Post your tips for new stencyl users here, so that they can make better games.
If an admin could sticky this thread, that would be great.
Tips:
1. Draw some art. If you just use art from forge, that's already been used and people won't like the game as much. Also, you'll be able to customize it better. I myself am very bad at artwork, but I try to compensate by spending more time on artwork..
2. Try making your own sounds! You don't have to know music theory or play an instrument for this. if you're on a mac, garageband would be great for you to use. if you're on Linux or Windows, try using Fl Inline Studio, Finale Notepad 2008, or PXTONE. There are other programs though, such as schismtracker and sunvox. Making your own sounds isn't extremely important for most games though, but for RPG's, it sets the mood.
3. Don't post generic games on the internet! Yes, we have all done this, including me. They can be a little fun, but when sites like Newgrounds and Kongregate get flooded by them, it gives stencyl a bad reputation. You'll also get a bad reputation, and when you finally make a good game, people won't play it since they think "Hmm [insert your name here] made this, so it must suck. Look at his past work."
4. Making your own behaviors is key to success. It can be hard, just like programming is, but you need to practice. Experiment, and don't be afraid of failure.
5. Come to terms that your first game isn't a masterpiece. It's just your first. Use it to practice and incorporate behaviors, sounds, and art. Then, you can use all those resources and make a much better game.
6. Flash games don't make big money. IF you're using Stencyl just to make money, you might make a few dollars, but unless you're a master at Stencyling, you won't get sponsorship, which can range from $100 to $30000, but anything above $10000 is EXTREMELY rare.
This is a good thread for long time stencyl users and new users alike.
http://community.stencyl.com/index.php/topic,2233.0.htmlRemember, read Stencylpedia! It's got great advice.
TIPS FOR SPECIFIC PROGRAMSFor gimp, the paint and pencil tool can be very useful. Which one should I use, you ask? Well, it's debateable. Back when I was a month younger than I am when I made this edit, I didn't know the difference. I just used the paint tool for spriting, but when I imported it into stencyl, and clicked out the white transparent colors, it left some white spots. People kindly suggested I try it with a green background. It helped a lot, but some green was left behind. Later on, I found out that you should be using the pencil tool for spriting. The paint tool mixes the colors on the edges, but the pencil tool is solid throughout the stroke.
Basically
Spriting: pencil
Anything that won't take up the whole screen that you want to have a transparent colour in stencyl, use the pencil. If you don't know what i'm talking about, just make a square or circular *sprite* (sprite generally means actor) and import it into stencyl. Make two versions, one with paint, and one with the pencil. Then you'll know what I mean.
More program specific tips coming soon.
People, post your other tips for new stencyl users.
