State of GameSalad on 8-28-2013

CodeWizardCodeWizard Inactive, Chef Emeritus Posts: 1,143
edited August 2013 in GameSalad Kitchen
Hello! It's that time again... time for another weekly state of GameSalad post.

Estimated Stable Build Schedule

Amazon in-app-purchase and GameCircle are in QA and being tested. No major issues have been found yet. Once they've received a clean bill of health, we'll push out version 0.10.4.

QA is still digging through our first release candidate for 0.11.0. Once we're done with 0.10.4 we'll get back on this.

What’s New This Week?

1. Looks like Amazon IAP & GameCircle systems are in good shape. We're now finalizing the web publishing side of supporting free publishing on Kindle Fire.

2. As part of the Amazon IAP & GameCircle support, we've updated Windows creator to support them as well. Good times! This updated Windows version will go out with 0.10.4.

3. We've fixed a bug with stuttering sound effects in the latest nightly build.

4. More optimization work is happening on the HTML5 engine. It's getting better day by day.

5. Info on the async multiplayer contract: More movement but it's still several weeks out based on current status. More info next Wednesday!

6. Still putting together the roadmap forum page. Hope to have this done later this week if all goes well.

7. Our rework of how we build the engine and tools is completed. We'll start integrating that into our nightly build branch over the coming week. Once that's done, we'll push some new nightly builds using it (which also includes some fancy Lua engine optimizations). This is a big win for us internally!

8. We're moving our support ticket system over to Zendesk to provide better integration between support tickets and our bug tracking system. This means more efficient support responses for everyone!

9. Our recent system administrator hire is digging in on our server topology to optimize how we manage things. We're decommissioning unused servers and automating failure recovery. Cost savings and more reliable uptime are on the way!
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Comments

  • BoomshackBarryBoomshackBarry Member Posts: 712
    edited August 2013
    All good this week, sounds like plenty is happening over at GS HQ - exciting times ahead :)

    edit: first comment, slam-dunk!
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  • Braydon_SFXBraydon_SFX Member, Sous Chef, Bowlboy Sidekick Posts: 9,273
    Woohoo!

    My GameSalad Academy Courses! ◦ Check out my quality templates! ◦ Add me on Skype: braydon_sfx

  • LeonardDeveloperLeonardDeveloper Member Posts: 4,630
    Excellent news! - Especially about those Fancy lua builds :-)
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  • MlabAppsMlabApps Member, PRO Posts: 79
    Good to know that lots of things are cooking up in the GameSalad Kitchen!
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  • zoopezoope Member Posts: 210
    Awesome!
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  • The_Gamesalad_GuruThe_Gamesalad_Guru Member Posts: 9,922
    Tell the lawyers they got enough billable hours get it done!

    Guru Video Channel   | Lost Oasis Games | FRYING BACON STUDIOS  

  • SnapFireStudiosSnapFireStudios Member Posts: 1,603
    edited August 2013
    "7. Our rework of how we build the engine and tools is completed. We'll start integrating that into our nightly build branch over the coming week. Once that's done, we'll push some new nightly builds using it (which also includes some fancy Lua engine optimizations). This is a big win for us internally!"

    Why wasn't this first! Epic win! :)
    - Thomas
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  • beefy_clyrobeefy_clyro Member Posts: 5,394
    Tidy
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  • kolabokolabo Member Posts: 240
    edited August 2013

    4. More optimization work is happening on the HTML5 engine. It's getting better day by day.

    You've been quiet this week. Less time for forums, more time for development!?

    HTML5 makes me shiver. Will we finally be able to break out of that tiny window?

  • brickamatorbrickamator Member Posts: 316

    4. More optimization work is happening on the HTML5 engine. It's getting better day by day.

    You've been quiet this week. Less time for forums, more time for development!?

    HTML5 makes me shiver. Will we finally be able to break out of that tiny window?

    I want this too!!
  • FallacyStudiosFallacyStudios Member Posts: 970
    So point 7, does this mean performance updates? Smoother system? Better memory optimization?
  • a1000milesa1000miles Member Posts: 36
    Everything seems like it is rolling along a bit better.

    As a previous IT help desk manager, I also think going to Zendesk is a good move as better management of bug reporting and management helps everyone.
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  • natzuurnatzuur Member Posts: 304
    Hello! It's that time again... time for another weekly state of GameSalad post.

    7. Our rework of how we build the engine and tools is completed. We'll start integrating that into our nightly build branch over the coming week. Once that's done, we'll push some new nightly builds using it (which also includes some fancy Lua engine optimizations). This is a big win for us internally!

    8. We're moving our support ticket system over to Zendesk to provide better integration between support tickets and our bug tracking system. This means more efficient support responses for everyone!
    These two make me happy!
  • tylerglessnertylerglessner Member Posts: 246
    @Codewizard any thoughts on this? http://forums.gamesalad.com/discussion/59473/enhancement-to-the-letterbox-function#latest)
  • PhoticsPhotics Member Posts: 4,172
    6. Still putting together the roadmap forum page. Hope to have this done later this week if all goes well.
    Interesting, I'm basically waiting for something to be removed from GameSalad.

    These weekly updates are good for checking on the health of the software. This one is a nice one...
    More optimization work is happening on the HTML5 engine. It's getting better day by day.
    Will HTML5 be editable?
  • brickamatorbrickamator Member Posts: 316
    @Codewizard any thoughts on this? http://forums.gamesalad.com/discussion/59473/enhancement-to-the-letterbox-function#latest)
    Second
  • DeepBayGamesDeepBayGames Member Posts: 93
    Sounds like solid progress! Exciting times for GS and community!
  • artfishartfish Member, PRO Posts: 369
    Nice update. Thanks for your hard work guys and gals!
  • quantumsheepquantumsheep Member Posts: 8,188

    7. Our rework of how we build the engine and tools is completed. We'll start integrating that into our nightly build branch over the coming week. Once that's done, we'll push some new nightly builds using it (which also includes some fancy Lua engine optimizations). This is a big win for us internally!
    This is the most exciting thing I've heard from you guys for months! Awesome stuff, looking forward to it!

    QS =D

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

  • kinzuakinzua Member Posts: 554
    "7. Our rework of how we build the engine and tools is completed. We'll start integrating that into our nightly build branch over the coming week. Once that's done, we'll push some new nightly builds using it (which also includes some fancy Lua engine optimizations). This is a big win for us internally!"

    Why wasn't this first! Epic win! :)
    - Thomas
    Sooner or later.. CW sounds energetic after a long time. Good news brothers.
    Where is the custom loading image, that was in QA months ago?!
  • BlackCloakGSBlackCloakGS Member, PRO Posts: 2,250
    edited August 2013
    "7. Our rework of how we build the engine and tools is completed. We'll start integrating that into our nightly build branch over the coming week. Once that's done, we'll push some new nightly builds using it (which also includes some fancy Lua engine optimizations). This is a big win for us internally!"

    Why wasn't this first! Epic win! :)
    - Thomas
    Sooner or later.. CW sounds energetic after a long time. Good news brothers.
    Where is the custom loading image, that was in QA months ago?!
    @kinzua When i get some time I will get back to it. I was able to get android to use the native OS wheel.
  • TheGabfatherTheGabfather Member Posts: 633
    edited August 2013
    kinzua When i get some time I will get back to it. I was able to get android to use the native OS wheel.
    @BlackCloakGS Please do, thanks! :)
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  • gurechangurechan Member, PRO Posts: 211
    What happened to the integration of JSON to communicate with a server? Is it still on the road map?
  • PimanPiman Member, PRO Posts: 165
    edited August 2013


    +



    = Bye, GameSalad.

    (Read about Unity's 2D announcement here: http://blogs.unity3d.com/2013/08/28/unity-native-2d-tools/)
  • iamcarteziamcartez Houston, TexasMember Posts: 648
    Unity still looks confusing. :/

    www.appdore.com || appdore twitter || appdore facebook

  • CodeWizardCodeWizard Inactive, Chef Emeritus Posts: 1,143
    @Piman
    Unity's 2D tool looks pretty good! Reminds me of another engine as well, Torque2D (http://www.garagegames.com/products/torque-2d)

    I'm glad to see other companies validating our strategy. And I look forward to kicking their ass. ;)
  • BoomshackBarryBoomshackBarry Member Posts: 712
    And I look forward to kicking their ass. ;)
    Hells yeah! Fighting talk :)
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  • Yovanny369Yovanny369 Member Posts: 105
    edited August 2013
    CodeWizard said:
    And I look forward to kicking their ****. 

    GSxLife :)
  • PimanPiman Member, PRO Posts: 165
    edited August 2013
    @CodeWizard

    I can't afford to stay and my next game design just suffers tremendously without certain things like proper collisions. My last game became such a hassle to maintain due to all problems with the creator. I think GameSalad can still be great for a relatively small 2D game. But, Unity supports more platforms and with recent developments as well as excellent plugins, GameSalad is way too much of a chore for medium sized to big games. You spoke of technical debt, but there is more than that. The contractual obligations are mismanagement debts. At the beginning of this year we were told "low hanging fruits" like the MAC creator improvements were coming soon, now, after months of seeing nothing there, they're basically relegated to the back burner. Meanwhile, you guys are obviously spread way too thin.

    I appreciate that you are open about it and plan to reform it all, but it's definitely taking very long and I think PRO users who have dished out 100s of USD over the years, deserve better. Who knows, if things do get much better, it might still be viable to consider GameSalad for certain projects. Right now, after following GameSalad for about two years, I feel a bit cheated and annoyed.

    By the way, Unity has a subscription model for PRO. A good idea for you guys?
  • SingleSparqSingleSparq Member Posts: 1,339
    I guess it's down to what works for you best. I have a game I think would work well in unity but would take me a month to get the same thing I'm getting with GS for the few hours I've put into it. But the more tools the merrier!
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