do you gain something by preordering? Like do you get it cheaper/ earlier?

Cheaper=yes
Earlier=no

Check this thread: Pricing info

Is there a manual now can we see it ahead of time to get a jump start on development?

"

The Pre-order page says the offer will be available until 30th of September so you could still buy it at the reduced price a month after release. Pre-order perks would make it pretty tempting.

Ordered

do you gain something by preordering? Like do you get it cheaper/ earlier?

Pre-ordering means you can download it on the day it comes out, August 15. If you order it on Aug 15 then you will need to wait a day or two while TGC processes your payment, I think.

Free bug fixes and any minor updates

This saddens me. As I barley have enough money to buy this.
Nevertheless I have to.

Is there a manual now can we see it ahead of time to get a jump start on development?

That's something I'd like to see as well, perhaps it could be the pre-order 'perk'.

I remember the first release of DB Pro too well to risk pre-ordering something I have not seen working. I will wait and see how people fare on day one for now.

Hmm, i've just thought - will Phase 2 count as a major update or a minor one? Because if it's major than I'm waiting until then to order because I'm mainly gonna buy for Android support :/

I prefer the pay per major release version. Otherwise you would benefit from waiting to buy the software, as you will get more updates. If you know you will get all 1.x.x updates for free then you can buy it at release.

For those of you who are waiting for Android and other platforms I just want to say: don't wait for it. Start using AppGameKit now. You can still release games on PC (like through Intel AppUp) and the other platforms. You don't need to make mobile games from the start. You might as well get used to the syntax. Also, I believe there will only be a small upgrade cost from v1 to v2. With AppGameKit there is no point in focusing on only one platform.

You could always petition Rick to make sure that phase two is a free update. It really should be free IMO.

You buy AppGameKit and you should get Phase one and two for the purchase price and then any bug fixes for free and then a release 2.0 should be pay lets say for "3D" or something like that.

@Digital Awakening: Why would someone want to use AppGameKit to make a PC game when DBP is just as easy and is more powerful? There's no way i'm paying more for the platform I wanted in the first place xD

You can't use DBP to create games for cell phones. This is the reason I placed my order. Developing games for cell phones opens up new opportunities.

I wish we could get an estimate on the price for updates... When AppGameKit first comes out, what platforms will it do until the v2 update?


Cheers.

And, ordered. ViaBrowser T-26 days to T-Zero.

Digital Awakening: Why would someone want to use AppGameKit to make a PC game when DBP is just as easy and is more powerful?

You can write one game and send it out on phones, smart TV's, tablets, Macs and PC.

These are all rising markets, PC alone is stale and driven by huge companies with far better technology and resources available. For Indie developers like us who cannot compete this is the way forward.

You can either ride the wave or drown in the ocean. I'm doing this for fun but if there's a chance I can make a decent amount of money out of it then why not

I do plan to buy this, but I am being prudent and waiting for the first few days reactions. If it isn't repeat of the bugfest that was DB pro's launch, I will purchase pretty quickly Although as I hate playing games on tiny mobile devices (always have done since the gameboy and gamegear, I find them fiddly and just chronic compared to a proper console/computer), I am still unsure what I would try to do yet. I keep trying out ideas in DB for now, and try to think what limitations I would have on a phone, controls wise. At least the phones screens are small so my graphics might look better!

If it isn't repeat of the bugfest that was DB pro's launch, I will purchase

It's not. It's been very stable from day 1 of the beta. I submitted quite a few bug reports and they were fixed very quickly, typically within hours.

If you are planning to publish to PC (through AppUp), Mac, iOS, Bada, or MeeGo (and Android and others a little later) this is the kit that's going to make a real difference.

Just think. You've written a game in AppGameKit, and published it to AppUp for the PC and MeeGo platforms. You've also published it to Mac and iOS through the Apple store. TGC releases the update that includes Android, and 10 minutes later you're ready to publish the same game to the Android Market. Click-Click-BOOM!

Hmm... What is AppUp and why would an app need to be published there? (Obviously, I'm new to publishing apps).

Hmm... What is AppUp and why would an app need to be published there? (Obviously, I'm new to publishing apps).

AppUp is an Intel store for games and Apps. Primarily it is aimed at netbooks but any PC can download games from AppUp. You can get all the information you need to know about publishing to AppUp from here:
TGC AppUp Developers Group

I run a small community of DBP and DarkGDK developers who publish to AppUp, we will be adding information for AppGameKit developers there too in the near future.

Also we are starting a community run website to advertise our games and apps called "ADG Games & Applications" which will be going live in the next few days...