Thanks to RC for pointing this out to me.
YoYo Games has decided to allow GM:S Free users to upgrade to Standard for… free. To do this, install that standalone version of GM:S Free (The Steam version will not work), then choose the Beta Update channel and let it update.Don't choose a license yet (If you've already chosen the Free license beforehand, just delete the C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Game Maker Studio folder to reset it, and reinstall).After the update, the launcher screen will provide you with three license choices. Free, for Free. Standard, for Free, or the upgrade to Professional (For not-so-free).Doing this upgrade also shaves $50 off any future upgrade to Professional.Why is YYG doing this? It's kinda obvious. Unity comes along and starts providing 2D functionality out of the box, allows all sorts of exports to various platforms for free, and is generally doing a better job of providing tools to hobbyist game developers.Took 'em long enough to figure out that their gypped 'Free' version was unusable.Anyway, enjoy everybody.
Eh, ignore the shitty Flash graphics they used for their example. If you can make a Flash-esque game, you can definitely make awesome tile-based pixel art games.
I like the idea of using polygon colliders, rather than tons of object colliders like I usually do in GM. It should make tile-based collisions really interesting.I'm debating using Unity for Frosty Four. I want to because it'd be a great opportunity to learn it. I don't want to because I'd rather make a much better game from the comforts of my, well, my comfort zone.Besides still weighing up whether I'm entering F4D or not, I'm also weighing up whether or not to use Unity or GM.
In fact, I'm even considering using GM:S to complete Darkness, since it has some really nice Shader support (That I can use to implement palette fades pretty easily. Though I can do it just as easily in C++…)Oh, that's a good point. So here are my (revised) options. I'm trying to decide whether to prioritize my future in game development, or whether to just make a cool (pun not intended) game. Right now it just comes out to speed versus power, which are, unfortunately, inverse of each other. This is only because of my inexperience with Unity though.
Unity - Need to learn it anyway, has a lot of good features.GM:S - Faster to work in than Unity, but has a few good features.GM8.1 - Fastest to work in, most stable, but least relevant to my future interests.C++ - Hahahah fuck no.I'm on the fence about using GM8 ever again, don't games built from it have compatibility problems with Windows 8?
Oh, C++ has been working pretty well for Darkness; but the workflow sometimes irks me. Of course, when you're using C++, or when you're creating a game in any standalone language, you have to make the workflow easier yourself.
Either way… my thoughts right now are along the lines of "Have GM:S, will use". It has the functionality I want (Specifically, shaders), and the speed. Even without their compiler, it's excellent (The 'model' demo they use, renders 27000 cubes each with different vertex shading, lighting and FXAA, and it runs at around 80FPS on my PC.)I'm torn between making my game in my own engine (Because I like creating engines and systems), but at the same time I want to just make a game.Thanks Mega!
Hm, will standard now be free forever or is this a one time thing?I think it'll last "forever" (Ergo, until YYG either drop support or disappear), since the E-mail I got was identical to the one I got for my GM8.1 license.
According to this, it's a time-limited offer.