Should Vinny buy a copy of GM Studio 2?

[VinnyVideo]

I've been experimenting with the free version over the past couple of months, and it's grown on me (for the most part - GMS 2 has a few quirks I'm not totally fond of). I never really got into the first GM Studio - I downloaded it but kept on using GM 8.0 for most of my game-making. However, considering that GM 8 is now close to a decade old, maybe I should move on to something a little more modern - especially since GMS 2 has some helpful functions and features that will make my life easier.

Note that choosing yes increases the risk that I'll post surreal joke games I've made to test out GMS 2.

[Saltman]

What's the point of having so many GMs?



If you're a master at one, I'd say you should try stay with that one, since I think they must all be very similar (Unless GM2 has a function the other one doesn't).

[Willsaber]

If you're a master at one, I'd say you should try stay with that one, since I think they must all be very similar

I hope this doesn't sound mean, but that is honestly terrible advice. Programmers ought to be always learning new tools to expand their skill set, because there is no utility so powerful that it justifies developmental stagnation--and even if there were, it would inevitably be someday deprecated by a superior tool. This is why people mature as programmers throughout their entire career.

Moreover, there is definitely no technical justification (currency matters notwithstanding) for using deprecated inferior software just because one is too lazy to learn the more modern tools. One cannot keep up with the industry that way. Game Maker 8 is essentially similar to Game Maker: Studio 1.4, but Studio is more efficient in many many regards, it can better exploit modern GPUs and DirectX's, it has myriad exclusive GML functions, and it doesn't crash on Windows 8. Game Maker Studio 2 is even more efficient in some ways, and has a whole lot of other technical advantages over Studio 1.4.

Many programmers configure their Emacs preferences over decades, as their workflow matures, and they need more and more specifications to accommodate their ever-growing list of proficiencies. Competent programmers don't arbitrarily decide to stick with a utility when faced with superior alternatives.

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On the main subject, I personally like GMS2 a lot. I invested in a license pretty much right as it came out of early access, because I was confident that I'd need it to mature as a game developer. For me, it's definitely paid off. Would recommend!

Making terrible posts since 2014

[Saltman]

Uh, Wow.


I didn't think about any of that. You're right.

[Hyper]

I have to add an additional point:
YoYo Games announced that they will be ending support for Game Maker Studio this summer. Which in many cases if you are looking for help, implementing addons, modern OS compatiability (especially with iOS and Android which they constantly get updated every year), using an older version can be more challenging making your project(s). I have a feeling at some point, YoYo Games may discontinue Game Maker Studio 1.4 marketplace down the road.

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[Mariotroid]

Id say go with Studio 2... I'll have to install it once I finally get my good laptop fixed.

[VinnyVideo]

@Saltman Newer versions of GM add some functions and features that make life easier. For example, when I've implemented online high scores systems in GM 8, I've had to use an extension and a lot of different functions to connect to the server and submit the score. In contrast, GM Studio 2 makes it easy to send POST requests - I just need two lines of code and don't have to tinker with extensions. Also, GM 8 never had a function for determining array length, which made it a lot more cumbersome to work with arrays.

@Willsaber Being efficient with resources isn't super-important for the kinds of games made by most people on MFGG, but it can be a big deal if you make 3-D games or other things that push systems to the limit. Fortunately, GM 8 games don't crash in Windows 10, and since Windows 8's market share is barely higher than Windows XP's, I don't think we'll have to worry too much about maintaining compatibility with Windows 8.

@Hypernova I've never actually done much with GM Studio 1.x. But yeah, if you're using the export modules, you'll probably want to have the latest version of GM.

I haven't formally tested this, but GM Studio 2 seems to be a bit quicker at compiling games than GM Studio 1.4 was (and almost as fast as GM 8). Also, GM Studio 2's default interface is a lot nicer-looking than what we had in GM Studio 1.x.

So yeah, I'll probably go ahead and buy a GM Studio 2 license at some point in the not-too-distant future.

Course clear! You got a card.