I only hear from the users of my engine in the guestbook when they can't register the component and I have never recieved a bug report. I don't know if my engine is too good so that they never found a bug or too bad so that they don't use it. Making a forum did nothing since they don't believe that anyone will answer in an empty forum. The only answer I got in my survey is from when someone pressed the button by mistake.
How do I get feedback from my engine's users?
Are you actually marketing your engine? Have you demonstrated it's capability's and given people a reason to use it?I only hear from the users of my engine in the guestbook when they can't register the component and I have never recieved a bug report. I don't know if my engine is too good so that they never found a bug or too bad so that they don't use it. Making a forum did nothing since they don't believe that anyone will answer in an empty forum. The only answer I got in my survey is from when someone pressed the button by mistake.
Generally making something doesn't instantly mean you have an audience, sure you might have a product, but now you need to focus on marketing that product. However if you know people are using it, but not giving you feedback, then they probably just don't know where to give you feedback.
Author
Are you actually marketing your engine? Have you demonstrated it's capability's and given people a reason to use it?I only hear from the users of my engine in the guestbook when they can't register the component and I have never recieved a bug report. I don't know if my engine is too good so that they never found a bug or too bad so that they don't use it. Making a forum did nothing since they don't believe that anyone will answer in an empty forum. The only answer I got in my survey is from when someone pressed the button by mistake.
Generally making something doesn't instantly mean you have an audience, sure you might have a product, but now you need to focus on marketing that product. However if you know people are using it, but not giving you feedback, then they probably just don't know where to give you feedback.
The product is free to use and don't have a budget for ads. I have only used YouTube and the engine database on DevMaster.net to show it. The site statistics show that some people are frequent visitors. Yesterday, I had 16 visitors because I added an SDK sample for C# that is more popular than Visual Basic.
I just looked at the website and I think half of your problem is in its design. I clicked around, no tutorial or usage example.
Some other things that I guess may turn people off is not telling what features your engine got and what it could be used for and not having an API list, reading vague mentions of VB and then contradicting it with telling it was C++, telling you need to install ActiveX components and hinting that this is complicated and also people being afraid of depending on a closed source engine where they dont know what to do if there is a bug they cant work around.
I saw the contact link but did not click it at first as usually that means email address and people are less likely to want to email that write in a guest book. I was surprised there is a guestbook and survey inside. Why dont you add guestbook and survey links to the main menu where people find them?
There is no dedicated way of giving bugreports so you wont get them. People will not want to fill out that whole survey with the tiny text input boxes just to report a bug. Maybe add a bug tracker?
Author
I just looked at the website and I think half of your problem is in its design. I clicked around, no tutorial or usage example.
Some other things that I guess may turn people off is not telling what features your engine got and what it could be used for and not having an API list, reading vague mentions of VB and then contradicting it with telling it was C++, telling you need to install ActiveX components and hinting that this is complicated and also people being afraid of depending on a closed source engine where they dont know what to do if there is a bug they cant work around.
I saw the contact link but did not click it at first as usually that means email address and people are less likely to want to email that write in a guest book. I was surprised there is a guestbook and survey inside. Why dont you add guestbook and survey links to the main menu where people find them?
There is no dedicated way of giving bugreports so you wont get them. People will not want to fill out that whole survey with the tiny text input boxes just to report a bug. Maybe add a bug tracker?
I should be able to change the website but I am afraid that opening the source could lead to fraud (Where someone sell it with a different name), patent trolling (Where someone patent my trivial design decisions and sue the users) and DLL stomping (Where someone modified the code without changing the registry GUID).
Hi,
You must provide some value to them communicating to you. It is easy to annoy most people and unfortunately-but reality-is that you have to be sharp with marketing. Getting feedback is a part of marketing. It has to be easy enough for a 5th grader to gain information and communicate thoughts to you or most people will think, "Too much hassle" and be gone. Culture as a whole is very accustomed to quick and easy navigating of electronic media, like so you are forced to compete.
Now, keep looking at this as a learning experience, an opportunity to grow. You may look closely into how other startup developers, even of engines, market their product. Both Strategic thinking and tactical maneuvering is permanently in need.
Great Marketing Strategy: Collaboration! If you had a network of trusted developers and programmers, even if small, then you could reach an agreement with them for their testing and feedback. What you would offer them in exchange is yours to negotiate.
Content assets at no cost to those who provide feedback is a powerful incentive, for a limited time of course. If you get very savvy, then you will have artists to provide a more tempting carrot for the rabbits out there. Rabbits want to hop and roam, it's their nature, so you must come with serious incentive to get them to bring what you want. Artists may agree to help if you give them free advertisement but you want a few assets at no cost offered to those who work with you on improving the engine. The artist may have added incentive of the possibility of more work with one of the developers using the engine or future sales of artistic works. These are examples and suggestions, some of which are common in the game/simulation development industry.
You may see the benefit of becoming more organized in your thinking toward your business. Having asked for help here is a good sign.
If I had your programming skill combined with my art ability and marketing skills, my future in game dev would have 7 or 8 digit dollar amount future almost guaranteed.
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