Its not just losing customers.... its also creating a larger voice of anti-GameSaladers.
The company, its product, and the games made through it already get enough flak from developers and games buyers alike. An exodus of angry, bitter ex users of the software is only gonna make that worse.
Little Johnny fires off a question on TouchArcade or one of the gamedev forums asking if GameSalad is any good..... hes gonna end up with 10 negative remarks instead of 5.
Theyre going totally the wrong way about all this....
YOU NEVER EVER WANT TO LOOSE A CUSTOMER< NEVER RULE NUMBER !, NEVER, they loose this data base of users they are in deep doodie. They must know that.
In an ideal world, I would agree.
But the current business model can't be making money. If you have to lose that old customer base in order to become a profitable business, then I can't see why they (behind closed doors) think that, that's the way to go about it.
In theory, they should implement the new system, and then offer something to keep the older (and more pro in some cases) customer base.
But it's been stated by at least one of the devs "in the know" that this was not an option on the table. They knew there would be reservations, but (and I am only assuming here) are choosing that being a profitable business at the cost of losing some current clients is the only viable option for them to take.
Again...with no word from GS STILL.....this is all conjecture on my part.
If this whole thing is an financial, how does Corona and Unity stay in business with their reasonable prices? Is GS just a bunch of programmers that has no business experience. Or is this whole thing an get rich thing? Will we ever know?
Chunkypixels said: Its not just losing customers.... its also creating a larger voice of anti-GameSaladers.
The company, its product, and the games made through it already get enough flak from developers and games buyers alike. An exodus of angry, bitter ex users of the software is only gonna make that worse.
Little Johnny fires off a question on TouchArcade or one of the gamedev forums asking if GameSalad is any good..... hes gonna end up with 10 negative remarks instead of 5.
Photics said: Interesting... moderators were added just before this announcement. Is that a coincidence? I think so, as there was a bad spam problem. But if it wasn't... if they knew this would happen... and they did it anyway... then it suggests that they don't care.
The moderator thing is totally separate. Most boards have moderators. Some have community moderators (like GS does) because these people spend a lot of time online and care about the community.
You'll notice that even the moderators that have been put in place do not agree with what's happening here.
Kudos to tshirt for defending GS so stringently. When there was express and pro versions of the software, I could defend GS's decision to make pro $2k because, although overpriced, it was there as an option.
I could not, in good faith, defend this new system. So I declined the offer to be a moderator. I fundamentally do not agree with it, argued against it, offered alternatives, and stand by what I said.
1 he is trying to push corona, 2 he already had his assets and stuff. 3 he already new the direction he was going. 4 he may have worked 3 hours a day with gamesalad and 8 hrs a day with corona
i can make his game in gamesalad in a few days.
Corona will take 3-4 times longer then gamesalad. its not visual you need to key in the x and y over every image and preview then go back and move it and again tell you like where it is. Then do it al again with the next one. This takes time. Also they dont have scenes. so every level you make you need to move all the images and bring in your new ones. Thats a lot of code.
Im not saying you cant learn it im not saying its hard im just saying I can make 3 games in the time I can make 1 in corona.
Actually it doesn't take long to write a visual editor that can be used for any game you create in future so no you don't really need to know the exact x y positioning and code that in. Take a day or so and create a generic editor first that writes the positioning code out to a file and you have reduced that potential headache from then on.
By the way I am not saying you should drop GS yourself. Each person has to make their own choices as to whats best for them.
Also when is your mini cannon game coming out? It looks really fantastic but there is one thing that would make it a sure fire attention grabber from my initial look at the screen shots. Its something I have learned and am putting into practice for the current project. Not sure if there is a private way of giving you a heads up here or not but if there is give me a shout. As a side note, all I want to do is give you the information nothing else. If it helps then brilliant. I love to see folks succeed. No other motive.
dhondon said: If this whole thing is an financial, how does Corona and Unity stay in business with their reasonable prices? Is GS just a bunch of programmers that has no business experience. Or is this whole thing an get rich thing? Will we ever know?
Maybe they are happy with their lot, and don't want to expand.
GS obviously does want a bigger slice of the app pie.
And surely it's the goal of all business to want to grow??
don't get me wrong, I'm just as unhappy with this as the rest of you.. just trying to see it from the other side of the silent iron curtained wall
quantumsheep said: I could not, in good faith, defend this new system. So I declined the offer to be a moderator. I fundamentally do not agree with it, argued against it, offered alternatives, and stand by what I said.
Does this mean I may not get my opportunity to buy my pair of fuzzy sheep ear muffs or the Kraken pull-ups for my kids?
Not fair! Give QS whatever he wants! I want my collectible merchandise!
BeyondtheTech said: Hey, it's not just a forum, don't skip over the blog! www.ijwmsg.us
I just figured everyone already knew about the amazing blog! What kind of non-devoted-game-developer wouldn't have that blog either bookmarked or homepaged?
The forum though? That's the new happening awesome place that all the cool Gamesalad users are going to to talk about, ya know, being awesome and stuff.
Maybe it's quiet here because we're all over posting our game ideas trying to win an INCREDIBLY GENEROUS offer of a discounted copy of Corona!
Just popped back in after a days hard work - and I am shocked at the lack of response from Gendai- its just plain wrong!
in these dark times as a developer, I have to look at all the options, and I must say I have registered over at Corona, and along with seeing some other regular GS users, I am impressed. Yes I will have to start looking at learning basic code, but thats not such a bad thing and looking into it more and the amount of tutorials and communication from the owners (YES COMMUNICATION!!!!!) I think this could end up being a positive thing.
JCFord said: Just popped back in after a days hard work - and I am shocked at the lack of response from Gendai- its just plain wrong!
in these dark times as a developer, I have to look at all the options, and I must say I have registered over at Corona, and along with seeing some other regular GS users, I am impressed. Yes I will have to start looking at learning basic code, but thats not such a bad thing and looking into it more and the amount of tutorials and communication from the owners (YES COMMUNICATION!!!!!) I think this could end being a positive thing.
JCFord
Totally agree. I think Gamesalad failing was one of the best things that happened to me as an aspiring game developer. It made me less lazy and forced me to learn. We all need a push. Gamesalad is like a mother bird, pushing it's young out of the nest and hoping they will fly. Some won't though, and they will die in the winter (which is approaching quickly!)
quantumsheep said: The moderator thing is totally separate. Most boards have moderators. Some have community moderators (like GS does) because these people spend a lot of time online and care about the community.
You'll notice that even the moderators that have been put in place do not agree with what's happening here.
Kudos to tshirt for defending GS so stringently. When there was express and pro versions of the software, I could defend GS's decision to make pro $2k because, although overpriced, it was there as an option.
I could not, in good faith, defend this new system. So I declined the offer to be a moderator. I fundamentally do not agree with it, argued against it, offered alternatives, and stand by what I said.
I'm not willing to invest any more time into a product/service that can drasticly change without notice, even if I can still publish games under my name until my membership is over.
If anyone wants my account (which is good until January) go check out the topic on the forums.
tripleehentertainment said: I am leaving GameSalad because of this.
I'm not willing to invest any more time into a product/service that can drasticly change without notice, even if I can still publish games under my name until my membership is over.
If anyone wants my account (which is good until January) go check out the topic on the forums.
I hope you'll continue developing under a more stable software. Check out the forums and blog at www.Ijustwannamakesomegames.com, it's a lot of GS members in the same boat as you trying to figure out which new software is better.
Obviously you started your GS membership because you're passionate about something. Don't let them crush your dreams and ideas!
MattVollet said: I hope you'll continue developing under a more stable software. Check out the forums and blog at www.Ijustwannamakesomegames.com, it's a lot of GS members in the same boat as you trying to figure out which new software is better.
Obviously you started your GS membership because you're passionate about something. Don't let them crush your dreams and ideas!
Hey Matt,
As I stated in my topic I use Corona. It is better software created by a better company.
It would be cool if your apps didn't have to be reviewed by Apple with direct! I wonder if it will have to go through gamesalad review then Apple review. I hope it's just Apple review because that would take forever!
It's time to explain yourselves, please. I would like to know the following:
1. What are the new parameters of the Gamesalad Direct publishing services? Policies, procedures, costs, revenue sharing percentages, etc. Don't leave anything out.
2. Is there anything else about the company or its software or its services that current and future customers should know? Tell us, please.
3. Why did you send out the first post on the forum without having the details IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE? Do you NOT know the details? If not, then why?
4. Why is the gamesalad.com website still mostly unchanged? Shouldn't a new website that explains the new service(s) have been ready to go?
5. Are we supposed to expect this same level of communication from you regarding the publishing service? If you expect it to be better -- much better -- what are your plans to make it so?
6. Are the new investors happy with the press that GameSalad has been getting in the press over the last 2 days? OK, that one was sarcastic. No answer required.
It's time to explain yourselves, please. I would like to know the following:
1. What are the new parameters of the Gamesalad Direct publishing services? Policies, procedures, costs, revenue sharing percentages, etc. Don't leave anything out.
2. Is there anything else about the company or its software or its services that current and future customers should know? Tell us, please.
3. Why did you send out the first post on the forum without having the details IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE? Do you NOT know the details? If not, then why?
4. Why is the gamesalad.com website still mostly unchanged? Shouldn't a new website that explains the new service(s) have been ready to go?
5. Are we supposed to expect this same level of communication from you regarding the publishing service? If you expect it to be better -- much better -- what are your plans to make it so?
6. Are the new investors happy with the press that GameSalad has been getting in the press over the last 2 days? OK, that one was sarcastic. No answer required.
Thank you for your reply.
According to beyondthetech they are compiling a(n?) FAQ, hopefully it won't take too long, and I imagine your questions will be answered, i hope for their sake at least the first one is...
Comments
One thing I think we all forgot about was:
"Another new tool, GameSalad Accelerator, lets top-performing game makers connect with brands and other services targeted at developers."
What is this mysterious tool? What does it mean or do for us?
Either way, come talk about Corona with us over at http://www.ijustwannamakesomegames.com/forum
The company, its product, and the games made through it already get enough flak from developers and games buyers alike. An exodus of angry, bitter ex users of the software is only gonna make that worse.
Little Johnny fires off a question on TouchArcade or one of the gamedev forums asking if GameSalad is any good..... hes gonna end up with 10 negative remarks instead of 5.
Theyre going totally the wrong way about all this....
But the current business model can't be making money. If you have to lose that old customer base in order to become a profitable business, then I can't see why they (behind closed doors) think that, that's the way to go about it.
In theory, they should implement the new system, and then offer something to keep the older (and more pro in some cases) customer base.
But it's been stated by at least one of the devs "in the know" that this was not an option on the table. They knew there would be reservations, but (and I am only assuming here) are choosing that being a profitable business at the cost of losing some current clients is the only viable option for them to take.
Again...with no word from GS STILL.....this is all conjecture on my part.
You'll notice that even the moderators that have been put in place do not agree with what's happening here.
Kudos to tshirt for defending GS so stringently. When there was express and pro versions of the software, I could defend GS's decision to make pro $2k because, although overpriced, it was there as an option.
I could not, in good faith, defend this new system. So I declined the offer to be a moderator. I fundamentally do not agree with it, argued against it, offered alternatives, and stand by what I said.
Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Quantum_Sheep
Web: https://quantumsheep.itch.io
By the way I am not saying you should drop GS yourself. Each person has to make their own choices as to whats best for them.
Also when is your mini cannon game coming out? It looks really fantastic but there is one thing that would make it a sure fire attention grabber from my initial look at the screen shots. Its something I have learned and am putting into practice for the current project. Not sure if there is a private way of giving you a heads up here or not but if there is give me a shout. As a side note, all I want to do is give you the information nothing else. If it helps then brilliant. I love to see folks succeed. No other motive.
Cheers
Mike
GS obviously does want a bigger slice of the app pie.
And surely it's the goal of all business to want to grow??
don't get me wrong, I'm just as unhappy with this as the rest of you.. just trying to see it from the other side of the silent iron curtained wall
Not fair! Give QS whatever he wants! I want my collectible merchandise!
TOO QUIET.
Everyone is makin' friends over at http://www.ijustwannamakesomegames.com/forum
Sorry!
QS
Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Quantum_Sheep
Web: https://quantumsheep.itch.io
The forum though? That's the new happening awesome place that all the cool Gamesalad users are going to to talk about, ya know, being awesome and stuff.
Maybe it's quiet here because we're all over posting our game ideas trying to win an INCREDIBLY GENEROUS offer of a discounted copy of Corona!
in these dark times as a developer, I have to look at all the options, and I must say I have registered over at Corona, and along with seeing some other regular GS users, I am impressed. Yes I will have to start looking at learning basic code, but thats not such a bad thing and looking into it more and the amount of tutorials and communication from the owners (YES COMMUNICATION!!!!!) I think this could end up being a positive thing.
JCFord
I'm not willing to invest any more time into a product/service that can drasticly change without notice, even if I can still publish games under my name until my membership is over.
If anyone wants my account (which is good until January) go check out the topic on the forums.
Obviously you started your GS membership because you're passionate about something. Don't let them crush your dreams and ideas!
As I stated in my topic I use Corona. It is better software created by a better company.
Gendai's irratic updates won't hold me down!
Gendai…? GameSalad…? Is anyone there?
It's time to explain yourselves, please. I would like to know the following:
1. What are the new parameters of the Gamesalad Direct publishing services? Policies, procedures, costs, revenue sharing percentages, etc. Don't leave anything out.
2. Is there anything else about the company or its software or its services that current and future customers should know? Tell us, please.
3. Why did you send out the first post on the forum without having the details IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE? Do you NOT know the details? If not, then why?
4. Why is the gamesalad.com website still mostly unchanged? Shouldn't a new website that explains the new service(s) have been ready to go?
5. Are we supposed to expect this same level of communication from you regarding the publishing service? If you expect it to be better -- much better -- what are your plans to make it so?
6. Are the new investors happy with the press that GameSalad has been getting in the press over the last 2 days? OK, that one was sarcastic. No answer required.
Thank you for your reply.
I agree. WHERE is GameSalad? (formerly Gendai)
It's been nearly 1100 posts, and 36 pages and NOT a single answer?
That is so unprofessional, not to mention down right rude. You just don't announce something then leave out the important details for a later time.
This is what I feel like right now:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__XCWUd8FFjQ/TLR9axahErI/AAAAAAAALdg/t0KwPGG88Ho/s1600/google_battleship.jpg
QS
Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Quantum_Sheep
Web: https://quantumsheep.itch.io