The code environment

Advanced GM users make very regular use of GML (Game Maker Language) to get their work done. It's cool, it's powerful and it's more comfortable for programmers to use.

At least, it would be if it wasn't locked inside an absolutely rotten coding environment.

In GM 8, Mark Overmars has finally listened to the pleas of beleaguered coders and given the ubiquitous coding window a much-needed overhaul. Features such as line numbers, real-time syntax checking and the big one – code completion – are all available to the wide-eyed coding enthusiasts who are waiting to sink their jaws into a more user-friendly system.

Although the cursor is now irritatingly independent (scrolling to the end of a line allows it to carry on as opposed to moving down one row), it's a small price to pay for the luxury of being able to get all your work done in one window rather than flipping to the help file when you need to remember a function, or getting kicked out of your game's execution because you forgot to run a manual syntax check before playing. A very nice job, there.

Triggers and time lines

Oooh, this is new. One of the most interesting additions to GM 8 is an easy way to generate your own event checking through the use of custom triggers: in short, you define sets of code that execute during every game step and return a non-zero value when your specified conditions are met. This result is treated like any other event -- you can use it in your object menu and assign actions to the event trigger as you would for instance creation or key presses.

The most tangible advantage: instead of laboriously shoving all of your frame-by-frame checks into a great big "Step" event, you can dice it up into smaller and more meaningful chunks of code which can be called globally and reduce your bloat!

A not-so-new concept is that of time lines, but those who remained unconvinced by the usefulness of this tool in previous versions may be pleasantly surprised now. Time lines have an enhanced array of options available, including the ability to change speed and even play backwards. There's not much to say here: either you use time lines or you don't, but either way I strongly recommend giving them a shot. Just don't do something horribly cliché by trying to copy Braid or something. Seriously. It's old now.

The rest

To be honest, I've already discovered loads more changes that have been made to Game Maker 8, but the above mentions are the major ones and are most likely to be used by the average dev. Here's a preliminary features list for those who are interested.

I strongly recommend that interested individuals sign up themselves and try the beta while it's still out and about. If you're not sure about upgrading, or are new to Game Maker entirely, then this would be a good (free) way to test-run the system for a limited time.

The additional functionality and user-friendliness is well worth the upgrade, and it's heartily recommended that you upgrade to GM 8 when it comes out. Sure, GM7 brought the neat YoYo online tie-in, but if you want the tool itself to be easier and more flexible to use, then prepare to gorge yourself on the fine delights of version 8. If you try it, you won't regret it. If you do regret it ... well, screw you. It's a damn fine tool and I'm looking forward to the final release.