I have recently finished converting Gatete Engine 8 into something that's GameMaker Studio compatible, albeit with a few minor bugs, glitches, and having to remove some objects that change parents (i.e. Wigglers). But even though I made the conversion, I still can't help but wonder if I should have stuck to GM:8. Not that Studio doesn't come with it's perks, however. Take shaders for example. They give a 2-dimensional game, much like something in the style of Super Mario Bros. All-Stars, much more [i]depth[/i] to them. And Studio has a function called draw_self(), which, for me, makes Draw Events easier to code instead of using something like draw_sprite(sprite_index,image_index,x,y). But GameMaker 8 has several now-obsolete functions, such as variable_local_exists, which automatically sets values for default objects in-game, that make coding a lot easier. And GameMaker 8's games are strictly Windows compatible, which is the only platform I plan to release it on. Ultimately, for me it comes down to the time it takes the game to load. GameMaker 8 has an annoying loading bar, that shows up even when the game is compiled as an .exe. But GM:S's compiler takes an exceptionally long time to render all those resources, to the point where I had to condense multiple sprites and tilesets into one image. In conclusion, fo a project like mine should I fully switch over to Studio or stay with 8?

Game Maker: Studio, hands down. It's way more efficient and shaders are a great addition. The obsolete functions are not needed anymore. variable_local_exists was only useful because creation codes were executed before create events, which was changed in GameMaker: Studio.

Some of the new GM Studio features are nice, but none of the features have been amazing enough to convince me to switch over. If I made a new game, I'd probably make it in Studio, though, at least if I can finally figure out how to get rid of the ugly green-and-gray code editor (changing to the GM8 skin doesn't fully fix this). Studio seems to be much more stable than it was when it was first released, which is nice. In the long term, I'm thinking of moving on to another game development tool, probably Unity.

Yeah. If you're a newcomer and just about to start GM, I recommend picking something else (Unity) altogether.

[quote="DJ Coco"]Yeah. If you're a newcomer and just about to start GM, I recommend picking something else (Unity) altogether.[/quote] I've been using GameMaker for a couple years now, and I don't plan to switch to another program anytime soon.

It's certainly recommended you at least try to learn some other language. Honestly, learning programming is just learning syntax. Once you know syntax, you can pick up pretty much any programming language, and I'd say the time it takes to learn a new language is more than worth it just for the huge increase in both power and speed compared to Game Maker.

[s]lol Why are you using game maker? It's bad use Unity!!!!!![/s] GameMaker: Studio is better but it also has more problems.

Game Maker Studio manages to solve some issues with sound processing and lag with Windows 8 and later, but they got rid of metaprogramming which was an important aspect of the language.

Early Studio Iterations were terrible and buggy and I am just not ready to forgive. I'll admit that GM8 is archaic, but through the use of some DLLs, I'm able to circumvent most of it's major flaws (like that lag spike you get when a gamepad can't be detected).

Game Maker 8, simply because it's 1000 times more stable than Game Maker Studio. *beating a dead horse*

Are you even able to purchase GM8 anymore? Afaik only Studio is available currently.

I don't think you can buy GM8 anymore

Started using studio recently. After using 8 for years, you realize how economic and user-friendly studio is. Physics is super easy to re-create, and the preset methods in studio make things -so- much more conventional. I still have a love for 8, but it's a bit convoluted for the year 2k15.

Yeah, for the year 2015, GM8 is [i]really[/i] not okay anymore. Even Studio already feels outdated, but Version 2.0 is scheduled for 2016 iirc which is entirely remade

I agree with DJ Coco. As a developer for Windows Phone the latest GM: S still compiles apps as .xap format(for Windows Phone 8.0) even though majority Windows Phone uses .appx format (8.1). To this date I have a lot of bad reviews from WP8.1 because there's lag and/or touch issues. And of course Windows 10 Mobile (Windows Phone 10) is coming out pretty soon and GM:S is not really ready for it.

I really hope to see major improvements in 2.0. A nicer IDE, and the inclusion of types and interfaces would already help a lot. Though I'm pretty sure that even if you have GMS Pro already, YoYo will charge a nice sum of money again if they remake a lot of stuff from scratch. They should also just drop 3D support already. It can't even remotely hold a candle to what Unity can do. They should focus on getting a really good 2D editor working and making the IDE convenient to use if they don't want Unity to catch up in the 2D department as well.

gms definitely

I say GM8 just because GMS messed with my documents directory and whatnot. Forcing me to restart my whole computer to a bare start. Needless to say, I'd rather not try it again.

I suggest that you use Game Maker: Unity Edition

[quote="TwistedSister"]I say GM8 just because GMS messed with my documents directory and whatnot. Forcing me to restart my whole computer to a bare start. Needless to say, I'd rather not try it again.[/quote] Sounds a bit odd. You might want to report this to YoYo Games.