Stencyl Engine
Nguyet Edmondson
Game engines have never been more accessible than they are today. Long gone are the days when you needed to know a programming language to make even a simple game. Both GDevelop and Stencyl aim to make game creation easier. So, let's pit GDevelop Vs. Stencyl to see which one you should chooose.
Before we get to which one you should choose, we should talk about what each one of them are. GDevelop is a free, no-code and open source 2D and 3D game engine. It has been used in schools and universities, as well as in commercially-successful video games, marketing agency projects, museum exhibits and more.
Stencyl is also partly open source. The engine itself is open source and can be found on GitHub, but the tool itself is proprietary software. The last stable release for Stencyl was in November 14, 2020.
Both GDevelop and Stencyl are very easy to use. They both provide a no-code approach to creating videogames. However, because Stencyl uses a code-block approach that may be similar to Scratch (a very popular tool), some young users may find the transition from Scratch to Stencyl to be smoother.
Finally, in order to use Stencyl, you need to download and install software on your computer. GDevelop also allows you to do this, but it has a web app as well, which you can use directly on your browser. Also, GDevelop has apps for Android and iOS, to keep making games on the go.
Any game you make with GDevelop can be published commercially on any supported platform without having to pay anything to GDevelop. Stencyl's free option lets you publish a game on the web, but it does not allow you to sell it.
Another key difference is that with GDevelop, even users of the free tier can publish and sell Android, Linux, Mac, Windows and web games. Stencyl users will need to pay $99/year to publish native desktop games, and $199/year to publish to iOS and Android as well as desktop and the web.
Both engines give you leaderboards and other basic functionality for the subscriptions you pay. However, some key differences are that GDevelop offers could-save, mobile apps to keep developing your game on Android and iOS devices, player feedback forms, and more.
On the other hand, if you wish to sell your games and publish to mobile platforms with a free account, or if you'd like deep user analytics, unlimited leaderboards, project cloud-save, cross-device sync, and mobile apps for development, then GDevelop is for you.
Stencyl is a game engine that appeals to beginners and non-technical users who want to create simple games without needing advanced programming skills. The drag and drop coding system, built-in photo editor, and numerous pre-built game behaviors make game development feel like a fun game itself. By using Stencyl, users can save time and money by creating games without hiring programmers.
One key use case for Stencyl is creating game prototypes or quick ideas for clients. It allows users to play around with different concepts and create sample games to show potential clients. Another use case is using Stencyl as a learning tool for game development as it helps users learn basic concepts and create game projects without prior experience. Additionally, it has been used to improve cognitive abilities in the elderly. However, one potential business problem with Stencyl is its outdated software which makes the user interface difficult to navigate and unfriendly for newcomers.
User-friendly Interface: The software's user-friendly interface has been praised by many reviewers, making it easy for beginners to create games without any coding experience. Many users have noted that the drag-and-drop system allows them to quickly and efficiently produce games.
Pre-built Objects and Game Logic: Reviewers have pointed out that Stencyl offers pre-built objects and game logic that can be reused and remixed, which is helpful for beginners who are just starting with game development. This feature has been especially useful for children learning programming skills.
Affordable and Versatile: The program's affordability and versatility have also received positive feedback from reviewers. Users appreciate how accessible the software is to beginners, allowing people with little to no experience in game development or programming to create apps easily. Additionally, its compatibility with different platforms such as iOS and Android makes it a convenient option for developers looking to build games across multiple devices.
Limited Functionality: Some users have expressed disappointment with the limited functionality of Stencyl's free version, which only allows for exporting to the web and is not suitable for more advanced projects. They feel that this can be a hindrance when it comes to creating complex games.
Unaffordable Pricing: Several reviewers have mentioned that the pricing of the Indie and Studio versions is unaffordable for overseas game companies. This has been a cause of concern among some users who feel that they are being excluded from using the software due to its high price point.
Lacks Robustness: Many users have reported that Stencyl lacks robustness as it does not support third-dimensional games and can give low memory errors and cause lagging when too many assets are included. This has caused frustration among some customers who find these limitations unacceptable in today's competitive market.
I'm having issues trying to get the transparency to animate. I'm currently using the game engine 'stencyl', and unfortunately there doesn't seem to be much support for spine in Stencyl any more (developer of the extension has quit since Spine 3.8 ).
I'm hoping that its a settings thing for me since this is a pretty big deal to try and sort out. I don't want to use 'png sequence' since the file size is enormous, so if anyone has any input with this, that would be amazing!
I've also noticed another thing as well (not sure if it related or not), but the images seem to have black alpha around them when in the game. I have set the "premultiply alpha" as well, so I don't think it's that, and the images are NOT compressed (well, for the ones I'm testing anyway).
Hello! I couldn't help but notice you have Premultiply Alpha active in your export settings. Make sure to also enable it at runtime! or to disable it if you're not interested in optimization :> that will make the dark color go away!
Hey Erikari! Thanks for the help. It looks as if turning off 'Premultiply alpha' got rid of the black sections, but it seems to be still having issues with the 'transparency'. The game runs every animation normally except for the transparency xD.
Does Stencyl also ignore if you set the RGB part of the color instead of its alpha value, e.g. set it to red 255, 0, 0, 255?
If the RGB color part works, then there is a bug in the Stencyl implementation.
If it does not work, then it is either not implemented, or you are missing some setup parameter that enables transfer of these vertex attributes. Are you perhaps provided with any settings like Enable Vertex Color or similar?
Oh, that definitely sounds like a bug then.
Unfortunately, in the respective Spine stencyl code I see no obvious error, the alpha component seems to be correctly respected:
You could try if setting the whole skeleton's alpha value to e.g. 0.5 and test whether this is working - if you find a way to set the skeleton's color in Stencyl.
@Dark Cloud, please do not create multiple of the same posts. I have deleted your other posts. We will see your post no matter where it is on the forum. If you want more visibility, create your own, new thread rather than posting on someone else's topic.
Thanks for the quick reply and sorry for the over post.
There are several layers and the intention is to create a shadow effect in the amination. But in WebPlayer the transparency goes through the whole body and changes from dark to light appearance.
Are you using additive blending or tint black on the neck shadow? Additive blending over a transparent background will always give you transparent (described here). If you are rendering additive over other images, like the neck shadow, then you should get additive blending. I'm not sure why you'd get transparent instead. Maybe Mario has some ideas, he'll be here tomorrow.
Stencyl can very easily be downloaded free of charge from the official Stencyl website, www.stencyl.com. When you visit the landing page, you will see something that resembles the following screenshot:
Simply select the appropriate build for your operating system, and click on Download. This could take anywhere from 20 seconds to 20 minutes depending on the speed of your Internet connection and the size of the particular Stencyl build you are downloading. Once the file is downloaded, launch the installer (if you are installing for Windows), follow all of the prompts, and when the installation is completed, you will have the option to launch Stencyl. If you have downloaded the Mac version, you will have to extract the stencyl-full folder from the downloaded ZIP file, then put it in the Applications directory for it to become useable. Once you have completed the appropriate steps, launch Stencyl.
For Linux users, the installation process may be a little more complicated. It is beyond the scope of this book to delve into such particulars. However, there is an excellent guide to the Ubuntu installation on the Stencyl website itself, which is available at -stencyl-linux.
Comments:Stencyl has been one of the best game engines I've used, I love the fact that there's a built-in photo editor, the editor was very useful for creating and editing game sprites on the fly.The drag and drop coding system and numerous pre-built game behaviors, make the game development experience feel like a fun game itself.Additionally, the preview and debugger are super useful to perfecting your Video Game.Stencyl is just one of the best out there, soon I would return to using it. Thank you so very much Stency.
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