I can relate. I've been using the Source SDK for the past year on a school project, and there have been some incredibly frustrating moments. There have been times where the project had to be put on hold because tools suddenly stopped working after an update. I had to come up with a slightly ridiculous workflow to make some of the older scripts and plugins jive with newer setups.
There have been good moments too, like when the load time for hammer was suddenly dropped by a huge margin. And the release of their assets and rigs from some of the "Meet The..." shorts. We are getting new tools and features, and we haven't been forgotten. It's just that the sdk isn't the *top* priority at the company. I think a lot of the angry news posts and articles forget that. Their business is really to make games, not user-friendly tools, and in the past couple years they have been really busy. Like a lot of things, it goes both ways. The source engine is pretty fun, and I love being able to do the things I can do on it. And man, it's been one heck of a learning experience. But for my next project, I'm considering switching platforms for the reason you mentioned: lots of time spent getting the tools working. It cuts into my ability to make progress sometimes, and that spare time is precious enough as it is. -Greg On Thu, Oct 28, 2010 at 3:14 PM, Tobias Kammersgaard < tobias.kammersga...@gmail.com> wrote: > Mike Durand introduced himself as a new employee at Valve, that's hired to > focus on the Source SDK, and updating it. > I quote "My full time job is to make sure that you have everything they > need > to build your games." > > Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2006 19:13:13 -0700 > From: "Mike Durand" <mdur...@valvesoftware.com> > To: <hlcoders@list.valvesoftware.com> > Subject: [hlcoders] Upcoming SDK Release > Reply-To: hlcoders@list.valvesoftware.com > > Given the recent traffic on the list, it seems like a good time to > introduce myself to everyone here, and talk about what I do at Valve. > > I started work here in June and have been given the task of working > directly with the MOD community. This means that my primary > responsibilities are to package and release the SDK, make it easier to > use, and work with MOD makers on problems that they can't solve with the > help of other members of the community. > > My full time job is to make sure that you have everything they need to > build your games. I'll be hanging out on this list, as well as the VDC, > but you can also feel free to contact me directly with any questions you > have at mdur...@valvesoftware.com. > > So now that the introduction is out of the way here's the part that you > really care about: an SDK update is coming out very soon. Right now we > are testing it in-house and getting ready for its beta release. It will > be available later this week unless we encounter serious problems during > testing. I'll let people know either way, whether it is going to be this > week or next. Once I get all of the details together, I'll send the info > on what is coming in this SDK release to this list. > > -Mike > > > That's four years ago. It pretty much went down hill since the Orange Box > code was released. I remember in 2003 when Gabe Newell promoted Steam in > several different interviews, saying how Steam would make publishing > updates > to the end user way easier for them, yes its easier for them, but over the > years its just getting harder and harder for us working with the Source > SDK. > > I see a lot of people ditching the Source Engine over the UDK, and I'm > starting to see why. I'm a big fan of Valve games, and I've defended the > Source SDK and the Source engine many times. > > I didn't really recognize too much in the articles that's popped up lately, > such as these, and honestly I was a little offended. > > http://www.halflife2.net/2010/08/16/sdk-soul-destroying-kit/ > > http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/valve-you-should-be-ashamed-of-yourselves/ > > Yeah we're getting the SDK for free, and the tools are great to work with. > Except for one little thing. Most of them don't work properly. I love how > they're still using command line apps, so e.g. I can call my compile > scripts > directly from context menus. > > What I really miss is not having to spend 10 minutes on making the SDK or > tools run before I can actually test whatever I've changed or made. > > I'm setting the bar low, and not expecting any response from anyone at > Valve, that way I won't be more disappointed. > > I guess I just needed to get it off my chest. > > > I hope to hear from other people on this list, that feels the same way, or > want to share their opinion on this matter. For those that find it annoying > to receive these kind of messages, feel free to mute the conversation. > > - ScarT > _______________________________________________ > To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, > please visit: > http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlcoders > > > _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please visit: http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlcoders
