What tools are you currently using to makes games with these days? - 2013

[WILL]

Speaking of Oxygene, is it possible to use the free command line compiler with Java game engines? I think you mentioned that you are currently using libgdx with Oxygene, but I don't know if you're using the IDE or the command line compiler.

Ah, sorry I didn't catch this last time. Been extremely busy developing.

Yeah Paul and I are learning so much working with Oxygene for Java (commercial product packaged with VS shell) and libGDX. We have found the combo to be very powerful and capable and I can see a great many projects of ours being ported over. Paul ported over Subject 33 from a Lazarus Program w/ SDL to Oxygene for Java w/ libGDX in a matter of a couple of weeks at most iirc.

As for the free command-line compiler, I believe it would be, however not overly desirable since using the full version allows you to do everything practically out of the box. ie. apk packaging and debugging direct to and right on the Android device it's self using CrossBox and various other features that make the whole point of using Oxygene amazingly easy to work with.

The only downside I find with it is Visual Studio.

My cons are:

• Windows only IDE. I'm a Mac user/developer. -10 points!
• laggy editor that will freeze up on you periodically even on a fairly high end Win8 laptop
• updates and support of the IDE is via Microsoft made installers (enough said there! )
• working with asset folders in the Solution Manager can be awkward; and
• I suppose you could also state that Oxygene has to integrate into it, but that would be consistent with any other solution unless RemObjects finally rolls their own.

On the flip-side, some of my pros are:

• debugging code in VS isn't that bad to be honest, there are even some cool features that I have yet to see in a more Pascal-centric IDE (ie. listing all your variables/values in a single tree view)
• other various features that Lazarus/Delphi users are used to have been integrated by RemObjects thankfully (code jumping between implementation and interface!)
• CrossBox allows you to compile and debug on your target device (hook up an Android phone/tablet via USB, install the drivers, configure your device for development and away you go!)
• CrossBox also allows you to do the same with a Mac under Nougat(aka Oxygene for Cocoa!)

So the transition from Lazarus to Oxygene has been pretty nice thanks to the help of Jim McKeeth and Paul's porting efforts. I'd like to see this tool used more as it has amazing commercial potential not seen in many of the other Pascal-based tools around. Overall the price for all 3 Oxygene compilers at ~$500 is pretty good considering what some would pay for Delphi. Plus you get a whole year of updates from the date you purchase it, unlike Delphi's complicated and disappointly under-performing version update scheme.

That said, if you are stuck on free only, then Lazarus is probably your best bet, but if you are really serious about making $$$ with your games Oxygene may be the great new way to go.

[Murmandamus]

That said, if you are stuck on free only, then Lazarus is probably your best bet, but if you are really serious about making $$$ with your games Oxygene may be the great new way to go.

I think I must take issue with this statement. The implication that "free only" Lazarus/FPC is somehow for those not "really serious about making $$$ with your games" is a bit ridiculous. I can tell you we're quite serious about making money with our games, and we're quite happy with our decision to stick with Lazarus/FPC development. We understood from the beginning that it will need some additional work, including porting/writing some APIs and tools to bolster the weak areas of the language and platform, but the cool thing is, we can do that; we have the source, Luke! Plus, anything we do that applies to the platform generally, we can contribute back to it, making the baseline that much better.

As a result, I think one has to be a bit careful before dismissing something out-of-hand. Maybe your preferred platform-of-choice is truly wonderful, but I don't think it is fair to dismiss another in order to support your own, and especially dismiss other people who choose a different route. It starts to smack of fanboi-ism -- the overly-fanatical kind -- and really doesn't help anyone.