Updating the Game

J

Jaqueta

Guest
So, I have this game, and for the last year I've been releasing my builds every once in a while. Usually, the minimal interval is 2 weeks, and sometimes it got up to 2 months. I've been considering, releasing the builds more frequently, but with less stable features. So, should I stick with the "Stable" release, or use the "Nightly" release system?
Here's a few things to look out: (S for stable, N for Nightly):

S - It's stable and contain less bugs
S - Added features can't be tweaked very easily after fully implementing, making some work go to waste
S - Less frequent updates with more content
S - People won't have to download the game every day
S - Game Info and description will be changed on the release of a new build (screenshots, videos, etc...)
S - Less visibility
S - Less feedback

N - Bugs are going to be find faster and some features may be missing or incomplete
N - Frequent updates with less content
N - It can be tweaked on initial stages
N - People will have to, maybe a "auto-updater" could fix that
N - Will have to upload the game everyday, but it's not a big deal, I have a great internet connection
N - Only the ChangeLog will be updated.
N - More visibility (Does that proceed?)
N - More feedback, which would result in more determination from me :v

Which one should I go with? Stable? Nightly? Maybe each 3 days, or every Sunday? An auto-updater would be a good idea? And how much would that cost?

Thanks in advance.
 
V

vidokas

Guest
Every 3 days is too often.
7 days is ok, but not less.

Unless you talking about builds for your beta testers.
 
J

Jaqueta

Guest
I wish I had testers ;-; (RIP)
Thanks for sharing your opinion @vidokas!
One week seems good, even if I release when a feature is not complete yet, and I can always release hot-fixes if necessary.

I still have my doubts about the auto-updater, mostly about where should I upload the game.

if I ain't mistaken, I can download ZIP files directly from GameMaker with http_get, and then unzip them by using zip_unzip function, right?
 
H

Homunculus

Guest
I still have my doubts about the auto-updater, mostly about where should I upload the game.

if I ain't mistaken, I can download ZIP files directly from GameMaker with http_get, and then unzip them by using zip_unzip function, right?
True, the problem is, you can't replace the exe that is running those commands. You'll probably have to consider creating the updater as a standalone, so the actual game files can be overwritten in a secure way, and add an extension to it that allows the updater to run the game (natively, that's not possible with GM:S as far as I know). Unless of course you just want to warn about the update, and have users manually go to your website and download it again.

(or, you could buy my updater in the markeplace) <- shameless promotion. But really, you can just ask me how to do it yourself of course
 
J

Jaqueta

Guest
True, the problem is, you can't replace the .exe that is running those commands. You'll probably have to consider creating the updater as a standalone, so the actual game files can be overwritten in a secure way, and add an extension to it that allows the updater to run the game (natively, that's not possible with GM:S as far as I know)
That's not of a big deal, I can still check for the INI file on the game, and then just show a message on the game like this: "There's an Update available, Update now?". To open .exe files, I can use an extension (I think that YellowAfterlife created one), I close the game, and open the standalone updater if the player chooses to update.

PS: Your GMGL looks good, if my credit card don't troll me, I'll try to get it in order to save my time. Just one question, where can I upload the game? Can I use Dropbox or I'll have to buy a host or something like that in order to make it work?

Thanks.
 
H

Homunculus

Guest
You can download files using http_get only with a direct link. As far as I know, regular dropbox downloads do not provide a direct link, but there is a way to generate those if I'm not mistaken
 
J

Jaqueta

Guest
Yea, I think it's possible, thanks for the help @Catan! ;D

(Admin, you can close this thread if you want)
 
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