Back to the topic...
I've reserved my opinion on this for quite some time. So, what I have to say is really of no disrespect to others who have worked hard to develop some great stuff, but merely an observation (which I'm sure more people silently share than just myself)
I've really never quite understood the "tools for sale" mentality that runs rampant here. For me, anyway, half the fun is figuring out how something is done. If someone wants to share information without a catch, I feel that's a great gesture, and actually cultivates the community spirit. Heck, that might even encourage me to help them out if they get stuck on a particular problem.
Honestly, this is why so many open source languages (and not so open, such as .Net) are successful. While they are certainly not devoid of those selling components and frameworks, there are just as many communities that are out there to share the knowledge freely and thereby making the platform stronger. It draws new customers/users and attention to the platform, and the developers of the language, are in a pressured position to deliver bugfixes and product upgrades in a more timely manner.
There is an over-abundance of tools for sale here specific to the blitz platform (more than I've seen anywhere for the size of the customer base, quite honestly) And while they are neat and dandy and such, I'd be curious to see what completed games out there have actually utilized some of these frameworks and tools. It could very well be a fair number of them, but I don't see them get nearly the amount of exposure as the tools themselves. If the games developed can't be evangelists for the tools, then what can be?
You didn't see Popcap give away their framework until they had some real-world applications out there.
Same with Epic and ID. You never seem to see these frameworks or engines for sale until they have a flagship product showcasing the capabilities.
The sure-fire way to ensure that a developer will support a toolkit is if s/he has to maintain it for their own products.
You really don't see any of that happening here. A toolkit is released, the developer gets bored, and the product gets abandoned. Why? The developer doesn't have an investment beyond what s/he's sold you. And the pricing? Once you buy component A, B and C, you've spent as much if not more as you did on Blitz itself. What's more, there's no guarantee that all of the components will play nicely with each other.
I know some here make their living by this. As a father and someone with a family myself, I can respect that. However, I've learned that the real world doesn't care about your problems or how you make your money or how you support yourself and your family. I'm not suggesting that people should work for free, but rather understand what people (or EMPLOYERS) are willing to pay for what you have to offer. In my opinion, offering services to a group of people for profit that struggle the same way you do is not the answer.
A focussed common goal seems to make a bit more sense.. such as a community toolkit that allows everyone to create games (or utilities) that can be targeted and be competitive outside of the tiny developer vacuum you're in.
Again.. just my opinion(s).. and you know what people say about opinions...
I've reserved my opinion on this for quite some time. So, what I have to say is really of no disrespect to others who have worked hard to develop some great stuff, but merely an observation (which I'm sure more people silently share than just myself)
I've really never quite understood the "tools for sale" mentality that runs rampant here. For me, anyway, half the fun is figuring out how something is done. If someone wants to share information without a catch, I feel that's a great gesture, and actually cultivates the community spirit. Heck, that might even encourage me to help them out if they get stuck on a particular problem.
Honestly, this is why so many open source languages (and not so open, such as .Net) are successful. While they are certainly not devoid of those selling components and frameworks, there are just as many communities that are out there to share the knowledge freely and thereby making the platform stronger. It draws new customers/users and attention to the platform, and the developers of the language, are in a pressured position to deliver bugfixes and product upgrades in a more timely manner.
There is an over-abundance of tools for sale here specific to the blitz platform (more than I've seen anywhere for the size of the customer base, quite honestly) And while they are neat and dandy and such, I'd be curious to see what completed games out there have actually utilized some of these frameworks and tools. It could very well be a fair number of them, but I don't see them get nearly the amount of exposure as the tools themselves. If the games developed can't be evangelists for the tools, then what can be?
You didn't see Popcap give away their framework until they had some real-world applications out there.
Same with Epic and ID. You never seem to see these frameworks or engines for sale until they have a flagship product showcasing the capabilities.
The sure-fire way to ensure that a developer will support a toolkit is if s/he has to maintain it for their own products.
You really don't see any of that happening here. A toolkit is released, the developer gets bored, and the product gets abandoned. Why? The developer doesn't have an investment beyond what s/he's sold you. And the pricing? Once you buy component A, B and C, you've spent as much if not more as you did on Blitz itself. What's more, there's no guarantee that all of the components will play nicely with each other.
I know some here make their living by this. As a father and someone with a family myself, I can respect that. However, I've learned that the real world doesn't care about your problems or how you make your money or how you support yourself and your family. I'm not suggesting that people should work for free, but rather understand what people (or EMPLOYERS) are willing to pay for what you have to offer. In my opinion, offering services to a group of people for profit that struggle the same way you do is not the answer.
A focussed common goal seems to make a bit more sense.. such as a community toolkit that allows everyone to create games (or utilities) that can be targeted and be competitive outside of the tiny developer vacuum you're in.
Again.. just my opinion(s).. and you know what people say about opinions...