Is the GameMaker roadmap up to date? How can we tell when it gets updated?

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My entire question is basically in the title...checked the roadmap just now, and was a little unsure about whether or not it was up to date:


The top circle says "January 5th, 2018," which I assumed meant that was the last time the roadmap was changed, but maybe that's wrong - the first thing on the roadmap is the general guide for last year, with the Q4 item "additional target platforms" conspicuously still open.

So, yeah! I was wondering whether or not the roadmap was still "correct" and current. Should we still be expecting additional target platforms soon (a month ago?), or is the roadmap outdated and abandoned? Is the "January 5th" timestamp actually the last time the roadmap was changed/approved? Would love to see that 2017 Q4 item changed to 2018 Q1, hahah! ;)

Anybody know about this? @Nocturne, @Mike?
 
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I suspect that it was something else on the page that was edited. After all there is more information further down the page on items that are being considered for inclusion, and it may have been one of those items that was changed, or something added (or even removed).

But an updated roadmap for 2018 would be great to see (hint, hint, YYG). :D
 
Yeah, I suspect you're right. That doesn't solve the mystery of what's going on with 2017's summary though, unfortunately. I too would like to see 2018's! =)
 
No idea.... someone probably just went in and put those lines through things. :)
Any chance of it getting a "2018" label stuck on it in the meantime? I might just have ocd or something, but seeing "2017 roadmap, last updated: 2018" hurts my head, haha. :p

Better yet, you could have that mysterious line guy put a strike through that last item for all of us, already. I want to add goofy cardboard accessory support to my game. ;)
 
Hah! You're killing me, @Mike! I'm honestly not sure whether you're being coy or just taking the piss out of me, hahah! :')
Last question, because I'm not trying to pry here, but this is the public roadmap, so I don't think I'm overreaching here:
More target platforms were planned for Q4 2017, but obviously fell through, which is fine. Things get pushed back all the time, so that's understandable.
That said, I bought GMS2 a year ago, and still haven't ported my project over to it, because I've been waiting to see what GM ends up exporting to before spending a month or two doing a rewrite/port of my RPG's engine. If you could please answer this straight, I'd really appreciate it - it'd let me commit in earnest to porting to GMS2, instead of mucking around with my old GMS1 project like I am now: "Additional target platforms" missed the Q4 2017 mark. Is that because that goal's been put on the back burner for now, or just because things slipped back a few months? If you had to give us a 2018 roadmap today, what quarter would you move that over to, if you'd leave it on there at all?

Thanks for the help, and sorry to badger. I'm just sick of working in GMS1 when GMS2 is so much better, hahah. :'D
 

XanthorXIII

Member
Hah! You're killing me, @Mike! I'm honestly not sure whether you're being coy or just taking the piss out of me, hahah! :')
Last question, because I'm not trying to pry here, but this is the public roadmap, so I don't think I'm overreaching here:
More target platforms were planned for Q4 2017, but obviously fell through, which is fine. Things get pushed back all the time, so that's understandable.
That said, I bought GMS2 a year ago, and still haven't ported my project over to it, because I've been waiting to see what GM ends up exporting to before spending a month or two doing a rewrite/port of my RPG's engine. If you could please answer this straight, I'd really appreciate it - it'd let me commit in earnest to porting to GMS2, instead of mucking around with my old GMS1 project like I am now: "Additional target platforms" missed the Q4 2017 mark. Is that because that goal's been put on the back burner for now, or just because things slipped back a few months? If you had to give us a 2018 roadmap today, what quarter would you move that over to, if you'd leave it on there at all?

Thanks for the help, and sorry to badger. I'm just sick of working in GMS1 when GMS2 is so much better, hahah. :'D
Why not do it now instead of waiting till later. GMS1 is basically retired at this point.
 
More target platforms were planned for Q4 2017, but obviously fell through, which is fine.
"Additional target platforms" missed the Q4 2017 mark.
Not necessarily. Based on this:
and you can only "check it off" once you're into 2018
I'm guessing from Mike's comment that this may in fact be based on financial year, not calendar year. A lot of companies run their financial years from April to March, so the 2017 financial year would actually end on 31-March, and 2018 would start on 01-April.
Not actually sure that this is what is going on, but it could explain why things are not changing yet and why the exports have not technically missed the Q4 2017 yet.
:confused:
 
Heh. I don't think companies usually use that definition when talking to their consumers though, do they? Feels like wishful thinking to me, but it'd be nice if you were right!
 

Mike

nobody important
GMC Elder
Hah! You're killing me, @Mike! I'm honestly not sure whether you're being coy or just taking the piss out of me, hahah! :')
Well... perhaps a little of both :)

As to exports. I'm afraid we'll never be able to notify users upfront before an export is released, this is because there is usually a huge amount of legal work going on behind the scenes and we simply can not jeopardise that. Take the Amazon deal. This is hardware that has been out for some time, yet there was still a lot of legal work going on, and both parties wanted to be able to make joint announcements, so this always precludes being able to "just let folk know" weeks or months in advance.

Even when it's a target wholly developed by us - such as the creator edition, we'd still want the PR "bang" as it gets announced, otherwise it would just be a damp squid and waste a huge amount of work making whatever the export was.

This is a simple business fact I'm afraid..... However, as soon as things are ready, you can be sure we'll shout about it as soon as we can. We don't hold these things back, as it's not like we're waiting to hit a specific market like games do for Christmas or E3 or something. All this, is of course out of out poor dev hands, and Marketing/Management may well make decisions for the good of the company as to when things are released, that we are not fully aware of - that's their job of course. :)

I understand that this is not what you want to hear.... but I'm afraid it's just the way it is.
 
No problem, @Mike. I appreciate you taking the time to respond to me. I thought you'd be able to give a clearer answer, since the target exports in question are already listed on the public roadmap, but that might've been naive on my part - I see you active on here often, and I know you're one of the main devs for GM, so I thought you'd be at liberty to talk about things like this, but it makes sense that there'd be others in charge of making these sorts of announcements when it's best for the company and all that, so no worries if you can't go into any more details. Not trying to get you or YoYo in trouble here, obviously!

I guess the answer to the question "where on the 2018 roadmap would you put 'other exports?'" will be answered for me soon enough anyway, since you guys are apparently updating the roadmap for 2018. Either it'll be there or it won't, hahah!
Thanks again for your time, Mike. I really do appreciate it! Looking forward to where GM goes next, as always. =)
 

XanthorXIII

Member
Watch, they'll just change the year to 2018.. I'm just kidding. I think the real question should be, what is your roadmap in making your game ;) Don't worry about the roadmap. Worry about your game.
 
Don't worry about the roadmap. Worry about your game.
What the heck does that even mean? X'D
I already explained that my game is tied to the roadmap. Unless you're saying I should spend two months rewriting my game for GMS2, only to rewrite it again for Unity six months from now if it turns out GM ends up not supporting the consoles I want to release on? Great advice, yeah. I think I'll hold out a bit longer to see what the new roadmap looks like, thanks. :p
 
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Mike

nobody important
GMC Elder
GMS2 2018 Roadmap - coming 2019!
Pfft..... that's clearly too optimistic. :p


No problem, @Mike.I guess the answer to the question "where on the 2018 roadmap would you put 'other exports?'" will be answered for me soon enough anyway, since you guys are apparently updating the roadmap for 2018. Either it'll be there or it won't, hahah!
If it were up to me, i'd not put them on at all. The issue is always legal stuff. While we can easily plan and do work once it's all agreed, sometimes the legal stuff can take years - and yes, I do mean years! This clearly means you can't realistically say "New target in Q2" unless everything is signed and you ONLY have the actual work to do. It just makes it too tricky to predict, especially when the other party wants approval on various aspects of the final export.

This obviously is only for ones were we have some kind of joint venture.... but even ones we do ourselves may end up being impacted by other business decisions. New Exports are a big undertaking and there's a lot of work involved, so it doesn't take much for something to come along and delay it.

ALL that said.... we're always looking for new opportunities and new exports, and the team here love porting GM to other platforms in their own time for fun, so we can sometimes get a little boost....

I'd *LOVE* to be able to shout about something cool someone did in the office or at home, but we just can't anymore. But keep an eye out.... they will pop up out of no where sometimes :)
 
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If it were up to me, i'd not put them on at all.
While I definitely understand where you're coming from with that, I'm glad you guys do put the roadmaps out. The future of GM is just as important as its present, especially when you guys have such strong competition right now. I hope the fact that plans sometimes change doesn't deter you from sharing those plans to begin with - I think most of us are pretty reasonable and understanding, and just want to be kept out of the dark as much as possible. Thanks again for all your answers, and for keeping us up to date (as much as is possible, at least) with the roadmap.

Fixed your fix.
I don't know whether I should laugh or cry. :')
 

Mike

nobody important
GMC Elder
I didn't mean I didn't want to do a roadmap, just I wouldn't put predictions of when new exports would come out. "features" are easier to predict than full on exports.

Do what I do.... laugh...cry....laugh a little more....cry....have some chips....cry.... have a pizza.... laugh.... Loop.
 
I didn't mean I didn't want to do a roadmap, just I wouldn't put predictions of when new exports would come out. "features" are easier to predict than full on exports.

Do what I do.... laugh...cry....laugh a little more....cry....have some chips....cry.... have a pizza.... laugh.... Loop.
I'm laughing at your comment, but I'm going to cry if I end up having to use something like 💩💩💩💩ing Monogame to put my game on the Switch. MONOGAME, MIKE. EVEN MONOGAME supports the Switch. GM is by far the best 2D game engine out there. I've checked. I don't know what's stopping you guys, but I hope you get it sorted out soon. Every other engine out there is terrible for 2D compared to GM. Don't make me switch for the Switch! =(

I'll be waiting and praying, hahah! Cheers, Mike.
 
@Ghost in the IDE: The Switch is the fastest selling console ever made in America and a few other countries as of its first calendar year. It's going to do even better when they release Pokemon, Monster Hunter, and Metroid. Indie games are apparently destroying it on the console, too. I've seen devs say "I sold more copies day one on Switch than I did lifetime sales on Steam." Serious devs need a Switch export. :p
 
@andev:I'm sure that plays a part, but I'm not sure that's the whole story. There are lots of games on the system already. I think things are selling so well on the Switch because the console is a joy to use.

But you're at least partly right. The Switch has about 60 new games released onto it a month, where Steam has about 400, apparently. That's great for developers. There's about seven times more garbage competing for attention on Steam than there is the Switch. Even more reason for serious developers to jump onto the console.
 

GMWolf

aka fel666
But you're at least partly right. The Switch has about 60 new games released onto it a month, where Steam has about 400, apparently. That's great for developers. There's about seven times more garbage competing for attention on Steam than there is the Switch. Even more reason for serious developers to jump onto the console.
Not 100% a valid point, why not publish on the windows store since they have way less releases?
 
Not 100% a valid point, why not publish on the windows store since they have way less releases?
Because unlike the Switch, the Windows Store is hated by everyone, and games sell like 💩💩💩💩 on there (as far as I know.)

Quote my whole post instead of just the second half, and then you'll see my formula for success was "marketplace everyone loves to buy from PLUS great visibility," not just "great visibility," haha. :p

I mean, my post was directly agreeing with yours, even! My post was already adding the "that's not all" caveat to andev's post! You messing with me, Fel?! X'D
 

GMWolf

aka fel666
Because unlike the Switch, the Windows Store is hated by everyone, and games sell like **** on there (as far as I know.)

Quote my whole post instead of just the second half, and then you'll see my formula for success was "marketplace everyone loves to buy from PLUS great visibility," not just "great visibility," haha. :p

I mean, my post was directly agreeing with yours, even! My post was already adding the "that's not all" caveat to andev's post! You messing with me, Fel?! X'D
Hehe just messing with you. :p
 

rIKmAN

Member
@Ghost in the IDE: The Switch is the fastest selling console ever made in America and a few other countries as of its first calendar year. It's going to do even better when they release Pokemon, Monster Hunter, and Metroid. Indie games are apparently destroying it on the console, too. I've seen devs say "I sold more copies day one on Switch than I did lifetime sales on Steam." Serious devs need a Switch export. :p
The Switch isn't some magical key to success, and while better store visibility will certainly help devs, you don't mention the much tighter curation and acceptance Nintendo will have in place for the device.

A turd is still gonna be a turd even if it's running on a Switch.
Nobody likes turds, or even more importantly: buys and plays them - and Nintendo aren't going to allow a bunch of turds to flood the market just because GMS2 supports it.

Make a good game first and foremost - worrying and demanding support for a target that doesn't yet exist before even having that in place is pointless.

If the time comes where it's successful on PC, Mobile (or wherever) and people are clamouring for it on Switch you will either be able to use the highly sought after GMS Switch export (if it ever happens) or be in a position to port it using another engine / company to do so if it doesn't.
 
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M

Misu

Guest
I for one just wanted to make a game for the Switch knowing that receiving a spotlight advantage and higher audience captivation rate is greater than the other consoles due to lack of other advance competitors youll be facing. Also its my dream to make a nintendo game ;-;
 
The Switch isn't some magical key to success, and while better store visibility will certainly help devs, you don't mention the much tighter curation and acceptance Nintendo will have in place for the device.
Why would I mention the much tighter curation when I'm not worried about it? I said serious devs need a Switch export, not every dev.
A turd is still gonna be a turd even if it's running on a Switch.
Nobody likes turds, or even more importantly: buys and plays them - and Nintendo aren't going to allow a bunch of turds to flood the market just because GMS2 supports it.
Again, you're presenting arguments I'm not worrying about. Who's making a turd? Why should other people making 💩💩💩💩ty games stop me from wanting a Switch export? :'D
Make a good game first and foremost - worrying and demanding support for a target that doesn't yet exist before even having that in place is pointless.

If the time comes where it's successful on PC, Mobile (or wherever) and people are clamouring for it on Switch you will either be able to use the highly sought after GMS Switch export (if it ever happens) or be in a position to port it using another engine / company to do so if it doesn't.
"Worrying about the future is pointless. Just write your entire game engine twice, duh!"
Uh, what? Why the hell would I want to write my game twice, and release the Switch version after every other version? Why *wouldn't* I spend an hour or two asking what's going on with GMS' Switch export to save myself hundreds of hours of work in the future?

Someone already presented this amazing argument earlier in the thread, rlKmAN, and I already answered it. "Thanks, but no thanks." :p
 

rIKmAN

Member
Why would I mention the much tighter curation when I'm not worried about it? I said serious devs need a Switch export, not every dev.

Again, you're presenting arguments I'm not worrying about. Who's making a turd? Why should other people making ****ty games stop me from wanting a Switch export? :'D

"Worrying about the future is pointless. Just write your entire game engine twice, duh!"
Uh, what? Why the hell would I want to write my game twice, and release the Switch version after every other version? Why *wouldn't* I spend an hour or two asking what's going on with GMS' Switch export to save myself hundreds of hours of work in the future?

Someone already presented this amazing argument earlier in the thread, rlKmAN, and I already answered it. "Thanks, but no thanks." :p
You're twisting my words to support your own argument, I'd come to expect better from you Rich.

My points weren't even directed at you personally, they were more counterpoints to the all-positive generalisations you made with regards to a Switch export.

I get it - you're a serious dev who's gonna take the Switch by storm with his world beating game that Nintendo will 110% want to sign up on an exclusive deal on the spot and sell copies by the truck load.
(Yep - I can be silly and twist words too...)

Other people making 💩💩💩💩ty games shouldn't stop you wanting it, but to sugar coat the reasons for wanting it like its the singular key to a being a success "just like that" is silly. If that was the case even the people making 💩💩💩💩ty games would end up with massive hits, and we both know that's not going to happen because there is a lot more to this than being able to compile something to the machine and having a market that isn't (yet) oversaturated.
Why *wouldn't* I spend an hour or two asking what's going on with GMS' Switch export to save myself hundreds of hours of work in the future?
You're asking a question you (and many others) have already asked previously in other threads expecting a different answer than what we've already been told is the official stance. What do you expect them to say, that they haven't already said?

Without getting off topic (and which you seemingly missed) my point was that the existence of a Switch export does not guarantee even getting on the console "officially", and if you do sign an agreement with Nintendo then that still isn't a guarantee of any success.

You can ignore parts of my post you aren't worried about, that's fine, but those are still the facts and both sides should be presented rather than the sugar coated version you envision.
Whether you only want to list the positives like its some indie dev nirvana and ignore anything that doesn't fit that criteria is upto you, but the point still stands that a Switch export isn't a golden ticket to success - there are many other factors than "being able to export to it" that play into that.

Damn, even a having an actually good game can't be relied upon as a precursor for commercial success anymore, there are plenty of great games that don't do well commercially.

Turning my points into "hur de hur not makin my game twice! duh!" doesn't make them any less valid and doesn't add to any kind of serious discussion. I mean, you did say you're serious if I remember right? :p
 
My points weren't even directed at you personally, they were more counterpoints to the all-positive generalisations you made with regards to a Switch export.
I said that serious game developers will need a Switch export. Your counterargument to that was "whoa, hold up! If you make a 💩💩💩💩ty game, nobody is even going to like it anyway! Stop worrying about what exports GM has, and just make your game!"
How is that an answer to the argument that serious developers will need a Switch port? Yeah, no 💩💩💩💩 random newbies making their first click the clown games aren't going to need a Switch export, rlKmAN. What's your point? I never said they did, so why are you quoting me?
I get it - you're a serious dev who's gonna take the Switch by storm with his world beating game that Nintendo will 110% want to sign up on an exclusive deal on the spot and sell copies by the truck load.
(Yep - I can be silly and twist words too...)
I didn't outright say it, but I think I've been pretty open with the fact that that's basically my line of thinking, yeah. I'm not sure how much it counts as twisting my words there if you know my post history here, hahah!
That said, I wasn't making the argument just for me. Again, my argument was that any serious developer (read - one not making 💩💩💩💩ty games) is going to want a Switch export. And again, your argument didn't address that.
Without getting off topic (and which you seemingly missed) my point was that the existence of a Switch export does not guarantee even getting on the console "officially", and if you do sign an agreement with Nintendo then that still isn't a guarantee of any success.
I understand your point. I never said that a Switch export would guarantee success, or even guarantee getting onto the Switch. I don't think I even implied that, which is where my confusion is coming from here.
You can ignore parts of my post you aren't worried about, that's fine, but those are still the facts and both sides should be presented rather than the sugar coated version you envision.
Again, I didn't sugarcoat anything. I said serious developers will need a Switch export. Maybe my wording wasn't clear enough, and this is where you're getting so hung up: when I said "serious developers," I meant "serious good developers." I thought that was common sense, because like you've said repeatedly, the Switch is a curated platform. I thought we all knew it was a curated platform, so I didn't think it needed mentioning. Maybe I should have mentioned it, hahah!
"hur de hur not makin my game twice! duh!"
Whoa, you seem a little upset there! You going to invite me to the back of the school yard to "settle this" next?
You literally told me to just make my game twice:
or be in a position to port it using another engine / company to do so if it doesn't.
It was bad advice, and I declined it after explaining why it was bad advice. Don't get all mad about it. :p
 
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rIKmAN

Member
I started to write out a proper reply, but...
Whoa, you seem a little upset there! You going to invite me to the back of the school yard to "settle this" next?
Don't get all pissy about it. :p
...those comments just made me realise it's not worth my time.

Seems like I misjudged your character from the posts of yours I've seen in the past, as for someone who claims to be so "serious" you have to bold it every time you use it, those comments make you sound like 10yr old.

I won't be replying again so feel free to take a cheap parting shot, and good luck with world domination and your exclusive Nintendo deal that doesn't exist.
I expect a photo of you swimming in gold coins like Scrooge McDuck if a Switch export is ever released.

I look forward to skipping over future posts of yours asking and whining about a Switch export only to be told the same answers as we've all already had from official channels.

Edit:
Seems I replied/quoted you before you edited your "pissy" comment, sorry about that.
 
Love you too, r-man. Good talk. <3

Edit: No problem. I have a bad habit of using my live posts as post previews. After giving it a read, it came across more insulting than intended, so it was edited out. You're quicker than me though, heheh. Does my edited post get me upgraded to "12yo?" :^D
 
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No worries. Me and rlkMAn are going to get drinks next time we meet. My treat!
v Edit: Oops, guess not, lol. If I got piss drunk with someone who was already so pissy, he might die. :')

And as much as I'm asking, I'm not mad or frustrated with anyone at YoYo. I'm just trying to find out as much as possible because like I said in my earlier post, GM is three classes above any other 2D engine I've tried. Porting my game to another engine would suck badly for me, because it'd be a lot of work, and because GM is that good. Porting my engine after waiting another year only to find out that Nintendo has a death grudge against Mark Overmars or something would suck even worse though, hahah.

Anyway, you've been totally cool and patient, @Mike. Thanks once more for your time. I guess there's nothing much else to say, so I'm done with this thread. I'll just cross my fingers and hope for good news - I have enough art work to keep me busy for awhile anyway.
 

rIKmAN

Member
Does my edited post get me upgraded to "12yo?" :^D
Fraid not friend - you're a new entry into my "can't hold an adult conversation" group. ;)
okay.... well, that blew up quickly..... Remember all that legal stuff I was on about? we are still in talks to try get a Switch export. We want it as much as everyone else....
Wait, so you're saying the answer is the same as the last time you were asked?
And the time before that?
And even the time before that?
In fact almost the same as a year ago?

Who'd have thought... :p
 

Ninety

Member
okay.... well, that blew up quickly..... Remember all that legal stuff I was on about? we are still in talks to try get a Switch export. We want it as much as everyone else....
it's almost like pestering the devs on this forum on a weekly basis doesn't translate into real-world legal resolutions
 
@Ninety, @rIKmAN: Oh, come on. :p

I asked when we were getting an update on the public roadmap. The anger you're feeling in your guts isn't because of me, it's because of yourselves. Go and work on your own games, and you'll start worrying about console exports too at some point. Jesus Christ, guys. X'D
 
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rIKmAN

Member
@Ninety, @rIKmAN: Come on. I asked when we were getting an update on the public roadmap. The anger you're feeling in your guts isn't because of me, it's because of yourselves. Go and work on your own games, and you'll start worrying about console exports too at some point. Jesus Christ, guys. X'D
Give it a rest Rich, the thread is going off topic now. Save it for the next "Will there be a Switch export?" thread where you'll get the same answers.

For the record, there is no anger from me, you shouldn't be so presumptuous.

No worrying either as my plan doesn't rely on a possible Switch export being the crux of my projects success - it would be a nice added extra.

Good luck!
 
No worrying either as my plan doesn't rely on a possible Switch export being the crux of my projects success - it would be a nice added extra.
The Switch is a curated platform. Having the export doesn't guarantee your game will be on the Switch.
Are you sure you're not mad? I thought you were done responding to me like three posts ago. :p
 
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