I'll try and put this in the simplest way I can, I really don't want to waste your time!

Hi!

Today we got our first enforced update since we started using Github, and that has caused some problems. Enforced updates are great in general, but for those using the official desktop client (required for Github) we can't go to a specific version, unlike in the browser. Would adding a "don't enforce updates" setting be too much to ask? Or any equivalent of going to a specific version url, like in the web version. I've made two mockups of possible solutions, I hope they're useful in any way.

Thank you very much, I've been a loyal customer since Construct Classic and can't believe I'm using it professionally now, you guys do such an amazing job :)

That's right! I feel you have finally recognised the problem to some extent :)

If you enforce updates onto a whole team, then I'll have to manually make sure every change is from the correct version! And everything will break constantly.

So do we agree that Construct 3 desktop needs some way so everyone can always stay on one version, just like going to editor .construct .net /r218 in the web version?

I don't think it's fair to come here and tell us we shouldn't be making routine improvements to Construct

I've never implied this, I've said several times over my posts why I'm staying in one version, and praised all the work you do.

I'm stating I have a legitimate problem with you forcing updates without asking first because it's breaking my team's workflow, and I'm offering a solution that won't bring up any problems. My custom plugins break because they're made for that version in particular, and you updating every client without me being able to do anything but use an unofficial launcher, is exhausting. I'm happily paying for Construct 3, but this is draining my work hours.

Github already brings up A LOT of issues by itself, you must have seen people frustrated by it before. And I don't care about these things! I'm careful enough and know how to solve them, but this also includes staying in the same version, and these forced updates are harming me very much. I've already got the project corrupted only one day after this has happened; merging a branch with a different version broke a lot of stuff. Please, add some way to turn off autoupdates, even if it's a windows argument I can add when starting Construct. I hope asking for consistency in the software I use profesionally isn't much to ask.

It isn't Construct's fault by itself, the issue arises when I have a project with different people, and each of them turn out to have a different version, because for some reason it got updated to some, but not to all.

As long as we stayed in the same version, absolutely nothing bad happened, but as soon as different versions got involved, which happened in an older project of mine, everything became a mess. Different branches that when merged got the project corrupted, and I had to edit .json files everyday to make it work. I frequently use custom plugins I've written or modified, which get broken as well. That's why for the next big project I made sure to stay on the same version, no external third party stuff (which includes not using an unofficial desktop launcher), and this makes it impossible.

Lots have given up from using Github, and it's not Construct's fault AT ALL! If you know what you're doing, and solve conflicts correctly, all of the issues can be solved, always. But forcing updates into my team is absolutely unnecesary.

The only thing that was keeping me in was having a workflow where I could control in which version everyone is, until I'm ready to upgrade if it's necessary. I'm not going to abuse this in any way, as I love every feature you all add, and I've never reported a bug without making sure I was on the latest version. I'm not asking for a "skip version" button on start that would lead to people reporting the same bugs again and again, but an advanced option for cases like these. I hope it's more clear now, I'm trying my best to explain this.

dop2000

Yes, it still autoupdates. It's an internal issue. As I said before, the only solution I've found is through the unofficial launcher.

An advanced option would solve this completely.

Yeah, I was talking about using Github with project folders. It’s a must have on a team project, and having different versions and other variables is an absolute nightmare of crashes, conflicts and corruptions. And I mean in general, even with simple projects. And I know Github integration isn’t your concern at all, but I’m just asking to have the ability to stop the software I pay for and use daily from breaking my workflow.

I completely agree with your last point, a “skip update” button is 100% out of the table, but an advanced and hidden option that would let you opt out of obligatory updates should be a must-have specially for those that know what they’re doing and just want everyone to stay in the same version to have some control until we’re all ready to update. Working with branches, different plugins and modular parts of a project makes this super hard. I hope I got my point across, because this is a deal breaker for me in the future, and I LOVE this software!

I completely understand your point!

But updates did give me headaches more often than not.

This might be specific for the desktop app, but when I've experienced consistent crashes, corruptions, and many other shenanigans while switching versions, specially while working with other people, just sending files over and back.

But most of all, Github. I can't stress enough how badly it behaves when you add different versions and plugins into the mix. I'm glad I decided to go with 100% vanilla r218 C3 for a big commercial project, because on other cases I've had to deal with surprises weekly, sometimes daily.

You can discard the rest of this post if you want, but Github alone is a great reason to remove obligatory updates, and I think we can agree on that. It works BEAUTIFULLY when it all stays as it is during development, and I'd love for it to keep it that way if it's not too much to ask :) Just a button that lets me skip updates or a checkbox in advanced settings would be enough.

Thank you so much for replying, Ashley, your software is incredilbly powerful, and I've only discovered it's full potential after finishing a few projects with other people over Github.

gustavoChico Try this launcher, you can run any version you want.

https://www.construct.net/en/forum/construct-3/general-discussion-7/construct-desktop-launcher-139502

I tried both launchers before posting any of this, same result.

A workaround Andre gave me was "I flipped through custom again, chose beta and launched and now it did launch me into the correct version. The "do you want to update to latest version" prompt came up but I chose "not now" and it didn't update."

That works, but I'm not a fan of third party stuff, and I think this is a legitimate issue. I'd like to know the reasoning behind forcing an update on a random date, that's all. Another user reported this isn't the first time this has happened. I woke up this morning to find my plugin list empty, and an update I legitimately didn't want and scared the crap out of me.

I hope I'm not sounding too harsh here, Construct 3 is absolutely amazing, and this is the first time I've ever come across something to complain about. The devs do an absolutely incredible work.