When comparing Polycode vs Buildbox, the Slant community recommends Polycode for most people. In the question“What are the best 2D game engines?” Polycode is ranked 32nd while Buildbox is ranked 51st. The most important reason people chose Polycode is:
Polycode uses Lua and C++ to create native applications for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Mobile platforms are planned for the future.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Can create portable native applications
Polycode uses Lua and C++ to create native applications for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Mobile platforms are planned for the future.
Pro Free and open source
Polycode is free and open source (released under the MIT license). The source code is freely available on GitHub.
Pro IDE for 3D editing
Recently, the editor and its integrated tools have been released in compiled form. Features coding and scene editing in one application.
Pro C++/Lua
Polycode is distributed in a C++ form as well as with IDE. And there's an additional LUA-based scripting system.
Pro Drag - and - drop editor
Drag - and - drop editor without writing any line of code.
Pro Easy to learn
Buildbox is a drag and drop engine, making it easy for beginners to pick up. There are many tutorials available to help get you started.
Pro Has many game templates
Buildbox has 20+ different game templates including templates for platformers, racing games and Flappy Bird clones.
Pro Built-in support for ads
You can add banner and interstitial ads from multiple ad networks, including AdMob, RevMob, Facebook. They can work with Amazon's, Microsoft's, Google's and Apple's app stores.
Pro Develop once publish everywhere
Exporting iOS/Android/macOS/Windows/Steam/Amazon
Pro Cross-platform
Cons
Con Abandoned
The project does not seem to be maintained anymore: there has been no new release nor commit since mid-2015.
Con No mobile support
Doesn't have support for Android or iOS.
Con Incredibly Expensive
$99/mo for full functionality probably makes this the least accessible piece of game development software in regards to price, all with a very limiting feature set.
Con You are restricted by it's limitations
For example, you can only make certain kind of games.
Con Not very powerful
You will be limited to using templates to build games.
Con Subscription Model
The two more reasonable price points limit the functionality of a software already far less powerful than many more cost effective alternatives.
Con Very expensive
Buildbox has a 15-day trial version, after that a $2675 license to use it must be bought.
Con Stability Issues
The software has stability issues on Windows, with the preview window causing program crashes when simple functionality is added.