OFFICIAL GameMaker Studio 1.4 Sunset

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Silversea

Guest
Does that mean the sprite editor crash will never be fixed? I know they want us to change to GMS2 and everything but...
 
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Yal

šŸ§ *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
I've learned to live with that now. I always hit Ctrl-S before opening a sprite, after closing the editor, and usually save the sprite externally if I did some non-trivial work. There's no reason to wait for a proper fix if there's workarounds.
 
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Silversea

Guest
I've learned to live with that now. I always hit Ctrl-S before opening a sprite, after closing the editor, and usually save the sprite externally if I did some non-trivial work. There's no reason to wait for a proper fix if there's workarounds.
I tend to make a lot of little changes, and with even a medium-sized project it can be really tedious to have to save the entire project each time.
 

tonyfinale

Member
So there will be at least one final update to fix up a few remaining bugs in GMS1? That is confirmed? I'm still waiting on that one where HTML browser games run too fast on 144hz monitors...
 

Llama_Code

Member
So?

If YYGs is owned by Playtech, then by extension, it too is public. Technically a subsidiary.

If I buy shares in Playtech, i own a part of playtech and a part of YYGs.

Everything a public company owns is by extension public

Though it makes no difference in this matter, a company going public does not automatically make its subsidiaries public. A publicly traded company can have private subsidiaries.

I donā€™t know the setup with YoYo but you canā€™t assume itā€™s public just because Playtech is.
 

Dude902

Member
So there will be at least one final update to fix up a few remaining bugs in GMS1? That is confirmed? I'm still waiting on that one where HTML browser games run too fast on 144hz monitors...
I would hope they put out one final patch, at least for minor things, though I am worried that at this point, there would be too little time between the beta and stable release if they released it on the beta channel tomorrow to catch any last minute bugs.

Stuff like removing/commenting out the css line "image-rendering: optimizeSpeed;" by default in index.html, which ruins scaling for laptops (because windows desktop scaling) and takes very little effort to fix. And I'm really sorry if you're still getting bug reports about things related to desktop scaling after putting out the warning that you can't do anything about it, but this one line doesn't do anything for the majority of browser games and is fixable for anyone with a text editor. Speed is not improved significantly enough to leave it in. It completely ruins the visuals of games that don't have large pixelated graphics, and even some that do. Do a quick stress test before and after removing that line, I bet nothing changes.
 

Posh Indie

That Guy
Does that mean the sprite editor crash will never be fixed? I know they want us to change to GMS2 and everything but...
You could always use an external sprite editor if that becomes a road block in the future (I use Aseprite for characters and PyxelEdit for tilesets, though they both work fine for anything. I just like the animation workflow in Aseprite for characters and the tile workflow in PyxelEdit for tilesets). This is another reason I am pro-"Remove the image editor". One less moving piece to blow up due to neglect. Either way, I hope you get the fix you ask for (Always a better solution than the alternative of the feature perpetually being broken).

The good news for GM:S 1.4 users is that the desktop exports should work fine into the distant future. As long as you target desktop you should be fine (Mac will probably have the shortest lifespan in terms of longevity, but Windows has the biggest market share (96.52% of users on Steam as of June 2018) anyway).
 

Dude902

Member
So I noticed this in the bug tracker

Quite a relief even if there's only 7 changes listed in the changelog for this version. I bet there's more that isn't documented there, considering how close the deadline is. Bon voyage.
 

hdarren

Member
So there will be at least one final update to fix up a few remaining bugs in GMS1? That is confirmed? I'm still waiting on that one where HTML browser games run too fast on 144hz monitors...
This problem also applies to windows desktop when using gsync. It works okay on GM2 but not on 1.4. I hope this gets fixed as GM1.4 is unusable right now.
 

True Valhalla

Full-Time Developer
GMC Elder
I can't believe the state of the HTML5 export in GMS2 when we're only a week away from GMS 1.4 being sunset.

I bought GMS2 day one launch and couldn't port a single one of my 70+ games to the new engine. No problem, I thought. There was plenty of time for YoYo Games to iron out the bugs.

But now 18 months later, despite discussing numerous issues with YoYo Games staff directly and spending hours documenting and reporting bugs, the HTML5 export is still a broken mess. It's actually a disgrace that I paid money for the HTML5 export considering how poorly it runs.

It's impossible to make a HTML5 game that's even close to commercial quality with GMS2.

I have completely stopped recommending GameMaker to my audience. In the current version of my book Making Money With HTML5, I recommend that readers use GMS 1.4 to make HTML5 games...that has to change in the next edition.

It's gotten to the point where I can't port any of my games to GMS2 and I can no longer support them in GMS 1.4 after the sunset. My entire business and livelihood depends on being able to maintain my portfolio of HTML5 games.

I regret buying GMS2 at launch. Not because of the cost, but because I made the mistake of putting my faith in YoYo Games. Where are the updates? Where are the bug fixes? Why is the community not being kept in the loop?

I'm so disappointed with the state of GameMaker in 2018.
 

Dude902

Member
I bet you're pretty optimistic that they'll be dedicating all of their resources on GMS2 and its HTML5 export as soon as they finalize 1.4, then.
 

True Valhalla

Full-Time Developer
GMC Elder
I bet you're pretty optimistic that they'll be dedicating all of their resources on GMS2 and its HTML5 export as soon as they finalize 1.4, then.
Well, I posted this in a different thread earlier today:

Personally, I have run out of optimism waiting for GMS2 to get better, so even when 1.4 is sunset in a week I don't expect anything to change. Remember when GMS2 was supposed to be this magical promised land where everything was modern, stable, and reliable?

We have clearly been lied to.
 
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Homunculus

Guest
@True Valhalla it always "bugged" me how the HTML5 module has always been unstable / unreliable even in 1.4, and while I can't really say it got worse with GMS 2 (I haven't used it much though), I still have this feeling.
That's really a pity, I've been wanting to add HTML5 games / apps to the services I offer to my clients (I ran a small web agency) since a long time, and could never do that because it didn't feel production ready due to the above.

That's not to say it's totally unusable, I did release a couple of simple games, but after every update there's always this fear that something might have broken. That's what's really holding me back, it's not even the bugs themselves, as long as you figure them out you can work around them, it's the instability.
 

True Valhalla

Full-Time Developer
GMC Elder
@Catan HTML5 in GMS1 is actually very stable these days, but there are quite a few lessons that you need to learn the hard way when getting familiar with the module. The learning curve isn't steep per se but it can be punishing when a newcomer attempts something like playing sound in mobile browsers. Once you've overcome all the tiny hurdles, HTML5 is such a rewarding platform to make games for. I'd be making HTML5 games even if my business never made a dollar - I just love the format.
 
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Silversea

Guest
You could always use an external sprite editor if that becomes a road block in the future (I use Aseprite for characters and PyxelEdit for tilesets, though they both work fine for anything. I just like the animation workflow in Aseprite for characters and the tile workflow in PyxelEdit for tilesets). This is another reason I am pro-"Remove the image editor". One less moving piece to blow up due to neglect. Either way, I hope you get the fix you ask for (Always a better solution than the alternative of the feature perpetually being broken).

The good news for GM:S 1.4 users is that the desktop exports should work fine into the distant future. As long as you target desktop you should be fine (Mac will probably have the shortest lifespan in terms of longevity, but Windows has the biggest market share (96.52% of users on Steam as of June 2018) anyway).
It doesn't matter though because just opening the sprite and adding frames will cause the crash too. There is no way to avoid it. It's a daily problem for me, as my project takes a while to save. I can't be saving after each individual sprite edit.
 
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Silversea

Guest
GMS1.4 should still be taking bug reports until the 31st, right?

On the site it says: "GameMaker Studio 1.4 is no longer in development and as such we are no longer accepting any bugs for the IDE (game bugs can still be submitted until the end of July using the In-Game form"

But the In-Game form just takes you to that page anyway.
 
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Engineer

Guest
GMS1.4 should still be taking bug reports until the 31st, right?
I don't see why they would, unless there was something widespread that is engine breaking. I mean, they have five days to resolve the problem, then it is 'lights out'.
 

Kenshiro

Member
I don't see why they would, unless there was something widespread that is engine breaking. I mean, they have five days to resolve the problem, then it is 'lights out'.
Considering the current mess that GMS2 is, it would be reasonable for them to extend GMS1.4 support while they try to fix 2.
 

rIKmAN

Member
Considering the current mess that GMS2 is, it would be reasonable for them to extend GMS1.4 support while they try to fix 2.
Sunsetting 1.4 is what will allow them to hopefully direct more manpower into fixing, updating and supporting GMS2.
This means tickets, fixes, new features, scheduled releases etc should have a much quicker turnaround as the staff aren't spread as thin and can focus just on GMS2 and it's exports.

Whether that actually happens remains to be seen...
 

Kenshiro

Member
Sunsetting 1.4 is what will allow them to hopefully direct more manpower into fixing, updating and supporting GMS2.
This means tickets, fixes, new features, scheduled releases etc should have a much quicker turnaround as the staff aren't spread as thin and can focus just on GMS2 and it's exports.

Whether that actually happens remains to be seen...
If that was the case, shouldn't that have already happened 1 one year ago?
 

Dog Slobber

Member
If that was the case, shouldn't that have already happened 1 one year ago?
No, because you hopefully need to find the sweet spot recognising:
  • acceptable support life for 1.4
  • state of maturity of 2.x

Of course sunsetting 1.4 will free up resources to devote to 2.x, it's just a question of how much resources will be devoted to 2.x.
 

Kenshiro

Member
No, because you hopefully need to find the sweet spot recognising:
  • acceptable support life for 1.4
  • state of maturity of 2.x

Of course sunsetting 1.4 will free up resources to devote to 2.x, it's just a question of how much resources will be devoted to 2.x.
I don't know, man. After that blog post about GMS1.4 'sunset', I wonder how much manpower they're actually giving to it, and if moving it to GMS2 would really change anything.
 
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Tyrone

Guest
I don't know, man. After that blog post about GMS1.4 'sunset', I wonder how much manpower they're actually giving to it, and it moving it to GMS2 would really change anything.
Well they'd be maintaining one product not two. So in theory yes is should. In theory.
 
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Misty

Guest
I don't mind them removing tech support from 1.4, GM 1.4 has no bugs anyway. As long as they keep the functionality of 1.4 intact, and allow GM2 to continue to import 1.4 files, I'm cool with it.

GM 1.4 has a sprite editor crash if your computer runs out of memory, but my advice is just dont have many programs running while importing big sprites, and never load a sprite bigger than 2048 pixels, unless you have a gaming computer.
 
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Misty

Guest
Best joke I've ever heard in this forums.
GMS 1.4 is more stable than GMS 2.0, yes.
But GMS 1.4 is broken as hell, especially the last update (1.4.1804).
What I said was obviously a metaphor, because right after I listed one of the bugs.

It doesn't have any bugs though, besides a couple memory issues where you either lose all your work or get flooded with error messages not letting you save and thus lose all your work. But thankfully, GM saves backups to ensure you never lose your work and are never fully devastated.
 

FrostyCat

Redemption Seeker
No, because you hopefully need to find the sweet spot recognising:
  • acceptable support life for 1.4
  • state of maturity of 2.x

Of course sunsetting 1.4 will free up resources to devote to 2.x, it's just a question of how much resources will be devoted to 2.x.
I don't know, man. After that blog post about GMS1.4 'sunset', I wonder how much manpower they're actually giving to it, and if moving it to GMS2 would really change anything.
The GMS 1.4 sunset will transition all of YoYo's development staff to GMS 2, so the total manpower is likely not a concern in the short- to mid-term unless they over-commit to new exports. What may remain a concern is the distribution of effort among exports and IDE functionality in GMS 2.

There is prior art in GMS 1.x where this distribution was far from fair or even, and it left several exports and important IDE functionalities unsuitable for general use --- some for a long time (e.g. source control integration and compatibility, HTTP functions, a number of analytics and API integration plugins), some permanently (e.g. Tizen, Windows 8/Phone, side JS app exports). There is also chronic evidence in GMS 2 of over-investment in non-critical areas, particularly the sprite editor and other "reinventing-the-wheel" roadmap items (e.g. sound editor, tone generator, image format conversions).

Unless YoYo developers put their hearts where specialized users are, the potential for change is likely limited.
 

Posh Indie

That Guy
It doesn't matter though because just opening the sprite and adding frames will cause the crash too. There is no way to avoid it. It's a daily problem for me, as my project takes a while to save. I can't be saving after each individual sprite edit.
I never claimed it was acceptable, just offered a way to make a terrible situation bad (No typo). It is not something you should have to do, that is for sure.
 
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Silversea

Guest
If they can fix the sprite editor crash bug and the string_insert memory leak bug, I'll be happy with that as a send-off for GMS 1.4 ;)
 
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