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[Jacksinthe]

I look at the way things are built, and I decide "mmm, not enough" and this is what I come up with.

Damn straight. It's stupid hard to leave well enough alone, for me. That's why my rain went from "rain" to each drop having it's own physics, multiple layer collision, water splashes, mass, wind interaction, start location, etc. Every drop unique as it can be. I believe there's 3 scripts that control all the rain at any given point. I went overboard as fuck. At least it still clips 60fps on mobile and tablets so I'm fairly satisfied.

All this for something that will only be seen in the game for about 5 minutes. But that's OK. Making something awesome then not spending a lot of time on it will leave a longer lasting impression, IMO.

 

[2+2=5]

An image of my totally barebone and unprofessional bounding boxes editor! Lol

(even if it completely lacks an interface it's fully functional)
Honestly i was really scared about bounding boxes management(creation, saving, reading etc), but today i started making the editor and i made it in less than few hours and now i can easily manage bounding boxes!

 

[Tenki]

One basic question for those who have used Unreal Engine (I've never used it, so I'm a noob with it).

I want to make a game with a house as the location. So the question: what is better and faster to build the house? Make it on 3DSmax and then export it to the engine or can I make it directly in Unreal? The geometry would be pretty simple, just walls with a texture and then the furniture I import from 3DS Max.

 

[desu]

One basic question for those who have used Unreal Engine (I've never used it, so I'm a noob with it).

I want to make a game with a house as the location. So the question: what is better and faster to build the house? Make it on 3DSmax and then export it to the engine or can I make it directly in Unreal? The geometry would be pretty simple, just walls with a texture and then the furniture I import from 3DS Max.

Are we talking UE4 or 3?

Faster is definitely using brushes: https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT/Engine/Actors/Brushes/index.html this would probably not take you long to block out a simple level. However they are more expensive to render, what probably does not matter if you just build a simple small house.

Depending on how firm you are with 3DSMAX it obviously allows you to do a lot more creatively as you are not as limited with shapes as you are with brushes. And getting your meshes into UE4 is super simple as well, you just need to check that you scale everythign correctly and then you're good to go.

What's usually done is to block out the level quickly with brushes and then replace segments with meshes and props until you're done with the area. There are samples for this in the Sample Template as well.

 

[Blizzard]

Ludum Dare round 2 of voting:

Chaos
Destroy The System
Flow
Forces Of Nature
Isolation
I Think It's Alive
Loot
Lost In Space
Love
Manipulate The Environment
Nothing Is Real
Off The Grid
On The Edge
Randomly Generated
Shadows
The Other Side
This Happens To Me Every Day
Transformation
Where No One Has Gone Before
You Are Already Dead

 

[Pehesse]

Started working on a site to change things up a bit and have a better home for Honey than a simple tumblr! It's definitely not my strong suit (thank god for pre-made templates!), but I suppose it's a bit like game development itself - gotta take it one step at a time, improving things little by little :-D

http://pehesse.fr/blog/

Any thoughts on what to put/pull from there?

 

[Tenki]

Are we talking UE4 or 3?

Faster is definitely using brushes: https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT/Engine/Actors/Brushes/index.html this would probably not take you long to block out a simple level. However they are more expensive to render, what probably does not matter if you just build a simple small house.

Depending on how firm you are with 3DSMAX it obviously allows you to do a lot more creatively as you are not as limited with shapes as you are with brushes. And getting your meshes into UE4 is super simple as well, you just need to check that you scale everythign correctly and then you're good to go.

What's usually done is to block out the level quickly with brushes and then replace segments with meshes and props until you're done with the area. There are samples for this in the Sample Template as well.

UE4. I'll start learning it in a couple of months, but I'm trying to do some test before, just for fun.

The thing is that the house is not a small house, it's something like this (and I still need to make a second and even a third floor):

I've done it in a couple of minutes with Sketchup + 3DS Max, to just have a quick reference (it'll need a lot of polish if I decide to use it).

But I'd definitely check out the brushes. I can make walls and stairs, which I think is all I need (and windows and doors, of course).

Thanks!

 

[Blizzard]

UE4. I'll start learning it in a couple of months, but I'm trying to do some test before, just for fun.

The thing is that the house is not a small house, it's something like this (and I still need to make a second and even a third floor):

I've done it in a couple of minutes with Sketchup + 3DS Max, to just have a quick reference (it'll need a lot of polish if I decide to use it).

But I'd definitely check out the brushes. I can make walls and stairs, which I think is all I need (and windows and doors, of course).

Thanks!

I know very little about 3D modeling stuff, but I think the general recommendation with Unreal engines is that you try to break up things into modular sections when possible, so you can put them together. I would GUESS that if you modeled an entire big house as a giant textured 3DS mesh you might have issues importing and running it.

But, if you already have one, try importing and see! I may be super wrong, especially if it's mostly 90 degree angles and flat walls.

 

[desu]

What Blizzard said is indeed the recommended way of building levels!

I mean looking at your picture, most of it could be done using just a few simple meshes,like the ones provided as sample content in UE4:

 

[Tenki]

I know very little about 3D modeling stuff, but I think the general recommendation with Unreal engines is that you try to break up things into modular sections when possible, so you can put them together. I would GUESS that if you modeled an entire big house as a giant textured 3DS mesh you might have issues importing and running it.

But, if you already have one, try importing and see! I may be super wrong, especially if it's mostly 90 degree angles and flat walls.

Yeah, I'll have to divide the scenario in some modular sections, mostly because of the textures.

I can't try it right now (the house isn't textured yet, this was just a level design test) because the PC I'm on right now will probably melt if I try to run UE4 but I'll try it as soon as I can. But I'm not in a hurry, so no problem.

Thanks for the advice anyway!

What Blizzard said is indeed the recommended way of building levels!

I mean looking at your picture, most of it could be done using just a few simple meshes,like the ones provided as sample content in UE4:

Yep, that's all I need, so I think I won't try to complicate things :lol

 

[Wyndstryker]

Well after getting a bunch of other game mechanics done I can finally start working on the actual game and it's graphics.

 

[JulianImp]

An image of my totally barebone and unprofessional bounding boxes editor! Lol

(even if it completely lacks an interface it's fully functional)
Honestly i was really scared about bounding boxes management(creation, saving, reading etc), but today i started making the editor and i made it in less than few hours and now i can easily manage bounding boxes!

Is it okay to be using so many bounding boxes for the left leg? I think most fighting games used way less than that and they still managed to be serviceable physics-wise.

 

[Diablohead]

Well after getting a bunch of other game mechanics done I can finally start working on the actual game and it's graphics.

Not enough FPS I want at least 1080!

 

[JulianImp]

Not enough FPS I want at least 1080!

PS4's got nothing on 1010 fps. Now all that needs to be done is bumping the screen resolution up to 4K and the game will be defining next next gen.

Spoiler

Sorry if this comes across as mockery. I don't mean it that way.

 

[Ashodin]

DIE DIE DIE

Damage + death added!

 

[TheHollowNight]

I bestow upon you, GIFS!

These are some of the first combat gifs I've really shown off yet. Mainly because we've yet to get the character & enemies animated, so it looks like they are gliding everywhere, but who cares! The gameplay mechanics are shaping up regardless!

 

[2+2=5]

Is it okay to be using so many bounding boxes for the left leg? I think most fighting games used way less than that and they still managed to be serviceable physics-wise.

You are right lol, but i was just trying the editor.
When i'll do real tests for bounding boxes i'll decide the optimal level of precision.

 

[Pixel Samurai]

working on things that probably aren't critical (footprints, object layers) & things that are critical (walking animation, shooting, inventory start). Snow Cowboy

 

[Blizzard]

Round 3 of Ludum Dare voting is up.

Alchemy
Another World
Choose A Path
Don't Stop Moving
Experimentation
Growing
Illusion
Infectious
Knowledge Is Power
Limited Control
Something's Out There
Strength In Numbers
Supply And Demand
Survive
The Space Is Getting Smaller
Time Travel
Trust No One
Unexpected Side Effect
You Are The Weapon
You Can't Fight Back

I like several of these!

 

[Jobbs]

finally put up the new ghost song gameplay video. I've been planning to do this precise video for a while, but I kinda put it off because of a few relatively small things that were holding everything up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z--HxpK_-4&list=UUaBsGH6hhWw4q_OOI6D9p_g

let me know what you think or if you have any questions. notable new things shown here since the last video -- new camera (which can also now be easily influenced with the right analog stick), map system, and some other new things too.

 

[Remachinate]

finally put up the new ghost song gameplay video. I've been planning to do this precise video for a while, but I kinda put it off because of a few relatively small things that were holding everything up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z--HxpK_-4&list=UUaBsGH6hhWw4q_OOI6D9p_g

let me know what you think or if you have any questions. notable new things shown here since the last video -- new camera (which can also now be easily influenced with the right analog stick), map system, and some other new things too.

Everything's looking really good, but what keeps impressing me in particular is the audio--from the voice acting to the sound effects to the soundtrack, it's all top notch and really adds to the atmosphere. Really excited to see the finished product, nice work Jobbs.

 

[mourad louali]

Really good video, Jobbs. I wasn't paying attention since I backed your game last year, so I was kind of shocked that it is made using Stencyl lol

Can't wait to play it!

 

[Blizzard]

I haven't had much to show on my game in several weeks since I've been working on user interface and state machine stuff under the hood. I would like to think it's important, and makes my game and engine more robust, but it does not lend itself to flashy pictures! The improvements change things like "the player cannot press escape while in the middle of this sequence" and "pressing spacebar should cancel these various animation states".

Last night I finally got a unit animating its move path instead of jumping to its destination, and after some more cleanup tonight I should have some old unused code removed, and all units moving properly.

They will only be facing one direction while they move right now, but sprite work is for another day.

 

[nicoga3000]

Game Maker question. I posted this on Reddit as well, but I like multiple opinions/solutions/approaches.

I'm running into some problems with a new grid based movement system I'm working to implement (a guy on YouTube did a great tutorial on it). Rather than posting the huge wall of code here, I hope it's cool that I just post the Reddit link.

Clicky

Any thoughts?

 

[Wyndstryker]

Game Maker question. I posted this on Reddit as well, but I like multiple opinions/solutions/approaches.

I'm running into some problems with a new grid based movement system I'm working to implement (a guy on YouTube did a great tutorial on it). Rather than posting the huge wall of code here, I hope it's cool that I just post the Reddit link.

Clicky

Any thoughts?

I'm not gamemaker scripting guru but whenever I have a problem I just start checking every variable in debug mode.

 

[Five]

Game Maker question. I posted this on Reddit as well, but I like multiple opinions/solutions/approaches.

I'm running into some problems with a new grid based movement system I'm working to implement (a guy on YouTube did a great tutorial on it). Rather than posting the huge wall of code here, I hope it's cool that I just post the Reddit link.

Clicky

Any thoughts?

I want to say a couple of things. I wish I could say more or look into it more, but my PC is in the shop right now so I can't jump into GMS at the moment.

The first thing I want to say is be careful of using = when you mean ==. GM ignores this mistake and it sometimes leads to problems.

if (room = room_1)
  {
    room_goto(room_2);                
}

if (room = room_2)
{
    room_goto(room_1);
}

The other thing I'll say is that the debugger is telling you exactly what the problem is. In your array, one of the values you're feeding into it is negative. For example, you might be asking for the value of obj_grid.cells[-1, 0], which is an invalid array index. In fact, the parser even tells you the error sprang up on line 32, which is this:

if (obj_grid.cells[x div 32 - 1, y div 32] == 0)

So what you need to do is ensure that you're never providing the value -1 or lower. For a quick fix, go into the General Options Tab and check Short-Circuit Evaluations if it isn't already. Then change line 32 to

if (x div 32 - 1 >= 0 && obj_grid.cells[x div 32 - 1, y div 32] == 0)

 

[justjustin]

Game Maker question. I posted this on Reddit as well, but I like multiple opinions/solutions/approaches.

Any thoughts?

I don't have much experience working with arrays/lists/dictionaries, but it could be down to a Game Maker quirk. Try putting your script in the end/begin step instead of normal step. Try switching the position of vk_left and vk_right in the code and see if the error changes. Like Wyndstryker suggests, find some way to print the variables you're working with in real-time, or design some way to make the game report every little thing it's doing and exactly when it's doing it. Might not be relevant to Game Maker code, but a lot of nested if-statements-- especially with no connected else-statements-- can cause some logical mysteries. Good luck!

 

[nicoga3000]

I'm not gamemaker scripting guru but whenever I have a problem I just start checking every variable in debug mode.

Didn't really get anything out of debug mode. However, putting the code below into the Begin Step event fixed the problem. I still don't understand why, though.

if (isMoving == false)
{
    if (keyboard_check(vk_anykey))
    {
        if (obj_grid.transition[x div 32, y div 32] == 1)
        {
            if (room = room_1)
            {
                room_goto(room_2);                
            }
            
            if (room = room_2)
            {
                room_goto(room_1);
            }
        }                    
    }
}

Thinking out loud for any GM users...

Is it because the original code was doing a room_goto() and an array check at the same time which caused the issue? I mean, "same time" meaning during the step? I tried adding "isMoving = true" in the room transition, but it still caused the error on vk_left. So that leads me to belive that even though isMoving = true, it was performing a vk_anykey check as well as vk_left during a room transition.

The other thing I'll say is that the debugger is telling you exactly what the problem is. In your array, one of the values you're feeding into it is negative. For example, you might be asking for the value of obj_grid.cells[-1, 0], which is an invalid array index. In fact, the parser even tells you the error sprang up on line 32, which is this:

if (obj_grid.cells[x div 32 - 1, y div 32] == 0)

So what you need to do is ensure that you're never providing the value -1 or lower. For a quick fix, go into the General Options Tab and check Short-Circuit Evaluations if it isn't already. Then change line 32 to

if (x div 32 - 1 >= 0 && obj_grid.cells[x div 32 - 1, y div 32] == 0)

Yeah, I realized that the error is due to a negative array reference...I just couldn't figure out why it was triggering a negative array when I was executing a room_goto() action before the key checks. I have fixed the issue via Begin Step, but I'll look into your suggestion to see how to make use of it in the future!

What does checking Short-Circuit Evaluations do?

 

[Blizzard]

Didn't really get anything out of debug mode. However, putting the code below into the Begin Step event fixed the problem. I still don't understand why, though.

if (isMoving == false)
{
    if (keyboard_check(vk_anykey))
    {
        if (obj_grid.transition[x div 32, y div 32] == 1)
        {
            if (room = room_1)
            {
                room_goto(room_2);                
            }
            
            if (room = room_2)
            {
                room_goto(room_1);
            }
        }                    
    }
}

Thinking out loud for any GM users...

Is it because the original code was doing a room_goto() and an array check at the same time which caused the issue? I mean, "same time" meaning during the step? I tried adding "isMoving = true" in the room transition, but it still caused the error on vk_left. So that leads me to belive that even though isMoving = true, it was performing a vk_anykey check as well as vk_left during a room transition.

It's been a while since I used GM script, but is that supposed to be "room == room_1" and "room == room_2" instead?

 

[nicoga3000]

It's been a while since I used GM script, but is that supposed to be "room == room_1" and "room == room_2" instead?

Yeah, it should be ==, that was my bad. Although that wasn't triggering the error. The error was related to a negative array.

E: Thinking aloud again, I think setting isMoving = true in the room transition is dumb because I still need to finish the if statement before the next step to check it. Duh.

I'm dumb.

 

[Five]

What does checking Short-Circuit Evaluations do?

It drops out of an evaluation at the first sign of returning false. Consider the following code:

var n, a;
n = -1;
a[0] = 2;
if (n >= 0 && a[n] == 2) {
  // do something
}

With no short-circuit evaluation, the program first checks to see if n is greater than or equal to zero (false) and then checks if a[n] is 2, but throws up an error because a[-1] is an invalid array index. With short-circuit evaluation, it gives up after realizing that n is not greater or equal to zero and doesn't run into the error. The evaluation still returns false, and the "do something" is not executed.

Why would you use that instead of nesting evaluations? Partly for conserving space, and partly for avoiding redundancy. Which of the two following blocks looks neater?

var n, a;
n = -1;
a[0] = 2;
if (n >= 0 && a[n] == 2) {
  // do something
} else {
  // do something else
}

var n, a;
n = -1;
a[0] = 2;
if (n >= 0) {
  if (a[n] == 2) {
    // do something
  } else {
    // do something else
  }
} else {
  // do something else
}

 

[domino99]

finally put up the new ghost song gameplay video. I've been planning to do this precise video for a while, but I kinda put it off because of a few relatively small things that were holding everything up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z--HxpK_-4&list=UUaBsGH6hhWw4q_OOI6D9p_g

let me know what you think or if you have any questions. notable new things shown here since the last video -- new camera (which can also now be easily influenced with the right analog stick), map system, and some other new things too.

As somebody who is also make indie game inspired by metroid your game is absolutely stunning and has changed into huge inspiration for me.

Keep up to good work.

 

[nicoga3000]

It drops out of an evaluation at the first sign of returning false. Consider the following code:

This makes great sense, thanks.

 

[TheHollowNight]

An actual look at the level generation! There is some repetition on the cap tiles that we need to fix, but it's pretty much done!

 

[yurinka]

Mockup of Alpaca Paca, I'm starting to draw and animate enemies. The game is supposed to be a dream/nightmare of a guy who just ate too much south american food.

Game is something like Bubble Bobble/SnowBros with 4P Samurai Gunn/Towarfall competitive action. Kill everyone to clear the level, burgers give you extra score, specially the only one that is cold (like Bombjack). Tap fire to spit, which stuns enemies, or hold fire to drop a mine (poop, stuns a longer period of time).

What do you think about the seagulls? The panther is already animated, and feels good even if the frames of the screenshot without movement feel weird.

 

[razu]

I have moved house!! I have had internet for over a week, but just got a wifi bridge to the office! Lots been going on in this thread!!

Self teaching myself blender for our next game, testing out a model after I sketched it. Not bad! The legs look messed from this angle, hmm.

Looks cool! I like solid, un-textured things

I've been a long time observer but haven't really posted....

This is a level boss I made for a project I'm working on.

This is a titan guy I created(WIP). For our 2D game (you would be the red guy in the pic). Do you think it's too big? He's basically 3 screens long.

It would be about like this on the screen. You would be able to move freely up and down ect, but I guess my main concern would be that if the titan walked it would be too much/overwhelming I guess. :/

Great work! Not sure that the sprite fits with it though. And, perhaps the titan is a bit 'soft'...? Really good though.

I see no problem here..

working on things that probably aren't critical (footprints, object layers) & things that are critical (walking animation, shooting, inventory start). Snow Cowboy

I love this little dude. And in my experience, working away on the little stuff gives you time to figure out the big stuff. As an added bonus, when the big stuff works, you have finishing touches already! I try to mix the big and little along the way. Keeps it fun too.

 

[superNESjoe]

Thinking about porting GunWorld over from Game Maker Studio to Unity 2d. I have no programming knowledgr outside of what I would consider medium-to-high level use of GML script (i dont drag-and-drop a single part of my games, nor do I utilize any pre-built physics.) Everything in GunWorld is coded via GML.

Anyone with experience in both engines have any tips for me should I decide to make the switch? Unity has better performance and resources and I feel it could be a major benefit.

 

[missile]

Can anyone recommend a 3d game engine book or a site? I'm not looking at using an off the shelf 3d engine such as cry engine, unreal, unity etc. ...

Can't really give an advice for a book you're looking for, since each and
everyone about 3d engines comes with their own overhead/whyofthinging/mess.

... I know the basics already such as matrices, transformation, lighting, gouraud shading, back face culling, painter's algorithm (l know it's garbage lol but familiar with z-buffer). ...

Painter's algorithm isn't garbage. It's a different technique, it's an object
space (resolution independent) technique whereas the Z-buffer is an image
space (resolution dependent) technique, as you may know already, with a better
runtime -- if the shading technique doesn't hurt too much. However, with an
every increase in shader complexity the Z-buffer becomes more inefficient due
to overdraw. Evaluating a complex shading equation per-pixel and throwing the
result away for the next object covering the give one can become quite an
expensive task. So in one way or another the Z-buffer needs help from object
space if we wanna have cool and complex shaders for the years to come,
producing many of the hybrid Z-buffering systems.

However, there is an intrinsic property of the painter's algorithm which is
essentially the core of all 3d computer graphics, it's the object space depth
test. Basically the painter's algorithm is a very specialized variant of doing
a depth test and bringing the objects in order which doesn't work as good as
the Z-buffer for complex scenes as we know. But the key-point is the object
space depth test. This is what is skipped today when people do learn 3d
computer graphics. The painter's algorithm is mentioned just in passing and
the Z-buffer is then explained and used, skipping one of the most important
problems of 3d computer graphics in understanding the issue of any hidden-
line/surface algorithm.

... What l want to learn
Imagine i've got a 3d maze with some basic cube objects. What l want to do is learn how traverse through the scene with basic collision detection for the maze and the cubes...

If l have this knowledge then l can really starting playing around with some ideas using the Oculus Rift R2 kit i've purchased recently.. I'm not looking at anything fancier than this.

And that's why you need a book on 3d engines? Well, why don't you just put
your objects in a list (which solves the traversing part xD) and apply, as a
basic start, the same algorithm as frustum culling/clipping to each cube
against each plane (collision detection) of the maze? If you have implemented
frustum culling/clipping you likewise get a method for collision detection,
it's basically the same thing -- object collides with frustum. :+

 

[Feep]

Fuck deadlines

Fuck them

It's 2 AM and the coffee and lack of sleep is making me jittery and weird

 

[missile]

^ You do games for real! xD :+

Out of curiosity; did anyone ever died on a deadline?

 

[-Winnie-]

Our game Screencheat is going to to PAX Prime with Indie Megabooth! Holy sheeeetttt! So proud of the team. :,)

http://indiemegabooth.com/indie-megabooth-announces-line-pax-prime-2014/

 

[TheHollowNight]

Woooof. Looks like we might switch to 3D for Beacon, but keep the the neutral flat shaded look of the art. Nothing else will change, same perspective all that jazz, just it would solve A LOT of issues we're running into; Conveying depth from the orthographic angle, collisions associated with said depth, animating characters, etc. Also most of the team are 3D artists meaning we could get more assets made quicker instead of simply relying on Tay to draw everything.

We're doing some early tests, and I'll update once we are more sure of what we want to do. But we'll only do this if we can mimic the art as closely as possible. Any shaders for Unity that could help neutralize the lighting/shading of 3D geometry?

 

[bumpkin]

Does anyone here have any experience with publishing on the Vita using the PlayStation Mobile SDK? Is it a worthwhile venture?

I mean aside from Sony basically killing the Vita...

 

[HelloMeow]

We're doing some early tests, and I'll update once we are more sure of what we want to do. But we'll only do this if we can mimic the art as closely as possible. Any shaders for Unity that could help neutralize the lighting/shading of 3D geometry?

Self-Illumin or Unlit might do what you want.

Unlit is just a texture and ignores lights. The Self-Illuminated shaders can light themselves based on alpha channel.

 

[Blizzard]

Round 4 of 5 for Ludum Dare theme voting is up:

Artificial Intelligence
Brainwashed
Break It, Fix It
Don't Save The Princess
Dreams And Nightmares
Forgotten
Fortress
From The Ashes
Glimpse Of The Future
Human Stupidity
I For One Welcome Our New Robot Overlords
Maps
No Return
Potato Salad
Things Are Not What They Seem
Under Pressure
Unlimited
What Is That In The Distance?
Wonderful Apocalypse
You're Not Supposed To Be Here
You Can Never Have Too Many

I don't like several of these. Apparently "Connected Worlds" was the big winner on day 1, which I think is a bit cliche for the whole flipping-between-worlds mechanic, but I imagine some people will do some creative things if it wins.

 

[amoeba]

I'm still a ways away from putting together a more public presence for one of the projects I've been working on recently, but I thought I could share some of the things I put together earlier in its development. Sorry for the images being on the smaller side.
It's a quest-driven gunslinging adventure set in an Old West-style fictional universe, built in Unity.

This is an early test of accessible buildings and breakable glass using a character model made up of boxes (also seen above).

Another test of roughly the same scene, where I started working more on improving the lighting and colour profile during night time.

This is the current state of one of the character models I've been working on recently.

Looks like we might switch to 3D for Beacon....it would solve A LOT of issues we're running into; Conveying depth from the orthographic angle, collisions associated with said depth, animating characters, etc. Also most of the team are 3D artists meaning we could get more assets made quicker....

Beacon is looking so great. If you can make the change to 3D and still get the aesthetic you want, I think in the end it would alleviate more workflow issues than it creates.

 

[Miutsu]

Woooof. Looks like we might switch to 3D for Beacon, but keep the the neutral flat shaded look of the art. Nothing else will change, same perspective all that jazz, just it would solve A LOT of issues we're running into; Conveying depth from the orthographic angle, collisions associated with said depth, animating characters, etc. Also most of the team are 3D artists meaning we could get more assets made quicker instead of simply relying on Tay to draw everything.

We're doing some early tests, and I'll update once we are more sure of what we want to do. But we'll only do this if we can mimic the art as closely as possible. Any shaders for Unity that could help neutralize the lighting/shading of 3D geometry?

This is what I'm planning to do with my next game for sure (as long as the artstyle remains flatish), depending on the type of view you want to have for your game, making a full 2D game can get harder as you want your game to look great in all different kind of screen setups (sizes/resolutions) and this can lead to overwork having to generate different sets of sprites and such.

Again, that depends a lot of the kind of game one is developing, but I'm being a victim of this in my own game as its completely 2D and I want the textures to look good in most types of screens, so I end up with 4 sets of sizes for each image.

 

[TheHollowNight]

Self-Illumin or Unlit might do what you want.

Unlit is just a texture and ignores lights. The Self-Illuminated shaders can light themselves based on alpha channel.

Thanks! We'll look into that. One of my friends also suggested using a diffuse wrap shader found in here: http://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/SL-SurfaceShaderLightingExamples.html
Should go some way to help flatten the lighting somewhat.

Beacon is looking so great. If you can make the change to 3D and still get the aesthetic you want, I think in the end it would alleviate more workflow issues than it creates.

Thanks for the kind words! That was pretty much our reasoning. We will be able to build levels simply so much faster and issues with sorting, funky depth & collisions will be gone. We know 3D workflows much better as a team, so it makes more sense. I'm glad we're experimenting with this at the early stages though, we'll be minimizing any risk associated with switching to 3D. I expect some issues will arise like goofiness with flying enemies and bullet collisions, but let's see how this art test pans out first

Also your stuff looks great!

This is what I'm planning to do with my next game for sure (as long as the artstyle remains flatish), depending on the type of view you want to have for your game, making a full 2D game can get harder as you want your game to look great in all different kind of screen setups (sizes/resolutions) and this can lead to overwork having to generate different sets of sprites and such.

Again, that depends a lot of the kind of game one is developing, but I'm being a victim of this in my own game as its completely 2D and I want the textures to look good in most types of screens, so I end up with 4 sets of sizes for each image.

Yeah definitely. If we can make it mimic our 2D art we'll go ahead. I wish we could make it work as a 2D game, but it simply doesn't mesh any more with what we require. The type of orthographic perspective doesn't really lend itself to 2D art, combined with the fact that we're not going for a lo-fi/pixel art aesthetic. Animations would have to be huge sequences for each directional angle. We looked into using Imposter to do a hybrid mix, but it just began becoming more of a headache as time went on.

This will definitely make an enjoyable blog post though, so I'll be looking forward to writing that

 

[hoverX]

Can anyone recommend a 3d game engine book or a site? I'm not looking at using an off the shelf 3d engine such as cry engine, unreal, unity etc.

I know the basics already such as matrices, transformation, lighting, gouraud shading, back face culling, painter's algorithm (l know it's garbage lol but familiar with z-buffer). I experienced this back at Uni (some time ago l should add) and also played around with Open GL in C++.

What l want to learn
Imagine i've got a 3d maze with some basic cube objects. What l want to do is learn how traverse through the scene with basic collision detection for the maze and the cubes...

If l have this knowledge then l can really starting playing around with some ideas using the Oculus Rift R2 kit i've purchased recently.. I'm not looking at anything fancier than this.

The books by the Khronos Group are pretty good.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0321552628/khongrou-20

 

[Feep]

There Came an Echo has reached alpha status! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

(personal ice bucket video contained in link)