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[Manbabyoid]

From what I know, GM had hardware acceleration whereas MMF2 doesn't. Which means transparencies and such will be slower in MMF2. I also don't know if MMF2 has a particle effects system, whereas GM does. So I'd recommend GM, unless MMF2 is just much easier for you to use or something.

They're working on adding hardware acceleration to MMF2 (link), but it's still in the beta stages, and they haven't released a new build since January or something

[___]

MMF2 in its current state seems to be going nowhere fast.  After the personal hardships that MMF has put me through, just go with GM or Construct.

[AshleysBrain]

I'm a Construct developer (and forum lurker), and just want to throw in that by version 1.0 we hope to have Construct bulletproof.  We're at version 0.97.7 right now.  In the meantime, if you find any bugs, let us know!

[The-Imp]

I'm a Construct developer (and forum lurker), and just want to throw in that by version 1.0 we hope to have Construct bulletproof.  We're at version 0.97.7 right now.  In the meantime, if you find any bugs, let us know!

Sweee-eeee-eeeee-eeeeet.

I'll check it out tommorow

[deadeye]

Someone PM'd me earlier asking about Construct and I guess I'll post my reply to them here as well:

Construct is still only a beta.  Even though it's getting more stable and features are being added on a regular basis, it's still not complete, the documentation is lacking, etc. etc.  Game Maker and MMF have the benefit of being complete products with a large user base to draw knowledge from.  They can also do online, networking, and (GM can) do 3D stuff, whereas Construct can't (at least not yet).

On the other hand, if you don't mind beta testing and bug reporting and stuff, then folks are always welcome.  The forums are kind of small, there's really only a handful of regular users there right now.  But the folks that are there are pretty knowledgeable and they don't mind helping out.  One benefit of beta-testing is you have the Construct developer's ears, and they respond to feedback and suggestions really well.

Honestly though, if you want to get into a long-term, serious project with Construct, I'd be careful.  I won't say "don't do it," but if you want a hassle-free, bug-free experience then you should probably use something else for now, or wait until v1.0.  It doesn't hurt to learn it in the meantime, though

Also:

I'm a Construct developer (and forum lurker), and just want to throw in that by version 1.0 we hope to have Construct bulletproof.  We're at version 0.97.7 right now.  In the meantime, if you find any bugs, let us know!

Holy crap, you joined! Welcome

[nihilocrat]

MMF2 uses silly checkboxes instead of forcing you to actually write some (relatively easy) code. I rule it out on religious grounds.

Actually, on religious grounds I rule them all out because they are Windows-only, but see the most promise in Scirra since it is open source, and I think the developer wants to eventually make an OpenGL renderer for it.

[mirosurabu]

GM was easier for me than Construct. I couldn't really understand how Construct works (and it didn't come with documentation, so I gave up). I have checked out demos though and they seem quite impressive.

I tried GM recently and I could make a decent game without even looking at totoreal or documentation. I guess that's because it's quite similar to my C++ framework, though.

Haven't tried MMF so far.

[agj]

http://scirra.com/learn.php

That's where you get started in Construct. Maybe more specifically the Ghost Shooter tutorial. After that, searching the forums and the wiki was the most helpful.

[TheBlackMask]

I've used GM for years, but have toyed with MMF and Construct.  I recommend trying them all out and getting a feel for which one suits you best.  As stated before, Construct is really coming into its own, and the bugs aren't really much of an issue.  On the other hand, GM is supposed to have Mac support in a few months.  I have tried the Beta GM Mac, and it's not pretty though, so I don't know how that will go.  I don't think any of them offer any one reason that makes them the best.  It's all about what works for you.  Try them out, and see what works. 

[nihilocrat]

I'm a Construct developer (and forum lurker), and just want to throw in that by version 1.0 we hope to have Construct bulletproof.  We're at version 0.97.7 right now.  In the meantime, if you find any bugs, let us know!

I took a look at the tutorials, and it actually looks like a very deep and well-polished piece of software! I would much rather code my game logic than use a GUI tool to do so, but it looks pretty easy for beginners to use. Depending on how you structure whatever API is used to interpret the logic, you might be able to easily create a Lua wrapper. Lua and cross-platform support would make Scirra positively amazing.

It's open source, so you get a big plus from me for that. It means if I weren't so lazy, I could probably try writing OpenGL drivers.

[Tanner]

deadeye's new platformer totoreal looks pretty sexy.

[Hideous]

I'm a Construct developer (and forum lurker), and just want to throw in that by version 1.0 we hope to have Construct bulletproof.  We're at version 0.97.7 right now.  In the meantime, if you find any bugs, let us know!

I took a look at the tutorials, and it actually looks like a very deep and well-polished piece of software! I would much rather code my game logic than use a GUI tool to do so, but it looks pretty easy for beginners to use. Depending on how you structure whatever API is used to interpret the logic, you might be able to easily create a Lua wrapper. Lua and cross-platform support would make Scirra positively amazing.

It's open source, so you get a big plus from me for that. It means if I weren't so lazy, I could probably try writing OpenGL drivers.

It has Python. Lua is just a Python rip-off with all the good stuff removed anyway, so.

[nihilocrat]

Shows you how much I read. I think I'll try out Scirra, then.

Lua is much smaller and somewhat faster. It's also easier to embed, whereas python much prefers to extend rather than be embedded.

Providing a plugin SDK up-front is definitely a wise decision. I've slowly learned that open source projects are the best when it's relatively easy to add small bits of functionality, thus making the most use of the "anyone can add/edit code" model. It lets people add code while only having to understand a small subset of the application.

[deadeye]

Just a heads up, Python is broke in this build

Yeah, yeah, I know.  Anyway, the devs have said they'll try to have a new build out before Christmas, so...

[nihilocrat]

The current status on Python is that it seems to be broken in the latest builds - I think that if you install yourself a version of Python different to the one the IDE has implemented, Python can't find the right files, or something like that. We'll be looking in to it and fixing it before 1.0.

Sounds like it's a simple PYTHONPATH mixup. I will take a look at it tonight if I have the time.

In fact, if all the issues seem to just be import errors like the ones reported on the Construct forums, that sounds like it's exactly the reason why it doesn't work.

edit: I played around with it last night and if you can get over the fact that it's not cross-platform, it's great. You can freely mix the event system and Python scripts, so you can trade off between ease-of-use and power at any point.

I reported the Python issue to the Construct forums, and made a little diagnostic .cap which will show you a few Python environment variables that might help shed more light on the import errors.

[deadeye]

For anyone who's interested, there's a new build of Construct out.
http://www.scirra.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2209
Among other things it features:

• New 2D Bones animation system (wip... but still very sexy)
• New Grid Movement behavior (for easy RPG style movement)
• New Sine Movement behavior
• Automatic handling of jump-though and moving platforms (for Platform behavior)
• Automatic handling of common animations (run/jump/fall/etc) (optional)
• A whole lotta bugfixes, including the memory problems that were causing XAudio2 to crash (hooray )

As with most new builds though there are a couple of new issues, the devs have said they will address these after the holidays.

deadeye's new platformer totoreal looks pretty sexy.

Thank you sir, but unfortunately with the new build they're all broken and out of date .  I have to rewrite them all again.  I coded my own moving and jump-through platforms for the tuts but now that there is an "official" way to do it they're wonky.  The way jump-through platforms are handled in Construct now though does need some work, for some reason they're solid on the sides as well as the top... kind of a strange way to do it.  I've requested that be changed, or at least configurable.

Oh and they made me a mod on the forum .

[moi]

For anyone who's interested, there's a new build of Construct out.
http://www.scirra.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2209
Among other things it features:

• New 2D Bones animation system (wip... but still very sexy)
• New Grid Movement behavior (for easy RPG style movement)
• New Sine Movement behavior
• Automatic handling of jump-though and moving platforms (for Platform behavior)
• Automatic handling of common animations (run/jump/fall/etc) (optional)
• A whole lotta bugfixes, including the memory problems that were causing XAudio2 to crash (hooray )

As with most new builds though there are a couple of new issues, the devs have said they will address these after the holidays.

deadeye's new platformer totoreal looks pretty sexy.

Thank you sir, but unfortunately with the new build they're all broken and out of date .  I have to rewrite them all again.  I coded my own moving and jump-through platforms for the tuts but now that there is an "official" way to do it they're wonky.  The way jump-through platforms are handled in Construct now though does need some work, for some reason they're solid on the sides as well as the top... kind of a strange way to do it.  I've requested that be changed, or at least configurable.

Oh and they made me a mod on the forum .

Does Python work now?

[deadeye]

There's nothing in the changelog so I don't think they were able to get to it this time around.  They wanted to have a Christmas build, so they worked their butts off to get even that much in on time.

Edit:
Er, don't use that link, 0.98.2 is out and fixes some of the issues introduced in 0.98

Here it is:
http://www.scirra.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2218

[nihilocrat]

Python works fine for me when I installed Construct while already having Python 2.5 installed on my system. I should probably look at it again tonight, I think it can get confused if you install a seperate Python installation after Construct, or maybe it doesn't work if you don't already have your own Python install. The latter sounds like it's something that the developers might overlook, as I'm betting they've all got Python installed on their machines and it doesn't seem like anything is wrong.

Basically, if the Python support is keeping you on the fence, try it out and it might work.

[QuaziGNRLnose]

well, construct is pretty bug free now, youll run in to one or 2 small ones every once and a while but as long as you save after you do little things (saving is almost instant even in pretty big projects) you wont lose anything. theres no more project destroying bugs (or at least theyre VERY VERY RARE).

i say use whatevers bestfor u, ive tried all of them, and game maker was my least favourite, (no offense) i just didnt like the way things worked.

also construct is free, and opensource. which is a huge plus. its much cleaner than mmf, and it has a ton of features which are easy to master, and yield great results. it has a physics engine, a bone animation system (this is new) lots of effect support, its hardware accelerated, the events run very fast and much more not to mention it is always gaining new features. its by far the easiest and cleanest gamemaker out there (my opinion, after trying mmf and GM)

i like mmf, but i find the devs are a bit lazy, and theyre kinda cheap making it cost so much. also mmf is lacking in alot of departments, the interface is very strange, and things are difficult to figure out. clickteam hasnt changed all that much since even KnP, which is MMFs downfall in my opinion. it is better for making gameboy advance type games.

construct also has the fastest engine, and alot of programming features. it's easy to see where bugs are. i was never not able to program something in construct, and ive made some pretty complex things.(just ask deadeye )

so there ya have it. anyways, choose whatever you like, theyre all good choices, im gonna recommend construct tho.