playMaker

Author Topic: I just posted a review...  (Read 11779 times)

Nekoyoubi

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I just posted a review...
« on: May 06, 2011, 11:24:00 AM »
I just posted an honest review of PlayMaker on my site. I can convert the HTML to BBCode if you guys want (or care), or you can just check the link out.

http://nekoyoubi.com/2011/05/06/playmaker/
- Lance @ Nekoyoubi Games (nekoyoubi.com)

Alex Chouls

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Re: I just posted a review...
« Reply #1 on: May 08, 2011, 03:32:24 AM »
Awesome review! ;D Thanks!

You should write our copy! I love: It’s an inspiration engine.

Nekoyoubi

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Re: I just posted a review...
« Reply #2 on: May 08, 2011, 11:33:22 AM »
I'm happy to say that that's not lip service. I don't know how many times I've sat there hovering over the action list and thought "Well, that would be cool to use for X! Never thought of that..."

I'm glad you liked the review. I promise, it was honest. If I had a single complaint about PlayMaker, you would have read it there. ;)  You guys have something truly amazing here.
- Lance @ Nekoyoubi Games (nekoyoubi.com)

jeanfabre

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Re: I just posted a review...
« Reply #3 on: May 10, 2011, 02:33:20 AM »
Nice Review and well said indeed.

 Playmaker is indeed a lot more than what it says on the tin.Isn't that nice :)

 Thank you Alex!

Bye,

 Jean

kurtmel

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Re: I just posted a review...
« Reply #4 on: July 23, 2011, 12:45:14 PM »
I concur wholeheartedly.  PlayMaker is an amazing tool for creative solutions, experimentation and prototyping without the pain and drudgery of programming. It will open up the Unity platform to an entire new class of developers focused on the design of experiences, particularly for learning and training which is my area of expertise. I make sure to mention PlayMaker often as an essential addition to make the most from Unity and I look forward to it getting better and better with an active and vibrant forum community just as the Unity platform itself enjoys. I look forward to participating, learning and sharing with other PlayMaker fans to make this the most popular Unity tool around.

Cheers All.

Damian

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Re: I just posted a review...
« Reply #5 on: July 24, 2011, 11:46:45 AM »
I have use it for some days now and I do think its great.
Many things is alot more easy to do then make the code for yourselves.
But one thing thats not good is the lack of information on what the different action do.
There should be en example on every function.
Also more tutorials on doing some stuff.
Sure you do have some video, but thats very few and its a little hard to switch between the video and unity when you try to learn it.
It would be better to have it in a pdf file so you can print it out.
So a quick user manual with easy examples to follow that cover all functions would be awsome.
Also I think that should make more people use it.
I do think this is a great way to learn and it can be a standard way for a new user to learn unity and make games.
Bottom line is that playmaker is very good, but it lack information to get started with it.
I do have over 30 years of programming experience, so this way i very different way to do it then write your code yourselves.

jeanfabre

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Re: I just posted a review...
« Reply #6 on: July 25, 2011, 01:33:47 AM »
Hi,

Each action has a help icon on its title bar on the left side, click on it and you will be redirected to the online documentation. If some actions lacks of help content, mention it on the forum, this will help Playmaker team focus.

Every function ( I think :) ) is covered in the sample provided ( check the testlab folder in playmakerSamples folder). This is mandatory in my opinion that you allocate enough time to go through each examples and try to understand everything about them. They are simple enough to be digested and understood fairly quickly. Mess with them, break them, and rebuild them. if you bump into an example that you don't understand, don't be afraid to point it out and ask for more details on the forum.


 I am generally against screen casts, but since playmaker is such a visual tool, I think it makes sense to deliver as much tutorials and information that way.

It is indeed a mental shift to start using playmaker when you've always been a scripter.


Bye,

 Jean

Damian

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Re: I just posted a review...
« Reply #7 on: July 25, 2011, 01:33:34 PM »
Hi,

Each action has a help icon on its title bar on the left side, click on it and you will be redirected to the online documentation. If some actions lacks of help content, mention it on the forum, this will help Playmaker team focus.

Yes I know that, but it was not what i mean.
Its good to have a that help, but it dont show how to use it.
Thats a big different.

Quote
Every function ( I think :) ) is covered in the sample provided ( check the testlab folder in playmakerSamples folder). This is mandatory in my opinion that you allocate enough time to go through each examples and try to understand everything about them. They are simple enough to be digested and understood fairly quickly. Mess with them, break them, and rebuild them. if you bump into an example that you don't understand, don't be afraid to point it out and ask for more details on the forum.

Yes but its a pain in the ass to have reload the example when you sitting with your game development.
Thats why a online/pdf would be a great help.
Sure i do look at them and try them, but Im new on this so its not that simple.
And there is to few videos or example project here to show how things can be made.

But I do have a great idea, but I dont know if its doable or not.
That we all here make a game with playmaker that show action in a real game how it can be done.
That would be awesome and I think it would be a good way to spread playmaker even more.
Sure I understand that the people that has used it for long do understand all functions, but I new one like me its not that easy. So it would help all new with this alot.
There is an exit game in the package.
We can start with that and do expand it alot to show all function in playmaker.
Do a intro scene with animations and cool lights and a game menu system for the levels, highscore system....
I think you know the rest thats needed.
Maybe I dream to much, but i think playmaker should really show what it can do.
The example exit scene is kind of lame.

Quote
I am generally against screen casts, but since playmaker is such a visual tool, I think it makes sense to deliver as much tutorials and information that way.

Its a good way to do it so you can see it real time, but it dont work well when you sitting in your game and you need to know how something works. thats where a good example is the best way and its has to be written so you can studied it in detail.

Quote

It is indeed a mental shift to start using playmaker when you've always been a scripter.


Bye,

 Jean


Sure it is. Visual tools is always strange to use when you dont code it yourselves.
Dont get me wrong. I love visual tools, but you do loose some control and all things is not easy to do in the start compared to coding, where you have full control.

Right now I start making a 2.5D side scroller game just to learn things with playmaker and I think that is a good way to do it. Basically you know how the game flow is and how it will be in the end.
You only need to add things in the world and make playmaker do the work.

Sorry if this is little of-topic, but it still on how playmaker is and what can make it alot better.
Doing what I suggest here should generate more action in this forum, for its almost dead.
 

jeanfabre

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Re: I just posted a review...
« Reply #8 on: July 26, 2011, 01:49:37 AM »
Hi Damian,

 I agree with you actually, and I faced the same difficulties and got away with what I told you. tho a book is missing just like a proper intermediate/advanced book is missing on Unity actually.

 I have at the back of my mind the will to do an open source project with playmaker, but my problem currently is time... Once I get a project in cruise mode, I would be a lot more available for that kind of community work. But that would be no more than  a bigger testlab project, o not really helpfull in the end, unless a proper documentation is created along the project to support it, like a question/answer type fo progress.

Right now, your best option is to hammer the community with your question, we will do our best to answer you and provide you with explanations. you'll quickly realize there isn't much to learn after all, playmaker being that author friendly!

Bye,

Jean
« Last Edit: July 26, 2011, 12:30:47 PM by jeanfabre »

Damian

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Re: I just posted a review...
« Reply #9 on: July 26, 2011, 02:04:43 AM »
Sure I do understand if you and other dont have much time.
But i think its a thing the owner should make happen and it will only spread this good tool more.
And that should give him more money :-)

The problem is that i did not buy this at first. just for the demo was so lame and did not show much.
Also i did look at the site and it looked unfinished and well not what i do expect from one the make tool for making games.
The tool is great, but the help around it so you learn it is not good.
its also hard to find anything on internet about it to help you out.
So the lack of good material on it will hold back people to buy it.
Thats way I think a simple game that show what playmaker can do and some document on all that has been made in the game would be a gold mine for all developer that start with playmaker.
 

Nekoyoubi

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Re: I just posted a review...
« Reply #10 on: July 26, 2011, 09:39:58 AM »
Damian, I apologize that you're not getting the support you feel you need to get going with PlayMaker. These forums are a great place to find assistance on specific topics, but I have not seen any full projects being posted. There are very well charted FSMs in the sample projects, though. Those are what I used to start to understand how to work with PlayMaker, and I think they are a great place to get started. Mind you, they're not going to teach you a lot about Unity itself; such as what scene layouts and level loading are about, but then again, that's not something that we should really pin on PlayMaker's creators anyway.

I would argue that Hutong Games has gone far above and beyond the typical game tools developers with their documentation. I have never had a PlayMaker problem that I couldn't resolve with the documentation or a quick look-up or question here on the forums.

As you asked for in the previous PMs, I can go through some of my projects and try to find something that's not using anything I can't give away (other licensed resources) and see about getting you a complete sample. I will probably need to strip out the actual PlayMaker files from the project though, so you'll need to include your own. Again, I can't guarantee anything, but I will see about this as soon as I can (hopefully this evening).

However, like yourself and Jean, I do feel that a fully featured and publicly available project would be a great help for developers new to PlayMaker. I've created a number of small projects that I've used in getting to a place with PlayMaker that I can use it to fashion complete fully featured games. Believe it or not, I have far more random koi created than I've posted here in the gallery! ;Þ  I'm sure I could start another with the intent of releasing the project itself. Just keep in mind that if I do, it will be using the 1.2 beta currently, and will not be able to be released until 1.2 goes live itself.

Jean, if you would like to work with me on this, I can work with it from a Dropbox share and we could write it together. Feel free to contact me over Google Talk at lance@nekoyoubi.com if you're interested in doing that.

Damian, feel free to contact me over Google Talk at lance@nekoyoubi.com if you have any immediate questions about PlayMaker that I may be able to help you through quickly. Good luck!
- Lance @ Nekoyoubi Games (nekoyoubi.com)

Damian

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Re: I just posted a review...
« Reply #11 on: July 26, 2011, 10:07:30 AM »
Hi Nekoyoubi.

Well im use to other developer tool and there is always tons of help with example and alot of documents to read.
This is what playmaker dont have. So for me and other new user its kind of a big steep to learn what to do.
Im a coder also so learn it in a visual way is also a big steep.

So its not only for me I asking this. I think alot of people the look at playmaker dont buy it just for the lack of good demo and dont know where to start.
So this game I was suggesting woould take care of most problem in a good way.
If you and other do this then its great, but I also feel the creator should help out some with it. :-)

Sure that source code I asked in pm would be great to look at.
Im sure that would get me going real fast and I can start to make some logic to the game. :-)

But im very glad you take your time and do this for me and other.

Have a nice day
 

Damian

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Re: I just posted a review...
« Reply #12 on: July 26, 2011, 07:58:51 PM »
UNITY 3D 3.4 Is now out :-)
Can we get Playmaker 1.2 also ::)