The IDE is a main pillar
We strongly believe that the development environment can be just as important as the actual language.
The SkookumIDE definitely looks a bit… dated. This is primarily because we have been focused on the underlying tech.
Don’t let that fool you - under that dated look lurks a lot of power. Particularly focusing on having a quick turn-around in your workflow.
The fact that the SkookumIDE can connect to any platform and send live commands while a game is running is huge for productivity. Take a look at the SkookumIDE Console and its Workspace Window (REPL) - /docs/v3.0/ide/console/workspace/ It changes how you develop the gameplay, UI, tests, editor commands, etc.
This is just scratching the surface since you can also update routines and whole sets of classes at once - all while your game is running. And we have lots of plans to make this area even more powerful - making the development system work on your behalf.
The SkookumIDE is lagging in a few areas compared to all the amazing text editors that are out there - but again it is designed to work with other tech. If you hit Ctrl+E while in the SkookumIDE Editor it will automatically load up the file you were working on your favorite text editor [SUP]TM[/SUP] that you have associated with the .sk extension. And it is easy to make Ctrl+E (or some other key accelerator) in your favorite editor [SUP]TM[/SUP] switch back to the SkookumIDE.
The SkookumIDE makes it easy to lend its superpowers to other applications - /docs/v3.0/ide/command-line/
All of this is available in the free version of the SkookumIDE now.
Improving the IDE
Of course we want to make the SkookumIDE even better.
We will be updating the IDE to a more modern UI that allows more custom graphics and visualizations. We are currently planning to use the same Slate UI used by the Unreal Editor and evolving it as needed. The timeframe for the new UI has a planned completion date in the first quarter of the new year.
Another major goal of the SkookumIDE is to make much of the functionality of the IDE readily available as scripting commands and to make the majority of the IDE implemented as embedded script commands. This should make the SkookumIDE extremely customizable both for an individual and for particular projects.
We have big plans.
We’ve been working in the trenches of the video game industry for decades and we are passionate about making a better game development experience. This is stuff that we want for ourselves.