Nooobs... Got The Code... Next Step, Go...

#1 Mike,

Look to your left and you will see the Torque Engine SDK box that appears when you become a Torque owner. Click on the link that says Documentation. Then look on the page where it says Engine Documentation, the click on the Overview link.

How can we make it more clear? When I design games I always blame myself if people don't understand what I was trying to do with an interface, so we take the blame that you didn't find this. But, this is so straight forward that I am simply at a loss as to what to do.

Any ideas?

Jeff Tunnell GG

#2 About the only thing I can think of, Jeff, is to include a version of the first paragraph you wrote in your reply as part of the email that gets sent to the licensee when they buy the license. Put it in a big, bold, happy font somewhere very visible in the email....

#3 Actually, we do. Here is the text:

Thank you for purchasing the GarageGames Torque Game Engine SDK (TGE). Your account has been upgrade to allow access to the online TGE resources which includes:

The SDK documentation page, which includes engine & tool documentation, "getting started" and other useful information:

http://www.garagegames.com/docs/torque.sdk/index.php

The SDK download page, where you can download the precompiled tools and example application:

http://www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=v12sdk&page=downloads

The Using CVS page, which contains instructions on installing CVS which is used to access the source code:

http://www.garagegames.com/docs/torque.sdk/gstarted/cvs.html

The private SDK forums where you can post questions and participate in TGE related discussions:

http://www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=forums&page=result.area&qa=10

Thank you for joining the Torque community,

The GarageGames Staff


Anyway, Tim and I are reworking the Torque SDK page today to attempt to clarify some of those things.

Jeff Tunnell GG

#4 Yup... You're Right Jeff... There It Is... Right In Front Of My Eyes...

Maybe that's how come it took me three days to find it :)

Anyway... anything that you could do to make it as simple as possible to find it I'm sure would go a long way towards helping the new members.

After being shell-shocked by the CVS download, cvs config, engine download, compiler config, and compilation of the code, I was walking around in a daze for a while...

... a bright, blinking neon sign would've sure helped a bit.

--Mike

#5 NP, Michael. Tim and I are working on it as we speak. We can't put neon signs on everything, but we are going to focus a little more on the overwhelming amount of info you need to digest in order to begin to harness the power of the Torque.

Jeff

#6 Actually, I thought the email was just fine, but the thing you have to over come is the weird subconscious "I don't need instructions" mentality (of which I am guilty). Then by the time people look at the source and realize that they might need help the useful information in the email is forgotten.

One option is to put that information in a txt file in the workspace titled Getting_Started (or makefile directory for other NOS) that way it is right there when they get overwhelmed.

Just a thought,

--Aaron

#7 Hehe - there you have it, hiding in plain sight.

Maybe you should administer a quiz before allowing access to the SDK !

It's been about a year since I got my license, so I have no idea what the email says, or if I even have it still :-)