DreamMaker SDK?

It's been stated that it is being developed and will be released soon.

 

What will the software requirements be and what programming languages can be used? Should anyone wanting to use the SDK also be skilled in DirectX programming or will your SDK be a complete solution including shaders and all the other nice 3D stuff?

Gents,

Dont expect too many answers nor any information on the vaporware SDK, save "soon".

What you can expect are whitty and unhelpful comments from Stardock staff.

I fail to understand the logic in "slapping" down an honest and sincere request for knowledge, why those of us wanting to help further this product are met with sharp tones and general lack of interest.

If you look at any other major technology that is this far along and some that aren't (Silverlight), the organizations behind them are embracing developers and bending over backwards to get information out to the development community as they are the ones that will ultimately make the product. However it seems that this is not the case with Stardock.

Seems to me that if it is not ready, I can understand that. However the tone and complete lack replies to the most basic of questions is quite annoying.

It would seem to me that they are really concerned of competition on this product and therefore are playing the cards way too close.

However, that being said. I wish Stardock the best and hope that the SDK does materialize, along with a renewed interst and fervor that would be mentoring and supportive to the development community, it is they that make Stardock successfull.

Regards,

d:

so what does "soon" mean? Two weeks, Two months, or 6-8 months? Just trying to get an idea of the range.

and the defense rests

Far be it for any Stardock rep to abandon help, this is never the case. We are present here in the forums as well as on the news posts.

As to the dynamic wall papers there are more than a few that are in the testing phaze. Once we make wall papers that work everytime we can start building the tools so that someone else can use it as well. Making the tools is what is slowing the process down. Please rest assured you are waiting on quality of product.

While I can't give details on the matter I hope you found this post useful and polite. We are not ignoring the masses in any way, shape, or form. We are the leader in our field and with the development of Stardock Design, and all the upgrades needed for our products into Vista we have to make sure it comes out right. Therefor there is no time line for us on this matter except for "as fast as we can possibly make it with multiple developers on the project and a small army of interns".

Cheers

I don't know what you are in a huff about. Stardock is the King of skinning and add on software. They will get it to us when the product is ready. You are no better than the crying that goes on the Blizzard sites when they hold back a game for quality reasons. Masters of their craft don't rush, they perfect their wares.

As for support if you were nicer I bet they just might try to help you a bit more. Just a thought though.

The problem is we've never made an SDK before so we're having a hard time with it. Every time we think we're just about done, we realize there's some other big gotcha.

BarnBurner -- As anyone can see from the post I left. I am not advocating nor expecting a half baked product to be given forth. I do point out that "if it isnt ready that is understandable", what wasn't understandable was the tone and lack of interaction with the prospective users of the SDK and the development community. What I do point out is that even basic information and questions go unresponded to, questions and discussions are not a product and could be freely talked over. There was no whining about why isnt it ready, no crying because it isnt availble yet.

Stardock is the "king" of skinning and add on software BECAUSE of the development community and artists therein, take away the content and you kill the products. As they point out it is hard to feed the beasts we create, without other artists and developers, Stardock would have great software products all dressed up with no date for the prom.


SeaBass6.7 / Frogboy -- your posts are quite helpful and informative. One thing about the dynamic wallpapers. I do understand that getting major hindering issues worked out is one thing, but arent we a tad beyond that , what with several dynamic wallpapers for retail sale and all. If they are good enough to sell then it is my opinion these things are not as "beta", "new" or "buggy" as being communicated. I do understand that writing a mountain of SDK docs is a dauting task and takes time.

I am not sure how the content for your other products is authored as I only have experiece and exposure to "dreams". Question is does the SDK at this point have to encompass a full featured authoring tool? Is there an option being discussed allowing the more gear headed author to use thier own dev tools/environment to author for the time being? Quite a few products and technologies start off this way. This might actually help work out some of the kinks in the product. NDA's and SDK's kida go together.

Yes, I know the goal would be to have a friendly / monkey proof tool that can package this stuff up. This in and of itself may be a task that is too large and time consuming at first, however if you have the development community already sold and the users craving what is being put out, then you have locked up market share. If you wait to bring out the tool that could easily be 6 months to a year in the making, the risk of being preempted by the competition is great.


All that said -- I have high hopes and wish you all the best. If you wanted some help on the SDK , I'm not afraid of an NDA and would donate my time.

Regards,

d:

And if your looking for beta testers, count me in!

Indeed.

So. We may not be able to get the SDK itself, if it's not ready, but is there any chance of getting some previews of how it works, or at least some details about it? I'm curious.