iTorque Update
by Brett Seyler · 08/28/2008 (9:02 pm) · 21 comments
Hey guys,
I hope most of you caught my blog a week ago announcing our pricing and licensing model for iTorque. I apologize for not being able to keep up with all the emails you guys have sent and hope you don't mind the generalist response. I'm assuming you guys value speed over the personal touch at this point =) Your patience over the past couple weeks has been appreciated. You may have followed our progress on our online forums. If you participated on either of any threads we listened and we really appreciate your feedback. I'll summarize the model we arrived at here quickly:
Note that in order to purchase iTGB, you must actually be an owner of TGB Pro. This was something I goofed on in my last blog. Sorry for any confusion there. There is just simply no way to use iTGB without access to the source code of TGB.
So after several weeks of development and contemplation on the best licensing approach for new product, we are pleased to announce that iTGB and iTGE Indie licenses are now available for pre-order. What does that mean? Both iTGB and iTGE have made great progress, but we're not quite satisfied that either is an Indie friendly first experience yet. That's our version 1.0 goal. Right now, we're nearing that stage, and we're targeting clear 1.0 delivery dates in the coming weeks. Indies who pre-order iTGB or iTGE will have a second title release waiver automatically added to their account (two titles total). Pre-orders can be made online right now through our online store.
Until we get to 1.0, you're welcome to follow our development progress on the iTGB and iTGE product pages (we'll be updating these weekly) or check out what Commercial developers are talking about in the iTorque forums. If you can't wait till Sept. 31st for iTGB 1.0 or October 15th for iTGE 1.0 or if you are a truly experienced developer who's comfortable working with a new codebase in flux, Commercial Licenses are available for both iTGB and iTGE now.
Thank you for all for your time and attention and we look forward to seeing your game on the iPhone!
Updated FAQ
Q. How do I get iTorque?
A. Right now iTorque is only available under Commercial license but can be purchased directly on our site. Indie licenses are available for pre-order now with license to an additional title at no extra cost, but no download will be available until the product is at 1.0. If you're part of a studio that wants to use iTorque with different licensing conditions, send us an email at licensing@garagegames.com.
Q. I'm making a TGE / TGB game now. Will it work with iTGE / iTGB on the iPhone?
A. Yes. Nearly all TGE's features will be supported, but as always, you'll need to watch your memory and consider the hardware. The input mapping is obviously different as well, so you'll need to consider that in your game design.
Q. I want to buy a license for an unlimited number of developers / titles. Do you offer any other choices?
A. Yes. Studio licenses will start at $15k for iTorque Studio and first title. An unlimited number of titles will be more. Contact licensing@garagegames.com for more details.
Q. I'm an Indie. Why can't I license iTorque at the Indie price now?
A. We're concerned that the product will be too difficult to work with for most amateur hobbyist developers at this stage, so only after we're satisfied that the documentation is solid and learning curve is not so steep will we roll this out under the Indie License.
Q. Will iTorque require a splash screen?
A. Yes.
Q. Will iTorque developers be able to share code resources on GG.com?
A. Yes. There are now iTorque private forums where you have our blessing to collaborate on projects. I honestly don't think Apple is going to care one way or another, but so long as you're not posting up their documentation whole hog or doing anything abusive, what you do is up to you. It's always fine of course to post Torque script and code resources in these forums.
Q. Will iTorque work with TGEA games? Will we ever see iTGEA?
A. Not at the moment. TGEA does offer some performance advantages, even at the fixed function level over TGE. The code is also cleaner and has been used by our studio more recently to produce games. The biggest advantage of TGEA over TGE, the advanced visual features like shaders and such, will not be portable to the iPhone though. The iPhone hardware won't support shaders. There may be reason in the future to deprecate these features in a port of TGEA to create an iTGEA though.
Q. Will iTorque work with Torque X / XNA games?
A. No. The iPhone uses an OpenGL ES graphics layer that's not at all compatible with Torque X or XNA.
Any other questions? Feel free to ask in the comments.
-Brett
P.S. I'll be up at PAX through Monday along with lots of other GG'ers. If any of you are there, please stop by our booth and say "hi."
I hope most of you caught my blog a week ago announcing our pricing and licensing model for iTorque. I apologize for not being able to keep up with all the emails you guys have sent and hope you don't mind the generalist response. I'm assuming you guys value speed over the personal touch at this point =) Your patience over the past couple weeks has been appreciated. You may have followed our progress on our online forums. If you participated on either of any threads we listened and we really appreciate your feedback. I'll summarize the model we arrived at here quickly:
Quote:
Indie Licensing (non-transferable, per seat, for those licensees with less than $250k annual turnover)
For current owners of TGE:
$500 for the iTGE SDK and right to publish 1 title. $100 per title thereafter. No royalties, ever.
For current owners of TGB:
$500 for the iTGB SDK and right to publish 1 title. $100 per title thereafter. No royalties, ever.
Commercial Licensing (transferable, per seat)
For current owners of TGE:
$1000 for the iTGE SDK and right to publish 1 title. $500 per title thereafter. No royalties, ever.
For current owners of TGB:
$1000 for the iTGB SDK and right to publish 1 title. $500 per title thereafter. No royalties, ever.
Note that in order to purchase iTGB, you must actually be an owner of TGB Pro. This was something I goofed on in my last blog. Sorry for any confusion there. There is just simply no way to use iTGB without access to the source code of TGB.
So after several weeks of development and contemplation on the best licensing approach for new product, we are pleased to announce that iTGB and iTGE Indie licenses are now available for pre-order. What does that mean? Both iTGB and iTGE have made great progress, but we're not quite satisfied that either is an Indie friendly first experience yet. That's our version 1.0 goal. Right now, we're nearing that stage, and we're targeting clear 1.0 delivery dates in the coming weeks. Indies who pre-order iTGB or iTGE will have a second title release waiver automatically added to their account (two titles total). Pre-orders can be made online right now through our online store.
Until we get to 1.0, you're welcome to follow our development progress on the iTGB and iTGE product pages (we'll be updating these weekly) or check out what Commercial developers are talking about in the iTorque forums. If you can't wait till Sept. 31st for iTGB 1.0 or October 15th for iTGE 1.0 or if you are a truly experienced developer who's comfortable working with a new codebase in flux, Commercial Licenses are available for both iTGB and iTGE now.
Thank you for all for your time and attention and we look forward to seeing your game on the iPhone!
Updated FAQ
Q. How do I get iTorque?
A. Right now iTorque is only available under Commercial license but can be purchased directly on our site. Indie licenses are available for pre-order now with license to an additional title at no extra cost, but no download will be available until the product is at 1.0. If you're part of a studio that wants to use iTorque with different licensing conditions, send us an email at licensing@garagegames.com.
Q. I'm making a TGE / TGB game now. Will it work with iTGE / iTGB on the iPhone?
A. Yes. Nearly all TGE's features will be supported, but as always, you'll need to watch your memory and consider the hardware. The input mapping is obviously different as well, so you'll need to consider that in your game design.
Q. I want to buy a license for an unlimited number of developers / titles. Do you offer any other choices?
A. Yes. Studio licenses will start at $15k for iTorque Studio and first title. An unlimited number of titles will be more. Contact licensing@garagegames.com for more details.
Q. I'm an Indie. Why can't I license iTorque at the Indie price now?
A. We're concerned that the product will be too difficult to work with for most amateur hobbyist developers at this stage, so only after we're satisfied that the documentation is solid and learning curve is not so steep will we roll this out under the Indie License.
Q. Will iTorque require a splash screen?
A. Yes.
Q. Will iTorque developers be able to share code resources on GG.com?
A. Yes. There are now iTorque private forums where you have our blessing to collaborate on projects. I honestly don't think Apple is going to care one way or another, but so long as you're not posting up their documentation whole hog or doing anything abusive, what you do is up to you. It's always fine of course to post Torque script and code resources in these forums.
Q. Will iTorque work with TGEA games? Will we ever see iTGEA?
A. Not at the moment. TGEA does offer some performance advantages, even at the fixed function level over TGE. The code is also cleaner and has been used by our studio more recently to produce games. The biggest advantage of TGEA over TGE, the advanced visual features like shaders and such, will not be portable to the iPhone though. The iPhone hardware won't support shaders. There may be reason in the future to deprecate these features in a port of TGEA to create an iTGEA though.
Q. Will iTorque work with Torque X / XNA games?
A. No. The iPhone uses an OpenGL ES graphics layer that's not at all compatible with Torque X or XNA.
Any other questions? Feel free to ask in the comments.
-Brett
P.S. I'll be up at PAX through Monday along with lots of other GG'ers. If any of you are there, please stop by our booth and say "hi."
About the author
Since 2007, I've done my best to steer Torque's development and brand toward the best opportunities in games middleware.
#2
TGB Pro is a license that grants you access to the TGB source code, but a TGE license (either Indie or Commercial) automatically ships with the TGE source.
Requirements for iTGB Commercial: TGB Pro - Commercial
Requirements for iTGE Commercial: TGE Commercial Version 1.5
Requirements for iTGB Indie: TGB Pro - Indie
Requirements for iTGE Indie: TGE Indie Version 1.5
I hope that helps. I'm sure other employees directly tied to the iTorque project might have better explanations. However, they are all at PAX while I'm stuck in Eugene writing docs and lurking the forums =)
08/29/2008 (11:04 am)
@Bryan - Just to avoid confusion, there is no "Pro" version of TGE. There is either Indie or Commercial.TGB Pro is a license that grants you access to the TGB source code, but a TGE license (either Indie or Commercial) automatically ships with the TGE source.
Requirements for iTGB Commercial: TGB Pro - Commercial
Requirements for iTGE Commercial: TGE Commercial Version 1.5
Requirements for iTGB Indie: TGB Pro - Indie
Requirements for iTGE Indie: TGE Indie Version 1.5
I hope that helps. I'm sure other employees directly tied to the iTorque project might have better explanations. However, they are all at PAX while I'm stuck in Eugene writing docs and lurking the forums =)
#3
08/29/2008 (11:14 am)
So even if you just need the indie version for ITGB, you still have to own the TGB Pro commercial? Makes no sence to me.
#4
BTW, this is all listed on the iTorque product page.
08/29/2008 (11:32 am)
@Michael Hartlef - Fixed my original post, see above.BTW, this is all listed on the iTorque product page.
#5
08/29/2008 (2:30 pm)
I'd definitely be indebted to you if you gave me iTGB for free. A debt of love. 
#6
09/01/2008 (1:11 am)
@Michael Perry - great, thanks! Any hints as to how realistic the release date for the Indie iTGB is? Planning the next game...
#7
09/01/2008 (10:21 am)
@Bryan - Sorry, that kind of question is a out of my area. I just focus on documentation and what information is found on the site that helps me write said documentation. However, before I became an employee I was a community member for years and came to trust what GG said. Something would be wrong if I did not have the same faith in the devs now =)
#8
09/01/2008 (10:23 am)
Sounds great. I'm looking forward to getting started with iTGB & iTGE. 
#10
Any chance we can look at some of the documentation once you are done with it? just trying to figure out how easy it'l be to take a TGB game into iTGB.
09/03/2008 (8:21 am)
Michael, I've pre-ordered the engine.Any chance we can look at some of the documentation once you are done with it? just trying to figure out how easy it'l be to take a TGB game into iTGB.
#11
09/03/2008 (8:31 am)
@Eyal - So far I can say that if you combine the documentation that ships with the iPhone SDK with the current TGB documentation, that's pretty much all you would need to understand the code you'll receive. I can go into more details later when I get deep into the product.
#12
09/03/2008 (9:00 am)
I was hoping you'd say we don't need to deal with the iPhone SDK besides compiling, but I guess I should start looking into it. thanks for letting us know.
#13
If you want to be an iTGB master, knowing everything about the engine, then you would want to read docs from both SDKs, right? If you just want to know about Behaviors, you'd go to the official Torque docs online that describe behaviors and how to use them.
09/03/2008 (9:08 am)
@Eyal - Most people only read documentation that pertains to the module they wish to work on. If you want to be an iTGB master, knowing everything about the engine, then you would want to read docs from both SDKs, right? If you just want to know about Behaviors, you'd go to the official Torque docs online that describe behaviors and how to use them.
#16
When it comes to dates, I just ask what the deadline is and work my ass off to make sure documentation is written by then.
09/15/2008 (11:04 am)
@Edrian - Originally, I just wanted to pop in here to respond since the announcement was made during PAX and there weren't many people around to respond. Outside of the initial information that was provided to me, which now exists on the site and in Brett's blogs, I don't know much. I'm not in the information loop except when docs need to be written.When it comes to dates, I just ask what the deadline is and work my ass off to make sure documentation is written by then.
#17
I'm just wondering about the "gesture recognition" and would like to know if behavior setup is as simple as "swipe to left/right" and "double-tap" and/or "pinch in/out" to trigger an action.
Also, are good framerates being sustained? One of the biggest quips on new and current games on the iPhone's App Store is that games tend to get choppy and sluggish.
Keep up the great work guys. My pre-order is already in and I'm itching to see some of my work on my device soon!
09/22/2008 (9:54 pm)
I'm hoping that the boys at GG can shed some light as to what's new. The product page (http://www.garagegames.com/products/307) still reflects a "0.8" changelog with hopes that they will "expect to be updating this weekly."I'm just wondering about the "gesture recognition" and would like to know if behavior setup is as simple as "swipe to left/right" and "double-tap" and/or "pinch in/out" to trigger an action.
Also, are good framerates being sustained? One of the biggest quips on new and current games on the iPhone's App Store is that games tend to get choppy and sluggish.
Keep up the great work guys. My pre-order is already in and I'm itching to see some of my work on my device soon!
#19
09/27/2008 (5:56 pm)
Is iTGB INDIE 1.0 still coming out September 30th?
#20
http://www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=79336
09/27/2008 (6:53 pm)
Brett posted on the Forum a couple days ago that they expected to be on time with the release.http://www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=79336
Torque Owner Bryan Duke