Wrong: ShowToolPro ist part of TGE 1.5.2

You can still buy it for $ 34.95 from their shop...
So it depends on the version you bought.

I bought TGE 1.4.2 around December 2004 and the ShowTool Pro 3 years later.

Yes, this is true. You will get ShowToolPro with TGE 1.5.x. (but not with TGE 1.4.x). The same with Torque Lighting Kit (TLK).

Indy game develpment is all about usability and a stable engine. And its a matter of fact that gamestudio is loosing lots of ground at the first point.
Not having a wysiwyg editor, realtime shadows and proper file management/exporters todays is a big big big minus point for any engine.
Throughout the last 1 to 2 years all other engines developed and closed their weakpoints more and more, GS on the other hand didnt. And as much as i like the engine if they dont get the grip in the next 6-9 months it will be dead meat.

Everytime i talk with other developers i hear "yes, if you want to prototype somtheing pick gamestudio. Once you see it works pick the engine you want to create this concept with".
and prototyping engines will die sooner or later, since other engines are closing this gap as well too.

I dont know if gs is selling lately any good. But it doubt it. Since i am here i havent seen one single smart marketing move from their side. this website still looks like crap, new features are in now way presented or transported to the users and possible new customers and and and.
Hell the reason i get to know about the new A7 was reading a small post in this forum!!!!!! nowhere nothing else!
you couldnt even sell drugs, sex or eternal life the way conitec doest this engine.


maybe 7 editions of a software are enough?!

cheers

Well, in fact A8 would need a remake total fo some fundations :
Like a totally new World editor with totally new graphics ,lot faster, cutomizable interface , and all tools integradted like terrain editor etc ...

For example all MED functionnalities should be integrated in WED directly.
And panels for managing physics like in Gamecore or Unity should be here in 2009 ?
Well A8 would need an improvment on workflow an world editor !

You could read such postings years ago, too.
Lots of users wanted to switch to torque, they talked about stencil shadows, cool editors, etc.

There was a big hype when gamecreators announced FPSCreator. Lots of videos about editing levels, multiplayer, etc.

Maybe we see A10 in some years, but the competitors will always be different.
You should know this - Conitec is not the leding edge and never will be.

Some artists create great artwork with free tools, while others use a cracked Max/Maya, etc. and create trash.

The artists, developers and teams create great games.
Finding work-arounds for problems is part of the job. You think unity is a great engine without problems? Maybe there are different problems to solve, but there is nothing like a problem free zone in game development.

Once you have your tool pipeline ready, workflows are established, responsibilities are clear, all members of the team have the same vision...
... you should be able to create great games with all engines mentioned in this thread.

Well, even if you use Max, Maya or Lightwave for model creation, you will have to find work-arounds for issues with exported models in the given game engine of choice.

You will see these kinds of threads in other game communities as well, it is not a 3dgs only thing.

Sorry for this long text but I could not stop...
-- slacer

well i've worked a bit with torque, but at least, i've found it realy hard to be used, specially if you like to play with the code.
if you just wish a wyswyg editor use click'n play :P

i've purchased BlitzMax, but i think that, actually A7 give me enough for what i need,i know c# so, i've to admit that i'm in trouble with some part of the coding, but thnx god this comunity is populated by good guy, so, eaven the new torque intrigue me, i' think i'll give my trust to Conitec for more times

and sorry for my english ^^

I own all Torque engines except Torque3D, but quit using them some time back. It was bad enough that there were always 'Early Adapter' versions coming out that were never really finished before they moved on to the next great thing (how many variations of engines do they have now?), but when they trashed the EULA a couple years ago I had enough. Almost anything you want to do costs extra now, and the EULA is so ambiguous their standard line is "get in touch with us and we'll let you know how much extra it's going to cost you to publish your product". I bought commercial licenses so I wouldn't have to worry about that, then they completely changed it.

After they were bought out things changed so much the original founders eventually jumped ship and started a new company called Pushbutton Labs because things got so screwed up. The new people even decided to create a whole new community area and forums for GarageGames, and screwed that up too.

They're making the same promises for T3D they did about all the other engines, and T3D is basically a partial rewrite of TGEA with a few nifty new tools. And they're charging $1,000US for it. Forget the lower end version, it's virtually useless.

I switched to GS a couple years ago (give or take) solely because I wanted a system with a EULA that was simple and straightforward, and that I could work with. It's not just about what the engine can do, it's also about what you can do with the product you make with it when you finish it...

this video is a proof that ins't about engine but about talent and know how

Exactly...