Hey there boxers, Today I wanted to address an old trend in buildbox releases that has happened since 2018 onwards. If the title is not clear I'll reiterate, I think I'm not the only one who can say this but I'll be the first one that says it... enough is enough, I am sick of getting beta builds releases that are just not ready for a beta test.... Just by doing some exploratory testing, you can find a lot of issues introduced by this build that's not reproducible on older release build. I won't iterate all the issues but you can get a general idea if you start to read https://www.buildbox.com/forum/index.php?posts/104915/ The bottom line is that the UI is not workable now and there are new crashes (not to mention older crashes that has not been addressed) or God knows what lies beneath if you start to investigate and invest more time into an older combination of nodes that once has crashed the client. Currently, we receive features(more like promises) like : Stop fishing! If is not released in beta build then it's not ready for customers to play with therefore can be scrapped or considered a false advertisement. A while ago I've added a comment that stated that the newer releases like 3.3.7 felt like a joke or like a release that did not have any automation test executed nor regression (not to mention integration testing) done ... Please keep in mind that we pay for software even though you have other options including a free plan... we as customers expect stability first and then new features that are tested and bug-free. So in conclusion: * Stop releasing untested builds and start to release smaller chunks of builds with minor or just a few fixes to make the latest buils stable * Start upgrading the beta posts on a weekly basis so we know when to grab the next build and test the initially reported bugs * Remake your testing strategy and testing documents in such way that will guarantee you a better / stabler build released on every quarter or when you decide to release them * Stop treating us like bag of money and talk with the community if you feel the need to ask for feedback, doing few surveys won't help in this case because we are different people, therefore, have different expectations * Improve overall performance on devices * Fix payment and ads related issues or so-called "Known issues" * Be more transparent before adding announcement posts or change the payment plans * Last but not least DO NOT release 3.4.0 because that's not ready, it's worst than 3.3.7 was at this point. Boxers if you have something to say please feel free to do so below, let's unite and ring a bell because this has to stop at some point... Staff, if you want to have a talk with me feel free to ping me with a PM or on discord, I'll be more than happy to try to help you or provide more details.
I think the problem is that Buildbox just doesn't have enough subscribers and therefore isn't making the money needed to keep the lights on (so to speak). Is this the solution? I dont think so. Loyal subscribers/pro users will feel it's a kick in the teeth, considering how buggy things have been over the past couple of years and the promised changes have gathered dust or labelled with 'coming soon'. My fear is that this model will instantly put game publishers off, leaving us to self publish and we all want that hit game, but getting a publishing deal, like in the days of Ketchapp was and continues to be the dream for many boxers. Handing over 10% of revenue might not seem like a big deal when you are already paying a subscription fee, but considering just how many external parties chip away at your hard earned game money is relentless. Aside from ads,(google deduct upto 24% tax from next month, unless your country has a tax treaty), plus your own local taxes, - 70% default - that is a massive amount. If you are fortunate enough to sell IAPs(which is getting harder to do), Apple/google take 15-30%, BuildBox 10-70% plus mentioned taxes. I totally understand why this option has been presented but if the game engine was serviced with outstanding, detailed tutorials explaining some of the more difficult aspects of the engine (publishing, certain nodes) etc, to make it look so appealing and easy to use, then there would be more subscribers, as developers would see value and could easily monetise their games to pay for the subscription. Dropping the monthly subscription to Pro is also a bitter blow and it will be difficult for many people to pay $500 up front for an engine they see is struggling to get some of the basics right.
