Looking for feedback
by Gonzo T. Clown · in General Discussion · 10/04/2004 (5:28 pm) · 7 replies
Not sure if people are not seeing this, or if they just don't care lol, but I would like to get some feedback on how these tutorials are built and how they helped you or lacked the help you needed.
Also looking for input on how to make them better in the future or what people would like to see covered....
Thanks to all who respond...
First tutorial....
www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=resource&page=view&qid=6482
Second tutorial....
www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=resource&page=view&qid=6493
Also looking for input on how to make them better in the future or what people would like to see covered....
Thanks to all who respond...
First tutorial....
www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=resource&page=view&qid=6482
Second tutorial....
www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=resource&page=view&qid=6493
About the author
#2
A screenshot at the bottom of the finished GUI perhaps? So people can skim it and go "Oh, he made that"
But even more important was the synopsis didn't tell me really anything except it was a GUI tutorial. Now I'm not looking to make a GUI at this point in time, so I skimmed the text and then didn't bother with it, thinking I'll come back to it when I'm more interested in GUI's.
I'd suggest making it very clear the steps you are going to cover in the tutorial in the synopsis, in perhaps a bullet form
eg: Synopsis
This is a basic GUI tutorial. We will be covering these issues:
1) issue 1
2) issue 2
etc.
Then I would go ... OH, that sounds useful, I'll make a mental note to look at that when I have the time.
10/04/2004 (6:42 pm)
My initial reaction when I looked at them was - thats a lot of reading without any instant feedback on what exactly it is.A screenshot at the bottom of the finished GUI perhaps? So people can skim it and go "Oh, he made that"
But even more important was the synopsis didn't tell me really anything except it was a GUI tutorial. Now I'm not looking to make a GUI at this point in time, so I skimmed the text and then didn't bother with it, thinking I'll come back to it when I'm more interested in GUI's.
I'd suggest making it very clear the steps you are going to cover in the tutorial in the synopsis, in perhaps a bullet form
eg: Synopsis
This is a basic GUI tutorial. We will be covering these issues:
1) issue 1
2) issue 2
etc.
Then I would go ... OH, that sounds useful, I'll make a mental note to look at that when I have the time.
#3
I noticed your tutorials recently and meant to tell ya thanks. I think a lot of people are just very busy preparing for IGC (I know I am), so that's why responses are sometimes lackluster in the past week or so. Super busy!
I haven't read the content of the tutorials in detail yet (though I definitely intend to right after IGC), but from my reading so far they look good. Nice job. :)
I'd agree with the comments thus far that in terms of presentation and comprehension, they'd be even better with the support of some screenshots, and a bit more introduction + clear headings and sub-sectioning. But that's all polish, the general idea is great, and it's always very exciting and cool to see good tutorials like this come out of the community.
Please do keep it up, these could turn into a very useful resource.
10/04/2004 (8:24 pm)
Gonzo, I noticed your tutorials recently and meant to tell ya thanks. I think a lot of people are just very busy preparing for IGC (I know I am), so that's why responses are sometimes lackluster in the past week or so. Super busy!
I haven't read the content of the tutorials in detail yet (though I definitely intend to right after IGC), but from my reading so far they look good. Nice job. :)
I'd agree with the comments thus far that in terms of presentation and comprehension, they'd be even better with the support of some screenshots, and a bit more introduction + clear headings and sub-sectioning. But that's all polish, the general idea is great, and it's always very exciting and cool to see good tutorials like this come out of the community.
Please do keep it up, these could turn into a very useful resource.
#4
Learning how to write the highest quality tutorials takes review just like you've asked for... It would be great to have those looking to learn about GUIs walk through these and give more feedback as everyone has different learning styles and nothing beats play testing to polish your product.
10/04/2004 (9:11 pm)
Writing tutorials is like blood in the water to Josh, but for specific topics like these it really will take ongoing contributions from the community as they learn the tech and share their learning. Learning how to write the highest quality tutorials takes review just like you've asked for... It would be great to have those looking to learn about GUIs walk through these and give more feedback as everyone has different learning styles and nothing beats play testing to polish your product.
#5
10/04/2004 (9:32 pm)
I'm not at the GUI stage of development yet... sort of the last thing to do really.... so I can't comment directly on the usefullness, etc. but I will say, as others have mentioned, that it could use some organization. Lists, screens, headings, sub-headings, and all that.
#6
I considered the screenshots but figured they may be redundant since the GUI's I included should tell the whole story, and a SS won't exactly convey what the GUI does. Plus my Demo GUI's are nothing spectacular because they are only meant to demonstrate form, functionality, and proper usage. However, I will see if I can spruce up the presentation as per the suggestions.
@ Joseph - I myself was concerned that the text may be to long and confusing when I wrote it but I didn't want to leave out critical details and/or pertinent info about the GUI controls I was working with. Unfortunately each control is capable of being written up in a long tutorial so I'm trying to figure out the best way to present the most info with the least documentation. Not an easy task.
@ Vernon, good ideas, thanks.
@ Josh and Jay - LOL, enjoy that IGC excuse while you got it, hehe. I REALLY wish I could make it this year, but I'm damn sure gonna make it next year. If you guys know of any Tut's that fit a "profile" that you find appealing, please feel free to point me towards them so I can study them for construction details and guidence.
@ Will - 10-4 I'll sit down and start working on another tut that try's to capture more of what everyone mentioned and some specifics like Joseph ask for and see how that goes.
I guess my biggest problems are....
1. What to cover.
2. How much detail to cover it with.
3. How to not confuse with details.
4. How NOT to bore or turn off the reader.
Thanks again for everyone's feedback.
10/04/2004 (11:28 pm)
Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions, please keep them coming...I considered the screenshots but figured they may be redundant since the GUI's I included should tell the whole story, and a SS won't exactly convey what the GUI does. Plus my Demo GUI's are nothing spectacular because they are only meant to demonstrate form, functionality, and proper usage. However, I will see if I can spruce up the presentation as per the suggestions.
@ Joseph - I myself was concerned that the text may be to long and confusing when I wrote it but I didn't want to leave out critical details and/or pertinent info about the GUI controls I was working with. Unfortunately each control is capable of being written up in a long tutorial so I'm trying to figure out the best way to present the most info with the least documentation. Not an easy task.
@ Vernon, good ideas, thanks.
@ Josh and Jay - LOL, enjoy that IGC excuse while you got it, hehe. I REALLY wish I could make it this year, but I'm damn sure gonna make it next year. If you guys know of any Tut's that fit a "profile" that you find appealing, please feel free to point me towards them so I can study them for construction details and guidence.
@ Will - 10-4 I'll sit down and start working on another tut that try's to capture more of what everyone mentioned and some specifics like Joseph ask for and see how that goes.
I guess my biggest problems are....
1. What to cover.
2. How much detail to cover it with.
3. How to not confuse with details.
4. How NOT to bore or turn off the reader.
Thanks again for everyone's feedback.
#7
I liked the second tutorial better because from the first paragraph, I knew what I was getting into.
For later tutorials on more complex controls, you might want a quick reference section at the end with a brief recap of what does what, for the impatient who know what they want.
1st tutorial: one gripe is that a majority of us newbies would be playing with the gui editor and mission editor before touching the scripts. So "Make sure the gui is in your files and will exec when you open your TGE program." needs to be expanded into: unzip the file into starter.fps/client/ui/, add the line exec... blah blah
I think it's a great effort and would be a good addition to the official documentation once you have completed most of the common controls. Cheers!
10/05/2004 (3:12 am)
Nice tutorials! Wish I saw them earlier. hehe.I liked the second tutorial better because from the first paragraph, I knew what I was getting into.
For later tutorials on more complex controls, you might want a quick reference section at the end with a brief recap of what does what, for the impatient who know what they want.
1st tutorial: one gripe is that a majority of us newbies would be playing with the gui editor and mission editor before touching the scripts. So "Make sure the gui is in your files and will exec when you open your TGE program." needs to be expanded into: unzip the file into starter.fps/client/ui/, add the line exec... blah blah
I think it's a great effort and would be a good addition to the official documentation once you have completed most of the common controls. Cheers!
Torque Owner Joseph Villard
Default Studio Name
Please, please, continue. BTW, a screenshot would help those who have ADHD when it comes to a lot of black and white text.
Personally, my project isn't to the GUI stages (saving it for last) but when I get there I will definitely be checking your stuff out. I hope you have covered everything by then:) After you cover the basics (and make sure you hit Gui Bitmap Button as well as GBGui Bitmap Button), I would hope for some GUI animation stuff with a little more than what is currently available - AnimBitmap and AnimatedBitmap. Also, any PlayGui/TS stuff you might know about would help, since that stuff doesn't get as much attention.
Thanks.
Joe