Add GMLScripts to Marketplace

[RaniSputnik]

It would be neat if there was a marketplace package updated alongside the site. I think it'd be a great way to build more of a presence with more GameMaker users and it'd be really useful for integrating these scripts in with a project.

I'm happy to volunteer some time to either whip up the required collateral for the marketplace page or to write a script to automate building a GameMaker marketplace extension from this repository.

[gmlscripts]

This is something I've been contemplating since Marketplace was Early Access. It seems like kind of a messy proposition.

I've been skeptical that large script libraries are all that desirable. What do you envision? All 265 scripts in a bundle? Split them up by category?

There are some technical issues with this repo that need to be addressed, such as its inclusion of obsolete scripts which collide with built-in function names. Those need to be filtered out.

Another problem is missing supplemental documentation, such as imagery and demos, although that is only relevant here if supporting .CHM documentation is generated for the collection.

The final matter is the option to monetize the collection to fund the site. I think it could help but how much to charge? If scripts are split up into categories and the minimum price of each is $0.99, that's going add up. On the other hand, if I don't hit the payout threshold, the funding won't be available to fulfill its purpose.

Also, I'm wary of generating bad feelings if people, especially contributors, feel I'm over-reaching my authority. It was always the plan to emphasize that the scripts are freely available on the site and paying for them is simple a way to make a monetary donation. But people get weird once money is involved in anything.

[RaniSputnik]

Thanks for the reply Xot.

Although it is a lot of scripts to include, I think you definitely want them all in a single extension. When you import an extension from the marketplace, the developer gets to choose which assets they wish to include. This would allow people to include every single script, but also pick and choose from the catalog. If the scripts get bundled in the same folder structure as they are on the site, then you could even choose to simply include a single category, such as all string operations etc.

I wasn't aware that there were scripts that collided, you're right that'd need to be sorted. I'm not sure how many conflicting scripts there are but I'm sure simply not including them in the export wouldn't be a problem and could be worked into an export script.

I think that the scripts are pretty well documented, both in the code and on the website. I thought you would link back to gmlscripts.com, that way people get used to using the site and the documentation only needs to be updating once.

I agree with your concerns about monetisation, money does cause a lot of problems. I think it'd be best to list them for free, there's no harm in doing so, it's great exposure for the site. Perhaps then leave the money to a donation through Patreon or the like? Of course this is all just my two cents.

[gmlscripts]

There are some easy solutions to all these problems.

1. The "problem" with a giant script library is easily solved because the user can simply limit which assets are imported into a project. That aspect of the asset manager completely slipped my mind. I was imagining a project automatically filled with irrelevant scripts. So no worries there for me.
2. Remove obsolete scripts from the repo. They are only there to be a destination for old links to the site. On the site (which is dynamically generated) I use somewhat annoying filtering to keep these scripts from appearing in the index. At one time, GMLscripts.com was committed to supporting GM going back to version 6, so these obsolete scripts did have a use for these older versions. That's no longer the case. I only care about Studio right now. If those old links result in a 404 error, that doesn't bother me too much. Things may get more complicated when Zeus comes out.
3. Forego any idea of monetization through Marketplace despite the strong recommendations by some people. But generating revenue this way is just so messy. At the end of the day, nobody can complain about free assets. I've been thinking about Patreon for quite some time. Its culture wants to reward patrons with special content, often at different tiers of support. I can't really supply that, so I always felt like it was a poor fit for the site. Maybe that's wrong-headed. What I can do is promise better hosting, more certitude of continuous up-time and more time devoted to improving the site.
4. Regarding documentation, a link in the comment header pointed at a script's entry on the site pretty much solves that. I've resisted this kind of link (which has been requested in the past), for the sake of brevity. Part of the point of the reformatted script headers was to economize vertical space. It's a minor quibble.

[RaniSputnik]

Fantastic! I'm glad you feel that this is doable, does that mean this will go ahead? Let me know if you want any grunt work done.

[RaniSputnik]

Any more thoughts on this Xot? Would love to see this on the marketplace, would make included these scripts in my projects even easier.

[gmlscripts]

Definitely want to do this. Things here have been unbelievably hectic for the last four months.

[RaniSputnik]

:+1: Glad to hear you are still keen! I created a python script that generates a GameMaker project + extension from all the scripts in the repo. Let me know when you've had some time to take a look, hope it's useful!

[brokenjavagit]

I just discovered how to use git from the coding blocks podcast, I was always scared to use it and thought life would be hard if i ever did manage to start using it. But now i can just clone or dl this repo and have all the files at once and if i need the documentation i just look at the script or the site. Thank you for the opensource goodness i was really needing some good ol string helpers and found the page from csaynk's site. Now it all makes sense how more than one person can contribute to a script repo. Anyways thanks all i still have no idea wtf i am doing on git or how to use it but it sure beats copy paste from a site. One last thought why no ads on the gmlscripts site?