CookBook Updates
I recently restored my mac mini to its factory setting, with the intentions of starting from scratch with the installation of GS and all the other tools and softwares needed to successfully test and publish iOS and android apps. In doing so. I have hit a few bumps along the way with this endeavor. I have asked a few people some questions and along the way I am reminded as many others are in the forums to go to the cookbook. And it hit me. "GO TO THE COOKBOOK".........
Here is my question. Is the cookbook up to date? What do I mean by "Up to date"? I mean, If this was my first time as a user coming into gamesalad. Would the steps and directions within the COOKBOOK, be up to date in instruction? Has there been changes that would make the cookbook "obsolete" in certain steps? If so are there plans to make revisions to the cook book with new up to date screenshots and steps?
There are so many steps by steps, obstacles, 3rd party softwares, and settings that have be taken. Files must be created and downloaded and uploaded and placed in correct paths. Ive learned from discussion that previous steps are no longer needed in some areas and in others extra steps have been required. Steps that once required only a copy and a paste. Now have been changed. I understand that changes come. And its our responsibility to keep up to date and informed of changes. But for the person who is coming into this for the first time. Should not the CookBook stay updated and fresh with changes? Im not saying that it isnt. Im asking "Is it?". I ask because Id like to know ahead of time before I dive into the cookbook.
Here is my question. Is the cookbook up to date? What do I mean by "Up to date"? I mean, If this was my first time as a user coming into gamesalad. Would the steps and directions within the COOKBOOK, be up to date in instruction? Has there been changes that would make the cookbook "obsolete" in certain steps? If so are there plans to make revisions to the cook book with new up to date screenshots and steps?
There are so many steps by steps, obstacles, 3rd party softwares, and settings that have be taken. Files must be created and downloaded and uploaded and placed in correct paths. Ive learned from discussion that previous steps are no longer needed in some areas and in others extra steps have been required. Steps that once required only a copy and a paste. Now have been changed. I understand that changes come. And its our responsibility to keep up to date and informed of changes. But for the person who is coming into this for the first time. Should not the CookBook stay updated and fresh with changes? Im not saying that it isnt. Im asking "Is it?". I ask because Id like to know ahead of time before I dive into the cookbook.
Comments
I went through the whole cookbook recently and I did find more than a few small problems with it, nothing major but small issues, such as certain pages referencing things which have never been mentioned before and expecting the new user to already know what that means, plus a couple of typos or poorly-phrased sections that lead to some ambiguity. I'm sure that this is because pages have been added to accompany new features, but adjustments haven't always been made to the already existing pages to reflect that.
It's my opinion that GS should employ somebody just to keep the documentation up to date, and to keep re-working it to be as helpful to new users as it can be, as I'm sure that a complete set of (easy to use) docs would entice in some of the newer users who probably give up on learning GS early on because of the fragmentation in documentation available to them, who are often told to look at out of date videos for help. Some features of GS don't even appear in the cookbook at all, like how to install the gamsalad viewer on your device, which just seems crazy when they've been in use for so long and so many people need to know this stuff.
The apple publishing section too is pretty woeful, as an example - it's just a list of how to generate certain certificates/provisioning profiles etc but no explanation of what they are or why you actually need them. This leads the user to look elsewhere for answers, when GS could quite easily compile everything the new user needs to know in to one handy manual. It's just all round user-unfriendly.
So to sum up you certainly could get a good grounding in GS from just the cookbook, but in my opinion the cookbook is just a token gesture from GS, and you'd need to look elsewhere for a lot of the things you really need to know to use GS properly.
Sorry about the rant but documentation is kinda my 'thing', PS if GS wants to hire me to be their full time documentation guy I'll happily leave my job in a heartbeat and jump on board
" They need to focus more on features and engine performance at this time........and not the cook book. I learned it the hard way so should you!!!!!"
It would be nice to new comers to have something fresh and up to date as things change. Telling someone to go to the cookbook, and find the cookbook section out of date with the changes is the same as not having a cookbook at all. It defeats the purpose of its initial creation.
You're probably right that most users here would prioritise advancing the GS creator rather than it's documentation, but that's ignoring all of the beginners who really do need some decent guidance. The product and it's documentation should go hand in hand. It'll benefit GS in the long run to make their software as easy to learn as possible, both so that newcomers aren't scared off, and so that the forums hopefully won't be quite so filled with really basic questions. The less amateur questions that are posted on the forums, the more professional Gamesalad appears to be to somebody who's checking it out for the first time.