There are a number of different versions of GameMaker:
Studio available for you to use, and each one is designed to
scale to the level of programming experience of the end-user,
either with the GameMaker product or in general. All
versions can compile to Windows (as well as the Steam Workshop if you have downloaded
your version through the Steam client). Apart from these
compile targets each available version is different and has a
number of limits and restrictions which are detailed below.
Should you wish to upgrade your current version of GameMaker:
Studio, you can do so through the YoYo Games web
site or, if you have the Steam Client, by right clicking
on the GameMaker: Studio entry in the Library and selecting
"View Downloadable Content".
This version is free to download and use, as it is designed to
permit the end-user to test the functions of the product before
upgrading to a more powerful version. If you have used previous
GameMaker products and are thinking about upgrading to
Studio then you can use this version to see the differences between
it and previous versions, or if you have never used
GameMaker before (or are new to programming) then this
version is an excellent place to start.
The following limits are present in the regular version of
GameMaker: Studio:
- No Configurations
- No Texture Group Control
- No Extra Target Modules
- No DSP (Developer Services Portal)
- No Source Control
- No Steam API integration
- No dynamic resources
- No networking
With the professional version of GameMaker: Studio all limitations are removed and you can experiment with all the features of the program:
- Configurations for specific clients or builds
- Texture Group Control for optimising your games and apps
- Source Control for working in teams using Subversion
- Developer Services Portal integration for in-app purchases, advertising and analytics
- Android test target for testing your project on Android devices before buying the appropriate target module
- Windows 8 app development (JavaScript and Native packages)
- The possibility of buying extra target modules (currently Mac OSX, HTML5, iOS, Ubuntu, Windows Phone, Android and Tizen)