Messages

61

Announcements / Re: Platform Builder is Expanding!

« on: September 11, 2020, 04:53:32 PM »

Have you thought about taking advantage of this opportunity to introduce new character abilities?

It's on the table, although I don't think I'll be doing that this time around.

62

Announcements / Re: Platform Builder is Expanding!

« on: September 11, 2020, 04:26:59 PM »

Hi everyone,


With the recent announcement about new graphics for Platform Builder, it seemed necessary to me to push us forward into PB 9.0. After all, the graphics update will improve the entire look of PB games which used the built-in sprites.


I ran a test with the new character sprite. I took that sprite and put it side-by-side with the old character sprite and then shared it with my friends on social media. Most of them have never seen Platform Builder before, and so they did not know which character was the old one and which was the new one. But of everyone who responded with a preference, everyone agreed that the new character sprite was better.


I have a little more work to do on my end before I am ready to demo some of the new graphics to the PB community. I'm hoping to have that ready to reveal a week from now in the "Coming Soon" page of Platform Builder. Until then, I have a different feature in the coming soon page which I will send out shortly. (This is not the "user interaction" thing that I had in mind; that will come later.)

63

Announcements / Re: Platform Builder is Expanding!

« on: September 05, 2020, 09:50:36 PM »

I wish we could do tagging like that. I haven't found a solution for it though.


Anyway, I have an idea for some user interaction in the Coming Soon page... coming soon. So you can stay tuned for that.

64

Working with Platform Builder / Re: Is it possible to increase the target frame rate to 60?

« on: September 03, 2020, 05:59:28 PM »

Keep in mind that bumping from 30 to 60 fps will double the amount of computer power. Part of my reason for sticking with 30 is because that is fast enough for most eyes (Hollywood movies run at 24), and it will make your games easier to run on slower machines.


But, of course, some types of games, especially fast precision games, thrive in high fps. It just limits the number of machines that can handle it. Even with pro, some speed things cannot be adjusted, such as items bouncing out of blocks, or going through doors.

65

Suggestions / Re: About the Suggestions Page and Rules for Using Them

« on: September 03, 2020, 02:48:22 AM »

Wait, you started in 2013!? I thought you started in 14 or 15!

Yeah, of course it took a long time before anything was ready to be shared to the public.

66

Suggestions / Re: About the Suggestions Page and Rules for Using Them

« on: September 03, 2020, 02:00:55 AM »

Hi all,


This topic has been updated. Place take a few minutes to read through my first post of this forum thread before creating or commenting on suggestions.


Best,
TingThing

67

Announcements / Platform Builder and Community Influence.

« on: September 03, 2020, 12:40:22 AM »

Hello everyone,


Recently I have noticed in the community some frustration over one's ability to influence the development of Platform Builder. This is not true for everyone but it has been true for at least a few people, and I have seen this through both public and private messages.


Everyone comes to Platform Builder with different aspirations/goals/visions for what they would like to do with their game designs. It would be impossible for me to please everyone, and it would be dangerous for my own emotional sanity to try. However, I have realized that my own policies about user influence have not been clearly defined, and so people come into the community with different expectations about how I as the developer of Platform Builder will interact with various suggestions. To help provide clarity, I have updated the pinned topic at the top of the suggestions page. It also includes some new rules about how to use the suggestions page. The purpose of the rules is to make this a better experience for everyone. They are effective immediately.


My typical approach to every update has been to look through suggestions on the forums, put together a list of those suggestions, and then do it. Because of this, most of what you have seen on the update log (especially in recent times) has been fulfilled requests, or things necessary because of fulfilled requests (and, of course, smashing bugs!) This will change a little bit, as we are looking to collect more data from first-time users—particularly those who choose never to come back. Because of this, you might see some changes which have not been suggestions (for instance, better graphics), but are still intended to improve the overall experience of Platform Builder for everyone.

I hasten to say that I have not done a perfect job discerning what is most important for Platform Builder. The decision making process is more complicated than most people realize, and so I appreciate your patience with me as I continue striving to make this program the best it could possibly become with my limited time and resources. I also want to thank you all for many, many great ideas which have shaped so much of what Platform Builder has become. Now that we have some more people on the team, even I don't know what the future of Platform Builder will look like, but I cannot wait to find out!

This topic will be locked for responses. You are welcome to message me personally if you have any questions or concerns.


Cheers,
TingThing

68

Introductions / Re: It's-a me, Jalli!

« on: September 02, 2020, 04:35:16 PM »

Glad to have you checking out Platform Builder!


As the developer, I'd love to hear some of your first impressions using the program - what you like, what you don't like, and your experience learning how to use this program. If you are willing to help me out with this, you can send me a private message here on the forums.


Best,
TingThing

69

Announcements / Re: Platform Builder is Expanding!

« on: September 02, 2020, 01:35:45 PM »

Correct me if I'm wrong, Warrior, but I believe you feel frustrated because of some good ideas you suggested for Platform Builder which have not happened, and there has been little to no explanation from me why I haven't done them. If this is indeed what your previous post was about, then I admit that your frustration is understandable. For what it's worth, some of your suggestions are actually on my to-do list.

Recently, I have realized a need to provide more clarity about my own approach and policies regarding PB requests. I will do this probably later today or tomorrow.

70

Announcements / Re: Updated Website

« on: September 01, 2020, 08:09:50 PM »

Thanks for noticing that. I'll take a look.

71

Announcements / Platform Builder is Expanding!

« on: August 31, 2020, 05:19:02 AM »

Hi everyone,


Big, big news! Like... REALLY big news.


The Platform Builder team is expanding! Yes, we just hired two new people to work toward the future of PB!

First, I'd like to introduce to you Rob LeMay who is our new Chief Marketing Officer. Rob earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA) and agreed to join the Platform Builder team by helping with the business and marketing side of things. Although this process will take time, I'm excited to have Rob jump on and contribute his strategic mind to help take PB to the next level!

Second, there is Casey Sharpe, our new lead graphic and pixel artist. Casey has a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and a history with pixel art and video games. She agreed to use her graphic skills toward a massive sprite overhaul of Platform Builder and possibly some of the other art-related needs that we will be having in our marketing efforts. Casey has already begun working on some Platform Builders sprites, and it's looking NICE. Really nice. I Can't wait to show you on the "Coming Soon" page of these forums when its time! Once Casey is finished and the new graphics are implemented, things are going to look more compelling, more professional, and (frankly) very different than my sub-par graphics which some of us may have grown used to.

We have a new page on the website with a little more information on each of us. You can view it here.


In case you are wondering if Rob or Casey will be interacting on these forums, my answer right now is that I'm not sure. Neither of their jobs require for them to interact here, and both of them have very busy schedules on top of their responsibilities toward Platform Builder. But I'll be sure to send the invite!


Both of these roles will fill in for areas that I have always lacked. I am a programmer, not a marketer or graphic artist. So to have help in these areas is a very significant step in the right direction to make Platform Builder all that it can be. With these two new hires, it's looking like a bright future ahead of us! 


Moving Forward,
TingThing

72

Suggestions / Re: Forum Suggestion: @Mentions

« on: August 29, 2020, 07:41:05 PM »

I know it's possible to do this in Simple Machines, so, please, TingThing, do you mind enabling mentions? It'd be nice to have that available.

Were you looking at Simple Machines mods? I think mentions would be a nice idea but the closest I could find for that was a mod called Breeze. I tried it out, but it don't seem to work for forum posts, only profile walls.

73

Working with Platform Builder / Re: Issues with Custom Tileset after using Tileset Champion

« on: August 24, 2020, 01:23:55 AM »

That's not a bad idea.

74

Working with Platform Builder / Re: Issues with Custom Tileset after using Tileset Champion

« on: August 21, 2020, 07:10:06 PM »

Hi Aeterna Games,


First I'd like to confirm that your separation and offset are set correctly after using tile set champion. When you upload a tile set into PB, and that tile set has been modified by tile set champion, make sure that the separation is double what you put for the buffer size, and that the x and y offset are equal to the buffer size.


So for example, if you uploaded your tiles to tile set champion and made a the buffer size 2, then in Platform Builder, the separation should be 4 and the x/y offsets should be 2.


If these are correct and you are still having problems, let me know.

75

Working with Platform Builder / Re: Possible Bug

« on: August 18, 2020, 02:12:40 PM »

Yup. This should be resolved now. Let me know in the bugs page if you're still having problems.