Why is Stencyl doing better?

Thanks for the reply Tom. I'm glad to know Stencyl isn't somehow mysteriously kicking Construct's in forum activity.

Why would anybody find C2's interface intimidating? I found Stencyl's UI quite a mess, and I hated it.

I just purchased C2 (the forum doesn't seem to have noticed this yet, but I did get the key, so it'll probably catch up, unless there is something I need to do). Before I handed over the dough, I had also looked at Stencyl, and while I feel that the iOS exporter is a big plus (iPad user here) and would genuinely love an RPG behaviour, C2 "clicked" better with me.

To offer a few points, all of them naturally subjective:

- I prefer C2's interface. The program actually feels like Windows software instead of a Mac port, and there weren't so many so colourful boxes (). Loading up an example and making changes felt intuitive and didn't cause major confusion. Someone in this thread mentioned a resemblance to VB, so maybe that is why C2's interface struck me as more familiar (but the last time I did anything with VB was in 1994, so maybe not! ;)).

- C2 has a better price model. Paying one time is conventional and convenient, an annual subscription isn't. I swallow that toad when playing MMORPGs, but I prefer my application/development software to not suddenly revert to a demo if I don't pay regularly. C2 is also less expensive. (Plus, my partner really wants to make her own game, and she is more financially reasonable than I am, so C2 was also her choice -- she'll buy her own copy later in the week when she's convinced that I stick with it. Darn, so little faith in me!)

- The focus on HTML5 sealed the sale. Flash is certainly the more wide-spread tech right now, but that's just "now" and won't stay that way. If I invest time (and a little money), I may as well go with the next big thing. Besides, I never managed to warm up to Flash. HTML5 is pretty much where it'll be at in a couple years, so why not get there before the masses?

- The web site design and the manual/guides: Much cleaner, easier to read, accessible, and there are "trophies"! Nifty idea, that. :) Seriously, though, I just like the "feel", and if I'm going to spend time with something, I might as well make sure the whole environment is appealing to me. Silly reason? Perhaps, but I'm not a techie, so I like the fluff!

- Finally, after reading the blog entries, I decided that "Hey, I like these guys!" and that I want to support this project. This is, again, a feelie-touchie reason, but it ties in with the one before: it's all about the atmosphere.

I'm definitely looking forward to where C2 is headed. :) And with that, back to wading through the examples!

megatronx wrote: TELLES0808 wrote: C2 only need a RPG behavior and a better and complete new Z ordering menu to overcome Stencyl in all the ways.. This :D

I wish I could give a +1 to this. I'm struggling to figure out how to do an RPG in Construct 2. Making progress. But struggling. RPGs are my love, ever since I played Ultima II on one of the first Macs.

Please, oh, please, make plumbing for RPG. The latest version of RPG Maker came out, but distributing RPG Maker games is difficult. Distributing an RPG in HTML5 would be easy.

RPG! RPG! RPG!

Errr ... does Stencil have RPG behavior built in?

Since the thread got bumped I'll throw in my 2 cents (and a probably boring story) here too. I made a game and tried to "monetize" it. Asked a few friends here and there, seems like Flash is really easy. There's FGL, and loads of portals. There's APIs to integrate ads and sites you can ask for sponsorship on. So #6 (clearer path to monetization) is really what Flash is still much better at. Not sure when HTML5 will catch up.

So I thought I don't want to wait for HTML5 to catch up, I'll just port the game to Stencyl, should be pretty straightforward, there's not too much logic and all the sprites are done, so how long can it take, really?

Went in and downloaded the 2.0, after reading about it and all the cool things it has over 1.0 (it does sound VERY promising). But I couldn't make much progress with it because there's no tutorial yet for 2.0, you have to know 1.0 as the concepts are the same, then get to 2.0 and you pick it up. So I download 1.0 and shoot the first crash course tutorial. To make an actor move, you have to "code" it, i.e. you have to tell it when W is pressed move up, when S is pressed move down, when they are released, Stop. And I'm thinking "8 direction...". The interface with the puzzle blocks seems clumsy to me too, but I'm sure I could get used to it in a couple days.

Apparently the 2.0 has built in behaviors so you don't need to code movement and such. I decided to wait for that (should be released soon, like in a couple weeks or so) and give it one more go then.

Their forums are active enough, I asked a couple questions and got pretty quick responses.

But at the end of the day, after playing with Stencyl (both 1 and 2) for a few hours: I find C2's interface way easier and more intuitive. Grouping, event sheets, property sheet - everything is familiar to me (sounds like #regions, code files, property sheets from Visual Studio). It's also faster. I find C2 superior, but for this monetization aspect which to me becomes more and more important. I know things will improve, but I don't think it will be in the near future.

Cheers!