52 replies to this topic

[TheSnidr]

Especially when it comes to the code editor, using anything but the GM built-in is pretty much out of the question. Unless you remember every function and all arguments that go to it, the autocomplete feature is... handy, to put it mildly. I do have some things that could be improved with it though, but that probably belongs in another topic.

I can't say I use the external editor system at all though, mostly because GM pretty much covers my needs.

[ClassyGoat]

My external MIDI editor is linked to Fruity Loops, although I usually just open up the file outside of Game Maker and then import it.

[FredFredrickson]

I have never used the external editors option, but it seems like it would be nice to keep around for sound editors specifically, since Game Maker has no built-in sound editor at all.

As far as graphics go, it's always been easy for me to just switch back and forth between Photoshop and Game Maker within Windows. And like TheSnidr, I've never understood why the code editor would need to be external... maybe because nobody has ever developed one that works as well as the built-in code editor.

[ugriffin]

I don't actually use any of those options, but I think it's great to have the option there.


Having said that, I wish there was a way to bring back the GM7 code editor for those who want it: I actually prefer it to the GM8 code editor, because the GM7 one gets out of your way while the GM8 one is trying to correct your actions at every step. Just the way I feel it is.


Although I use GM4Mac 99% of the time, this is a suggestion I'd really like to see implemented in GM 8.1

[LegacyCrono]

Windows Sound Recorder for quickly edit .wavs externally (I'm so lazy). Anything else is slow to open on my computer and therefore bothersome if you're editing multiple assets (open Photoshop, wait loading, edit, save, close, repeat... nah, that wouldn't work for me). The main reason for this is that GM doesn't have a sound editor and that playing sounds within GM is VERY SLOW (and it annoyingly loops for some reason). So I just click "Edit Sound" to open the Sound Recorder, I play the sound and close it. It's better than using the "play" button, seriously.

The image editor has some flaws, but it also has some great features that I like to use, so I prefer to use the built-in editor, but I have Photoshop running too, in case I need to do something more advanced.

Personally, I don't like the whole app-switching thing. I prefer to keep FL Studio and Photoshop running on background so I can quickly switch between them. As I keep all my assets in a project folder, I can easily open it and edit somewhere else (or just copy/paste it, if it's an image), then return to Game Maker and load it.

Edited by LegacyCrono, 24 January 2011 - 07:21 PM.

[gnysek]

There is no sound editor in GM, so it shouldn't be there, as it's always set for default as external... and there are problems in GM with supporting MP3, so it's also not good question - better to not use them at all in game without DLLs. Audacity is helpful there. Don't create something special for GM - it will be waste of time.

As for Image editor... it's good, but sometimes it's better to use Photoshop or Gimp for more advanced projects - some things you make faster in GM editor, some things are easier in Photoshop... both of them are complementary and I cannot imagine GM without image editor. It shouldn't have more options than now - now it's ideal for quick edition and some quick correction and final strokes on images. Even if I'm loading sprites directly from disk, sometimes I'm applying some fixes in GM for them first

Edited: [CUT]

Edited by Mike.Dailly, 24 January 2011 - 08:42 PM.

[Nocturne]

I only use the sound option... I have Goldwave and it´s great to be able to edit the sounds externally. If GM had an editor built in that did the basic things like change sample rate, pitch correction and cropping/cutting/pasting then I doubt that I would use an external editor though... But as the GM sound system is generally poor then I´ll stick with my Goldwave and dll´s...

[TheMagicNumber]

If you DON'T

The last time I tried to use these external editor,s they never really worked well. They are more annoying than the built-in editor.

I only tried an code editor, but I'm sure the other editors are better since you don't need to rerun your game to try it.

IDE plugins would be nice.

[@Alex@]

I've never used the external edittors for anything other than sound, and even that's rare. I don't really make my own sounds at all. Graphics wise I tend to have MS Paint / Paint.Net / GIMP running and copy+paste the results into Game Makers own sprite edittor.... Using another text edittor for coding is just out of the question, mistypes of functions (etc.) are hard enough to catch with the highlighting on.

[YellowAfterlife]

I have Audacity set for editing .wav and .mp3 sounds.
I would like to use Paint.net for editing sprites, but since Game Maker is waiting for program to terminate, this is not very efficient.
In-built code editor does it job fine, except moments (when editing event code), when auto-completition form gets out of focus and hides behind the editor window.

[Chronic]

I don't use any of the external editor options.

However, for graphics i sometimes use Paint Shop Pro if i need to, otherwise the built-in editor.

[Medusar]

I use all external sound editor options, simply because GM doesn't have a sound editor. Occasionally I don't use the built-in sound system at all though and use more powerful DLLs instead.

The built-in image editor is fine for making placeholder graphics and small edits to completed graphics. I usually use a different program for creating the actual images, but that program is not set as an external editor.

GM8's built-in code editor is great, with auto-completion and all (though it gets a little laggy when there is lots of code). I don't use an external editor for code at all.

[Artaex Media]

Using Adobe Soundbooth for the sound/music editing

But an external GML code editor would be nice

[Docopoper]

I use audacity for sound and the inbuilt code editor.

I use the inbuilt image editor mostly for viewing images and maybe cropping and "masking" - but I use Gimp for asset creation... or I just download assets.

I wish the code editor was more like Visual08 in that it showed you variables as well because it gets kind of annoying to remember them.

[Phantom107]

I'm using a lot of external programs for my development, but I'm not using the "external editor" function at all because it's very clunky. I work 100% with external files, that GM loads when I fire up the game. Much faster development.

[Chronic]

I'm unsure if people are understanding the poll correct. This is if you actually have the options configured to spawn an editor. Not if you use an editor along side GM.

[pqp239]

I never knew there was a feature for this until now.

After taking a look at it i might try using the external editor option for sound editing.

Edited by pqp239, 24 January 2011 - 08:09 PM.

[thatshelby]

I use the external editors for just sound/music, because I have to, and occasionally for graphics when GM8 sprite editor can't handle it. I don't use the external editor options.

Edited by Theophilus, 24 January 2011 - 08:10 PM.