GameStudio has grown up, but perhaps a little advertised as if it was meant for kids. Only if you look more closely you'll notice that there are three levels and level 1 is the click-together-games. Which is suitable for someone who doesn't want to learn programming or just starting out.

So maybe there isn't anything wrong with the name GameStudio that's just the toolset. Other than that it sound very general. Maybe some members feel a little awkward when another member released something created with the same product and that they rather would not be affiliated with this. Not see what this has to do with work release by yourself (JetpackMonkey), i've seen some of your work on the forum and it looked very good. I have TGEA and can make a bad game, but that would not do any harm to everyone else using Torque.

You can read rants on any game somewhere and it's just a opinion by someone. If everyone is 100% happy with everything I would not believe it, because without some negative noise, the positive becomes a little unclear. To me at least. Not think anything can be perfect in each and everyone point of view.

Never had a meeting with any publisher so I cannot speak about how it feels, although I have a good imagination. Personally I don´t understand why someone would react strange if you tell them that this is not a template game, but created artwork yourself and programmed the game by only using the engine. The fact that there are some lesser quality games out there created with the same engine does not speak for your work.

If I was on a serious meeting with a publisher and worked very hard to create a good prototype and showed my work. And then after telling how the art was created and everything was programmed he/she would only react in a insulting way after hearing the words "GameStudio" like I make some joke, that would be the end of the conversation and on to the next one.

I mean if a publisher believes acknex engine is crap and they rather purchase a license to another engine for me and have everything programmed in C++ by freelancers for the comming two or more years then that would be fine. Otherwise if the game is good as it is why be crazy not to accept. Money is money to publishers, it's not like they would take it out your hands like a charity.

There are developers who strictly program their game in C++ using the GameStudio engine. This is not something easy. This is not click-game-button work. And the same goes for C-Script and Lite-C. Even though it is somewhat easier to use then doing it in C++, it still requires a lot of learning.

Sure I would understand a publisher refuse my work if I go there with the car demo or any template shooter. Then it would be my game created by Doug's templates and nobody would take me serious. Not that the templates are no good, but they are not created by me. I think if you want to become a real programmer you can learn from other work, but need to write and release your own too.

Back on topic. If you want to customize the look and feel of the engine. You can do it already, just not yet with templates alone. You could also hide everything for most eyes. I on the other hand hope you will not. I do however like to have my custom icon and my own title in the window. And that doesn't seem to be a problem.

The name of the toolset? Well I said before it's to general. Also the name has become very confusing. Acknex/A7/GameStudio/Lite-C/Atari!? So I agree that it should get a real identity. Especially with XNA GameStudio around. If the GameStudio part was a registered name I don't think Microsoft was allowed to use it, taking in mind that both products have the same goal.

About the copyright when the engine is started, well you have a license agreement to use the software for a purpose, but the software used to create your product remains property of Conitec. Nothing strange and in Pro you can change the engine startup window.

but with pro the "allowed to remove logo before startup" thing wasn't just to make the demo unconnected to 3dgs. then if you don't remove the other things that connect them together then wants the point of the "allowed to remove logo before startup"

Non commercial products don't require to display the GameStudio logo. If you release and publish a commercial game with Pro edition you also are not forced to show the logo and have a option to change the engine startup window. Not really understand why someone wants to unconnect a game from GameStudio. Most commercial games created with GameStudio show the logo anyway. Guess as a thank you?

To have minimum connections to the engine. You need to write games in C++ using the acknex.dll. Not to hide anything, but to accomplish things that are not possible with default features or perhaps in the case one just don't like script language.

It's just that people don't really take you seriously when you sayed "it's made with 3dgs", it just doesn't sound that good as "its made with Unreal 3", even if the gameplay is just as good as the one made with 3dgs. It's effect is like the difference between a famous brand and a not famous brand or a fake.

That is the same with Visual Basic vs C++. Some people just wont take another language serious if it is to easy in their eyes, or have little control over. Doesn't matter what language your using, because it always require skill to create something from a idea that came up in someone's mind. Most cases you don't want to reinvent the wheel and will use something that get the work done.

I agree on the identity of the toolset and using custom icon/acknex.dll/names for certain files, at least with C++ and Pro. Although the first part have been said before in the past by others and it looked like a funny, but sarcastic joke, it now have become very serious.

Personally I see as if the engine is in a identity crisis with all those names. Last time I showed my friends something. I told them: This is done with Lite-C/Atari from Conitec using the Acknex engine that comes with GameStudio A7. A mouthful, but it made sense.

In any way the general gamers will not react the same as if it was run on U3 or Crysis engine. Not even if the name Acknex is changed.

Also to the lost 100.000 USD when publisher noticed the "GameStudio" tag. Then just show them what it would have cost if created in other engine which they so much prefer. Maybe i'm wrong, but are the important things not quality, gameplay and stability?

Even if a publisher really plans to invest money and not only talk about investing or just want to peak at ideas of others and what the competition is looking at. Then realize you will not get this money free or something, they want it back its just like a loan or advance. Only you don't have to pay back if sales are not like expected, its their task to look at and take out what will sell good. No charity.

I totally agree with the idea of a custom icon, and anything else that would "brand" your game to you, but in these 6 pages of posts I noticed one thing missing.

The reason you see bad press for 3DGS and other low cost engines out there is because there have been so many crappy games made with them. Why? Because anyone with a few bucks can pick up a copy and make a crappy game.

Why don't you see this negative press with Unreal, Cry, etc.? Because not every bob-jack can pop $500,000 for one of these engines, only extremely serious developers creating a AAA title.

I think to bring the issue back to a level playing field you have to look at it from this angle. Any engine that little Billy can pick up and make a game in is going to have negative press out there, simply for the fact there are crappy games made with it. Any engine that only top studios can afford is NOT going to have as much negative press because there are no crappy games made with, only AAA games. Therefore it must be a great engine.

It's not the engine's fault, or the engine branding, it's a simple case of what has been created with it and associated with it. And that is a simple case of which engines are affordable and which aren't. As was mentioned earlier in the thread, make better quality games with 3DGS and people will pay attention.

This is the same whether you're talking about game engines, graphics software (is MS Paint better or PhotoShop? Depends on whose doing the drawing. PhotoShop does much more, but a great artist can produce much better results in Paint than I ever could in PhotoShop. You just don't see really crappy graphics come out of Photoshop because little Billy can't afford it), or any other product.

Simply put, you're going to see more negative press about lower cost engines simply because of who has access to the product and what's being created with it. Clear as mud, huh?

Oh, and my apologies to anyone here named "little Billy"...

I call it the engine acknex.

With Visual Studio you can click together applications as well, maybe you should bring that up.

Game developers hire other people to help them build a game. Just think of it like this, you hired conitec to make you an engine for your game and you payed 900$ for it.

First a disclaimer, I THINK GAMESTUDIO IS THE GREATEST THING
SINCE SWISS CHEESE and could never do the work I am doing
without it!!

however, I feel those of you accusing others of writing
amateurish code are being message board bullies.

THE FACT IS it is there is no viable business model for this
practice.
If every correspondence created with Microsoft Word or 3d model
created with 3D Studio Max or every photo touched up with Illustrator
screamed those companies brands, EVERYONE would stop using them immediately
and it WOULD make any work created with them SCREAM amateurish
like comparable kiddie programs.

Aknex/Conitec makes a REAL professional product that stands on its own
and beats the pants off of anything else out there. They should let PROFESSIONAL developers like us come to it from word of mouth in the
professional community. This is especially a given for the commercial
versions.

Please, I beg of the company to release to the message boards all necessary
code to free up the splash screen and menue bar branding at least in
the case of professional and commercial versions and ask developers on the honor system through the licence to voluntarily put a line of acknowledgment in the game credits as worded by the company.

Thank you.

Are u in favor of Gamestudio brand removal from menuebar and splash screen? single choice
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	Yes
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Having come here from GG strictly because of forced branding in multiple areas, I have to agree with gamedup45. Though as I've said before I have no problem with acknowledging an engine with a credit. I have to honestly say I still don't know what all the requirements are from GameStudio (though I've been told they're much less serious than GG) on branding, but gamedup45 is right about too much of it just being silly. Flash doesn't make me put a Flash splash screen on my Flash games with a link to Adobe.

As I'd said earlier in the thread, GameStudio gets a bad rap from some shoddy games made with it, but it can make really great games too. All depends on who's sitting at the keyboard. But the branding thing is different, Commercial and Pro should allow credit placement according to the game author. Just my 0.0264 cents.

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