OK, so let's assume that AGS is very usable in its current state. In that case, all other engines should just stop development. Everybody should use AGS. There's no point in the other engines, AGS is perfect!

Conversely: Wintermute is perfect. Everybody should just use Wintermute, all other engines are totally useless! Even though their features are pretty much the same! Only some minor differences in approach that others might like more than others! AGS has an Editor some people don't like, some people find its IDE heavy, others dislike using an engine that doesn't let you choose any resolution they like with Alpha Blending and Hardware Transforming & Lightning. Maybe the fact that the amount of items and rooms is limited makes them suspicious of the underlying architecture. And some people dislike doing something just because everybody else is doing it: other engines are a cool and equally viable alternative. And then there's those people who just happened to learn Wintermute when they were little kids and can now use it fluently and see no point in learning Yet Another Adventure Programming Environment. Why don't you use Wintermute? Seriously, why? It's perfect!

Then again, somebody in some thread said that Wintermute crashed on his computer the first time he tried it, I can understand how that might be off-putting. It has never crashed on me but it can definitely happen! And it might have some other features others dislike, especially for those who want to make games without any programming or whatever. I have no problems with that, I have some experience in programming languages.

Yes, Wintermute is perfect, so I have no reason to use AGS.

That is true. You also have to reason to apparently hate AGS :P

If that article you linked to the discussion about is really your only reason, that's just plain foolish. Vel isn't AGS' elected representative. He was just giving his own (albeit silly) opinion.

Have you seen the new IDE/Editor?
http://new.bigbluecup.com/temp/editor28.gif

Fair enough on this one!

The number of rooms is limited to 1000, which no-one has ever approached anywhere near, it is also only limited to that because of the room file naming convention, if you can call that "architecture". Not sure what you mean by "items" but I'm deeply suspicious of Window's architecture, but that doesn't stop me being using it.

Oooh! Must try!

Well, I've kinda switched to Mac and Linux. :)

Although, I select column 5, all others game engines are good except Game Maker.

I mainly play ags & lassie games.

Cheers

My first SLUDGE game had more than 1000 rooms (5,000 if you include auto-generated rooms). I like Sludge. :)

Hmmm...

A fight! ¬¬ how interesting and original indeed!

Let's see now. The thread is about popularity in which case I think that AGS wins over WME.

On the techs (which I was disucssing on other threads in different forums, with different people), it is again obvious that WME is more contemporary than AGS.

Now, there are some differences between people working in games. You get:

A. The game makers, "do it all on your own". Fair and square. They have a vision and can't fail that vision. It seems to me, that this vision, is striving for perfection, and the one creator I will mention is VinceXII. He is not an artist, he is not a musician, but his vision with his previous games was very exact! (and full of imagination, and initiative and blah blah). I mean, he is not an artist, but very good at flash, so with Linus he did most things in flash, etc, plus used live modeles to draw some things. ;) With music he got me, since he couldn't handdle it, but was very precise on what he wanted! (So vince goes to category 3).

For such people everything in the game seem to matter. Even the thread one creates to promote the game...

B. The game makers, "do it all on your own, even if it sucks"! Story and gameplay is everything, so who cares about graphics or music, or voice acting?

In such cases it seems that the balance towards the story and gameplay, tends to evaporate the need for better "presentation" (to a lack of a better word).

C. The project leaders, "let's have a team, shall we"? They have the vision, know that can't handdle everything on their own, and try to get other people to help in. Reasonable.

Here you get people who want, again, the full thing. Everything needs to be good.

D. The people who are working in projects that are not their. Like me for example. I have 0.1% to do with the stories I work with, or gameplay, or GUIs (although I always try to give feedback), and I'm 99.9% in audio. Fair enough, I want the best in audio, leaving behind everything else.

simmilarly, a graphic artist will care for the graphics more than the music. In all, artists want a better presentation of the game!


Depending on where you belong in the above groups, the tech limitation of an engine, will make you strive away from it in the end.

I know for a fact, that in all 3 games I'm working in AGS, I'm pushing further than the norm to accomplish things. Especially in two cases/games, the coder needs to code new "modules" (or whatever they are called), to accomodate my needs in audio. Now, if an engine was to support natively Fmod, I would jump right in, and never look back.

On the other hand, I'm 2 years now in AGS forums, and don't think I'll ever leave the forums and the community. Maybe I'll run out of time working on AGS games, but not the community.


In all, I don't mind at all, the engine used. :D And don't see much reason for anyone to do so. If AGS comes in handy, by all means go ahead. If torque (not free though :-/) is more usable, why not? If WME is needed for certain higher tech stuff, hell yeah!



small EDIT: But then again the above are 50% off topic, since the thread is about games you play, and I missed it for the moment... :p

I'll play any game that appeals to me, and don't even check on what engine was used...