What Should Be The Focus Of Bb3?

Discussion in 'Buildbox 3.0' started by thatguyminib, Sep 23, 2018.

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What should be the main focus right now for BB3?

  1. Nodes

    9 vote(s)
    37.5%
  2. Smart Assets

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  3. Javascript

    2 vote(s)
    8.3%
  4. Analytics/Things publishers require

    6 vote(s)
    25.0%
  5. Ad support

    5 vote(s)
    20.8%
  6. Android Export

    1 vote(s)
    4.2%
  7. UI

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  8. FBX Support

    1 vote(s)
    4.2%
  9. Lighting

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  1. thatguyminib

    thatguyminib Serious Boxer

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    Hey everyone! That last post about publishers is a doozy so I figured I would set up a poll/post about what we feel should be the main focus of bb3 development right now.

    I personally feel that the main focus of the development of BB3 should be on the node system. The whole core of Buildbox is that it is a codeless game engine. Well BB3, at least I feel, does not follow that core. I feel at the moment it is spread and you can't just use nodes to create a fully polished game. By spread I mean I feel that you need to use the nodes as well as JS in order to create a fully polished game.

    If the focus is put on expanding/adding more nodes and making it so they can all interact with one another easily, I feel it will add a lot of value to BB3 and bring it back to its core. Why focus on analytics/things publishers want, ad support/networks, and android export if we can't even use BB3 right now to make a great polished publisher worthy game? Focus on the parts of BB3 that actually help us game devs create the game itself and then once all that is in a good state start worrying about the last 10% like ads, exports, and things publishers would require.

    Anyway, that is just my opinion on the matter. Would love to hear others :)
     
    Roberto P likes this.
  2. LBPToo

    LBPToo Avid Boxer

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    I understand your point of view @thatguyminib, but the problem with your plan is people can already build very nice publisher ready games(at least for iPhone), and following your suggested plan they couldn't publish them. You definitely can't develop all types of games right now with BB3, so it's very possible you can't build the game you want to build right now, but for the ones that can, they need those other features usable so they can publish their game. Did you see this post about Ball Drop? https://www.buildbox.com/forum/index.php?threads/soft-body-physics-in-bb3.14024/#post-77275 This is rumored to be built with Buildbox 3 and I'll bet it is. I can't see anything in the video that couldn't be done in BB3 right now.

    I agree with you that I think most games will require custom programming to complete their games and although it will get easier for non-programmers as more nodes are built and shared, my guess is that people that have programming skills have an advantage now, and will always have an advantage with BB 3....but with that said, I think being able to come up with a great game concept, like with Ball Drop, is far more important than development skill.

    BTW, I didn't vote because you didn't have the option(s) I would vote for. Actually two options. Bug fixes(stability-it is much improved) and more API documentation.
     
  3. thatguyminib

    thatguyminib Serious Boxer

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    Ball Drop was made by the BB dev @NikRudenko himself so he knows all the ins and outs and I am sure that game involved A LOT of programming lol and he is a skilled programmer, but the average BB user is not. "Welcome to the codeless game engine where everyone can make an amazingly polished game coder or not. Except you have to know to code in order to do so." Is there anyone right now that has a publisher worthy game made with BB3 I would honestly love to see it and be proven wrong because I really don't think anyone right now, or at least the average user would be able to create a publisher worthy game with BB3. Also right now I am trying to create very simple games and I run into situations where I have to start coding, and one of the reasons I chose to purchase buildbox is to kind of get away from programming because I do it professionally all week lol. The node system isn't enough to create a game from start to finish plain and simple.

    I just feel that especially in beta things like publishing and ads shouldn't be priority. Get the engine and everything in the engine that helps with the game making process as a whole solid and at 1.0 that's when you say "Ok, everyone now can make a game either using nodes exclusively or using both nodes and JS and we are seeing people produce some amazing things with both. Now let's focus on the ad support, and what the publishers want to help everyone out."

    Also, both of those go into the making a game and if you have a great game concept but no development skill to see it through the great game concept is useless without execution.
     
    Roberto P and adrogdesigns like this.
  4. LBPToo

    LBPToo Avid Boxer

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    If Nik did it, then yes, he has a huge advantage. To tell you the truth I have a bit of problem with the obvious conflict of interest with the Buildbox principals building games and also building the tool that builds them, but I can live with it because I'm guessing we wouldn't have Buildbox if they didn't have the incomes from their own games. So it's fine with me, I'll take the trade off.
    I understand the desire for 100% drag and drop, and BB2 really is that, but with that said, it's very limiting. I liked using BB2 and I had a programming past, but now that I'm using BB3 I really like the extensibility and flexibility offered by the JS and even want more access to the innards with the API so I can do more.

    I disagree that you can't build a publisher ready game right now with BB3, but it is a big challenge, requiring many workarounds and compromises....which all means a lot of extra time. For the game I'm working on right now, and the path I've chosen, it will require some bug fixes in BB3 before I could finish it, but I also have months before I'll be done so I'm crossing my fingers they'll have the fixes in by that time. A gamble for sure.

    I'll state the obvious, this is beta, they've chosen to release it in that state and people seem to be expecting a finished, polished product. That's the risk they took releasing it so early. I have a software development background on the programming then management side with significant business software. We never would have or could have released beta software to our customers or our company would have failed, but this is a different situation and I think it probably makes sense with the BB business model.

    Bottom-line, nothing they do is going to satisfy everyone, so they need to do what they're doing. listen to their customers, make decisions based on their input combined with their plans and hope it makes the majority of us happy.

    BTW, I think what you've done here is a good idea since it will provide them with more customer input to help make decisions.

    Bill
     
    Last edited: Sep 24, 2018
  5. rywnshyhq

    rywnshyhq Boxer

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    I think the lighting needs to be worked on. Using shadows in the right way can make a game look amazing.
     
  6. thatguyminib

    thatguyminib Serious Boxer

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    Thanks @LBPToo! Main reason I created this poll was to hopefully get the people that don't like being vocal in discord or the forums to be able to have their voice/opinion heard, because right now the whole ads/analytics priority could very well be what a majority of what people want, but it could also very well be a vocal minority which would make it seem like the majority.

    I also agree that in order to make a publisher worthy game it will require A LOT of work/hacks/workarounds and would be a big challenge, especially for the average user. Right now for me, I can prototype games like no other in BB3, but when it comes to continuing past the prototype state I would much rather port it into Unity, which I use professionally. BB3 > Unity for prototyping Unity > BB3 for polish/finishing a game. This statement isn't to stir things up it is just my own opinion and I feel that with the right focus on certain things BB3 could be great for prototyping as well as finishing a fully polished game.
     

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