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Returning to GMS

Hello everyone. So I started in GMS when it first came out, and it took me for ever to understand even the most basic concepts, I honestly don't have the logical skills to code. And just when I had some understanding, thanks to Shaun Spaulding and Heartbeast, GMS 2 was launched, so I rage quitted. I've been thinking a lot lately, and I think I want to try again, with GMS 2 this time. How much have GML changed from GMS 1 to GMS 2? Would I be able to import files from previous versions? (including files from the GM era?).

Another thing I'd like to know, if would it be too expensive to hire a programer as a consultant?, If I remember correctly there were some people offering services in the market place, does that still exist?

Thank you all very much in advance, I'll be waiting for your replies
 

FoxyOfJungle

Kazan Games
Welcome! Hello again!
You can only import games made in Game Maker Studio 1.4 in Game Maker Studio 2.

In a Shaun Spalding video he talks about the differences between GMS 2 and GMS 1:

A relevant change between GMS 1 and 2 was the removal of the d3d_ and view_ functions, you now have cameras. gpu_ functions added..
You can now create things in 3D using vertex buffers.

Another thing I'd like to know, if would it be too expensive to hire a programer as a consultant?, If I remember correctly there were some people offering services in the market place, does that still exist?
It still exists, there should be people who still do it.

Game Maker Studio 2.3 will bring many new things and you can check it out here:
 
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M

maxm2

Guest
What do you want to consult a programmer about? How to get past problems you run into in your own coding? As a tutor? Or as someone who can tell you how hard it would be to code certain game mechanics or graphics?

A few years ago, I hired a programmer from the Services section of the YoYo Games Marketplace, as a tutor. The price was around $15 or $20 per hour, but I've seen much higher prices--it really varies. I only met with him a few times since he only used written communication through a program I can't remember the name of, and it was just too slow to be useful to me. I am going to need another tutor, so I will be sure to get someone who I can skype or zoom or whatever with.

Good luck with however you decide to proceed.
 

Joe Ellis

Member
I'm a programmer and you can consult me any time you want :)
I'll try to advise as best I can from my understandings. I like helping people with learning

Also I would say that the language format hasn't changed at all, there are just new things in it that require knowing how to use them.
 
What do you want to consult a programmer about? How to get past problems you run into in your own coding? As a tutor? Or as someone who can tell you how hard it would be to code certain game mechanics or graphics?

A few years ago, I hired a programmer from the Services section of the YoYo Games Marketplace, as a tutor. The price was around $15 or $20 per hour, but I've seen much higher prices--it really varies. I only met with him a few times since he only used written communication through a program I can't remember the name of, and it was just too slow to be useful to me. I am going to need another tutor, so I will be sure to get someone who I can skype or zoom or whatever with.

Good luck with however you decide to proceed.
Wow, 15-20 USD per hour is absolutely out of my budget. But maybe if I manage to finish all the elements I want my game to have, a consultant might take a look at my code and put all the elements together. I hope that's better.

At first I even thought about paying someone to develop the engine with all the features I want my game to have, but if they charge 20 USD per hour, this might cost me hundreds of dollars. I was excited about that idea, I'm an illustrator and I could have had one all the art, I just needed the working engine. I'm sad now.
 
I'm a programmer and you can consult me any time you want :)
I'll try to advise as best I can from my understandings. I like helping people with learning

Also I would say that the language format hasn't changed at all, there are just new things in it that require knowing how to use them.
Are you for real?! šŸ˜­ what a great person! Maybe we could exchange some of your knowledge for some of my art
 

Joe Ellis

Member
Are you for real?! šŸ˜­ what a great person! Maybe we could exchange some of your knowledge for some of my art
That'd be cool :D Yeah that's fine, if you message me asking about anything, I'll try to answer as best I can. It may sometimes take me a day or two to reply, but I normally log in here every day, and programming is just part of my life. I can't actually do any programming for you, cus I've got 3 projects on the go, but giving advice is kind of like talking to myself, I normally talk to myself in my head going over\revising different coding things, it's just the way my brain works, so it'll be nice to have a real person to tell stuff to haha :D
 

TheouAegis

Member
Well if you want to move up to gms2, stick with version 2.2, as currently the 2.3b IDE is too broken. Also 2.3 and beyond will have a lot of changes that, if you are already concerned about what you would be able to accomplish with your current lack of programming skills, wood probably leave you even more flabbergasted.

Those differences mentioned by foxy aren't the only differences. If you are more interested in simpler games (not necessarily retro, but retro included), there are quite a few more changes from 1.4 to 2.2. the first major one in my own opinion is the use of layers. Some people might not consider that a big difference, especially since you can still use depth hiking the old versions, but layers have so many more nuances and are flipping amazing the more you look at them. And one aspect of layers that seemingly improves things (I haven't speed tested, so this is just conjecture) is you no longer work with tiles individually, you work with them on a tilemap which is bound to a layer. Now, there are people who might complain tilemap structures in 2.2 are more restrictive than they were in legacy versions, but tiles are inarguably better in 2.2.

Views use cameras now, which is tedious as heck because the functions are more verbose. On the other hand, the camera system is more flexible if you choose to use it beyond simple views. It's just annoying trying to remember which variables became functions instead; I miss the arrays of old.

If you want to keep things simple, stick with 1.4, but 2.2 does have a lot more flexibility. Like I said, my main gripe with gms2 is it seems too verbose, typing code in it feels more tedious than in 1.4. if you really feel like you've forgotten most of what you learned in the days of 1.4, then there's no reason to not switch to 2.2. The newest versions are going to be the most flexible, but you're going to have a lot more to learn. If they ever get the design flaws worked out of 2.3, I would recommend taking the time to learn to work in the newest environment over the 2.2 environment, but if it seems too daunting, then just stick with acquainting yourself with 2.2 and then work your way up into the newest versions.
 
Well if you want to move up to gms2, stick with version 2.2, as currently the 2.3b IDE is too broken. Also 2.3 and beyond will have a lot of changes that, if you are already concerned about what you would be able to accomplish with your current lack of programming skills, wood probably leave you even more flabbergasted.

Those differences mentioned by foxy aren't the only differences. If you are more interested in simpler games (not necessarily retro, but retro included), there are quite a few more changes from 1.4 to 2.2. the first major one in my own opinion is the use of layers. Some people might not consider that a big difference, especially since you can still use depth hiking the old versions, but layers have so many more nuances and are flipping amazing the more you look at them. And one aspect of layers that seemingly improves things (I haven't speed tested, so this is just conjecture) is you no longer work with tiles individually, you work with them on a tilemap which is bound to a layer. Now, there are people who might complain tilemap structures in 2.2 are more restrictive than they were in legacy versions, but tiles are inarguably better in 2.2.

Views use cameras now, which is tedious as heck because the functions are more verbose. On the other hand, the camera system is more flexible if you choose to use it beyond simple views. It's just annoying trying to remember which variables became functions instead; I miss the arrays of old.

If you want to keep things simple, stick with 1.4, but 2.2 does have a lot more flexibility. Like I said, my main gripe with gms2 is it seems too verbose, typing code in it feels more tedious than in 1.4. if you really feel like you've forgotten most of what you learned in the days of 1.4, then there's no reason to not switch to 2.2. The newest versions are going to be the most flexible, but you're going to have a lot more to learn. If they ever get the design flaws worked out of 2.3, I would recommend taking the time to learn to work in the newest environment over the 2.2 environment, but if it seems too daunting, then just stick with acquainting yourself with 2.2 and then work your way up into the newest versions.
Oh man, I wish it was simpler. I want to make an isometric game, but with all you said, I feel a little dizzy.

Maybe I should check out other engines and see which one is the easiest to manipulate. This makes me super sad.
 

TheouAegis

Member
Every engine's going to take a lot of work. Except RPGMaker, but even that could produce some decent stuff if the user actually put work into it.
 

Toque

Member
There is probably easier engines. You could watch a few youtube tutorials and see if 2.2 makes sense. Or just try it for a week and see if it clicks. Could try others as well as free trials


Just think it through.
the cost?
Ease of use?
Publishing options?
Support!!!! Look at the forums. If people post problems that get little or no responses how will your problems get resolved? And you will get stuck no matter what engine you use.

just some big picture things to consider.
Itā€™s not always a simple choice. Sorry I never used GM before 2.2. But used other engines.
 

Yal

šŸ§ *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
Hello everyone. So I started in GMS when it first came out, and it took me for ever to understand even the most basic concepts, I honestly don't have the logical skills to code. And just when I had some understanding, thanks to Shaun Spaulding and Heartbeast, GMS 2 was launched, so I rage quitted. I've been thinking a lot lately, and I think I want to try again, with GMS 2 this time. How much have GML changed from GMS 1 to GMS 2? Would I be able to import files from previous versions? (including files from the GM era?).

Another thing I'd like to know, if would it be too expensive to hire a programer as a consultant?, If I remember correctly there were some people offering services in the market place, does that still exist?

Thank you all very much in advance, I'll be waiting for your replies
I recently released a 3D framework that started out as a GM8.1 project around 2008, so the backwards compatibility is pretty good. (Sure, I've ripped out most of the old code and replaced it with more modern features like vertex buffers to improve performance, but it's been through two compatibility conversions and still runs properly!)

GMS2's biggest changes are the IDE: the room editor now supports an arbitrary amount of layers, proper tilemaps (including autotiles and custom brushes to speed up work) and room inheritance, sprites and background have been merged into a single graphics resource type, you can set up variables to be recognized in the GUI so complex objects like NPCs are easier to work with in the room editor... also there's a fuzzy matching "goto anything" feature that makes it easy to jump around between things. The currently-in-beta 2.3 update adds structs ("lightweight data objects"), a new composite object thing called Sequences (its main use is cutscenes, but it also makes it easier to make a group of objects act as a single entity in general) and a lot of GML quality-of-life upgrades like arbitrary-dimensional arrays.
 
I recently released a 3D framework that started out as a GM8.1 project around 2008, so the backwards compatibility is pretty good. (Sure, I've ripped out most of the old code and replaced it with more modern features like vertex buffers to improve performance, but it's been through two compatibility conversions and still runs properly!)

GMS2's biggest changes are the IDE: the room editor now supports an arbitrary amount of layers, proper tilemaps (including autotiles and custom brushes to speed up work) and room inheritance, sprites and background have been merged into a single graphics resource type, you can set up variables to be recognized in the GUI so complex objects like NPCs are easier to work with in the room editor... also there's a fuzzy matching "goto anything" feature that makes it easy to jump around between things. The currently-in-beta 2.3 update adds structs ("lightweight data objects"), a new composite object thing called Sequences (its main use is cutscenes, but it also makes it easier to make a group of objects act as a single entity in general) and a lot of GML quality-of-life upgrades like arbitrary-dimensional arrays.
Your engine looks awesone!

I've always wanted to make an isometric game, I fell in love with the idea when I saw this, several years ago. I even have the GM file, but it took me years to understand it, and it's just the main frame of the game, I don't understand sh** about the AStar pathfinder algorithm. The problem was that to code it you need to understand data structures, and I tried, but I didn't know, is that, data structures have a lot of (let's call it) content associated with them. Memory leaks, execution order and a lot more and I didn't know anything about those topics, man, and that's just the surface, who knows what else should I take into consideration at the moment of using them. Also, I don't know how a GMS newbie could possibly be aware about execution order if GMS manual doesn't say anything about it. Sorry if I sound frustrated, but I am, as I mentioned before, I'm an artist, I don't do well with logical stuff, and I'm also poor xD I can't hire a coder, so I'm stuck.
 

Posh Indie

That Guy
Also, I don't know how a GMS newbie could possibly be aware about execution order if GMS manual doesn't say anything about it.
It does:

Wow, 15-20 USD per hour is absolutely out of my budget.
$15-$20 per hour is pretty reasonable, actually.

But maybe if I manage to finish all the elements I want my game to have, a consultant might take a look at my code and put all the elements together. I hope that's better.
Unless you are already a capable developer, that would probably be worse.

I just needed the working engine.
I mean... yes. That is kind of a big deal. "I have the fuel, I just needed the prebuilt rocket."

Anyway, you should probably just try to learn to code. The documentation is sufficient, and the community is able and willing to help you. Put effort in and ask for help when you are stuck (Do not fall into the, "I will just ask for people to write the code I need by pretending I am stuck" trap. It has been tried many times before and people around here are smart. They will know what you are doing).

That, or find someone to collaborate with (Which has its own logistics to work out, some of which potentially costing money).
 
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Yal

šŸ§ *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
I don't understand sh** about the AStar pathfinder algorithm
It works like this:
  1. Start at the goal.
  2. If you're at the start, you've found the path. Return it.
  3. Else, for all neighboring cells that haven't been visited by the algorithm yet,
    • Insert the connection from that cell to this cell to the start of the path.
    • Go to step 2.
  4. If you run out of cells to check, there's no valid path between the start and the goal.

You don't strictly need data structures for it, but notice how abstract this is? (No mentions of objects, HOW to represent the paths between things, etc) You need to implement these things in some way, and it just so happens there's perfect data structures for most of these entities.
 
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