Will it be worth the energy and time in this new project?

Solar2D General Questions/Discussion
#1

I don’t want to be pessimistic, but I have a bad feeling. I have always supported Corona and I will if it is worth the time and energy. Like many I had many digital plans in which the app dev and possibly games are the perfect complement to bring them to live. The world is changing and the programming is too. I have seen how the Stack umbrella appeared in appodeal among other things that have nothing to do with Corona, which is now Solar2d. I have not been very aware of all the information. The coronavirus pandemic has affected us all in a physical, monetary and emotional way. As an indie developer I manage everything in my small organization, I am the marketing, graphic designer and programmer, among others. I decided to use “Solar2D” because there is no SDK that allows you to do everything at “speed of light”. My business is starting so I can not donate 100 a month but I can do it annually. I need your opinion to decide how I will continue with my projects.

Recommendation: Should emphasize future SDK updates on apps because studies predict that apps will lead the market for the next decade. The games too but the standard of the games has risen from a category where a 3d vision is much more striking.

Thanks in advance
DoDi

Thanks

#2

The concern is justified. With Rob leaving, many of us will likely be asking ourselves, “Can Vlad alone keep this ship from sinking?”. In the coming days many people might start posts just like yours. If you really think about it, there are only two ways to this:

(1) Abandon ship. If you want absolute certainty and a risk-free business, this is the only option. Move to a platform which has robust funding as well as a comprehensive tool suite for 2D game development (like Unity). The learning curve will be steeper though and more effort will be required for every project you undertake as compared to Solar2D; But once you put in the time to master the platform, you’ll be set.

OR

(2) Stop worrying and learn to love the (metaphorical) bomb. Come to acceptance that the future of Solar2D is precarious. Give Vlad a chance; Back him up on GitHub or Patreon. Have faith in the community to lend a helping hand. Don’t waste time brooding. Build your games quickly with Solar2D. Make hay while the Sun shines. And most importantly, have enough faith in yourself to know that if all of this goes south, you will find another way to keep your business going. This is the path I’m taking.

P.S: And please… enough of the “Solar2D doesn’t have 3D” argument. Candy Crush Saga is still raking in over a billion dollars a year while trading blows with all those jaw-dropping 3D games. Objectively figure out whether your idea is better executed in 2D or 3D. And if the answer is “2D is sufficient”, then know that Solar2D has more than enough juice to make your game great; You’re only limited by your imagination and execution.

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#3

If you are a software/game developer, then it is up to you to find the motivation to keep going. Being a developer is hard work and no one else’s opinions will give you the strength to keep going.

Also, as a part-time university lecturer, one of my pet peeves is when people say things like “studies show” or “studies predict” without providing access to said studies. :smiley:

Finally, Corona’s tagline for the past several years had been “The 2D game engine” and all signs point towards Solar2D pursuing the same path. I also agree with @Prathap_Murthy about the topic of 2D vs 3D, but I want to point out that there are no risk free options anywhere. Top grossing mobile games are more commonly 2D. Indie games on desktop are also more commonly 2D.

So whether or not you wish to keep developing 2D games is up to you, but if you do, then Solar2D will be there for you.

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#4

Thanks to everyone. Very inspiring words. I will stay here supporting and working on my projects until this crossroads lasts. Long live Solar2D!!!

#5

I read Vlad’s email last night and I am still in shock. I have developed a game that is almost 90% done and it freaks me out to hear about even the slightest possibility of losing Solar/Corona2D in the future. Corona SDK has been such a magnificent tool for me that I really don’t want to give it up. It would be a nightmare for me if I have to go back to Unity or other platforms. That being said, I would rather to stay positive and support Vlad and Solar2D. I tried to support him via Github but apparently he has reached a limit and the site doesn’t accept new payments which is good news. Instead, I tried the other site (Patreon) and committed to a tiny amount that I can afford. Keep it up Vlad!

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#6

Hey guys. GitHub’s message

Shchvova has reached the GitHub Sponsors Matching Fund limit.

Is super confusing. It is not an error, it just says that GitHub won’t double your donations anymore. I am not sure what is wrong with their UI designers, not to communicate that this is not an error or a warning in any way.
It seems like I hit my first milestone, threshold above which I will work full time. Don’t worry about your games, I will try my best to keep everything working.

UPD: I wrote to GitHub support that message is scary, with link to your post. You are far from only one who misread it as an error.

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#7

Hi Vlad, thanks for your support, really appreciate it. If you wanna know, the actual message is: " Shchvova has reached the [GitHub Sponsors Matching Fund limit]" and the green button that says “Sponsor Shchvova” is pale green and inactive so I couldn’t support the project on Github.

#8

Personally I think that a better option may be to merge the Corona/Solar2D source into Gideros (where possible). See my post on another thread here: May 1st Deadline - Where are we?

#9

I thought Rob was staying on? Did something change?

#10

Info here…
so-long-and-thanks-for-all-the-fishies-a-personal-note-from-rob

#11

I have full faith in Vlad to keep Solar2D going. Keep in mind, most of what I did was chasing spammers away in the forums, responding to peoples questions (and the community has been doing a great job of doing that lately), managing support, billing, and other marketplace duties. I also have been the primary communicator, writing blog posts, sharing them etc. I have very little in the way of Engineering duties (I work on the sample apps from time to time and help test new builds when there are big features).

So my departure, really doesn’t impact Vlad’s ability to keep Solar2D rocking. He may want to make someone a forum admin to deal with the spammers and maybe help clean up the categories a bit.

Solar2D will remain a great tool for a long time as long as you Sponsor Vlad.

Rob

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#12

I never said I was staying on. I may have thrown a few “we”'s in messages, but that’s “we” as in the project, not “we” as Vlad and I. When asked I’ve always said that I was still thinking about it.

There was a lot of thought that went into my decision. I won’t share that thought process because it involves some very personal details that I don’t want to make public.

#13

I love Vlad, Rob (sorry to see go) and Solar2D.

I plan on using Solar2D until, for any reason, I can’t.

Just to make myself feel better about the decision to stay with Solar2D as long as possible, I hired a Unity programmer (for $100) with knowledge of Corona SDK to convert about 50 lines of code from Corona/Solar2D into Unity, that I can use as an example, in the event I must one day have no choice in the matter, and be forced into migrating to Unity. If you are a loyal Corona/Solar2D user, read on…

Amazingly, the developer is taking hours to get this done; whereas it took less than an hour to write it in Solar2D. The point of this post is to assure everyone that the ‘lightning speed’ of development in Solar2D will more than pay for itself now, even if later Vlad is unable to make a go of it. With that said, I have a lot of faith in Vlad. He takes pride in Corona/Solar2D and it’s now, more than ever, his baby. And therefore, he is highly motivated to make it more successful than ever, and we should ALL, support him.

There are so many of us here that are grateful to you, Vlad. Thank you for keeping Corona/Solar2D alive!

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#14

By the way, as a graphics designer, I’m impressed with the Solar2D logo …

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