ArrayMaker price on the Asset store

[jeanfabre]

Hi,

 The catch here, is that I still want this to be freely available somehow.

Get it on the asset store, and you will always have the latest iteration of ArrayMaker, if you want the free version, then the wiki page would allow you to download the previous version. The wiki version would be like 2 3 month behind the asset store version.

I could also simply make a free version available on the asset store as well for sure, but it would also be 1 or 2 version behind the paid one.

Or would you prefer seeing a lite version of ArrayMaker, or actually a "pro" version that would come at a price?

 I am trying to find a way to make this viable for everyone, I have provided arrayMaker free, since day one, and don't want to change this. I would see the asset store version like a way to sponsor further development in a way.

 All comments welcome, I am still unsure about the whole thing, so your opinion matters.

Bye,

 Jean

[Uttpd]

Probably because my lack off programming basics , Arrays are absent in my bag of tools. But even do I´v yet to playmaker around with it, I would contribute to  influence more expansions, based on the same "freelag" model.

PS: I should add that I´m influenced by your digital presence on this forums. Independently of your relation with Hutong games, your efforts in helping around and providing solutions around the clock have an huge impact on my willingness to contribute.

 

[jeanfabre]

Hi,

 Thanks! Good naming here "freeLag", sums it very well.

bye,

 Jean

[Lane]

I'm in the same boat, I haven't used it yet either but I expect I'll be getting into it  soon. Personally, I'd probably just stick to the free version if it is the same as the pro version with a delay in updates since I don't really rely on its updates heavily. Using the asset store is quite a convenience though, streaming updates in and having them all located in one place is very nice. If I were to do it for the convenience eventually I would probably do the $10 option.

Ditto what uttpd said, you contribute not only in content and support but also to the atmosphere around here.

[Red]

I would probably think that having a free-vs-pro version would be ideal.

so, say with the free version you can only make one or two arrays/tables and some actions are disabled (so, some of the higher level stuff) and having the really juicy stuff you can do with it being the pro version.

as for marketing, you could have those actions that are in the pro only version be listed in the actions list but with a system to grey them out... or just showing a list of the action and how it's used but it's only window-dressing so essentially it'd be an empty action (nothing under the hood.) Thing is, for this you might want to choose a different naming schema because if you have these actions saying "pro only" then people might confuse them for being only useable with Unity's pro license and not Arraymaker's pro license.

[jeanfabre]

Hi,

 I would call it ArrayMaker "Advanced" or "expert", as opposed to "pro", as it definitly would be confusing for most users.

I am thinking that arrayMaker could also become a sub system of something that would be called "DataMaker" or something, including, Xml, csv, serialization, online access, virtual arrays and hashtables ( not component required, it lives in the memory), databases bridges, parseMaker etc etc, and that would be on the asset store, while arrayMaker itself would be part of it, and available on the wiki as usual.

bye,

 Jean

[Red]

Aaaah, okay... if you're planning on selling it in addition with other robust action sets, i'd like to change my vote... $10 seems fair for only array maker, if you're going to include it with other systems like XML and a lot of others, $10 is low-balling it drastically.

Though, be prepared to have some time set up to create a seriously beefy help file... one thing that i've learned with my dealings with the asset store is you need to assume that the end user knows absolutely nothing because they want to ensure that the customer experience is as smooth as possible and inadequate help files and such can become cause for rejection.

granted, i've seen some help files that are less than optimal but those tend to get less than optimal review scores i've noticed. and if i am recalling this correctly, you are at a better vantage point since if you're bi/multi-lingual, you can seriously amp up the help files by having it in the languages you know. i'm only monolingual myself and the asset store is primarily english but if you can do other languages, i'm sure it'll benefit you in the end.

[escpodgames]

I love arraymaker and could not make many of the systems I currently have in my games without it. When I first picked it up, it was a little confusing... so I agree with Red on the help files but I'm not sure how many people would read them. Video tutorials are what would help and a lot of people have requested them on these forums. But they are a lot of work.

What if Arraymaker was free but you release new actions at a cost ... like the easy2save ones you just made - I bought easy2save just because you made the actions ... a few extra dollars for the actions seems like an easy buy. That way you wouldn't need two versions, wouldn't need to teach people the basics and the playmaker community gets more actions. I guess the actions don't even need to be for Arraymaker

On a side note - I would love to have all the latest actions on the asset store so with a few clicks anyone can get the latest action set, would never have to hunt on the forums .. just a thought.

[jeanfabre]

Hi,

 I guess one way would be to make the asset store version the one with all the screencasts helps.

bye,

 Jean

[Flying Robot]

Though I've already said, I'd pay. It seems like ArrayMaker is going to be an essential tool, if it's not already.

Arrays are one of the most important thing. I was surprised to see PlayMaker doesn't support arrays. I thought ArrayMaker is a kinda official extension.

I strongly think users should not be charged for using the basic version of ArrayMaker. With standard operations etc. If it could be packed with a PlayMaker Update, that is the way to go.

Whereas, the advanced versions as you proposed are quite different thing and are not standard array features. It could be packed separately and users who require those can buy.

[blackant]

like majority votes, i think if you include more powerfull option in pro or expert version, it shouuld be very interresting to add it in my package.

[jeanfabre]

Hi,

 Yes, the obvious improvement is component less arrays and hashtables, with a unity editor window that would let you create arrays that only exists in memory, I think it would take away a lot of the complexity for some cases. The component inspector could be rewritten for the exper version with a different approach to prefilling, letting you select the type for each entry, as opposed to a single type for all entries, since at runtime, you can put whatever you want in there.

But, I don't necessarly want to have different features, I would be more inclined to simply delay the free download version iteration. I don't want user to buy ArrayMaker for additional features, but more for supporting it's development as a whole.


bye,

 Jean

[parallel]

I'd gladly pay 30$+ to update to a PM 2.0 which included array/data maker and perhaps also some improved interface (like more state colors, easier action renaming, options for folders in your states (so to collapse a long queue of actions)) .

[gamedivision]

Id be happy to pay $20,as I know you put stacks of effort into it.

[jeanfabre]

Hi,

 @Parallel: ArrayMaker is likely going to stay as an Addon, it's the best option for PlayMaker to not become bloated with features most user don't need ( at the beginning), As for a playmaker v2, having seen the issues with NGUi 3.x and the frustration it created, I think it would be too soon at the moment, I would likely prefer PlayMaker to stay at version 1 for a while, Implemented what you said ( I also want these new features you mentionned!) and if PlayMaker v2 sees the light, I would likely want this to be up front NOT compatible AT ALL with PlayMaker 1, so that no one gets any frustrations. Unity suffers from this too and now drags Unity 3x and it looks painful...

 Bye,

 Jean