iTorque2D and Platform Starter Kit - First Impressions...
by _Dan_ · in iTorque 2D · 01/29/2011 (2:19 am) · 43 replies
Hi all,
This is my first post, I signed up last night. :-) I bought iTorque2D last night along with the Platform Starter Kit, here's my noob view of the whole thing. I have written this in an unbiased way, please don't flame me as I genuinely feel there is value in sharing what I have seen so far. I really would like answers to my questions as well, if there are any. :-)
Firstly though, so you know a little about me, I'm a microsoft technologies solution consultant / lead developer (C#) by day with 12 months exposure to xCode and Objective C. I've been coding for over 20 years. Enough of that, here's what I think so far.... :-)
I knew of GarageGames from years back with the early versions of the Torque game engine. I was looking for something that would get me into game generation on the iPhone/iPad quickly, even though I have a good grasp of Objective C i really didn't want to be building up a library of gaming functions for another platform. I code for a living and the thought of doing all the grunt work for a hobby project as well kind of bores me, hence why I'm here.
My reasons for buying Torque over other engines I looked at? Well, I coded through a few iPhone game dev books, this was my initial idea - take a simple engine and expand it. Most of them appear to have little optimisation, which you would expect from example code, but also the ones I tried were buggy and too limited.
Then I looked at SI02, which looks amazing. I've exposure to 3D coding, no problem with any of that. I stumbled across SOi2 when I saw a book on Blender/SI02 and iPhone game dev. Looked perfect so I downloaded the engine, only to find that the licensing model has changed and it now costs a fortune. Also the engine calls home every time you compile so you have to be always connected to develop with it. Oh and if a new version is released you need to download that before you can do anything else, you essentially are coding against a moving feast because any new version would potentially break code you've already cut and tested. In the end SI02 was nothing more than a wasted month acquiring Blender skills from a book that was completely out of sync with the current version of the engine in question.
Then I stumbled across iTorque. Looks good. I remember Torque 3d was a complicated beast years ago but at $99 I'll give it a pop. I'll also get the Platform Starter Kit, that way I can knock up a Mario-esque platform for the missus and see how the scripting on game entities works as well. Essentially a paid tutorial with some reusable assets, can't go wrong here, I thought...
Ok so xCode 3.2.5 is installed along with the iPhone 4.2 SDK, all working and tested since Apple released 4.2
Install iTorque. Nice and easy.
Read
Read Code
Code
Looked at the example game in iTGB and then loaded it up into xCode. Missing Base SDK. No problem, double click the project and set Debug, Release and Shipping versions all to use Latest (4.2) - still no worky.
33 errors and hundreds of warnings....
A quick look on this forum tells me that the default project is using the wrong compiler settings, so double clicking the targets and setting their compiler to 'latest' fixes that. This is not a setting I've played with in the last year, I didn't even know it was there. I suggest that this is fixed in the download to stop other people having a Friday night full of developer toys out of pram ;-)
Ok, so now everything is up and running, the example runs on the phone and in the simulator, and of course within the iTGB environment. I've dragged some trees into the scene and had a play, looks good so far - we're on a roll :-)
Time to read the documentation, or skim it at least and work through a few tutorials. On to the iTorque documentation - I'm still looking for all the checkers art and the Project/Resources drop down menu from the Component Tutorials / Adding Assets / Importing Resources section. Are these part of iTorque2D?
Ok. So I gave up last night and went to bed. Don't get me wrong, I've not been put off yet! I was expecting a bumpy landing as this is a huge engine and will take a while to wrap my head around it. So, I will check out the forums in the morning. Hence this post.
Now for the questions...
HORROR! What's all this about buying an engine from GarageGames and the devs are no longer working there? Have I purchased something at end of life with no support? Is that why iTorque is $99 ?
What's all this I read about the Platform Starter Kit that I purchased not working with iTorque2D? I've emailed the guy who (I think) created it asking for a copy of the iPhone version but have yet to have a reply. If it's not compatible have I burned that money? Can I get the iPhone version, or a pointer in the right direction please? Is there a guide for installing this with iTorque as the readme says it's not compatible? Something the website should have mentioned before purchase I think, especially with the 'no refund' disclaimer at purchase! I'm sure this will be easily resolved, I can wait while I play with the core engine...
Do I have the right documentation? I purchased iTorque2D and the PSK and downloaded the iTorque documentation from the 'My Products' area - is there another version of the docs that refers to assets in the engine I purchased, or can I download the checkers images, the raincloud particle settings etc from somewhere on this site? Could someone post a link please?
Is the default project going to be updated to remove the compiler issues that new users experience when first loading up into xCode?
Are people working on removing all the unused variables and the 400+ compiler warnings? I've always considered compiler warnings == errors and with a code engine that I've paid money for I'd expect the code to have no warnings. Just my opinion.
Can anyone point me in the direction of a good iTorque2D resource with examples? Are there any on the web that you would recommend?
As I said, I was expecting a bumpy landing but I think so far I've made a good decision. Time will tell, in the meantime I'll go back and have another bash with it.
Nice forum by the way ;-)
D.
This is my first post, I signed up last night. :-) I bought iTorque2D last night along with the Platform Starter Kit, here's my noob view of the whole thing. I have written this in an unbiased way, please don't flame me as I genuinely feel there is value in sharing what I have seen so far. I really would like answers to my questions as well, if there are any. :-)
Firstly though, so you know a little about me, I'm a microsoft technologies solution consultant / lead developer (C#) by day with 12 months exposure to xCode and Objective C. I've been coding for over 20 years. Enough of that, here's what I think so far.... :-)
I knew of GarageGames from years back with the early versions of the Torque game engine. I was looking for something that would get me into game generation on the iPhone/iPad quickly, even though I have a good grasp of Objective C i really didn't want to be building up a library of gaming functions for another platform. I code for a living and the thought of doing all the grunt work for a hobby project as well kind of bores me, hence why I'm here.
My reasons for buying Torque over other engines I looked at? Well, I coded through a few iPhone game dev books, this was my initial idea - take a simple engine and expand it. Most of them appear to have little optimisation, which you would expect from example code, but also the ones I tried were buggy and too limited.
Then I looked at SI02, which looks amazing. I've exposure to 3D coding, no problem with any of that. I stumbled across SOi2 when I saw a book on Blender/SI02 and iPhone game dev. Looked perfect so I downloaded the engine, only to find that the licensing model has changed and it now costs a fortune. Also the engine calls home every time you compile so you have to be always connected to develop with it. Oh and if a new version is released you need to download that before you can do anything else, you essentially are coding against a moving feast because any new version would potentially break code you've already cut and tested. In the end SI02 was nothing more than a wasted month acquiring Blender skills from a book that was completely out of sync with the current version of the engine in question.
Then I stumbled across iTorque. Looks good. I remember Torque 3d was a complicated beast years ago but at $99 I'll give it a pop. I'll also get the Platform Starter Kit, that way I can knock up a Mario-esque platform for the missus and see how the scripting on game entities works as well. Essentially a paid tutorial with some reusable assets, can't go wrong here, I thought...
Ok so xCode 3.2.5 is installed along with the iPhone 4.2 SDK, all working and tested since Apple released 4.2
Install iTorque. Nice and easy.
Read
Read Code
Code
Looked at the example game in iTGB and then loaded it up into xCode. Missing Base SDK. No problem, double click the project and set Debug, Release and Shipping versions all to use Latest (4.2) - still no worky.
33 errors and hundreds of warnings....
A quick look on this forum tells me that the default project is using the wrong compiler settings, so double clicking the targets and setting their compiler to 'latest' fixes that. This is not a setting I've played with in the last year, I didn't even know it was there. I suggest that this is fixed in the download to stop other people having a Friday night full of developer toys out of pram ;-)
Ok, so now everything is up and running, the example runs on the phone and in the simulator, and of course within the iTGB environment. I've dragged some trees into the scene and had a play, looks good so far - we're on a roll :-)
Time to read the documentation, or skim it at least and work through a few tutorials. On to the iTorque documentation - I'm still looking for all the checkers art and the Project/Resources drop down menu from the Component Tutorials / Adding Assets / Importing Resources section. Are these part of iTorque2D?
Ok. So I gave up last night and went to bed. Don't get me wrong, I've not been put off yet! I was expecting a bumpy landing as this is a huge engine and will take a while to wrap my head around it. So, I will check out the forums in the morning. Hence this post.
Now for the questions...
HORROR! What's all this about buying an engine from GarageGames and the devs are no longer working there? Have I purchased something at end of life with no support? Is that why iTorque is $99 ?
What's all this I read about the Platform Starter Kit that I purchased not working with iTorque2D? I've emailed the guy who (I think) created it asking for a copy of the iPhone version but have yet to have a reply. If it's not compatible have I burned that money? Can I get the iPhone version, or a pointer in the right direction please? Is there a guide for installing this with iTorque as the readme says it's not compatible? Something the website should have mentioned before purchase I think, especially with the 'no refund' disclaimer at purchase! I'm sure this will be easily resolved, I can wait while I play with the core engine...
Do I have the right documentation? I purchased iTorque2D and the PSK and downloaded the iTorque documentation from the 'My Products' area - is there another version of the docs that refers to assets in the engine I purchased, or can I download the checkers images, the raincloud particle settings etc from somewhere on this site? Could someone post a link please?
Is the default project going to be updated to remove the compiler issues that new users experience when first loading up into xCode?
Are people working on removing all the unused variables and the 400+ compiler warnings? I've always considered compiler warnings == errors and with a code engine that I've paid money for I'd expect the code to have no warnings. Just my opinion.
Can anyone point me in the direction of a good iTorque2D resource with examples? Are there any on the web that you would recommend?
As I said, I was expecting a bumpy landing but I think so far I've made a good decision. Time will tell, in the meantime I'll go back and have another bash with it.
Nice forum by the way ;-)
D.
#22
02/03/2011 (10:06 am)
@Mich OK sorry I missed that post, as always you are ahead of me ;) Well oK I read it but I guess somehow it went right by me. I am not the sharpest pencil these days, too much going on.
#23
@Michael If you are in charge of the documentation, you should be terminated for gross negligence. There is hardly anything in your documentation that lines up with iT2D 1.7.4 or the tutorials within. I think you guys had the right idea the first time: shut it down. Which is more than likely Torque's destiny.
Your product does not work as advertised and your documentation and tutorials have been cobbled together from legacy products. Upon purchase, buyers are notified of your lack of refund policy. You can keep my money, it was a lesson learned for a mere $100. The you insist I put your logo on my game? Only if I can put "Sucks" underneath it.
In short, your product is half baked at best (and your physics suck it!), your documentation is laughable, your tutorials are a complete failure, and your support is non existent. Clearly your quality assurance person is asleep at the wheel and your technical editor is blind or functionally illiterate.
Luckily for me, I bought a copy of Unity which can do 2D and 3D, works as advertised, the documentation is solid and the tutorials actually teach you how to use the product, not just send you on a wild goos chase looking for a solution to your feeble attempt at documentation.
Michael, I read in another post that you were "THE" documentation guy. You should be ashamed of yourself for such shoddy work.
Good luck and goodbye!
02/07/2011 (7:02 pm)
As a new owner of iTorque 2D, I would like to echo Dan's experience. I was shocked to read his post as it was almost like someone was watching over my shoulder then posted me experience. I find it interseting that no one, not even Michael Perry, provides any support! The discussion just quickly devolves into this version versus that version etcetera. Just answer the questions and address the issues in the post.@Michael If you are in charge of the documentation, you should be terminated for gross negligence. There is hardly anything in your documentation that lines up with iT2D 1.7.4 or the tutorials within. I think you guys had the right idea the first time: shut it down. Which is more than likely Torque's destiny.
Your product does not work as advertised and your documentation and tutorials have been cobbled together from legacy products. Upon purchase, buyers are notified of your lack of refund policy. You can keep my money, it was a lesson learned for a mere $100. The you insist I put your logo on my game? Only if I can put "Sucks" underneath it.
In short, your product is half baked at best (and your physics suck it!), your documentation is laughable, your tutorials are a complete failure, and your support is non existent. Clearly your quality assurance person is asleep at the wheel and your technical editor is blind or functionally illiterate.
Luckily for me, I bought a copy of Unity which can do 2D and 3D, works as advertised, the documentation is solid and the tutorials actually teach you how to use the product, not just send you on a wild goos chase looking for a solution to your feeble attempt at documentation.
Michael, I read in another post that you were "THE" documentation guy. You should be ashamed of yourself for such shoddy work.
Good luck and goodbye!
#24
02/07/2011 (7:55 pm)
@Rob - I'm sorry this was such a bad experience for you. I really am. I wish we could have gotten 1.4.1 and the new docs out in time for you to experience them, instead of what you received. My hope is that if you return you will find the newer versions and improved docs to your liking. The door is always open to someone who created a GarageGames account. If you don't return, I hope you still enjoy iPhone development as much as I have.
#25
I did list them here with a rant but I've deleted it. Google is your friend if you find yourself in the position I was in. I'm now using a very powerful, free alternative.
Best wishes.
02/07/2011 (11:48 pm)
I actually agree with this, I never really got any help. The only thing Torque has done for me is pushed me to check out all the other options...I did list them here with a rant but I've deleted it. Google is your friend if you find yourself in the position I was in. I'm now using a very powerful, free alternative.
Best wishes.
#26
Allow me to take some of the bullets for Michael. Our being behind is partially an organizational issue -and that's my court. With the break-out into our new company, we are working through all of the aspects of setting up a new company while trying to keep an ongoing company running ( hiring, new building, restarting dev, strategy, benefits, payroll, accounting, royalties, etc. ). Michael for example, is the go to product manager for iTorque, but he also is running and implementing docs, doing project management work, and acting as a technical director for our our other projects. Bottom line, we are way under staffed.
Dexter our COO is bearing the weight of our new hires. He's an ex-executive producer for AAA companies, so we are in good hands. Dealing with hiring while keeping operations going is like construction on a busy road. If you do the construction, traffic will get worse. But it needs to happen in order to make things better. Right now, with all of the hats we are wearing, we are each spending around 10-20% of our day look for new people to get us to the quality level we aspire to.
The community is stepping up a lot to help us. We can't thank you guys enough. Even in this message there is some really great support and understanding. We are looking forward to increasing the quality bar.
02/08/2011 (9:11 am)
@Dan - Sorry to see you go. Allow me to take some of the bullets for Michael. Our being behind is partially an organizational issue -and that's my court. With the break-out into our new company, we are working through all of the aspects of setting up a new company while trying to keep an ongoing company running ( hiring, new building, restarting dev, strategy, benefits, payroll, accounting, royalties, etc. ). Michael for example, is the go to product manager for iTorque, but he also is running and implementing docs, doing project management work, and acting as a technical director for our our other projects. Bottom line, we are way under staffed.
Dexter our COO is bearing the weight of our new hires. He's an ex-executive producer for AAA companies, so we are in good hands. Dealing with hiring while keeping operations going is like construction on a busy road. If you do the construction, traffic will get worse. But it needs to happen in order to make things better. Right now, with all of the hats we are wearing, we are each spending around 10-20% of our day look for new people to get us to the quality level we aspire to.
The community is stepping up a lot to help us. We can't thank you guys enough. Even in this message there is some really great support and understanding. We are looking forward to increasing the quality bar.
#27
Let's face it, even the 'shameless plug' post above was pointless, although reads well initially, as those games were written with older versions of the engine against different iOS sdks (which were quite possibly current at the time the games were released).
Apple release beta SDKs early enough that third party companies like this one have no excuse for selling a 'current' package that does not work against the current Apple SDK. There is enough lead time to ensure that your customers are buying something that is compatible, I would say that is a prerequisite in order for your product to be useful/useable, that's without even touching the bug issues. Your product is not compatible, and I think that should be stated on your website, however that would drive away sales. I would expect to see a version of your tool for each release of an iOS SDK, 4.3 beta is up now, are you working against that or still against 4.2? Your current release appears broken against 4.2, but you know that. If you are working against 4.2 for 1.4.1 then you are about to release another obsolete version aren't you? Or at least a version with a limited lifespan...
'Only compatible with obsolete iOS SDKs' <-- Won't bring you a revenue stream but is currently true.
I guess there's no point even asking for a refund, I imagine the 'no refund' policy is upheld in all cases.
Oh well.
02/08/2011 (9:34 am)
Of course, even with all this PR and community good will, I still ended up buying a broken product. Let's face it, even the 'shameless plug' post above was pointless, although reads well initially, as those games were written with older versions of the engine against different iOS sdks (which were quite possibly current at the time the games were released).
Apple release beta SDKs early enough that third party companies like this one have no excuse for selling a 'current' package that does not work against the current Apple SDK. There is enough lead time to ensure that your customers are buying something that is compatible, I would say that is a prerequisite in order for your product to be useful/useable, that's without even touching the bug issues. Your product is not compatible, and I think that should be stated on your website, however that would drive away sales. I would expect to see a version of your tool for each release of an iOS SDK, 4.3 beta is up now, are you working against that or still against 4.2? Your current release appears broken against 4.2, but you know that. If you are working against 4.2 for 1.4.1 then you are about to release another obsolete version aren't you? Or at least a version with a limited lifespan...
'Only compatible with obsolete iOS SDKs' <-- Won't bring you a revenue stream but is currently true.
I guess there's no point even asking for a refund, I imagine the 'no refund' policy is upheld in all cases.
Oh well.
#28
02/08/2011 (10:53 am)
We will be posting an unstable build in the next 48 hours to help mitigate some of the first hour bugs people are dealing with. 
#29
Also, one thing to think about - and this is one of the reasons why we've stayed with the engine - is that you have full access to the source code and can add anything which may not be supported out of the box. For example, Invaders World Tour lets you record your own in-game sounds using the microphone and the next version which will be out shortly will have TV and VGA OUT so you can play the game on your 60" plasma. I'm pretty sure there is no other engine that has that versatility?
I will agree that Torque is a steep learning curve and you pretty much have to search the forums for help, but once you are up and running it becomes plain sailing.
02/08/2011 (12:28 pm)
Dan, if you are referring to my post then both those games have been built against the current version of iTorque 1.4 and iOS4. Also, one thing to think about - and this is one of the reasons why we've stayed with the engine - is that you have full access to the source code and can add anything which may not be supported out of the box. For example, Invaders World Tour lets you record your own in-game sounds using the microphone and the next version which will be out shortly will have TV and VGA OUT so you can play the game on your 60" plasma. I'm pretty sure there is no other engine that has that versatility?
I will agree that Torque is a steep learning curve and you pretty much have to search the forums for help, but once you are up and running it becomes plain sailing.
#30
I bought iTorque2D last night and a headache to, on the first build in xcode, 400 warnings and one error, after many hour trying to fix a lot of errors.
It´s very bad only one sprite on the screen to build, and does not have any result, a crash on a blank build.
Try to build in xcode and nothing....
In iTorque2D can´t put the behaviors to work, already create the behaviors folder in the game root and nothing.
For many times i try to buy Torque Software, and now with this good price i finally did.
I will develop in Xcode again, until the new release version 1.4.1.
Hope can fix this problems, and others that i don´t now yet.
I think that iTorque2D is very good. So, pull up your socks and get ready to make the next release better.
02/08/2011 (3:17 pm)
Hello,I bought iTorque2D last night and a headache to, on the first build in xcode, 400 warnings and one error, after many hour trying to fix a lot of errors.
It´s very bad only one sprite on the screen to build, and does not have any result, a crash on a blank build.
Try to build in xcode and nothing....
In iTorque2D can´t put the behaviors to work, already create the behaviors folder in the game root and nothing.
For many times i try to buy Torque Software, and now with this good price i finally did.
I will develop in Xcode again, until the new release version 1.4.1.
Hope can fix this problems, and others that i don´t now yet.
I think that iTorque2D is very good. So, pull up your socks and get ready to make the next release better.
#31
On another note, as Dan stated, the Kart Kit is not compatible with iTorque, but your screenshot shows it running on an iPhone. Clever marketing trick that worked as Dan and I both bought it under the premise it would work in iTorque. It does not.
Look man, we all bought your product to increase productivity, reduce time to market as well as do rapid prototyping. This steaming pile you sold is does none of the the above. In fact it has wasted about 20 hours of my time. To whom should I send the invoice?
I really wanted to like iTorque, but it just simply not a fully baked product. I'll keep my eyes on the site and hopefully you guys will get it tuned up. Until then, I will proceed using a competing product.
02/08/2011 (5:32 pm)
@ Eric, Please tell me "unstable build" was a typo and you meant "stable build". I think everyone here would agree that you have already released an unstable build in 1.4 and every build leading up to it. You guys have a long history of unstable builds. How about a paradigm shift for your company. Release a stable build!On another note, as Dan stated, the Kart Kit is not compatible with iTorque, but your screenshot shows it running on an iPhone. Clever marketing trick that worked as Dan and I both bought it under the premise it would work in iTorque. It does not.
Look man, we all bought your product to increase productivity, reduce time to market as well as do rapid prototyping. This steaming pile you sold is does none of the the above. In fact it has wasted about 20 hours of my time. To whom should I send the invoice?
I really wanted to like iTorque, but it just simply not a fully baked product. I'll keep my eyes on the site and hopefully you guys will get it tuned up. Until then, I will proceed using a competing product.
#32
With all due respect, what on earth are you talking about? There are at least 5 games in the app store built with the Kart Kit:
-Zombie Karts
-Cascadia Kart
-KartToon Rally
-Kart Toons Racing
-Glacier Racer
It runs out of box in iTorque. There's no marketing trick here. I'm also always on the forum helping people get setup if they run into trouble.
02/08/2011 (6:36 pm)
@Rob:With all due respect, what on earth are you talking about? There are at least 5 games in the app store built with the Kart Kit:
-Zombie Karts
-Cascadia Kart
-KartToon Rally
-Kart Toons Racing
-Glacier Racer
It runs out of box in iTorque. There's no marketing trick here. I'm also always on the forum helping people get setup if they run into trouble.
#33
I appreciate your response.
First, understand I am frustrated with iT2D as I wasted about 20 hours going through the tutorials before I even opened KartKit. So my frustration level was fairly high. First, I already had iT2D opened and navigated to the KartKit directory to open the project and immediately got an error: Unable to open Project. Then I navigated to the folder and double clicked the project file. For me the graphics did not render properly. At that point I was done with the whole shebang.
That's what I was referring to.
02/08/2011 (8:40 pm)
@ Chris:I appreciate your response.
First, understand I am frustrated with iT2D as I wasted about 20 hours going through the tutorials before I even opened KartKit. So my frustration level was fairly high. First, I already had iT2D opened and navigated to the KartKit directory to open the project and immediately got an error: Unable to open Project. Then I navigated to the folder and double clicked the project file. For me the graphics did not render properly. At that point I was done with the whole shebang.
That's what I was referring to.
#34
02/08/2011 (9:16 pm)
@Rob it does not run out of the box, double click and go. If you read the docs you have to change some source files. Then it works like a dream.
#35
I admit the kart kit is a little more complicated than just a project template. But the bonus is you'll get an entire game virtually done for you once you jump through the initial hoop. :)
02/09/2011 (1:33 am)
That's a fair point Henry (I just named my newborn son that, btw!). There are a few source changes to get it to run on the iPhone. You can always email me and I will send pre-modified files... Just post a request on the kit forum.I admit the kart kit is a little more complicated than just a project template. But the bonus is you'll get an entire game virtually done for you once you jump through the initial hoop. :)
#36
(*Nudge*Nudge: Their excuses bucket is a deep one..it has to be close to empty by now! :P )
//edit: hear = soak up and take into account for future decisions
02/09/2011 (7:28 am)
I hope GG hears the complaints over the dispensing of excuses. (*Nudge*Nudge: Their excuses bucket is a deep one..it has to be close to empty by now! :P )
//edit: hear = soak up and take into account for future decisions
#37
02/09/2011 (7:34 am)
@eb - Umm, you can see Eric and I right here in the thread reading/replying. I also forwarded this thread to Erik and Justin to review. Anything else?
#38
- Steps to solve or thwart the issues, etc.
02/09/2011 (7:48 am)
I don't mean to spam and I know you're hell'a busy Mich, but what about an Emergency Control wiki for these guys ? I am certain they are not alone in this.- Steps to solve or thwart the issues, etc.
#39
The directive was clear: release 1.4.1 right, not fast.
02/09/2011 (8:14 am)
Might have been necessary if the solutions weren't all over the forums and if our awesome community was dead silent. They've done a great job posting answers on how either to fix or that it is a planned fix. So either take time making the Wiki or work on the engine. Some band-aids have been applied, like Edward Maurina's Missing Base SDK guide (which affected all iPhone projects, not just iT2D). Other bugs have fixes inside the reports. The rest are up to us to resolve, which is what I've been grinding on.The directive was clear: release 1.4.1 right, not fast.
#40
02/10/2011 (11:28 am)
@All - Regarding what Eric posted:Quote:We will be posting an unstable build in the next 48 hours to help mitigate some of the first hour bugs people are dealing with.QA is hammering on it right now, as well as some private testers from the community. If you wish to follow the status of this process you can subscribe to the 1/24/2011 Status Update or the iTorque 2D 1.4.1 and Beyond threads.
Associate Scott Burns
GG Alumni
I don't think that Release Candidate would be the appropriate term for it. For us, Release Candidates typically come after at least one full pass by QA.