Private Engine Forums Now Open to Public
by Deborah M. Fike · 06/12/2009 (11:37 am) · 80 comments
For many years, we've kept a closed lid on forums. Our engine-specific forums have been split in two: those that are accessible by everyone and those that can only be accessed by product owners. Starting today, most active private forums have been made public. Now you can access every single forum thread of all non-beta engines, including:
All of the above private forums have been merged with the public one, creating a one-stop shop for all your engine-specific questions.
You may notice that engines still in beta, like Torque 3D and iTGE, aren't on this list. That's because we want to incentive users to buy pre-orders when our builds still have some kinks that need to be ironed out. This process has worked absolute wonders on the development of Torque 3D, and we've been able to forge ahead on bug fixing almost twice as fast as before. In exchange for taking an early bet on us, pre-order users get exclusive information and a chance to impact our dev roadmap. However, once these products have a debugged release candidate, their forums will become completely public.
So why did we decide to go public? We originally wanted a place where people could share source if they owned an engine, but we didn't want that to be available to Internet pirates, and thus, private forums were born. However, this system hurts those developers who are legitimately evaluating the engine, driving away potential customers. So after some internal musing, we've decided to blow open the doors and fight Internet piracy in other ways.
We do ask all of our users to help us identify people who might be using hot copies of Torque on the site. We changed the forums so you can more easily identify an engine owner. Anyone with a Torque symbol or G Logo next to their name is okay to trust. Anyone who doesn't have either a Torque symbol or G logo is only a member of the site and does not own an engine. I've provided a handy pic for your reference:
If these users ask you for source code specific information, please be wary, as they may have stolen Torque from the black depths of the Internet. Feel free to report any suspected abuse to moderators@garagegames.com.
Have fun in the forums!
All of the above private forums have been merged with the public one, creating a one-stop shop for all your engine-specific questions.
You may notice that engines still in beta, like Torque 3D and iTGE, aren't on this list. That's because we want to incentive users to buy pre-orders when our builds still have some kinks that need to be ironed out. This process has worked absolute wonders on the development of Torque 3D, and we've been able to forge ahead on bug fixing almost twice as fast as before. In exchange for taking an early bet on us, pre-order users get exclusive information and a chance to impact our dev roadmap. However, once these products have a debugged release candidate, their forums will become completely public.
So why did we decide to go public? We originally wanted a place where people could share source if they owned an engine, but we didn't want that to be available to Internet pirates, and thus, private forums were born. However, this system hurts those developers who are legitimately evaluating the engine, driving away potential customers. So after some internal musing, we've decided to blow open the doors and fight Internet piracy in other ways.
We do ask all of our users to help us identify people who might be using hot copies of Torque on the site. We changed the forums so you can more easily identify an engine owner. Anyone with a Torque symbol or G Logo next to their name is okay to trust. Anyone who doesn't have either a Torque symbol or G logo is only a member of the site and does not own an engine. I've provided a handy pic for your reference:
If these users ask you for source code specific information, please be wary, as they may have stolen Torque from the black depths of the Internet. Feel free to report any suspected abuse to moderators@garagegames.com.
Have fun in the forums!
About the author
I write games for a living. <3 my job.
#62
I know that some people only buy certain engines and post in those forums, and sometimes the answer applies to something I'm working on on a different engine.
But, I hope it's not just a free-for-all, and I'm hoping that the engine forums are only those who obviously have something purchased under their belt.
06/14/2009 (9:16 pm)
I think it should be open to only people who have purchased AN engine, if it isn't already.I know that some people only buy certain engines and post in those forums, and sometimes the answer applies to something I'm working on on a different engine.
But, I hope it's not just a free-for-all, and I'm hoping that the engine forums are only those who obviously have something purchased under their belt.
#63
06/14/2009 (10:50 pm)
@Geoff: We'll get that fixed alongside the Torque 3D studio owners. 
#64
06/15/2009 (7:46 am)
The TGE forums are definitely not showing up in unread posts. Looks like whatever was causing that for the private TGE forums got carried over into the merge. 
#65
06/15/2009 (10:22 am)
Kudos to GG for this definitely good move in the right direction ;)
#66
06/15/2009 (11:47 am)
TGE should be showing up now in the unread forum threads section. Also, studio licenses should show up in your Torque Products Owned list (it may take a bit for it to update, though).
#67
06/15/2009 (12:16 pm)
Looks like its working. I'm seeing TGE in the unread posts now. 
#68
06/15/2009 (3:23 pm)
@Jacob: TGE in the Unread section appears to be working for me now -- thanks! 
#69
And here I thought it was just that your web server was having issues. Sometimes I have to log in to access what I want, sometimes I don't.
06/15/2009 (10:57 pm)
"If it makes you feel any better, we have been doing little experiments on the sly behind the community, opening up bits and pieces here and there that were closed before"And here I thought it was just that your web server was having issues. Sometimes I have to log in to access what I want, sometimes I don't.
#70
For example, the MMO Kit required users to have access to both TGEA and AFX - or it requires access to TGE and AFX (depending on the version) that was verified by requiring users to post in the private forums and by placing links to the software in those forums. If you couldn't post there you weren't a registered owner and couldn't get to the link.
Now all that software has become available to people - and the people who did it right by you, will now find themselves in the wrong if copies of stuff get out.
How did you fix this, or are you just giving them a pass?
06/16/2009 (6:17 am)
My question is - how did you deal with all the supporting companies who were using the private forums to restrict access to software for the products they made to support you?For example, the MMO Kit required users to have access to both TGEA and AFX - or it requires access to TGE and AFX (depending on the version) that was verified by requiring users to post in the private forums and by placing links to the software in those forums. If you couldn't post there you weren't a registered owner and couldn't get to the link.
Now all that software has become available to people - and the people who did it right by you, will now find themselves in the wrong if copies of stuff get out.
How did you fix this, or are you just giving them a pass?
#71
06/16/2009 (9:55 am)
We are handling 3rd party software private forums on a case by case basis, based on what the wishes of the 3rd party are. 
#72
Now I can have access to other engine forums, this way giving me a chance to look at the other engines and to make purchasing decisions.
I will note down this change in the my upcoming game developing guide book, in which torque plays a big role.
www.wickedsunny.com
06/17/2009 (4:55 am)
Great MoveNow I can have access to other engine forums, this way giving me a chance to look at the other engines and to make purchasing decisions.
I will note down this change in the my upcoming game developing guide book, in which torque plays a big role.
www.wickedsunny.com
#73
06/17/2009 (12:02 pm)
So where do we post Torque C++ source code now?
#74
I do hope that someone at least gave an argument during the decision process about the proportionate size of a possible disaster.
06/17/2009 (12:11 pm)
Overall I'd say this is probably a good move. Now people can get the answers to their questions when the hit pops up in another forum and it was always easy enough to spot someone trying to get help with a pirated copy even on the old site.I do hope that someone at least gave an argument during the decision process about the proportionate size of a possible disaster.
#76
06/17/2009 (1:33 pm)
@Scott - Dude, that's why you are the Director of Awesome
#77
06/17/2009 (2:06 pm)
@Eric: You can still post C++ source snippets in the forums. Direct quote from Matt Fairfax earlier in this thread:Quote:Given the size and complexity of the Torque source code it is highly unlikely that anyone piece together anything useful from the [code] snippets posted in the forums.
#78
I think its a great idea to open the private forums, but I always understood why there was a public and private one. If it were set up so that non-owner's could only read and not post, I would totally understand that, as well. I might have also suggested 30 days of temporary access to coincide when someone is using the demo version.
If I were an owner, (I should say, WHEN I am an owner) I would hate to be bombarded by all the newbie questions that I would ask. The public forum is probably a great shield that way. Us non-owner newbies can ask questions to decide if we want to make the commitment, without flooding all the private forums.
06/18/2009 (5:21 am)
Non-owner weighing in... (I'm an active duty soldier and just haven't had the time yet to actually work with an engine if I bought it.) I think its a great idea to open the private forums, but I always understood why there was a public and private one. If it were set up so that non-owner's could only read and not post, I would totally understand that, as well. I might have also suggested 30 days of temporary access to coincide when someone is using the demo version.
If I were an owner, (I should say, WHEN I am an owner) I would hate to be bombarded by all the newbie questions that I would ask. The public forum is probably a great shield that way. Us non-owner newbies can ask questions to decide if we want to make the commitment, without flooding all the private forums.
#79
Really nice move, happy to hear I can put my hands on all the cool 2D math code for TGB. :)
Something else:
http://www.garagegames.com/community/resources/view/14495/2#comment-128737
Didn't know where to post it, but thought you might be interested. There should be a place on the forums to report non-license owners who seem to work with source.
06/19/2009 (5:28 am)
Hey Deborah,Really nice move, happy to hear I can put my hands on all the cool 2D math code for TGB. :)
Something else:
http://www.garagegames.com/community/resources/view/14495/2#comment-128737
Didn't know where to post it, but thought you might be interested. There should be a place on the forums to report non-license owners who seem to work with source.
#80
06/19/2009 (7:19 am)
Send those inquiries to moderators@garagegames.com and we'll check them out. 
Torque Owner David Janssens
Nebulagame.com