Hi, I'm new to the forums but I've been using C2 for a few months on and off. I liked it so much I bought the full version!
I plan on making a fairly large and complex action RPG tank shooter. Starting out I actually found development rather speedy for getting a lot of basic functionality up which would have been boring or frustrating to implement from scratch with something else but for more complex stuff I started noticing that this requires a lot of clicking around and navigating the interface. My suggestions largely have to do with the menu style scripting.
Text Script:
Now, I'm a fairly cruddy programmer but I've used C# enough to miss 2 speed related things about text based editing that you see in most compilers: intellisense (which I notice is implemented with C2 expressions which is great!) And of course the mere fact that I can type notably faster than I can navigate windows once I know what I'm doing with a feature.
I understand that this might be time consuming to implement but is it possible that there could be a text code editor mode that is 1 to 1 with the menu structured scripting? I read somewhere that the javascript gets complicated when decompiled directly, I was thinking perhaps a custom text script sort of like the 'expressions' text script in C2. If not, I can understand that this might not be where your priorities would lie in development and that I can still get my game done regardless but something to this effect would speed up development I think.
The menu based structure of C2 is extremely useful for learning new features but once the general idea and how C2 treats the functionality is learned I wish I could go into a speedier mode of a 'simplified' text based development.
//Commenting out code
This could be implemented into the menu scripting as an option to 'disable code' that would grey it out for debugging. I know you have break points now but I also have a tendency to comment stuff out for testing.
Arrays and Dictionaries:
Is there a possibility for an in-editor method for setting the initial state of Array's and Dictionary objects outside of having to use the menu style scripting for each cell of these objects or having to use a 3rd party plugin to import csv's or the like? My hopefully accurate assumption is this shouldn't be to difficult to implement and would make designing an RPG-like game MUCH easier.
Tool Tips for menu script objects:
If 2 objects share the same or similar art it makes it a bit difficult to identify what object the menu style script is referring to at first glance, tool tips showing the name of the object would mitigate this to a degree.
Effect all instances of object: (not sure if this is already present)
I notice when, for instance during a collision, that only the specific instance of an object involved in the event will be effected by the actions, this is a super smart set up and is useful for obvious reasons, however on the off chance I want to effect all the instances equally regardless of which instance is involved, how do I go about doing that? Not sure if there is a check box somewhere that I am missing?
Unrelated to C2's interface: I know that these have been asked for already at some point in the past, I'm just chiming in with a +1 for support for tile sets and vector based graphics. Things I hope to see in the future.
In conclusion:
These would go along well with the rest of C2's intuitive interface elements. I hope I did not repeat any already mentioned suggestions. I don't believe I did, but I might not have searched well enough.
You have an excellent built in level editor, usable sprite editor (though I usually use GIMP 2.0 for my spriting needs), easy script to learn, and awesome behaviors, collision, and physics code all right at my finger tips. So obviously I'm satisfied regardless, but thought these would help.
Keep up the good work. And thank you for making Construct 2!