Only add variables you want the family to have via the family manager, and family.count doesn't return the correct number. Those are the only two I know of.

Please stick to english on the forums, thanks!

They've said that they're not going the royalties route either, so no need to worry about that.

ughh this is horrible, dont you realise the outlash you going to have from the public considering a version with "delayed features"? this is like making fun on people -_-

I disagree. Game maker's free version NEVER gets the pro version's features, so it's better than that, and MMF has no free version at all. It's not even remotely close to horrible. Seriously, what do you want for free?? There already is a free version with all the latest features!

going the way that mmf2 did is a sure failiure, they spend all their time trying to make their versions uncrackable and even harrassing pirates, when they should be focusing on program features and battling the competition.

Scirra has said they're not going to use DRM, so they're not going the same path as clickteam.

I think we need a 'free versions' thread.

Ever since there was news that C2 would go commercial, some people were unhappy with it because the main attraction in C1 was that it was free to use.

Just want to point out that C2 is planned to have 2 free versions, one with a nag screen and delayed features, the other the latest version for beta testing purposes that works for 42 days, both usable as long as you don't make money from the games made with it. I think a lot of people have missed this information.

First up, a disclaimer since someone is inevitably going to read this post and determine that I'm 'bashing' other programs:

If one car is faster than another, it is not bashing the slower car to point that out, nor is it calling it a bad car. That also does not mean the slower car is worse in every way, nor that anyone is stupid for using it. I, and a lot of us here, have no problem other people using or liking other programs, but some things are simply measurable without being an insult, like the speed of GM's runtime versus construct's. Other things, however, are more of a personal preference. This post is not an insult to users of either said programs, nor do I think either of them suck. I simply think construct is better.

There. Now, reasons construct is better than MMF (This assumes C2 developed to at least C1's completeness level):

• Event system is far better. It has things like sub-events, which are much better for branching code, readability and organization, a code toggle on/off system to easily deactivate code, it's easier to work with (no bizarre limitations like you can't scroll halfway down an event, so events longer than the screen weren't usable in any way that I could determine), more picking options and more powerful (does MMF have the ability to do functions and forget selected instances in the process to work with new selected object lists mid-event and in the middle of an expression? If not, then that too)
• Working with multiple instances of an object is easier and makes more sense, no need to use any of that confusing 'spread value' stuff
• Built-in behaviors work properly (don't tell me I'm bashing here, everyone I've heard talk about them including longtime fans of MMF agree that the behaviors in MMF need some serious work and have for a long time)
• It's runtime (exe) is faster than MMF
• More than one pixel shader can be applied to an object (last I heard, MMF restricted you to one)
• Families to easily have one bit of code control multiple different objects
• Event sheet includes so every time you want to edit your game's code you don't have to copy and paste your code to every single level again and again (yes, I know you can use one frame for all of your levels by loading a level at the start of the frame with a custom level editor, but it's still handy in many ways regardless, not to mention it's nice that it doesn't require you to take that route)
• No limitations on the number of variables
• Can name the variables so you don't have to try to remember what each one does
• Intellisense for faster writing of expressions
• Better project hierarchy, makes it easier for multiple team members to collaborate (XML format, folders with animations and such)
• Configurations system for easy demo/different platform versions in the same project
• Construct is cheaper, about half the price unless you're making over 20k, at which point you can afford the ?149 version, which is still significantly cheaper than MMF2 developer
• There's two types of free versions if you really don't want to pay and aren't making money from games created with it. MMF has no free version, only a 30 day demo

It's a bit hard to explain overall as well, but after using MMF and having it impede development again and again, construct was a breath of fresh air that works the way I wanted MMF to. I felt like I was fighting MMF. Construct is a joy to use. That's an important factor when developing a game, which requires many, many hours of effort.

Why it's better than GM (I haven't used GM nearly as throughly, so I don't know as much on this front):

• Doesn't require learning a language
• Its drag-and-drop system is useful past the basics, unlike GM's (even fans of the program agree that to really use GM you have to learn GML and I have never heard anyone suggest otherwise, even in communities like TIGsource with a lot of GM users)
• The exe runtime, will be much, much faster than GM. 0.x is already drastically faster and C2 should be at least as fast or even faster. I've heard from people that construct's runtime might actually be able to handle as many as 100x the number of on screen sprites
• Behaviors for quickly adding functionality
• Superior layout/room editor (you can rotate objects and zoom)
• It's much, much easier to understand than GM (my opinion, but I've heard it echoed elsewhere. I tried using it and it simply didn't make much sense. Construct did immediately).

Both:

• Much better frame rate independence via delta time
• MUCH faster updates and bugfixes, more actively developed
• In my opinion, construct has a much better workflow and is both easier to use and makes far more sense than the others

It's been a while, so some things might not be relevant anymore (did they remove the limit on the number of variables?) and I apologize if I'm listing anything that has since been updated.

P.S. Sorry about that Mr Wolf, I didn't realize you could sell games made with GM's free version.

Hmm... it sounds like if MMF2 can do the game as one large, seamless playfield, having the engine entirely pre-built and ready to use would outweigh the advantages of Construct?

MMF is going to have problems with that too. Rojo's suggestions are good ones.

It being free is not the only reason construct is better. If they were all free, I would still use construct. There are many reasons why construct is better than both MMF and GM, and even ignoring that, the cheapest license for construct is cheaper than MMF, about half the price (if you make over 20k with a game made with it you can afford the �149 version), not to mention if you can't pay for it there's still two free versions which are better than GM's free version, and MMF only has a 30 day demo.

I suppose I could get into specifics as to why construct is better, but every time someone does that someone else claims we're 'bashing' other software, even when taking care not to use insults.

My suggestion would be to follow yoyo games's example, and go with a free and a paid version. It worked for them so in theory it should work for you two I think. When I mean free version I don't mean construct 0.xx I mean a solid product with a few features cut from the "pro" version for example and/or forcing a non-commercial license.

That's exactly what they're doing, and the C2 free options are even better than GM's. One version will be a few months behind the current version with a nag screen, the other will be the most recent version usable for 42 days. GM's free version stays where it is until a .0 uprade, while C2's gets new features every few months.

It's a bug/design flaw. Don't bother reporting it, they already tried to fix it and realized it was a problem with the way it was designed, and would have been too difficult to fix for C1.

Also, with the proposed business model, the program is not time limited. You buy it, it's yours. With the purchase, you get two years of new versions. After those two years, the program is still yours.

Let's keep this thread civil. DravenX, I understand your frustration. Trying to make a large project in construct without knowing what to avoid is at times exasperating, especially with crashes that happen only sometimes.

That said, I also have to disagree. My game has hundreds of objects, is approaching 10,000 events (5000 in one sheet), and has lots of animation. Construct CAN handle it - IF you're very, very careful with it.

Construct 0.x can be best described as kind of delicate. Making a large project with it requires a lot of knowledge of it's quirks and bugs to avoid - variable bugs, or, the memory leak in the image editor, pasting between .caps, etc. Frustratingly, some things aren't obvious, and they may seem to work but turn out to cause crashes later. These things can be worked around, it just requires a lot of knowledge and understanding of construct's rickety areas, and a willingness to quit and ditch your previous hour/day's work if you discover some new quirk when construct does something unusual to be on the safe side.

However, as we all understand, that should not be required of construct's users, hence C2.

DravenX, a couple ideas - are you using 'or' anywhere, or when toggling events off with subevents, if those events have any child events that were toggled, toggling the parent event toggles the child events back on, causing crazy behavior.

Try to find where in the code the problem is. What events are running when it happens? Deactivate code in bits on the crashing sheet as you work on other areas as you try to uncover the problem.