Ways to improve the GS Mac Creator and Workflow

butterbeanbutterbean Member Posts: 4,315
edited September 2012 in Working with GS (Mac)
I've been using GS for over 3 years now and I get into autopilot mode where I'm not really thinking about what features could be added to the creator to make workflow easier - kinda' like driving the same car, you're so accustomed to driving it, you don't think about what's missing.

I started thinking about it, and a few things that come to mind would be:

Expand all button for the many "otherwise" rules so you don't have to expand them one by one

Search Button or "Keywords" button so you can find rules or items that are lost in the mix

What features would everyone like to see added or improved to enhance workflow and usability?

Comments

  • osucowboy18osucowboy18 Member Posts: 1,307
    Building on what @uptimistik said, I would also like to see an actor's width / height displayed within the Scene Editor, along with an actor's X / Y position. The ability to select multiple actors at a time would also be wonderful!

    - Alex
  • butterbeanbutterbean Member Posts: 4,315
    @Uptimistik and @osucowboy18: That is an awesome suggestion, I remember thinking of that awhile ago, and had forgotten! (Autopilot!)
  • jonmulcahyjonmulcahy Member, Sous Chef Posts: 10,408
    I just want the publisher to remember _all_ of my previous settings (splash screen, orientation, icon selection, android keystone options). When republishing an existing game, it should really only be one button to republish, I shuldnt have to re-enter it every time.

    I'd also love persisten menus, so if I click on scene, layers and expand a layer, go into an actor, when I come out of the actor, I want to be looking at the screen as I left it, not have it reset back to default.

    I also want to be able to break the scene viewer away so I can keep an eye on the scene, but edit an actor at the same time.

    Oh, and folders for images :)
  • butterbeanbutterbean Member Posts: 4,315
    edited July 2012
    How did I know that @tshirtbooth would have the longest list? Oh because I'm psychic! :P

    AND #11 is a MUST!!

    Great list guys!
  • MarkOnTheIronMarkOnTheIron Member Posts: 1,447
    edited July 2012
    Those are great suggestions, nothing more to add to that except maybe:

    1. Move the resizing circles of an actor outside the actor boundaries, because it's a real pain to move small actors as it is now

    2. I'd also like to be able to move an actor around in a scene without it's sizes attributes to become unlocked.

    3. And since I would have needed it in a game I'm making, I would like an expression editor in the play sound behavior to choose the played sound by code.

    4. And since we're talking about workflow what could ease our work more than an expression editor also on the left part of a rule?

    5. It has already been mentioned but a +1 to the otherwise section to become highlighted in some way to tell us there's a rule in there. I spent countless hour debugging projects just to find out that the problem was in an otherwise section.

    6. This may look pointless, but since I'm a perfectionist I would like the newly placed actors to be on integers positions, it's tiresome to open all the actors to correct all those hideous decimals :) (that could apply also to resized actors)

  • osucowboy18osucowboy18 Member Posts: 1,307
    As usual, I agree 100% with @tshirtbooth! This is definitely something the GS Team should look at when moving the new Windows interface to the Mac version of Creator, which I'm hoping is coming soon @SaladStraightShooter ;)

    - Alex
  • butterbeanbutterbean Member Posts: 4,315
    @SSS: Great! :)
  • LiquidGameworksLiquidGameworks Anchorage, AKMember, Sous Chef Posts: 956
    1) Snap to Grid, seriously, Snap to Grid.
    2) I'd like a zoom on canvas option... I'm on a laptop and hate not being able to see the entire workspace for an iPad.
    3) Also, look to the thread about the Windows UI, and consider changing it before you bring it to Mac.
  • jamie_cjamie_c ImagineLabs.rocks Member, PRO Posts: 5,772
    I agree with most all of the above, and would like to add rules, and guides than can be dragged out of them in addition to the grid already mentioned.

    jamie
  • The_Gamesalad_GuruThe_Gamesalad_Guru Member Posts: 9,922
    Since rules translate into what code call functions, and since function are checked in every frame of the cycle, I would love to have a rule type similar to the update function as this would be rules that need not be in every cycle and only be called when needed. This would increase the FPS and keep stuff from getting bogged down.
  • MarkOnTheIronMarkOnTheIron Member Posts: 1,447
    Also I would like to add to the list a fix to how the condition "Touch is Released" works. As it is now, no matter what, once the touch is released the actor stays permanently in that condition and that situation can cause the behavior included in the rule with that condition to fire again.

    A solution would be to reset the condition to a null state once the process reach the end of the rule.

  • tenrdrmertenrdrmer Member, Sous Chef, Senior Sous-Chef Posts: 9,934
    All of the above. :) also this should be applied to windows. You guys said the bonus to windows right now is being able to play with the UI so let's get to playing with it and get this puppy locked down to something really useful. Let Us Mac Guys really drive the direction of te windows UI and then make it across the board for both.
  • adamhwilkadamhwilk Member, PRO Posts: 9
    Being able to create subroutines like fryingbacon suggested would help simplify and optimize...

    thats definitely a positive. grid support would be lovely.

    sounds referenced by variable is a necessity.

    having a zoom % on the editor interface would be nice -- even something like 50%,100%,200%. Larger scenes can be hard to work with, and smaller scenes can be really difficult to work with if moving small actors.

    I'd like to make my own folders for attributes -- the way they are organized right now is a pain. It would be nice to be able to drag+drop to rearrange them.

    I'd like to make many folders for my graphics and sounds, as well.
  • EpicEpic Member Posts: 89
    I agree with everyone above but what I want the most is

    Snap to grid

    Custom code

    Folders for graphics

    to move more then one actor at a time

    Show x and y on screen you have no idea how long it took me to get the exact position I want for the accelerate toward behavior







  • crazycam99crazycam99 Paris, FranceMember Posts: 519
    Agree with everyone above
  • butterbeanbutterbean Member Posts: 4,315
    Everyone has great suggestions, folders for graphics are also a must - it's hard sifting through so many graphics when you have a huge game, that would be awesome !
  • LiquidGameworksLiquidGameworks Anchorage, AKMember, Sous Chef Posts: 956
    Another little thing, that I can't believe was even an issue in the first place. When using keyboard input, please let us use the native keyboard, not the hideous thing that's currently offered.
  • AcceleratedGamesAcceleratedGames Member Posts: 201
    1. Being able to type in attributes in the Mac Version

    2. Having the ability to edit one behavior in a instance instead of have to unlock the hole thing

    3. Combining projects

    Also, I agree with everything else that has been said.
  • MarkOnTheIronMarkOnTheIron Member Posts: 1,447
    Another nice little thing to add is the ability to add on the "Score Attribute" section of the GC Post Score behavior the ability to call a score that is stored in a table.

  • gyroscopegyroscope I am here.Member, Sous Chef, PRO Posts: 6,598
    edited July 2012

    I like a few of the suggestions but lurve the majority. :-) It'd be like Christmas had come early if we had most of these things pretty quickly!

    A couple or some to add:

    Remembering the resized Expression Editor when going back and opening it again; and why not make all the other Expression Editors for the other actors the same... change one, changes all of them... same with the Attribute browsers... OK, if not change one, change all, at least remember that they've been resized..

    Make the max. type size in Display Type at least double the 100 it is at the moment (personally, I'd love 3 or 4 times the size, needed for a multimedia project I'm doing...slowly...)

    Ability to constrict length of line and/or max. amount of lines typed into the Keyboard behaviour, including ability to adjust the size of the field where you type, when this behaviour is "active".... if I've explained that clearly enough...

    An easier way to implement Save and Load Behaviours ... I mean perhaps a way of defining automatic Save behaviours made based on the Load Behaviours made.... would save a lot of time if there are tons of them... perhaps this would be relatively painless to do if the Save behaviours had a drop down box, where the actor could be selected that would "take" the Load Attribute based on the Save Attribute.

    Great as has been suggested: to be able to see a selected Actor's Editor window with amendable attributes at least, while still in the Scene Editor– but rather than a floating detached window, just a disclosure arrow for the attributes to slide out/slide in extra attached window. (There's a name for that particular GUI function for the Mac, isn't there, but I can't remember what it is...)

    Have the name of the running scene under the large preview screen back again (i.e between the preview scene and the scene thumbnails). It was there, then went, then came back again, now gone again...

    As well as 100 and 50, have 75% reduction in the Preview Window

    I think it was @tshirtbooth suggested in another thread: to have custom behaviours appear in any new project; great idea, I think; a refinement perhaps, have Develop added to the main GSC menu bar (or as a drop down menu to the actual GSC main indow, or in another tab on the Home page): a list of all our own custom behaviours which can be ticked or unticked to load with anew game file... These personal lists of custom behaviours would grow the more we added to them and could get a bit messy after a while, so perhaps when quitting the game file, a dialog/action box pops up asking which custom behaviours we'd like to add to our own custom behaviour library...

    Don't know if the screenshots are deleted now automatically when we publish? If not, that'd save some time and hassle.




    ""You are in a maze of twisty passages, all alike." - Zork        temp domain http://spidergriffin.wix.com/alphaghostapps

  • tenrdrmertenrdrmer Member, Sous Chef, Senior Sous-Chef Posts: 9,934
    2. Having the ability to edit one behavior in a instance instead of have to unlock the hole thing
    Love the idea of unlocking just a single behavior and not the whole instance.
  • butterbeanbutterbean Member Posts: 4,315
    Great suggestions ! I agree on the idea of unlocking a single behavior instead of an entire instance - that would be great!
  • MatibMatib Member Posts: 2
    Like tshirtbooth said, we need snap to grid function where we can define the size of the grid ourselfs! Would be really helpful when building 100+ levels..

    Hope you add it soon!
  • creativeappscreativeapps Member Posts: 1,770
    @Matib Use can use dba grid tool for that
  • zfreedszfreeds Member Posts: 9
    For me one thing would be to be able to use the same custom behaviors on multiple games instead of many seperate ones for each template.
  • SolarPepperStudiosSolarPepperStudios Member Posts: 754
    Someone may have already said this (I skimmed through the comments) but using attributes from tables in rules. Oh my goodness that would help SO MUCH! [-O<
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