Thanks, Andy, for posting the link! I thought this was an interesting and insightful article. I don't know if I agree with the 18-24 months estimate, but HTML5 (and acceptance) is definitely moving ahead in huge strides. :)

You dont, you make something else because TD games are the most over rated, over populated web games on the..... web.

make something more original.

I actually think it's a good idea to work on a game of a genre that he enjoys playing and knows well. Better motivation and knowledge. :) It's kind of like when you're starting out writing short stories or novels: easier if your first project is something you'd like to read.

I have to say that the only TD I actually enjoyed was Cubemen, and that is a TD/RTS hybrid. Awesome game, though.

I thought the multicolor tabs was a nice touch, because if for example you want to select the "LevelWonE" tab you can just look for the yellow one, rather than having to read a bunch of grey tabs. On the other hand, perhaps it would be clearer to have just two colors, one for layouts and another for event sheets?

I like the multi-coloured tabs and find it makes it easier and faster to find what I'm looking for. Only having two colours would cause more "where was this again ..." scanning of the bar of the tabs. Perhaps this could be an option, so people can pick the approach they like better?

Besides the responsiveness of Ashley and Tom, and the frequent updates, I think what makes C2 the best choice (at least for me) is its avid community. Lots of contributed capx samples, tutorials, and the buzzing forums. For me, that was the perhaps most important aspect when I decided to buy a license. (Some of the alternatives don't even have forums.)

Good call, Briggy! If you read this article (was linked earlier), I think you'll find good evidence that HTML5 is definitely the future. :)

Just show your parents the games you've made, and maybe explain them how they were done (by showing them the event sheet and layout in C2), and there's a pretty good chance they'll fork over the money.

It's basically the same method I used almost thirty years ago when I wanted my grandparents to buy programming books and source code magazines for me. ;) Time-proven approach: Parents and grandparents buy stuff when they feel it benefits the education and skill set of their off-springs. It's just a matter of how you present it.

Well, not an unexpected development, but nevertheless a very welcome one. :) It makes perfect sense, too, though performance is still an issue (even simple HTLM5 games are currently sluggish on my iPad2 with iOS 5.1).

There's also this in the article:

"Appcelerator asked if HTML5 was going to be a component of people's apps in 2012, and 79 percent it was. But only 6 percent plan to make all-out Web app that runs in a browser; a much larger 72 percent plan a hybrid approach that wraps native interface elements around an app that relies on a browser engine behind the scenes."

It's still a great trend for us HTML5 enthusiasts. .)

Steven: Oh, I misunderstood, sorry about that! (Still haven't had a chance to really dive into R82). Hmm, localizing the actual software isn't necessarily a bad idea, but as 0plus1 said, everything else related to C2 is in English. Then again, it's a start.

Actually, based on AppStore market experiences and people's rating behaviour, I can confirm that localization IS an important issue for a surprisingly large number of actual or potential buyers. In the German AppStore, there are numerous comments from customers who state that, "I really liked this game, but since it's not in German, I only give 3 of 5 points instead of all five stars."

Moreover, I've done some localizations (from English to German) for commercial AppStore games/apps, and the developers reported substantially increased sales in the German speaking AppStore regions. This may partly have been due to the also translated AppStore descriptions, though, so it's not necessarily easy to tell which had more impact: the German AppStore blurb or the in-game localization.

I don't know whether it's "more important" than some other feature that Ashley could have added instead (it's probably a little subjective), but we don't know how much (or how little) time it took to put this in and if there could have been something "better" in its place. I get this a lot at work when we add a new feature (that took a couple of hours to put in) to our software and people are all like, "But why did you spend time on this and not on THAT feature?", with "THAT" feature something that would have taken days or weeks (and a ton more resources).

As for betas having bugs ... well, that's why they are betas. :)

You can take flash wherever you want, and run it.

Except iOS devices. The iPad has been selling like hot cakes last year and continues doing so this year. Moot point, I know, since Stencyl has an iOS exporter. :)

I still think Scirra's focus on HTML5 is a smart move. By the time HTML5 has gained more momentum, C2 will be among the top tools for HTML5 game creation, if not the tool. While Heinlein once wrote that specialization is for insects, I do believe that in this case it's the right choice (besides, there is nothing besides resources preventing Scirra from developing additional exporters, so this is always an option for later, too).

Very nice, thank you, Tom, for taking the time to put this in. :) (Do we get a medal, too? *duck*)

To get started with programming, especially with JavaScript, I think this is a wonderful place to begin your journey: http://www.codecademy.com/ It uses JavaScript for the very basic beginner course, too. You get medals and all that, and it's well implemented. :)

After this, look up "Eloquent JavaScript". There is both a printed book and a free online version. It's very in-depth, but not too dry as far as IT books go. The HTML5 book in the "Head First" series also covers JavaScript, but since you want to learn programming from the bottom up, Eloquent Javascript is a better choice, after the Codecademy.

I don't think you need an IDE yet, but the best one I found for JavaScript is Jetbrain's WebStorm (costs around ?45). A free alternative would be Netbeans. But as I said, I really don't think you're at that point yet.