FernandoK has a good point. It's kind of like jumping in a Lotus Espirit and disovering it can only go 7 mph. You expect more from the hype.
I got into FPSC at the beginning of the EA (yes, I'm still here and haven't given up, so hopefully I'm not a "git", whatever that might be). I've been developing software for almost 30 years, so I do have a feel for what it takes to create and degug an application of this size, not even considering enhancements. However, I did think that when V1 was finally released it might have been more stable and feature complete.
Yes, it's always nice to get a product out the door and generate income, but these days with internet forums and Goodle searches it's not a good business practice to have too many people complaining about a product, either. Especially if you're not Microsoft or someone else who can stand the bad press. Though I haven't given up on FPSC, I am still waiting to see how this all shakes out before I invest much more time in the product.
I do like FPSC, I really do. I also know that it's not a product from you should have high expectations of creating a AAA title, but I would like to use it as advertised (drag and drop with little scripting) to quicly produce some fun freebie games. For the person above who wondered where else you can get an engine for <$50, there are actually quite a few of them. For $100 you can get Torque, which I have and like, comes with full source, and which allows you to sell commercially. It's just not drag and drop. I wanted FPSC for it's ease and speed of producing a decent lower end shooter that didn't require months of coding and debugging.
Every application has it's niche, and FPSC was created to allow people on a minimal budget to create (with a little imagination) a fun little shooter to give away or sell. Just like Mark Overmar's Game Maker is intended for the same purpose in the 2D arena. The difference is that Mark's program does what it says. FPSC is a fantastic idea, a great program, and should stand to make TGC a lot of money. But first, it has to work as advertised.
For those saying not to gripe about bugs/missing features because it's only been out a few months, I have to say that's what the EA was for. V1 was supposed to be the full release we waited patiently for. And once again, yes I understand a certain number of bugs.
I do think that TGC themselves should make an appearance here periodically, just to let us know how things are progressing, or if they are. And being associated with the company or not, as a business owner myself I would not have someone moderating my forums that would treat customers - past/present/potential - with any amount of disrespect. Bad for business. If a user gets too carried away on the forums, dump the post or ban the individual after a fair and respectful warning. If the user is simply complaining because they didn't get what was advertised - and it doesn't really matter if the price was $50, $5000, or $0.37 - it would seem to be a valid complaint which should be addressed.
I know people who own, work with, or create a product are often over zealously protective when other people complain about it, but there are always two sides to every story and people have a right to voice their opinion when done in the right way. And sometimes people do get frustrated when they can't get actual answers to real questions.
That said, I do hope TGC progresses with FPSC and it becomes a viable product. I'm waiting as anxiously as everyone else to see what's happening with it.
Just my $13 worth...
The other night I was staring up at the stars, wrapped in thought and wondering............where the hell did my roof go?
