Taking a Break from Citrus Engine
I am very sad to write this blog post, but I believe that it is something that must be done. I will be taking a break from the Citrus Engine. This includes bug fixing, free technical support, and feature implementations. Paying customers will still be supported as-needed to make sure their projects are successful, and the engine is still available for free. Also, the forums are open although I will only be monitoring them to keep spam off.
There are a lot of reasons why I feel like this is the right thing to do, but the primary reason is that I have had a full-time job as a game programmer at Sony, and the Citrus Engine project is simply to large and too unending to be maintained during nights and weekends. As the user-base grows, it only needs more support and more attention. This project often competes with my family and my God for my attention, and it shouldn’t be that way.
I still love flash game development, and I’m not going to delete the Citrus Engine from my hard drive. I will simply be shelving it until I am able to focus on my own work full-time. I think this will make my job at Sony more enjoyable, and my time with family and friends more peaceful.
I don’t want to ramble on too long and make it appear like I think that there are more people care about this than there really are. After all, Flash platform game engines are booming, and while I may have the best demo (IMO), other engines like Flixel are being worked on at a much faster pace.
Thanks for joining me on the ride!
Citrus Engine Free For Learning!
After much thought I have decided to offer the Citrus Engine for free to educational users. I receive many emails from students and educators who ask if they can use the Citrus Engine for their school project or to teach their class about game programming. At the previous price point, it just wasn’t possible to make this happen for many of them. I have decided to open up the Citrus Engine to those who are learning or teaching.
For anyone who is looking to make a pretty penny from their game, I have cut the Citrus Engine’s price in half. I believe that I will be able to reach many more people this way, which will help improve the engine, increase our bottom line, and make everyone happier overall. Please enjoy, and remember to sign up at the forum.
Tweet About Citrus Engine, Win a Free Copy
I’d like to announce the Citrus Engine “Tweet Deal”! If you are thinking about making the plunge to buy the Citrus Engine, you can snag a free copy of the Citrus Engine or save yourself literally HUNDREDS of dollars just by tweeting a little ditty about the Citrus Engine. How does it work?
Just tweet this message or one similar to it. On April 15th 2010, we’ll randomly pick one lucky sonofabitch to receive a free commercial version of the Citrus Engine.
But there’s more! Even if you don’t win, you can still save a ton of money. After you make the purchase, just let us know your twitter username. After we’ve verified your tweet, we’ll refund you $0.25 per follower (USD)*. If you end up being the lucky winner, we’re refund your entire purchase. Couldn’t hurt, eh?
Just so you know, the deal ends April 15th 2010. Oh, and if you’re not buying the engine, feel free to give us a tweet anyway! You never know, you might win.
* Maximum discount is 50%.
Like the new site? Here’s who made it
If you like the new Citrus Engine site design, you can join me in thanking Travis Clancy for such great work. He built it on the freshest version of Expression Engine, which I have already learned to love. It feels great to be in the 21st century, pulling in Twitter feeds and updating content via WYSIWYG. I’ve worked with Travis before, and I’d do it again.
Fresh Website, Fresh Demo
The Citrus Engine has come a long way since I started it over two years ago. Lots of great clients have used it such as the Australian Broadcasting Company, Studiocom, and Yoplait, with tons more coming down the pipe. As the product matures, I decided that it was time to mature its website as well.
The new site features a gorgeous new demo with art from my good friend Jerry Shamblin. The detail and imagination that he puts into his characters and backgrounds is breathtaking. I’m hoping we’ll see more from him in the future.
A new demo isn’t the only thing that’s brand new about the website, though. The Citrus Engine now has its own dedicated blog, and a more descriptive purchase page with *gasp* fixed prices displayed right in front of you. You can also purchase and download the Citrus Engine at anytime, without even contacting me. Additionally, I’ve added an official new “educational” package for students, teachers, and hobbyists to get in on the action too. If you’ve been waiting for your chance to grab the engine for cheap, check out the Purchase page and see if the educational package suits your needs.
Make sure and subscribe to the blog as I’ll be updating soon with a couple of deals and some updates to the engine itself. Lots of great stuff on the way!
