Seeking Alpha and Beta Testers (Corona Game Dev Tool)

[roaminggamer]

** UPDATE ** 
’EAT - Frameworks’ (Tool 1 derived from GDT work) has been released:
 
https://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/62799-eat-frameworks-released/
 
Please do not post to this thread any more.  Instead, post any comments and questions in thread linked above. 

** UPDATE ** 
Submissions for Alpha & Beta Testers are now closed.
The Alpha test is complete and the Closed-Beta  will be starting soon.  
 
 
@all,
 
How Sign Up As A Tester
As the title states, I am seeking testers (alpha and beta) for a new tool I am preparing to publish.  I am looking for experienced and inexperienced testers.  If you think you have the time to help me and are interested in seeing my tool early, please send me an email titled ‘Corona Dev Tool Tester’ with this information

• Your Name
• Your Experience Level
• Preference - Alpha or Beta Tester
• Development OS - OS X or Windows
• ( optional )Your primary language if not English. (I want to be inclusive in this test and having some non-English speakers would be great.)
  at this address:   << SUBMISSIONS CLOSED >>
   
   
  What Will You Be Testing?
  I am preparing to publish a tool designed to:
• Make Corona more accessible and even simpler to use for new and intermediate users.
• Further reduce development and project set up time by a significant factor.
  ** Update:
  Yes, I am being purposely ‘skinny on details’ …
  For now, let’s call this ‘point-and-click’ Corona Game Development… but it is really more than that.
  ** 
  It this sounds good to you, then please sign up. 
   
  Who Am I
• Corona Game and App Maker 
• The guy who wrote SSK
• The guy who made that (now defunct) SSK sampler
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEQPPeP0vsQ
• The guy who tried that monthly answer packs thing last year.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpctrL7gWn0
• That guy who talks a lot and writes code for the Corona Geek Hangouts
• That (sometimes grumpy) guy who answers questionsin the forums.
  More Details To Follow
  I know I haven’t told you a lot so far, and that is on purpose.  I’m not happy with the flow of the tool yet and there are many features still to come.  So, rather than show a disappointing sneak peek, I hope my prior work will be enticement and evidence enough for now.  
   
  Again, if you love Corona like I do and want to make it that much better, please sign up to help me test this out.  That way you can see it first and get the low-down before the public at large.

[roaminggamer]

Hello again.  I wanted to let folks know that it isn’t too late to sign up for the alpha or the beta.

If you want to be the first to check out a tool (set) that will take hours off you (per-game) dev time and open a new world of development possibilities to you… now is the time!

The alpha officially starts Late Monday the 15th.  However, I may be one day late in order to ensure a highly-functional demo gets into the hands of my testers.

[roaminggamer]

A few more screenshots because, well screenshots are always fun:

Oh, and if you’re not impressed w/ the screenshots… that is awesome because I’m going to run a contest for artists to help me make this tool look good.  More details to follow.

[sirmania]

I´m really looking forward to this tool

[roaminggamer]

Hello again!  Time for an update.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XgYlCUmCls&feature=youtu.be

Testing Positions are Full

This thread was written to gather Alpha an Beta testers.  That goal has been accomplished.  The alpha is over and I have a full roster of closed-beta testers.

Closed-Beta Status

The closed-beta is a little delayed, but will be starting soon.  Meanwhile, for all who are interested, the teaser video (above) shows the status of the tool as of 09 MAR 2016:

What Is the ‘Game Developer Toolkit for Corona SDK’

Well, besides being a ‘development name’ and subject to change, the tool itself is,

“The culmination of my many years of, programming, tool making, game development and, of course,  working with Corona SDK.”

I have wanted to make this tool for a number of years now, but the technology was never quite there to make it.  With the advent of ‘OS X and Win32 Desktop’ as a target this changed.

In short, this tool is meant to take all the icky bits out of developing Corona apps.  Furthermore, it has been designed with a set of modes to make it accessible to the very beginner while being useful for the most experienced developer as well.

Existing & Currently Slated Release Features:

• Beginner and Experienced Modes - Choose ‘beginner’ if you are new and need to ease into it.  Choose ‘experienced’ for full control of your projects and access to all tool features.
• Project Generation - The tool in its most basic usage allows you to generate a starter project.  However, you can do so much more than that with just a few clicks of the mouse, including:
  • Add art and sound assets to the project.
  • Configure all aspects of the application( target device(s), resolution, orientation)
  • Add debug tools (RG Super Meterand more)
  • Choose and configure Plugins with full code generation and configuration error checking.
  • Add additional libraries( SSK, SSK Core, Sound Manager, Admob Helper, Vungle Helper, …)
  • Add optional prep-packaged interfaces or custom configured interfaces. - Sure, starting with a blank project is great, but wrapping it up in a fully functional interface set is awesome.
  • Generate icons, launch images, and other pieces-parts that are needed to submit your game to a store.
• Templates Generation - I am currently converting all of my most popular templates to make them compatible with GDT.  These templates will support various levels of configuration and easy one-button generation.
• Extra Content - Extra content is my (current) catch all category for content you can download and generate from the tool.  Basically, every example, answer pack, Corona Geek project, …, that I have ever written will be available for instant download and generation directly out of this tool.
• Developer Tools - As you probably know, there is a lot more to development than just writing code.  I have addressed some of these needs in the past with my ‘standalone’ tools, but now you can have them all in one place, and better than ever before.  (I am updating my most popular tools and adding all of the top requested featuers to them as part of their integration into the GDT catalog.)
• Growing Content Catalog - I am currently converting all of my previous Corona work and making available through this tool.  Now, if you want something I’ve made you can run the tool, search for it, download it, and start using it all without ever leaving the app.
• Run-time Patching and Updates - This tool supports run-time patching and updates of all content and most core libraries in the tool itself. In other words, when new content, GDT features, and GDT bug fixes are released you can simple click a button, wait a few seconds, and enjoy the new goodness.

Planned Features

• Expert Mode - This mode is being designed for a ‘high-speed low-drag’ development approach.  
• Content Authoring - Want to make and distribute your own GDT-compatiable assets, templates etc.?  This feature is for you.  Certified content authors will be able to create their own content, sign it with the tool and the distribute it ad hoc.
• Ad Hoc Side-Loading - At the same time I enable authoring I will also enable 
• Reskins - These are templates on steroids and will be everything you would expect from a feature with the name ‘Reskin’.
• Full Game Editor(s) - This is my final goal for the tool.  I know many of you have looked at tools like ‘Build Box’, ‘Construct 2’, and others said, “Hey!  Why doesn’t Corona have that.”  Well, when I have achieved this goal you can have it.

Got Questions? Requests?

Please feel free to post any thoughts or questions you may have below.  I am very interested in your feedback and ideas.

Now… back to work (for me).

[tonygod]

I am certain this will really speed up development for Corona developers.  The scope of the project is really quite amazing.  Looking forward to playing around with it.

-Tony

[marble68]

Any ETA on this? Pricing?

[roaminggamer]

@marble68,

Two excellent questions, to which I have imperfect answers.

1. ETA - I’m current at ~170 hours and expect the be closed-beta ready at 200.  Assuming the closed beta users don’t run into any major issues, I’ll release about a week later.  

That sums up to about 2 or 3 weeks from today.  

2.  The tool will be paid and extra DLC will be monetized.  That said, I’m not sure what the base tool cost will be nor do I have a good estimate on the DLC costs.  I will be relying on feedback from my beta testers and others for this.

Like I said, “imperfect answers”.   However, as soon as I have better answers you and the rest of the community will know.

Meanwhile, thanks for your interest!

[rune7]

This tool would have been a great asset for me 3 years ago. however, as years goes by, our own code base has grown to such level that it would be so expensive in cost & time to switch to another base code that its unlikely we we will be able to use that. Perhaps, if we could only use sections of it on an existing project code. 

[roaminggamer]

@rune7,

Yes,  I wish it had been possible to make this tool (in the way I’m making it today) three years ago.

Please note:  One of the usage models of this tool is the idea that folks can create their own starter projects and integrate their own code/assets/libraries, so it isn’t beyond possibility that you might find some use in this yet.

(i.e. Create a custom starter template, save it, and then click, click, option select, generate… fully operational starting project in a few seconds).

We’ll know more when I get past the last of the technical sticky bits.

Thanks for posting.  

-Ed

PS - Still working on that AppLovin test and I’ll let you know over here when I know more: https://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/62148-applovin-crash-on-device-test

[roaminggamer]

Hello all.  I’m nearly ready to send out the closed beta.  So exciting!    :lol:

Having said that, most of you won’t see this till a bit after the closed beta.  Because I don’t want to leave you all out, let me share a quick video of a part of GDT I just finished coding…

A Pure-Lua + Corona SDK System Explorer (you’re seeing the windows variant here):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_wGrxaAIL0&feature=youtu.be

[roaminggamer]

The explorer is now integrated and the icon generator sub-tools is working too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qor2NSCk6g&feature=youtu.be

Let’s see what is left till the closed beta…

• GDT real-time update/patcher.  The tool can support downloading and applying updates, but I don’t have the ‘check for update’ feature coded yet and I really want the beta testers to help me test this (important) feature.
• GDT news reel (announcements and such).
• Resize adjustments (you can resize the tool dynamically, but some elements are still wonky)
• Catalog Filtering and Searching
• More content… I need to add a few more templates before the app will be fun to test.
• This and that…

[roaminggamer]

Hi folks.  I posted a question to help me choose the default resolution of developer monitors here:

https://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/62315-what-is-your-monitor-resolution/

If you have a minute, please click the link and post your number(s).  

Thanks

[c0ppo]

When do you plan to open invites for beta? I think I would be a good candidate. Hobbyist programmer, english isn’t my native language, and I love to explore stuff

[roaminggamer]

@c0ppo,

I’ll be giving more details on the Corona Geek Hangout today, but the gist of the announcement is as follows,

“Based on closed beta feedback, issue, and questions I am:”

• Splitting the unified tool into parts.
  • Framework Generator - A tool to generate project frameworks without game content.
    • Configures all aspects of the project based on your choices, including addon libraries, plugins, and interfaces.
    • Initial version comes with:
      • Empty Project - No interfaces, just a plain project configured to suit your needs.
      • Mobile Monetizer - Framework designed to monetize via Ads and IAP.
      • Apple TV Monetizer - Framework designed to monetize via Ads and IAP.
  • Utilities Toolset - This toolset includes:
    • (current) Mobile Icons Generator
    • (in progress) Mobile Launch Image Generator
    • (current) Corona Particle Emitter Editor
    • (TBD) Prism Particle Editor
    • (TBD) CBE Particle Editor
    • …
  • Template Generator - Details to be announced.  I’m a one man show, … bear with me.
  • Game Editor(s) - Details to be announced.  I’m a one man show, … bear with me.

I am on schedule to release said tools in this order and time-frame:

• Framework Generator - This week around 14 or 15 April.
• Utilities Toolset   - Next week around 21 or 22 April.
• All others are TBD.
• I will release these tools in a working, but unfinished state.  i.e. There will be updates.  
• I am currently working on prices and update schedules.

The montizers are highly configurable composer based frameworks with these interfaces:

• Splash (w/ optional launch Ads)
• Home (Main Menu) (w/ optional banner Ads)
• Play (w/ optional banner Ads)
• Game Over (w/ optional interstitial Ads)

, and tool configured code for these selectable options:

• Achievements
• Leaderboards
• Rating
• IAP (No Ads Purchase)
• Current Score (Play Interface),
• Last Score/High Score (Game Over Interface)
• …

[roaminggamer]

’EAT - Frameworks’ (Tool 1 derived from GDT work) has been released:
 
https://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/62799-eat-frameworks-released/
 
Please do not post to this thread any more.  Instead, post any comments and questions in thread linked above.

[roaminggamer]

Hello again.  I wanted to let folks know that it isn’t too late to sign up for the alpha or the beta.

If you want to be the first to check out a tool (set) that will take hours off you (per-game) dev time and open a new world of development possibilities to you… now is the time!

The alpha officially starts Late Monday the 15th.  However, I may be one day late in order to ensure a highly-functional demo gets into the hands of my testers.

[roaminggamer]

A few more screenshots because, well screenshots are always fun:

Oh, and if you’re not impressed w/ the screenshots… that is awesome because I’m going to run a contest for artists to help me make this tool look good.  More details to follow.

[sirmania]

I´m really looking forward to this tool

[roaminggamer]

Hello again!  Time for an update.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XgYlCUmCls&feature=youtu.be

Testing Positions are Full

This thread was written to gather Alpha an Beta testers.  That goal has been accomplished.  The alpha is over and I have a full roster of closed-beta testers.

Closed-Beta Status

The closed-beta is a little delayed, but will be starting soon.  Meanwhile, for all who are interested, the teaser video (above) shows the status of the tool as of 09 MAR 2016:

What Is the ‘Game Developer Toolkit for Corona SDK’

Well, besides being a ‘development name’ and subject to change, the tool itself is,

“The culmination of my many years of, programming, tool making, game development and, of course,  working with Corona SDK.”

I have wanted to make this tool for a number of years now, but the technology was never quite there to make it.  With the advent of ‘OS X and Win32 Desktop’ as a target this changed.

In short, this tool is meant to take all the icky bits out of developing Corona apps.  Furthermore, it has been designed with a set of modes to make it accessible to the very beginner while being useful for the most experienced developer as well.

Existing & Currently Slated Release Features:

• Beginner and Experienced Modes - Choose ‘beginner’ if you are new and need to ease into it.  Choose ‘experienced’ for full control of your projects and access to all tool features.
• Project Generation - The tool in its most basic usage allows you to generate a starter project.  However, you can do so much more than that with just a few clicks of the mouse, including:
  • Add art and sound assets to the project.
  • Configure all aspects of the application( target device(s), resolution, orientation)
  • Add debug tools (RG Super Meterand more)
  • Choose and configure Plugins with full code generation and configuration error checking.
  • Add additional libraries( SSK, SSK Core, Sound Manager, Admob Helper, Vungle Helper, …)
  • Add optional prep-packaged interfaces or custom configured interfaces. - Sure, starting with a blank project is great, but wrapping it up in a fully functional interface set is awesome.
  • Generate icons, launch images, and other pieces-parts that are needed to submit your game to a store.
• Templates Generation - I am currently converting all of my most popular templates to make them compatible with GDT.  These templates will support various levels of configuration and easy one-button generation.
• Extra Content - Extra content is my (current) catch all category for content you can download and generate from the tool.  Basically, every example, answer pack, Corona Geek project, …, that I have ever written will be available for instant download and generation directly out of this tool.
• Developer Tools - As you probably know, there is a lot more to development than just writing code.  I have addressed some of these needs in the past with my ‘standalone’ tools, but now you can have them all in one place, and better than ever before.  (I am updating my most popular tools and adding all of the top requested featuers to them as part of their integration into the GDT catalog.)
• Growing Content Catalog - I am currently converting all of my previous Corona work and making available through this tool.  Now, if you want something I’ve made you can run the tool, search for it, download it, and start using it all without ever leaving the app.
• Run-time Patching and Updates - This tool supports run-time patching and updates of all content and most core libraries in the tool itself. In other words, when new content, GDT features, and GDT bug fixes are released you can simple click a button, wait a few seconds, and enjoy the new goodness.

Planned Features

• Expert Mode - This mode is being designed for a ‘high-speed low-drag’ development approach.  
• Content Authoring - Want to make and distribute your own GDT-compatiable assets, templates etc.?  This feature is for you.  Certified content authors will be able to create their own content, sign it with the tool and the distribute it ad hoc.
• Ad Hoc Side-Loading - At the same time I enable authoring I will also enable 
• Reskins - These are templates on steroids and will be everything you would expect from a feature with the name ‘Reskin’.
• Full Game Editor(s) - This is my final goal for the tool.  I know many of you have looked at tools like ‘Build Box’, ‘Construct 2’, and others said, “Hey!  Why doesn’t Corona have that.”  Well, when I have achieved this goal you can have it.

Got Questions? Requests?

Please feel free to post any thoughts or questions you may have below.  I am very interested in your feedback and ideas.

Now… back to work (for me).