How to Update GameMaker License/Version

It may not be readily apparent how you can upgrade from GameMaker: Studio Standard version to professional or the master collection. But, one picture can talk you through it.

Menu->Help->Update License, then type in the licence key you were emailed.

~ Simply Advanced ~

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How to Save Money When Upgrading GameMaker

GameMaker is a great cross-platform game development tool. It is great for making 2D games very fast and with one code base, GameMaker can export to all major platforms, including Windows Phone, Windows 8, Android, iOS, Linux (Ubuntu), Mac, HTML5 and more. GameMaker is well worth its price.

But, I'm here to save you more money. Myself and others have purchased the GameMaker: Studio Standard version ($49) and wanted to upgrade to GameMaker: Studio Professional version ($99).

If you have purchased the standard version, then the professional version will only cost $50. What you need is your standard version's license key to save money. If you don't have it, then retrieve it at: http://www.yoyogames.com/my_licences

Then, when you go to the Buy Professional page. You can input your license key to save money on the upgrade. Click Upgrade as soon as enter the key. See picture below.

Save money when upgrading.

As soon as you click Upgrade the total price will be updated to show changes. Congrats, you just saved $50!

You can save money when upgrading from any [paid] version of GameMaker when using this method. This includes going from GameMaker Lite (8.1) to GameMaker: Studios.

Official GameMaker License Upgrades Summary

~ Simply Advanced ~

ps - There's another deal going on now for the GameMaker: Studio Master Collection version. Typically, it is $499. But, until the March 31th, it will be on sale for $199 for Professional users. So, about $300 total. More details: http://www.yoyogames.com/news/145

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GameMaker Versus GameMaker Studio

This post will answer the following questions and more like them:

• "What is the difference between GameMaker 8.1 for Windows and GameMaker Studio?"
• "Can I upgrade from GameMaker for Windows/Mac to GameMaker Studio?"
• "Why doesn't the GameMaker licence key work?"

A quick search on the Internet for the above queries and the like do not give an answer. So, I just downloaded both of them and messed with available functions to figure it out. The following gives a basic overview of the differences between the two, which would have helped me when I was first starting. These are all the problems that I encountered when beginning.

1. The regular GameMaker 8.1 for Windows (version 7 for Mac) is only for creating executables (.exe's) of games and easy exporting to YoYo Games for showcase. This is the version that can be upgraded for $39.99.
2. No, GameMaker for Windows/Mac is different than the GameMaker Studio suite. I purchased the GameMaker: Studio™ Standard, got the licence key, and tried it multiple times in the GameMaker 8.1 Lite, but it didn't work.
3. The GameMaker licence key probably doesn't work because you are trying to use a Studio key on the basic version or vise-versa. You need to download the GameMaker Studio version, then input the licence key there. There is also a link to download the proper version in the confirmation email that you will receive.

I hope this helps.

~ Simply Advanced ~

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How to Create a Hotkey to Double Click Using AutoHotkey

Just created a hotkey to double-click so that I don't have to use the mouse! It is very much worth it and will speed up coding. There are other areas that I will be more productive in also. Just can't think of them right now.

I used an awesome program called AutoHotkey to achieve this and many other create keyboarding shortcuts/hotkeys/scripts. The following code basically says, "if ctrl is pressed twice consecutively in less than 500ms, then click two times at the caret position."

Ctrl::
    If (A_PriorHotKey = A_ThisHotKey and A_TimeSincePriorHotkey < 500) {
MouseGetPos X,Y
Send {Click  %A_CaretX%,%A_CaretY% 2} ; Moves the cursor
MouseMove (X),(Y) ; Moves back the cursor
    }
Return

• Instead of using "%A_CaretX%,%A_CaretY%", it is possible to hardcode an x and y value to click on.
• If you remove the line starting with MouseMove, then the cursor will move to the position the caret is at.

Let me know if this helps. =]

Disclaimer: I have not done an extensive test on all programs to see if this works. But, I know that it works in Notepad++, Eclipse, Notepad, and MS Word 2010. While typing this, the hotkey seems to return (aka double click) the top-left corner.

~ Simply Advanced ~

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