Limitations/Restrictions with HTML5 and Construct2

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  • Hello everyone, I'm new to the forums and to Construct, and I'm curious as to what sort of limitations/restrictions I can expect out of Construct 2 and HTML5.

    I've mainly been using other middleware. I'm experienced with Multimedia Fusion 2 and I'm curious as to what the upsides and downside are when switching over from that.

    Also I would really like to release my game as an executable, and I'm wondering how difficult that would be since Construct 2 mainly builds to HTML5. So if anyone could share their knowledge of the program or anything, that would be great.

    My main concern is how to store data (such as levels in an array, or player save info). Would I need to store this on a server or can I just do that locally? I also have read that HTML5 is really insecure. Should I be concerned about this? My aim is to create a game that I can release as an online demo (via flash or html5) and allow people to buy the full version of the game for download.

    So... drawbacks? Positives? Negatives? What about exporting sprite sheets? How difficult is that with Construct? Has anyone implemented any 3D meshes into Construct?

    Sorry for asking so many questions here, but I find that the forum search fails to really give me any results that I want. (or results at all)

    Thanks!

  • The editor is vastly, vastly improved over MMF. No need for spread values, no limits on the naming/number of variables, has sub events, behaviors that are actually maintained and work, event sheet includes, more options for picking objects, the list goes on and on.

    C2 has exe export, there's currently a performance problem in the current version on some machines, but it's being worked on and has been significantly improved in the next version which should be out within a week.

    That's another benefit of c2. Generally, updates are about weekly. Yeah, that's the norm!

    Data is stored with webstorage, you can use arrays, JSON strings, hash tables, whatever you like.

    You can definitely put a demo online and have an exe for download.

    People can look at the JavaScript in the web browser, but it's so mangled and garbled it makes no difference. No game is secure from hacks anyway, anyone determined enough would hack the game regardless of the method used to create it.

    The main drawback isn't much of an issue on desktop, that html5 performance isn't quite as high as native apps, but it's easily fast enough for 99% of games (I made a shooter with hundreds of bullets, lasers and enemies on screen and even on an older amd Athlon 4400+ it manages fine). The main place performance considerations need to be taken into account is on mobile.

    C2 is 2d, but there have been some attempts at 3d plugins in the plugins forum, but performance wasn't too good when I tried them.

    I was overjoyed when I switched from MMF to construct. There's a free edition for you to try as well, give it a shot!

  • Construct 2 supports exporting Windows EXEs via Awesomium in the latest releases, although support is experimental and we're working out a couple of performance issues. It should ultimately be as good as running your game in Chrome though (which is pretty much the fastest and best supported browser).

    Despite the fact Construct 2 has a HTML5 based engine, it actually has some fairly decent tools for working with data client-side. See Using project files in Construct 2. If you know how to set up a server you can also use the AJAX object to send and receive stuff to your server.

    I've no idea where you read HTML5 is insecure - have you got any links? I am confident it is perfectly secure, and modern browsers have a pretty good security record too, and issue updates rapidly if any problems are found.

    Construct 2 automatically generates spritesheets on export. There are also tools to import sprite sheets in to the Construct 2 editor.

    Hope that helps answer some of your concerns!

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  • The editor is vastly, vastly improved over MMF. No need for spread values, no limits on the naming/number of variables, has sub events, behaviors that are actually maintained and work, event sheet includes, more options for picking objects, the list goes on and on.

    Yeah I've been working with C2 a bit and I definitely love sub-events and the way that variables are set up. Much easier to do things this way. Also love the object selection options.

    2 has exe export, there's currently a performance problem in the current version on some machines, but it's being worked on and has been significantly improved in the next version which should be out within a week.

    I hope this turns out well... I was reading a thread where someone mentioned the cold start up is really slow though.. Hopefully that can be fixed?

    ata is stored with webstorage, you can use arrays, JSON strings, hash tables, whatever you like.

    So that means no offline storage? I'd love if it I could just include a level pack in the exe so players wouldn't have to be online just to load a level.

    2 is 2d, but there have been some attempts at 3d plugins in the plugins forum, but performance wasn't too good when I tried them.

    Is that a problem with C2 or is that a problem with HTML5? I've seen some pretty impressive 3D demos done in HTML5. Would it be ridiculous to assume I could get a few dozen 3D meshes animating with textures on screen without it killing performance? There is one game I wanted to make that would probably require me to have 3D meshes... but not to the extent of needing a full 3D environment or anything. Just some low poly meshes with textures/animations. Can even be baked in lighting.

    Thanks for the response!

    Despite the fact Construct 2 has a HTML5 based engine, it actually has some fairly decent tools for working with data client-side. See Using project files in Construct 2. If you know how to set up a server you can also use the AJAX object to send and receive stuff to your server.

    Okay so I set up my level editor using an array that loads via AsJSON. Does that mean I could just save out the json files and add them into the project to include them as levels so I can avoid the player having to download levels and have an internet connection? That would be fantastic.

    've no idea where you read HTML5 is insecure - have you got any links? I am confident it is perfectly secure, and modern browsers have a pretty good security record too, and issue updates rapidly if any problems are found.

    I don't remember exactly where I read it... but basically someone was saying that since it's javascript, you could easily read it or basically take the code and modify it easily to change the game and make it your own. Or in a situation where you create a really awesome gameplay feature, someone else could just read the code and implement that feature into their game without having to go through the trouble of figuring out how to do it on their own. Stuff like that I guess. I mean, I understand that no game is really secure but I'd prefer if people couldn't just copy/paste my game code and modify some stuff and claim it as their own game without much effort.

    onstruct 2 automatically generates spritesheets on export. There are also tools to import sprite sheets in to the Construct 2 editor.

    Ah yeah, I actually meant importing sprite sheets... Is there some possible way of setting a sprite sheet as a project file and then being able to just update the sprite sheet externally and it would update inside Construct 2? I have a game that would require some rather large sprite sheets and it's much easier to modify them externally, but would be a pain if I have to update every animation/frame manually.

    ope that helps answer some of your concerns!

    Definitely. Thanks for being so helpful. :)

  • ata is stored with webstorage, you can use arrays, JSON strings, hash tables, whatever you like.

    So that means no offline storage? I'd love if it I could just include a level pack in the exe so players wouldn't have to be online just to load a level.

    Construct 2 actually has good offline support. If you export to Awesomium, all project files (including any JSON or XML stuff you use as level data) will be available on disk so the game will function 100% correctly while offline. Even if you're in a browser, if you have visited the game before, it will still continue to load and play correctly even if you are offline, thanks to the HTML5 AppCache. More information in offline games in Construct 2.

    quote]C2 is 2d, but there have been some attempts at 3d plugins in the plugins forum, but performance wasn't too good when I tried them.

    Is that a problem with C2 or is that a problem with HTML5?

    HTML5 actually has support for high-performance 3D using WebGL, but Internet Explorer doesn't support it, and using 3D in Construct 2 is really out of the scope of what it's for (it's a 2D game creator).

    omeone was saying that since it's javascript, you could easily read it or basically take the code and modify it easily

    When you export your Construct 2 game, make sure you enable 'Minify'. It uses Google Closure Compiler to mangle and obfuscate your code in to an unreadable mess, using Close Compiler's most advanced setting. It is very difficult for anyone to work with the resulting case, so I would say it's not the case that anyone can easily use your code, especially since Construct 2 games don't actually work by generating any kind of readable javascript in the first place.

    h yeah, I actually meant importing sprite sheets...

    The best feature for this at the moment is: open the animations editor, right-click the frames pane along the bottom, and select 'import sprite strip'.

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