State of GameSalad on 11-6-2013
CodeWizard
Inactive, Chef Emeritus Posts: 1,143
Remember to keep an eye on the roadmap page for the latest details on what we're up to in the kitchen! http://www.gamesalad.com/roadmap
We've had some notable changes this past week!
Tizen release is getting really close. We're targeting end of next week for initial launch.
After some spirited discussions on the forums we've decided to give more priority to creating a public-facing bug database. It's been something we've wanted to do for awhile but have let fall through the cracks. Expect some additional information on this in next week's post.
We also have made some additional progress on async multiplayer contract wrangling. We've made another proposal to the third party provider that should get things wrapped up soon. It's been a long time coming for sure!
Some big news with Mobclix. They've filed bankruptcy and are going out of business. Good thing we've been working on Chartboost and Revmob integration, right? We'll get those out to you in nightly builds as soon as possible and wider release when 0.11.0 comes out.
Keep an eye on that roadmap and on the forums for more progress reports.
We've had some notable changes this past week!
Tizen release is getting really close. We're targeting end of next week for initial launch.
After some spirited discussions on the forums we've decided to give more priority to creating a public-facing bug database. It's been something we've wanted to do for awhile but have let fall through the cracks. Expect some additional information on this in next week's post.
We also have made some additional progress on async multiplayer contract wrangling. We've made another proposal to the third party provider that should get things wrapped up soon. It's been a long time coming for sure!
Some big news with Mobclix. They've filed bankruptcy and are going out of business. Good thing we've been working on Chartboost and Revmob integration, right? We'll get those out to you in nightly builds as soon as possible and wider release when 0.11.0 comes out.
Keep an eye on that roadmap and on the forums for more progress reports.
Comments
Has anything been done to fix the problem with GS not releasing ram when changing scenes? See http://forums.gamesalad.com/discussion/56860/highly-effective-memory-optimization-suggestion-for-games-with-more-than-one-scene
Universal Binary Template - Universal Binary Template Instructions Rev 4 (Short) - Custom Score Display Template
Thats cool... although Im guessing it'll end up being months, maybe even years from happening, and will be buggy as hell, going with the track record
Regarding the multiplayer Async contract shenanigans... for once... do whats best for the users... not GS. GS has a history of wrangling contracts/third party deals that seem to concentrate on giving GS as a company a short term gain, rather than working it to be beneficial in the long term for the tool users... and it always seems to backfire. And this negatively affects both the usability of the software, and its reputation.
Also... regarding still no updates on the creator interface... you know, stuff like the long requested snap to grids, multiple drag and drop, layer tools, fonts etc... could you give us a valid reason why, after years theyre still not seen as priority items. I know previously you stated that if they were easy to implement, then you would... but honestly... whats so hard about them that after 3+ years they still havent been implemented. Thats 3+ years.. and multiple employees... and no one is able to do them??? Seriously... a really good explanation is needed...
Has the core editor been coded by a total crackpot genius whos code is completely unfathomable to all other coders?... which is why no one dare touch it... seems like its the only valid reason to me... so yup... come on, time for a proper explanation instead of continually brushing it under the carpet and working on other new bits all the time.
Weve had so many bullshit answers and brush offs about it over the years that a proper explanation is long overdue.... or even better... just do them, and be done.
actually I think I said the one thing I hated too hear the most was "Next Week",lol oh well.
You really can't throw out the "GS history has shown us" argument anymore. You need to reset the clock to when codewizard arrived or when they (as has been stated recently) have fixed the mess that was the code base so that they can now move forward with easier implementations. Not to say we shouldn't keep on top of them, but let's not drag out old history that we're all fully aware of (including codewizard) which has no bearing on moving forward.
Many strides have been taken in the last few months. Many more will come. I think we can agree the leadership and attitude has changed at GS but there will still have to be a balence on what service is provided VS what it takes for them to be profitable.
The point I'm making here is to not to stop complaining but to adjust the complaints to be based on the new GS going forward not the old GS of past.
In another 6 months to a year well know for sure where we've gone with this, hopefully your concerns will no longer be an issue. Hopefully we'll still be making great games with GS.
I've added this to my list for review. I'll be taking a "code day" tomorrow so I should be able to dig in on it and see what's up.
I hear your frustration on the Creator interface improvements. It's not that the code was written by a crackpot genius -- although that would be fun! It's that we have four full time engineers and haven't made Creator improvements a priority yet. It's on our list and we will be getting to it.
Almost every new big feature that is hyped by GS ends up taking months to actually arrive... and a lot of them end up just dragging out, unfinished to some degree forever... and most are only of interest to a segment of the user base...not ALL.
So for you to say the creator improvements dont get any of your developers time...is simply crazy... as its the heart of the whole GS toolset, and should, really have at least 25% of your developer resources alloted to it on a permanent basis. Its simply crazy... that its been like this for 3 years.
And I dont agree with what SingleSparq said... its still the same upper management making the final decisions on what deals GS makes, and on what is GS ultimate goal and priorities... and theres definately a long track list of bad decisions and deals, that havent been in the end users interests... and have ended up hurting GS. Which is why Im concerned at the wrangling over the Async Multiplayer. I fear we're going to be given a half implemented system that, due to how its tied to a deal with the third party provider, seriously limits its real term use.... Im happy to eat my words though if proven wrong.
Got any idea when ?
(worth a shot in the dark
@CodeWizard I appreciate the hard work, but please by all means push Revmob and Chartboost as a focus point and if it is done early just do a mini release with it. Mobclix going under hurts revenue for everyone that used them through GS and the longer the gap between these two other platforms being released, the more revenue hemorrhaged. I can't say I didn't warn GS that this was most likely the future of Mobclix back when they released it. I was stressing it hard then to switch to a different ad network, but GS didn't want to listen until it was too late.
I usually try to stay positive about GS development, but c'mon now. Tizen???
Tizen currently resides on the budget phones of users who have zero intention of buying apps.
If Samsung fully converted to Tizen from android, they would die... it's a loose loose for everyone.
Tizen integration looks like a short term gain with no real benefit beyond keeping the ship afloat. I'm no business expert, but this doesn't seem like a sound plan to me.
I wish the GS team did polls asking the community for their opinion on this stuff - I'd hazard a guess Tizen would get a lot more no votes than yes...
Keep on coding
This contract is no different. We're being a great deal more transparent than most companies would be about the reasons for the delay to boot. We have limited resources and there is a lot to do. We have limited resources and there is a lot to do. That's really what it comes down to. We have smart people who work hard but there is a lot to do.
Dan Magaha · COO · GameSalad, Inc · danm@gamesalad.com
We appreciate the feedback!
Dan
Dan Magaha · COO · GameSalad, Inc · danm@gamesalad.com
That's such a cop out answer. If you have such limited resources then why keep wasting them implementing long winded and costly features that no one... Or very few users actually wants... And that only seem to have short term benefit for GS. Seriously... The company needs to focus, and re-assess what it's trying to be... Before its too late.
The key to GS future is not in short term gains...it's in building a solid toolset that users can trust and are more than happy to pay for.
Fix the core tool... Bring it up to standard. It's missing really basic design features that should have been in it from the start. Gamesalad is a great tool, with so much potential... But it's never going to achieve it at this rate... Especially if you can't even add snap to grid or multiple copy and paste in almost 4 years....
So limited resources is just a cheap answer.... They might be limited now, but they've definately been misdirected and squandered wastefully along the way...
*sheepyhug*
Because: Reasons.
QS =D
Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Quantum_Sheep
Web: https://quantumsheep.itch.io
I'm telling you what's happening now and why.
Dan Magaha · COO · GameSalad, Inc · danm@gamesalad.com
I have seen these waves of frustration with GS come and go and I am sure it causes a wave of users coming and going.
I have learnt to live with the frustration - I can join in on the complaints but it generally gets me nowhere and I am always brought ultimately to the same point. Lump it or leave it.
I choose to lump it. The positives outweigh the negatives.
Now lack of resources is not an expression of avoiding something we ought to be doing. It's a fact. I'm not sure this will help but let me, once again, outline what our resources are and what they're doing:
We have four full-time engineers at our disposal. We also have a couple of web guys but they're orthogonal to this description:
One of the guys is working full time on HTML5 optimization and prepping Tizen launch. I know, I know. Why Tizen? Well because we have an agreement to support Tizen that was signed before I came on board. We're on the hook for it and have spent months whipping our HTML5 engine into shape to support it. Once Tizen is out the door and critical support is completed for it we'll be having him move on to core engine support and optimization. That's one guy down.
One of the guys has been deep in refactoring our core engine code to make it easier to build and extend. This work is paving the way for native plugins. He's also been leaning up our platform layers and focusing on getting batching, sprite sheets and bitmap fonts integrated. He'll be working on the core engine for the foreseeable future. Another guy down.
One of the guys is somewhat of a floater. He implemented async multiplayer, Amazon IAP & GameCircle, Chartboost & Revmob and updated Creator to support various new behaviors for said features. He's also spent time making new behaviors and features that are available to you in the nightly builds. Right now he's fixing bugs in Windows creator and finalizing some other odds and ends for our upcoming nightly build releases. Another guy down.
The last guy, @BlackCloakGS, is also a floater of sorts. He's recently been wrangling the build server madness, fixing iOS 7 issues, fixing Android signing issues, cooking builds for releases and supporting the other developers (not to mention providing a presence on the forums). He's also working on bug fixes for the engine and Creator now on top of other various and sundry items he chooses to work on. Another guy down.
Now, believe me when I say that we will get to more Creator improvements. But they always seem to get pushed back by other more critical work. iOS 7 fires. Nasty Amazon publishing problems. Critical bugfixes needed. And so on. We're getting closer to the time where we'll be able to make more headway on that. Honest!
I'm happy to take all the heat for the described "squandering of resources." That's my job. I can certainly explain and deep dive on all the decisions that have been made since I've joined the company. But the past is the past. Giving me heat for some decisions made over the past years may make you feel better but it doesn't change the fact that we're working with four full-time engineers on a mountain of stuff! Digging out from tech debt and preparing for the future of the product takes time. I'm trying to be as transparent as I can here.
The direction we're heading in has been methodically considered and is positioning us to do great things in this space. I'd like to ask for your patience as we continue to churn through the bugs on our plate and move the core technology forward.
But I do agree that the priorities could be arranged a bit better. However they are also a business, and must make business deals that benefit them to some extent, and with some users also enjoying these features that come about from these deals it does show some logic going into the decisions for them.
That being said it would be great to allow one engineer to work one creator improvements as much as possible.
This is a benefit to everyone. If a fellow game developer were to ask me how the workflow and stability of Gamesalad is, I would have to tell them the truth: Pretty Poor. And guess who uses GS and provides the funds to some extent? Developers. Not to say it doesn't have strengths too, that's why im still here
Stop with the whinnying and negativity .
If gamesald isn't doing the things you want , then leave and learn objective c.
Your participation is completly voluntary...
I feel bad every time I see a response from codewizard responding to someone bashing gamesalad.