Hope this isn't too old. :P Still wanted to comment though:
Love: *Lite-C... It's a wonderful language, and perfect for getting things done in reasonable amounts of time. You can make apps in Lite-C, and your users will think it's done in C or C++. It's one of the most powerful, compact languages I've yet to see.
*The community! I don't know where I'd be without all the friendly folks here. I'm not a n00b to programming, but I just started with Lite-C. I think I'm on the brink of mastering the syntax and all of the language's nuances, thanks to your help. With the workshops and these forums, learning Lite-C is a breeze! <3
*The flexibility of the engine, and how such a cheap (compared to others) engine can give you the power to *potentially* compete with top game dev companies with the right people on your team and enough experience.
I've actually seen some silly people look at simple games made with the templates or by n00b users, and say "Ew... This engine doesn't have very good graphics!", which is utter nonsense. The engine doesn't have graphics, because the user is who makes them!
If you use cheesy models and skins, your game will look cheesy and cheap. If you have excellent, professional looking artwork, you can make graphics that rival today's top titles. You only get out what you put in! Poo in, poo out; Excellence in, excellence out!
Hate:*C-script! Ugh! >:(
*When people say "Help! I need some code to make a <fill in blank> game!"
*I also hate the name "3D Gamestudio". I think it undermines the power and flexibility of the engine, and makes it sound like a kiddy toy. It also bothers me how it is advertised as being so "easy" and "simple". It's almost like they're saying: "Gamestudio: So easy a caveman could do it!" or "Gamestudio: Two clicks, and you've just made WoW II!" Lol! I actually saw a forum once where someone posted the 3DGS ad from the main site, and there were actually people saying "Oh cool! I think I'm going to get this Pro version for my kid's birthday. He turns 8 next month, and he will love this!" <- Boy, will that guy's kid be disappointed... (That's a true story, honestly.)
*I also hate the name "SED" or "Script Editor". I don't think it's appropriate for A7. It was probably great for old versions, when C-script was the way of life, but I think it needs to be changed to "CED" (Code Editor) or something better. It's not just for simple scripting, after all...
*MED... Maybe I'm just no good with it, but it seems that it can't do decent UV mapping at all. If I choose "Atlas Mapping", it looks like the model is unwrapped, and then torn to shreds like a bad dog does to a newspaper. I can't build crap with it either. I also use Wings3D when I need to make a model on my own. But I usually leave modeling to my artists, because I suck, lol. It also seems that you can't really "fine tune" the position of objects, vertices, bones like I want to. Even with snapping turned off, it still snaps a little bit, and always out of line with the place I want it. The only thing I use it for is applying skins to a mesh that's
already UV mapped, and doing animations/adding bones. But, if we could combine the pros of MED and Wings3D, I think it would be a awesome modeling app for what its worth. Ooh... Did I mention I hate how you have to select things in MED? Lol, it's a major pain, and far too tricky...
*And finally, I hate how there are so many (needless, imho) restrictions on all the great programmers out there who can't afford Pro! Mainly, things like surpressing the startup window. I know Conitec has to pay their bills and feed their families, but still... I'm glad I can surpress it, but I think it kinda ruins a lot of good projects for people who don't own Pro. It's like they force you to advertise for them if you only own Commercial or lower, and it makes your game look less professional and independent. I think there should also be a simple, straightforward resource editor to give your exe's unique icons, rather than magic copy n' paste tricks with a resource hacker. :S It's really a HUGE jump in price from Comm to Pro, just to do a few little things like hide the window, among others. It's also kind of annoying how it says "Compiling Main.exe..........." if you don't hide the window for a published project.
Not really ranting, just dreaming out loud and making suggestions. I do hope Conitec actually reads these!
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P.S. @ clown - A gun has never killed anyone. It's always been a person who either mishandled a gun, or intentionally used it to kill. So it's really people who kill people.
