• Hello [name]! Thanks for joining the GMC. Before making any posts in the Tech Support forum, can we suggest you read the forum rules? These are simple guidelines that we ask you to follow so that you can get the best help possible for your issue.

Question - IDE Having a hard time with 2.

G

Guest User

Guest
Hi, I recently got a crowbar in my wallet and paid for GMS2 and I don't mind admitting I'm having a really hard time getting used to it. I've used 1.4 for probably two years now and although it looks dated I like the way it works.

Gms 2 started off badly as I dislike the new ui, I cannot state strongly enough how much I disike the damn workspace thing and I think it's an absurd and stupid idea (sorry if you like it) and although I've been watching videos on gms2 and am following a couple of tutorials on it, I'm really finding myself wanting to toss 2 into the bin and go back to my friendly 1.4

My question: any other 1.4 users really hated the whole workspace crap from day one and if so, did you ever get used to it or did you quit and use something else?
 
R

Rattlejaw

Guest
I come from a different perspective. I started Gamemaker shortly after GMS2 was released, so GMS2 is my first in depth experience with GM. Before that I was messing around with Unity and even Construct 2. I liked the GMS2 ui so much, that I chose to stick with GM. After messing with GMS2 for a while, I loaded up GMS1. I thought GMS1 was a lot more tedious to use and didn't quite understand why so many GMS1 users complained about GMS2.

That said, people probably prefer one over the other because the version they like the best is the one they used the most and got comfortable with.

So if I were you, I'd just keep messing with GMS2 until I got used to it. Maybe you could customize it a bit to give you more of the old feel. I haven't really customized my version, so I'm not sure how customizable the ui is in GMS2.
 
I'm not particularly a fan of the workspace, but GMS2's GML and code editor upgrades are so far ahead of GMS1 that I'd never want to go back. I spend about 99% of my time in GM in the code editor, so it's really worth it for me.

Try changing your workflow to avoid the workspace as much as possible if you dislike it to that degree. You'll find it's easier to do than you first thought.
 
Last edited:

curato

Member
I feel like you would need a giant screen to appreciate the workspace properly. me I just click on the tree to get the right thing front and center. I mostly ignore workspace stuff. I do like how it open the different events in tabs once you opened them and you can just click back and forth.
 

Dr. Wolf

Member
I tried various settings/configurations/workflows with GMS2, both workspace-centric and tab-centric, and eventually decided that I'd stick with GMS1 wherever possible for the time being. I can use GMS2, but it's not pleasant or smooth for me, regardless of how I set it up. I found the workspaces to be a bit better than doing everything in tabs, but even with every relevant setting set to be as permissive as possible, there are still way too many pointless restrictions on where I can put things and just so much unnecessary clunkiness in how items can (or can't) be interacted with to reposition them.

My hope for the long term is that the "Plugin documentation and SDK" item currently listed on the roadmap under "Future Considerations" turns out to happen, and sooner rather than later...and that when it does, it's flexible enough that I can make the (actually fairly minor) UI tweaks necessary to use GMS2 more like GMS1. Until then, well, 1.4.9999 is still a good piece of software; it's (relatively) stable, it isn't going to have any changes that might mess with my projects, and, as a PC dev, I'm working in an environment where building on a somewhat older engine shouldn't be an issue, compatibility-wise, for a very long time.
 

True Valhalla

Full-Time Developer
GMC Elder
I strongly advise spending a few hours sifting through the Preferences - testing and tweaking these can make a world of difference. Then rearrange the UI. Almost everything can be dragged into a new position, and you can even dock the Resource Tree on the left side of the IDE to match GMS1.
 

Pfap

Member
You can use f12 to close all of the "resource and output docks" and then ctrl t to bring up a search bar to access resources. Pressing f12 will also bring any previously open docks back into view. I went from gms1 to gms2 and for the first month or so it was painful.... I would describe it as feeling like going from right handed to left handed or vice versa almost. However, it does get better and I find that the improvements would make it feel even worse to revisit gms1, although I feel there were some things they could have done differently. Especially, to make the IDE more friendly to coders; but as they say, it's more of a design tool I guess and not a code editor.
 

Binsk

Member
Yup, been using GM since old 5.3. Greatly dislike GMS2 not because of functionality but because the new UI killed productivity for me. I tried using it a long while and just never got back to my old level of productivity.

Not the only reason but it is a big push as to why I finally switched to Godot. I still use GM from time to time and I like browsing here but that's about it.
 

Mick

Member
I couldn't stand using GMS2 with the default settings myself due to the workspaces and their cumbersome / slow workflow. By changing a few settings, it's possible to avoid the workspaces most of the time and instead have a tab-based UI. I have documented the changes in this post.
 
Last edited:
C

CombatCalamity

Guest
I love GMS2. I never wanna go back to that disgusting GMS 1.4. Yuck.

GMS2 does have issues, but we seem to give YoYo less credits they deserve. Despite some annoying limitations (like it breaking projects when you merge with Git when working with teams).

I think at this point it is clear that anyone who still hates GMS2 either hasn't really explored further how to really use it effectively and learn its workflows, or just subjectively hates GMS2 for personal reasons.

Give it time, try to open your mind a little bit, and don't compare it to an industry standard IDE like Visual Studio. Compare it to its predecessor instead. It's lightyears ahead of 1.4. At least some of its features.

If you don't like something you can always change stuff in GMS2. Ctrl + T while useful, is definitely not known by much until they go further. People just moan and complain first before they really understand how to use the darn thing.
 

Mick

Member
I think at this point it is clear that anyone who still hates GMS2 either hasn't really explored further how to really use it effectively and learn its workflows, or just subjectively hates GMS2 for personal reasons.
In most cases "explored further how to really use it effectively" means avoiding navigating the workspaces in one way or another. I'm happy with how it works when I changed the settings mentioned in my post above. You should try it @AncientPaul! :)

Ctrl + T while useful, is definitely not known by much until they go further.
CTRL+T is useful also when having GMS2 setup to be more like a tabbed UI.
 

JeffJ

Member
My question: any other 1.4 users really hated the whole workspace crap from day one and if so, did you ever get used to it or did you quit and use something else?
Been using GMS2 exclusively now for over a year. I hated the workspace back then, and I hate it just as much now. My productivity has also taken a toll. I am simply just slower and less motivated working with GMS2's interfaces. I can say for sure that I will never get used to it, and I will never like it. I really, really hope it can be changed some day. To me, the IDE is the worst thing about GMS2.
 
I

immortalx

Guest
It seems like most users actually dislike navigating the workspace and instead prefer using the resource tree mostly. I fall into that category too and have the same setup as @Mick, with the exception of "Object double click opens all object events" set to false. I've made a suggestion sometime ago about navigating to object events via the resource tree, with just an additional menu entry
 

FrostyCat

Redemption Seeker
Is the IDE really the worst thing about GMS 2, or is it specifically the IDE's defaults or the most popular way of using it?

Look, we all want an IDE that we can easily navigate and not require a 4K monitor to use properly. But are we really in a position to make worthwhile suggestions on that front when we're generally weak in using what's already there? First we have to use the IDE to its actual limits, only then we could propose pushing it.

I must admit, I sling around the "learn your damned basics" tagline a lot on the Q&A, but the basics of efficient IDE usage is something I've never genuinely picked up or spent time on. The same seems to be true for many of you as well. Not even 4 stints with the GMC Jam got me to notice the gap, but Mick's post finally did.

Want to know the preliminary results I got just by applying Mick's advice?

I opened a small test project, applied his setting changes and started using Ctrl+T, Ctrl+W, Ctrl+PgUp and Ctrl+PgDn for the first time. In no time flat, I was cutting in and out of my resource tree in record time, given that I type at 80+ WPM and that beats out my mouse or touchpad any day. Even better, Ctrl+T completely eliminated the need to use the resource tree GUI (except when pulling in objects for the Room Editor), so I could F12 and hide all the side panels. That gave me more real estate ever to look at code and split-screen using a second workspace window, even on a single 1366x768 laptop screen.

I've been doing hacks on GM for at least 6 years now (IDE- and GML-side), and this is one of biggest buzz moments I've gotten from it in a long time.

If anyone's up for a study group in the subject of IDE "power usage", I'm all for it and I'll nominate @Mick as its inaugural leader.
 

Dr. Wolf

Member
I did a lot of experimentation before deciding to wait on interface mods before switching over, including trying out a fully tab-based setup. I didn't find it very comfortable or efficient in that mode, which didn't surprise me, seeing as I've been complaining about the use of tabs in interface design ever since Firefox started to popularize them back in the early '00s.

The problem that stops me from liking GMS2 is that every single configuration involves a lot of limitations on where things appear on the screen, both in absolute terms and relative to other items, and makes moving them far more cumbersome than is necessary. It wouldn't be too hard to make it all right. I could live with workspaces if, in addition to the current option to allow different chains to overlap, there were also an option to allow each part of a workspace chain to be dragged freely along both axes in a way that was independent of the position of any other part of the chain. Alternatively, if there were an option to get independent windows without having to start with a tab and then drag it free, and if that were combined with an option to make it possible to interact with the base layer of the IDE without moving it to the front (potentially leading to disruption of the Z order of open windows as you try and bring them back up), and the standalone windows were titled based on what resource they were showing and not the name of the whole project (to make it easier to find specific ones in the taskbar; a GMS1-style list of open windows would be nice, too), then that would be also be fine. My hope is that if/when we finally have plugin documentation, what we get will be powerful enough that I can implement one or both of these for myself. Until that happens (and I'm finished with my current projects), I'll be staying with GMS1.
 

Slyddar

Member
I strongly disliked GMS2 when first moving over to it. After getting used to it though it’s definitely better. CTRL T and especially CTRL Tab changes the experience totally, and actually makes it faster then working with 1.4. It just takes time.
 

JeffJ

Member
The problem that stops me from liking GMS2 is that every single configuration involves a lot of limitations on where things appear on the screen, both in absolute terms and relative to other items, and makes moving them far more cumbersome than is necessary. It wouldn't be too hard to make it all right. I could live with workspaces if, in addition to the current option to allow different chains to overlap, there were also an option to allow each part of a workspace chain to be dragged freely along both axes in a way that was independent of the position of any other part of the chain. Alternatively, if there were an option to get independent windows without having to start with a tab and then drag it free, and if that were combined with an option to make it possible to interact with the base layer of the IDE without moving it to the front (potentially leading to disruption of the Z order of open windows as you try and bring them back up), and the standalone windows were titled based on what resource they were showing and not the name of the whole project (to make it easier to find specific ones in the taskbar; a GMS1-style list of open windows would be nice, too), then that would be also be fine. My hope is that if/when we finally have plugin documentation, what we get will be powerful enough that I can implement one or both of these for myself. Until that happens (and I'm finished with my current projects), I'll be staying with GMS1.
This. So much. No amount of tabbed interfaces can rectify what I loathe about the GMS2 IDE. One of my biggest gripes with it is the chains. I want them gone. I want to be able to have, say, only my events list and my actions list. Or really any other combination I choose. And I want to be able to move it freely around. Another thing I wish I could, as a multi monitor user, is move an object window to another window and have it free floating. I could do that in GMS1. Now, it has to have the entire "app" wrapper around it, complete with status bar and everything. I've said it before, but really, it's as if everything in GMS2 just takes up so much more space than it did in GMS1. It's too static, it's too restrictive, and it takes up way too much screen space.
 

PlayerOne

Member
I said exactly what you said when I switched from GM8 (GM8 and 1.4 seem to have the same interface, setting aside gml functions).

Frankly you'll get used to the new enviroment once you toy around with it for a while. Love the find and replace function it's a real time saver I'm telling you!
 
Top