GameSalad's longterm goals with Windows/Mac Creator

ShmirlyWhirl

So I got an email today from another forum user asking for some help with something they were stuck with. I made a quick demo (on the Mac Creator) and sent it over to them. They had trouble opening it (they were using Windows). So I fired up my laptop and downloaded the Windows Creator, and re created my project.

Now- here is my question. I know GameSalad is still in its infancy, and by no means do I expect this any time soon- but does the GS team eventually plan to have a seamless transition between the two creators? Today was my first experience using the Window's version, and I must say there are a lot of features there I liked. However, I'm used to the Mac version, and because things run much smoother for me there, I don't see myself switching over.

It would be much easier to help others out, and I assume it would be beneficial for those selling templates if the two creators were parallel. Again- I know that compared to the Mac Creator, The Window's is still in it's infancy. Is my hope of them one day being unified valid, or just a crazy pipe dream?

Chakku

Is my hope of them one day being unified valid, or just a crazy pipe dream?

@ShmirlyWhirl

I'd rather they work more on the Mac UI (I like how you can edit positions on the Windows version without clicking the actor), but not focus on the Windows version. Obviously I'm biased because I use just the Mac one (the Windows one was insanely laggy when I tried it), but it's too far back to be brought back on par with the Mac one. Not saying it's impossible, but I'd much much rather they work more and perfect the Mac version.

Chakku

ShmirlyWhirl

Well, my true dream would be for the two creators to be identical. That way you can seamlessly switch between platforms if need be. I have an iMac and a Windows laptop, so it would be greatly benefit me to be able to use both platforms.

And I love the features you mentioned in the Windows creator. As well as the "type here to add a behavior" field. What I would hope for would be to have these features integrated in to the Mac version.

Keep in mind this is a long term goal. GameSalad is only v.10.2 on Mac. I wouldn't expect to see something like this until a full release. Right now it feels like the creators are two different pieces of software, not one piece of software built for both Mac and Windows.

TheGabfather

Oh dear, they couldn't open it and you made the same project twice? We've always been able to work on all our projects Mac to Windows to Mac

The project file should open on both systems just fine. On rare occasions the project file would be missing (this is Mac to Windows) and a simple fix would be to create a blank .gsproj file in the folder and opening that should launch the project just fine. You can even copy+paste the .gsproj file of another project to that folder and it opens up the desired project easily

A few quirks here and there (eg. we find it impossible to use Play Music in the Windows version) but it doesn't get so bad, really

ShmirlyWhirl

Yeah, that's what I did to generate the window's file. Luckily it was a pretty small demo so everything worked fine.

I'm just hoping for one day to have a more seamless transition between the two platforms.

TheGabfather

Well, GameSalad is a business. It would be a bad move to completely disregard a huge market such as the Windows user base. Have faith! I do.

..althought CodeWizard did say he was still scratching his head over the Windows Creator

Chakku

I'm just hoping for one day to have a more seamless transition between the two platforms.

@ShmirlyWhirl
No offense, but that's at the very bottom of my priority list. Once the new Mac UI comes out, I will have no reason at all to use the Windows version (not that I use it right now anyway). I hope the new Mac UI is as optimized and bug-free as they say, and that they incorporate the conveniences of the Windows version.

Chakku

ShmirlyWhirl

Oh, I am indeed hopeful.
I was just wondering if the GS team has made an official statement of their plans, and if not maybe have one of them chime in.

It just seems weird to me the two creators are so different in interface. Like I said before it feels like a whole different piece of software.

Chakku

It just seems weird to me the two creators are so different in interface. Like I said before it feels like a whole different piece of software.

@ShmirlyWhirl
Once the new Mac UI comes out, both are supposedly going tolook identical

Chakku

TheGabfather

I believe they wanted to implement the UI changes to the Windows version first so they can get feedback, work out some quirks, etc -- before they implement any of them to the Mac Creator.

ShmirlyWhirl

No offense taken @Chakku, but I don't think you are understanding me clearly. It's not a huge priority for me either, but in the long run I think it makes sense that the two creators, which for most intents and purposes, are treated as one software, eventually become more similar. It's just odd to me how different they are.

ShmirlyWhirl

Ah, that's what I was wondering. I guess I didn't read about any of that.

CodeWizard

The vast majority of desktop OS installations are Windows. Rest assured we're paying attention to that and will do something to address these issues as we can.

http://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10&qpcustomd=0

Chakku

The vast majority of desktop OS installations are Windows. Rest assured we're paying attention to that and will do something to address these issues as we can.

http://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10&qpcustomd=0

) Most of Windows is on 7, and only 3.82% is on Windows 8...hope this .appx format becomes dominant over .exe, as GS only publishes to .appx.

Chakku

The_Gamesalad_Guru

True but the vast majority of app installs are on IOS devices. Users with iOS devices buy more apps and pay for apps way more than android or other mobile OS'. This is why the majority of game companies develop for iOS first and android second. Hindsight being 20/20 Gamesalad jumped the gun with windows creator as the Mac creator wasn't even close to being a solid piece of software. Now that @codewizard is here he is tackling stabilizing the franchise software which is Mac creator. Then I imagine they will switch to working on Windows once they sort Mac out so they can make them compatable. As @codewizard has said GS has very limited staff and they have to be methodical about how they move forward. This is going to take sometime and we just need to be patient and let them work their plan. Jumping on the forums over and over and complaining isn't going to speed things up. These things take time with the staff limitations they have and there is no getting around that. Cut them some slack.

ShmirlyWhirl

This topic was by no means meant to be a complaint. I just had my first encounter with the Windows creator the other day, and I was surprised at how different it is than the Mac creator.

I know GameSalad has a small team and all that. This was more of a question, less of a feature request.

richicon

I have just developed a project in Windows creator, that only at the very final stages have I gone over to Mac creator (I had to to do the iOS builds).

The Mac creator is a lot more bug free and stable BUT functionality wise is far behind Windows.

I doubt I would have had the patience to use the Mac version to do what I've done with the Windows version of creator. On Windows I can select an actor in a scene, easily type its position and rotation without any double clicks.

I can see why they made the OS changes with Windows creator - it is so much more streamlined in many ways.

Mac creator is literally an endless number of double clicks and feels counter intuitive in the way it does some of the basics.

kaanuki

Mac creator is literally an endless number of double clicks and feels counter intuitive in the way it does some of the basics.

EXACTLY!

I recently added Macs and the Mac Creator to my work environment, So I am working with Windows and Mac now.

The Windows Creator is MUCH more intuitive and easier to work with than the Mac creator, because you see and have access to everything! However, the Performance of the Mac Creator is 1,000x better than Windows. I say - Give the Mac Creator the interface of the Windows version.

The_Gamesalad_Guru

Yep we on the Mac side are waiting for a UI makeover. The work flow just plain sucks! I know @codewizard is starting to address that now as there are narrowing the crash bug issues. Once they get the software solid they can move forward making major changes. If I was him I would rebuild Mac creator from scratch in parallel with changes to the current version. I think the best way to move forward would be to start fresh with a new UI design and the rebuild creator from the ground up with an engineer or two working in parallel with the current team.