mini, and when reopen it, later in the day it get a lil slow, i'v to restart it to get full perfomance, is there a link with the draw call batching ?
  • SocksSocks London, UK.Member Posts: 12,822
    @Socks
    Some progress was made on that front actually. We've setup a Redmine server that gives us better control over how we manage bug access and summaries. We currently use Jira and are finding it to be less cooperative with what we want to do.

    We're now figuring out how best to get our existing bug database imported into Redmine.
    Excellent stuff :)>- and thanks for the reply.
    I missed this info in this week's post because I was behind in my email and didn't know the latest status. :)
    Don't worry, I'm sure we'll all keep the pressure up and keep reminding you ! :))

    image
  • SocksSocks London, UK.Member Posts: 12,822
    @DeadlySeriousMedia
    Nah, I'm not disturbed by the calls for more progress. Nor do I take any of the comments or criticisms personally.
    For people to express so much passion it is clear to me that they are sticking around and the positives still outweigh the negatives for all. So hooray for all!
    :)>-
  • CaptFinnCaptFinn Member Posts: 1,828
    Ha ha is that suppose to be a representation of a exhausted codewizard avatar?
  • SocksSocks London, UK.Member Posts: 12,822
    edited November 2013
    Ha ha is that suppose to be a representation of a exhausted codewizard avatar?
    @FINNBOGG

    That's CodeWizard's current state of health, I didn't think he'd last this long, but the KickStarter campaign for the dialysis machine and the iron lung was more successful than I thought it would be.
  • The_Gamesalad_GuruThe_Gamesalad_Guru Member Posts: 9,922
    You could tell from the start codewizard was the type of guy that loves a challenge.
  • neomanneoman Member, BASIC Posts: 826
    @BlackCloakGS thank you for your replies and hard work ... Much appreciated ...

    @CodeWizard your have the right mind set ... Keep it up ... ;-)
  • games4fungames4fun Member Posts: 185
    So I keep seeing that multiplayer is finished and waiting for lawyers to do what they do. Well it's been taking longer than expected and initially it was supposed to be available in October and now were getting to the end of November. So I ask do we know when multiplayer is going to be available? We keep hearing the same thing over and over want to know what the hold up is.
  • FallingBoxStudiosFallingBoxStudios Freelance Graphic Designer Member Posts: 822
    @games4fun I would like to know this as well :/
  • jonmulcahyjonmulcahy Member, Sous Chef Posts: 10,408
    So I keep seeing that multiplayer is finished and waiting for lawyers to do what they do. Well it's been taking longer than expected and initially it was supposed to be available in October and now were getting to the end of November. So I ask do we know when multiplayer is going to be available? We keep hearing the same thing over and over want to know what the hold up is.
    you know what the holdup is, the lawyers. :) gotta get those billable hours up! it won't be released a second before they are ready, and they typically move at a glacial pace when it comes to contracts. in my company our contract negotiations take months of back and forth. it's a very very long process.


  • CodeWizardCodeWizard Inactive, Chef Emeritus Posts: 1,143
    I wish I could give a final date. What I do know is that we're putting it into nightly builds regardless of the agreement status. We have contingencies to make this work with or without agreement from the third party.
  • SingleSparqSingleSparq Member Posts: 1,339
    Sick-em codewizard! Make those lawyers dance for you!
  • dingosmoovdingosmoov Member Posts: 130
    What I do know is that we're putting it into nightly builds regardless of the agreement status.
    Is this in the latest nightly build?
    Is there documentation or tutorials we can look at now to understand how it works?
  • BBEnkBBEnk Member Posts: 1,764
    @CodeWizard

    Tizen Finalization

    We're in the home stretch of Tizen support. Lots of ongoing optimizations here are finally coming to fruition. We're "this close" to release!

    UPDATE: We're getting really close on this release. ETA is Monday (11-18-2013).

    is this still going to happen today?
  • BBEnkBBEnk Member Posts: 1,764
    @CodeWizard

    Tizen Finalization

    We're in the home stretch of Tizen support. Lots of ongoing optimizations here are finally coming to fruition. We're "this close" to release!

    UPDATE: We're getting really close on this release. ETA is Monday (11-18-2013).

    is this still going to happen today?

    :-??
  • Fal01Fal01 Member Posts: 460
    When can we expect the extended expressions that are in the nightlies to appear in the stable builds?

    It’s not a bug – it’s an undocumented feature

  • Braydon_SFXBraydon_SFX Member, Sous Chef, Bowlboy Sidekick Posts: 9,273
    When can we expect the extended expressions that are in the nightlies to appear in the stable builds?

    If you mean the Expression to Expression comparisons, @CodeWizard said that they'd arrive in version 0.11.
  • PhoticsPhotics Member Posts: 4,172
    @Photics Education is a huge part of GameSalad's future plans and the plan is to roll this out to institutions first to relieve COPPA issues but as you've been one of the biggest proponents of this feature I'm sure we can work something out ;)
    I've been a proponent for the removal of Metrics Gathering, not just because it hurts my projects, but because it is hurting GameSalad too...

    http://forums.gamesalad.com/discussion/61510/unnecessary-permissions-on-android-are-killing-sales-still/p2

    Dan, you seem like a cool guy, but I don't like the idea of an exception created just for me. I think metrics gathering should be removed for all pro users. It's good for GameSalad just as it is good for Pro Subscribers.

    ...and the main reason I haven't renewed my Pro subscription is because of the Metric Gathering issue.
  • CodeWizardCodeWizard Inactive, Chef Emeritus Posts: 1,143
    @Photics
    We're still not clear on what aspects of our APKs are being flagged by AVG / Norton. We'll get that sorted as soon as we're clear on it.

    Metrics opt out is something we're going to do as well. First step is the COPPA compliance for education. Next step is getting a controllable option on web publishing.

    In any case, it's progress!
  • PhoticsPhotics Member Posts: 4,172
    Metrics opt out is something we're going to do as well. First step is the COPPA compliance for education. Next step is getting a controllable option on web publishing.
    ...but where is Metrics opt out on that list? First COPPA, then Web publishing, then Metrics opt out for Pro? Why is it so challenging for GameSalad to disable tracking? It doesn't seem like a technical problem.
    In any case, it's progress!
    Yes, I do see progress. You're close. If GameSalad could export to HTML5 offline, without any metrics tracking, then people could create some amazing projects with GameSalad.

    Possibilities...

    • Online HTML5 games
    • Widgets for iBooks Author or OS X Dashboard
    • Web Development projects

    But right now, it looks like I go back to waiting. Very frustrating! This Metrics Gathering is terrible. It's a blight on GameSalad.
  • dgackeydgackey Austin, TXInactive, PRO, Chef Emeritus Posts: 699
    It doesn't seem like a technical problem.
    It's not. It's a business problem. And contrary to popular belief, it's not in any of your best interests for us to summarily remove metrics overnight. Trust me on this.

    We hear you and are working to address this issue in a manner that balances your requests with the larger business requirements we have to satisfy to be able to continue evolving and improving the product.
    Dan, you seem like a cool guy, but I don't like the idea of an exception created just for me.
    I didn't really see it as an exception for you so much as a great way to help us test a feature you've championed for a long time, but I respect where you're coming from.

    Dan Magaha · COO · GameSalad, Inc · [email protected]

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