Forums » Impact Engine » How well maintained is impact.js

Hello, I'm considering purchasing impact.js, however, I want to know how well maintained it is. I've bought a lot of promising game engines in the past, only for them to be left and eventually killed off. I don't want to spend another 60 quid for something to become useless.

Dominic (Creator of ImpactJS) continually releases new tools and attributes to the engine to help make debugging and game creation easier. He is also very active on these forums and is generous in helping you pinpoint the problem you are having in your game/code.

As this is the most professional and well made Javascript game engine out there, I don't see it going anywhere.

4 points to your question

- the creator, @dominic has made a game engine that will stand the test of time

- we've gone from version 1.0 to 1.18a within a year, with only one person behind engine development. I'd say that's darned good.

- the community is always contributing by writing useful plugins and discovering bugs

- even if the engine is killed off, it will still work. It's just a collection of JS files after all.

These are all very positive comments. Next questions.

- How well does the engine run on mobile devices? I tried one of the demos on my Desire HD and it ran alright.

- How do you guy distribute the games on mobile devices? Do you just wrap it in a native webview?

- Why doesn't dominic seek help to improve the engine by employing a couple of people?

ImpactJS on it's own on mobile works ok but does have some severe performance dips (2-10 fps) when the device is running background applications.

appMobi is a company that develops tools that let you create native iOS and Android apps using HTML, CSS and JS. I am the lead game developer at appMobi and have spent some time making videos and tutorials on how you would go about porting your impact game into appMobi. We are also in beta right now of software called Direct Canvas that speeds up canvas rendering 5X.

It's extremely easy (and free) and when you're finished you'd distribute your game as a native app in the iPhone appstore (We have a build system in the cloud so you don't need a Mac to get into the appstore) or Android Market. We also expose native functions of the phone like the camera and the accelerometer in a JS API.

You can download our XDK here for free and try it out : https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/onmkoldigcfmebcinpmineoadckalllb?hl=en-US

Hay TylerAppmobi, do you have samples of this in action? Do you have a native impactjs game, then an android version i can try out? It all sounds very interesting.

IMPACT rocks and Dominic is also awesome.

If he were to ‘employ’ people he’d have to pay them and then there’s so many doorways for so much to go wrong. If he’s running the show himself, it’ll likely never die as the community has and will always be here.

If you want to improve the engine at all (Like I did with the Weltmeister) he listens and has made my changes part of the engine. He’s rad.

The work that AppMobi (Tyler, above) has been putting in to make IMPACT a more mobile framework is phenomenal.

What can I say. The framework, the overlord (Dominic), and the community are all fantastic. I recommend IMPACT to anyone that understands Javascript and wants to start making games.

Agree with all comments about this being a great engine. I consider myself an average game developer (just a hobby) yet I was able to produce something with Impact which I felt was pretty good quality (Castle Capers). The level editor that it comes with is brilliant and it becomes so easy to build a new entity, refresh your level editor and it is immediately available for adding to your level. It was the first engine I have used where I was giving more thought to game/graphic/level design than actual programming simply because so much of what you need is already in place. The example source code is really easy to follow and right now I would say it really is the most complete javascript game engine out there. At $99 it is a steal!

@dotty

We have one game in the appstore called Code Crackin Carl that can be found here:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/code-crackin-carl/id439759843?mt=8

This doesn't use Direct Canvas, but I am working on a build that does, i've just been swamped lately.

For android we have one example, but I made the game as a 24hour long challenge so it may be a bad example. That can be found here: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.fubargame.fubar.two4hr

@tyler the review doesn't make it sound too good.

"I really, REALLY want to like this game... but it's SOOOOO jittery. Even on my 4th gen... with some performance optimizations, this could be one hell of an entertaining game! ".

The engine itself looks very impressive. I've looked at the video's and it looks simple. I'm a web developer by trade so writing with javascript will come second nature. Just still unsure.

the way I see it is this:

ImpactJS and the appMobi integration are at a relatively young stage compared to other game frameworks. This young stage comes with a low price point AND excellent tools. Now where's the downside to this?

If game developers start investing their time and money in it now, while improving the community, we'd be a lot better off in 6 months time.

@dotty

I believe that comment is directed towards the slowing down of the FPS when background apps are running. Direct Canvas fixes that performance issue. I'll post on these forums when Code Crackin Carl is updated with DC.

Good point. So what target audience are you guys aiming at? Seems as the engine is designed to run within a browser? You looking at causal gamers? Or has anyone released, or planning to release, anything aimed towards the larger gaming audience?

good question!

social games take a lot of effort to make (there's the game, and there's the social layer). Unless you're a focused team with 3-5 people, I think casual games on the web and mobile are more realistic.

@dotty go ahead and buy the engine already... act now! :D

Hey, thanks for all the praise :)

Let me just say that I'm committed to updating Impact, fixing bugs and adding new features. This wont change for the foreseeable future.

Mobile browsers still struggle with HTML5 games ( more info), but they're getting better each day. At the moment something like AppMobi's DirectCanvas or my own iOSImpact provide a good alternative to bring those game's onto the iPhone.

@tyler - what's the issue getting the game to work with Direct Canvas? is not a case of rebuild/deploy? I really think you guys should have some live AB tests for Direct Canvas - if it's so great shouldn't it be your priority to demonstrate it?

@indiepath

YUP! :D

We are in private beta right now and have slots open, so if you'd like to join the fun shoot me an email at tyler@appmobi.com and I'll get you started!

The only reason Code Crackin Carl isn't deployed with Direct Canvas yet is simply we are swamped here supporting DC and updating and improving all of the other services we offer. But I encourage you to try it out, the conversion of an impactJS game is relatively simple!

@tyler, been fiddling with AppMobi for a while - in fact it's you guys who got me here in the first place (by way of recommendation on your website). I did a quick build of an Impact project today - works like a dream. I'll pop you an email, if you can get me going with DC that would be fantastic.

Thought I'd post here rather than create a new thread. I'm a web dev by occupation and am serious about game development. Initially I was looking at creating native apps, but I want to get straight into action and have heard a lot of praise for ImportJS.

Been researching and viewing vids for hours now. My main goal is to create games that work great on mobiles natively. This is where appMobi comes in I believe.

Am i correct in assuming, everything that comes with the ImpactJS product, is also bundled in appMobi's GamePro Pack? Also, is the $99 fee for GamePro a one of payment or a yearly subscription?

Ideally I'd like to create my first simple game just to see if i can get my head around it. I do use javascript, but mostly for basic/intermediate level form validations. Gonna try out the free Image GameDev XDK now!!

Am i correct in assuming, everything that comes with the ImpactJS product, is also bundled in appMobi's GamePro Pack? Also, is the $99 fee for GamePro a one of payment or a yearly subscription?

I'd also like to know the answer to these :)

The GamePro Pack is a yearly subscription.

Currently you don't get access to the Impact download page (with the demo games and iOSImpact) when you get it from AppMobi; the GamePro Pack is bundled with a few demos of it's own though. We still want to work something out there.

This might have been answered already elsewhere but if I already bought imapctJS a long time ago and want to use direct canvas, do I have to buy app mobi's deal at full price?

http://impactjs.com/forums/everything-else/gamedev-pack-discount-now-inplace

Perfect, thanks Graphikos!