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AppGameKit Studio Chat / What features and improvements are planned for Studio 2?

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Zigi
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Posted: 14th Jun 2020 09:02 Edited at: 14th Jun 2020 09:05
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Hi.

There was a survey some time ago to collect info what features and improvements we would like to see in Studio 2.
The survey is closed now and not too long ago TGC did share the results in a newsletter and mentioned the most popular requests which I am really not happy about because most of them was 3D related including a 3D level editor.
They did not mentioned any of the 2D improvements and features I would like to see, only that "there was many more requests which is going to keep us busy", but that is just not good enough.

I can no longer wait and only hope for the features I need to be implemented in AGK. I also don't want to wait an other 6 months when TGC announces the release of Studio 2. I would like to know today what to expect in 6-12 months from now.

By the way one of my requests was for years is to have a public roadmap so we constantly have a clear picture what to expect in 2-3-6-12 months, I was also recommending to use something like Trello where people can post ideas, vote so we could also constantly see the mindset of the community, what they want and what is the most likely considered but no, we kept in the dark all the time and need to begging constantly and find out always at last minute what is coming. Personally, I am sick of this surprises, I need facts and I need them now.

Anyway, @TGC Could we get an official answer on the forum in this topic or elsewhere with a list of features and improvements definitely coming in Studio 2?
I don't want to rant and complain and cry and argue anymore, all I want is just a list so I can make preparations, plans and make my decisions for the future.

Thank you.
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Scraggle
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Posted: 20th Jun 2020 13:06
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More info would be nice.
TGC could learn a lot about keeping its users happy by following the way Godot do it
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Bored of the Rings
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Posted: 20th Jun 2020 19:01
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Studio 2? News to me ha
Professional Programmer, languages: SAS, C++, SQL, PL-SQL, DBPro, Purebasic, JavaScript, others
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george++
AGK Tool Maker
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Posted: 21st Jun 2020 00:22
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Personally, I don't use the level editor. Most of today's devices have enough power to run all AppGameKit games, no matter which renderer they use (GL or VULKAN). So far, I feel that I gain nothing more from Studio comparing to the classic AGK. I hope the future will prove that I am wrong.
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tiresius
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Posted: 21st Jun 2020 02:10
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What were the results of the survey can you link to it here? I don't remember seeing it.

I hope media packaging/protection was listed somewhere near the top.
Funcygames.com
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haliop_New
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Posted: 21st Jun 2020 05:36
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+1
Yeah media protection is the most wanted feature for.me 2.
I am thinking of building my own but i think it will take too much time..
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blink0k
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Posted: 21st Jun 2020 05:57
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Is there some shortfall in WadPacker?
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haliop_New
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Posted: 21st Jun 2020 06:17
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Ohh i has no idea this exist.
I think It should be pinned on the forum as its own pinned post.
Both for classic and studio, Will try It today.
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Bengismo
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Posted: 21st Jun 2020 11:05
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blink wrote: "Is there some shortfall in WadPacker?"


Yes, there is a lot of downfalls wadpacker, most of which are discussed on the thread you linked to (read janbo and blendmans comments).

Files in the 'wad' are written to the users disk before being loaded in to agk so can be accessed by the user if they wanted (images, models etc...). In the case of music its on your disk in user readable form while ever its being played and fonts are left there permanently. The loading is much slower. Anyone who downloads the wadpacker code on that thread then has the capability to access all your media. No password protection is being used.

Its a great effort and better than nothing, but...there are better methods if you want your media secured.

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george++
AGK Tool Maker
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Posted: 21st Jun 2020 12:14
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Quote: "but...there are better methods if you want your media secured."

Can you suggest something?
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Bengismo
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Posted: 21st Jun 2020 12:36 Edited at: 21st Jun 2020 12:54
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Wadpacker would be a little better if it gave the option of using a password to encrypt the zip files...I think nzo wrote it before agk got a function(s) unzipping from password protected files. That way....even WITH the downloaded code, you would still need a password. Even with this added...it is still temporarily writing the files to disk though which is not secure and wastes time.

The reality is that AppGameKit needs functions for loading resources directly from password protected files at least to do this nicely in Teir 1. That is discussed in the linked thread above. Its currently lacking the features to do this properly.

I personally modified the player app to allow loading directly to memory so there is no temporary storage needed when loading from a packed resource files. It goes straight from file to memory and is encrypted on disk. My teir 1 code doesnt then need to be changed as the resource file is checked first for a matching file before the media folder is checked for a resource - so the T1 code doesnt change- This solution requires a fair bit of modding in the player though. Even the bytecode is packed into the exe file and the resource file is propriatary and encrypted.
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PartTimeCoder
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Posted: 23rd Jun 2020 20:29
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Wait, Wat.... Studio 2 .... did I miss something?
Tier 1 Includes
Timer Include | HashTable Include | INI Include | HealthBar Include

Tier 1 Plugins
Library Plugin | TTS Plugin | Clipboard Plugin | Debug Plugin | SQLite
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Kevin Cross
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Posted: 24th Jun 2020 00:00
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Don't think I've seen anything about a Studio 2. Does seem a bit too soon for a Studio 2. Can we not get the current one at a better place first?
OryUI - A WIP AGK2 UI Framework
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Zigi
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Posted: 27th Jun 2020 12:37 Edited at: 27th Jun 2020 12:42
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Quote: "Wait, Wat.... Studio 2 .... did I miss something?
Don't think I've seen anything about a Studio 2. Does seem a bit too soon for a Studio 2."

When Studio was announced/released TGC told they can no longer sustain the current business model of asking for money once and then provide free updates for years and they are considering to release new paid version more often like every 12 months or so. Each new paid version would bring new features. So then in the survey they asked for opinion what new features we would like to see and if we could pre-order it. They did not say it but the fact they asked if we could pre-order It , implies a new paid version aka Studio 2 is in the planning phase right now and personally I expect an official announcement within the next 6 months, by end of this year or early next year. But personally I really don't want to wait that long to find out what new features are coming.

Quote: "What were the results of the survey can you link to it here?"

I can't find the news letter maybe it was just an email for those who did fill out the survey? Not sure I though it was a news letter.
Anyway, they told the most popular request was

3D level editor
Visual shader editor
2D level editor improvements
Features of Classic that prevent users to switch from Classic to Studio (I'm guessing it is IDE staff)
I think, but I'm not 100% sure because I have deleted the email but maybe they did also mentioned media protection too.

Finally they told there was even more features requested "that is going to keep us busy" which I am really not happy with, I really want to know for certain if any of my requests and suggestions that I have also posted on GitHub did make it on their to-do list finally or not.

Quote: "Can we not get the current one at a better place first?"

I'm sure TGC continue to support Studio with bug fixes and improvements but new features are coming in new paid versions, at least this is what they implied which personally I am fine with as long we are well informed what we can expect and when exactly but so far they are keeping us in the dark. We never know what to expect and when and I am really tired of that.
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Bengismo
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Posted: 27th Jun 2020 19:01 Edited at: 27th Jun 2020 19:33
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Zigi wrote: "I can't find the news letter maybe it was just an email for those who did fill out the survey? Not sure I though it was a news letter."


The newsletter you speak of is funnily enough in the newsletter section on the TGC site

https://www.thegamecreators.com/newsletter/thegamecreators-newsletter-20--june-2020

Specifically:
TheGameCreators wrote: "There’s still a host of features you want to see us add to the product. The headline features that came top of the poll are:

GUI commands
3D editor
IDE improvements
Visual shader editor
Scene editor improvements
Asset protection
Improved 3D commands
There are also many other features and ideas from you that will keep us busy once we are all into our post-Covid-19 ‘new normal’!

For the immediate future we plan to focus on bugs and tweaks highlighted by the survey.

Some users prefer to remain on AppGameKit Classic because AppGameKit Studio doesn’t suit their needs. It’s therefore important for us to address these issues before venturing into new areas."
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haliop787
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Posted: 27th Jun 2020 21:19
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I could really use assets protection in the following days or 2 weeks max, if not i will have to build my own. I cannot release my project in any other way and im running out of cash (Coronavirus holiday) .
I also found a neat way to request an update from the user wihtout any internet connection by that keeping my iron - steel - gold - platinum rule of "No internet connectivity at all " to keep all of my users safe.

I could really really use Assets Protection right now :/
Nadav "Haliop" Rosenberg
Lets make the world great forever.
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Xaron
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Posted: 28th Jun 2020 09:16
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@haliop787: Asset protection is rarely worth it. If your game is so good that everyone wants to break into it, they will do it. There are tools out there, grabbing the stuff from the graphics card, so at some point your assets will end there and no protection can stop one from getting it there.

You just make some people unhappy who could think about to mod your game.
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Zigi
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Posted: 28th Jun 2020 09:31
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Quote: " funnily enough in the newsletter section on the TGC site"

Lol, when I tried that I was getting 404 and when I tried to google it, did not come up. Thanks.

Quote: "Asset protection is rarely worth it. If your game is so good that everyone wants to break into it, they will do it"

It is not only about avoiding assets being stolen but also some assets purchased from 3rd party does not allow you to ship it unprotected.
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Xaron
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Posted: 28th Jun 2020 13:38
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Quote: "It is not only about avoiding assets being stolen but also some assets purchased from 3rd party does not allow you to ship it unprotected."


I see, didn't think of that but again, there's no point in doing so because IF the game is good, they will extract it anyway and otherwise nobody, really nobody will care.
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Zigi
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Posted: 28th Jun 2020 14:04
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Quote: "really nobody will care."

Maybe not but consider that you may use an asset in total value of $10 distributed under a license that prohibit the distribution without protection. Say you don't care and you publish your game anyway for free, you make no money so it should be no problem you might think but if 1000 person download your game, that artist can sue you for $10 x 1000 = $10,000 for breaching the license and redistributing the assets to 1000 persons. Personally I would not risk it. A cheap lawyer cost only $500 to hire + maybe 10% if win the case so even if we are talking about $2000 value which is require only 200 downloads in case of a $10 value asset, it is totally worth it to sue you because it is a clear win, it takes only 10 minutes at the court and you got to pay both lawyers too. Easy.

Most of the time you are lucky because people don't notice because your game is not that popular or indeed they don't care but if they do, you can get in to real trouble. Personally I would not risk that.
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Xaron
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Posted: 28th Jun 2020 14:19
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Yes that's a valid argument. I understand that.
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jd_zoo
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Posted: 1st Jul 2020 01:33
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Quote: "It is not only about avoiding assets being stolen but also some assets purchased from 3rd party does not allow you to ship it unprotected."


The AppGameKit Shader Pack DLC specifically states "If you release your Application to the public please make sure to Encrypt all shader files." In my opinion if AppGameKit request this of their own DLC then it should be a standard feature for their software that uses said DLC (AGK 2 and Studio.)

I was interested to see the WAD packer I had not heard of that, but if it is unencrypted then not the greatest starting point for someone like me to figure out from scratch.
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