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Monday, April 29, 2019

This Week in GameGuru - 04/29/2019

Apologies are in order for being out last week. My day job has us do an out-of-town Biannual disaster recovery event which requires me to travel and work throughout the week.

That said there's a lot to cover, let's get to it!

GameGuru News


I've been told that things are in the pipeline, though no specifics have been given.  Expect news probably in the next few weeks with respect to that.

Rumblings from the community seem to indicate a fairly large shift centering around Multiplayer but I really hope that we also see a major spate of bugfixes given that there's a fairly heavy amount of open issues on GitHub. Once again, time will tell.

For now, your best choice is to look at what Cybernessence (see below) is doing.

What's Good In the Store


This week's totally subjective analysis of store items is.. fairly extensive.  Significant amounts of creativity went into the new items on the store!

There's a superb AFV from relative newcomer Zubil0:



You can get your copy here, it's well priced at a meager $2.50!

Campana productions put out a torture pack, if you're needing something more gruesome for your project.

Graphix has been prolific in his recent PBR additions, with everything from shipping containers to fencing packs.


Sula has put together a city and road pack that is fully PBR enabled.
Full kit includes 31 fully PBR modeled entities for building roads and cities!

This is one of my few 'must buy' kits for this year, in my opinion.  For the price, it's a great deal that will help you put together some really convincing cityscapes.

Dagored has been working diligently on his exploding bridges set and I have to say...


It's more than satisfying.  It also allows for some interesting game dynamics so definitely take a look and see if it's your speed. For me, it definitely fits in well with other destructible entities such as rolfy's old exploding city set.  Get your copy here: https://www.tgcstore.net/pack/11100

The music scene on the store has been exploding as well. I unfortunately haven't had time to review them all but there's some really excellent stuff that's been posted in the past few days such as:
PDKMusic's 'Wasteland Blues' music pack: https://www.tgcstore.net/product/32353

Tarkus's several recent works, all horror related and recently put into the 'decay' pack: https://www.tgcstore.net/pack/11098


There's a lot more on the store as well.  Some of the recent changes to the store, by the way, include a direct link to the GCSS discord on the seller's page and some more orientation towards providing support for other engines.

Third Party Tools and Tutorials


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO05fYSVoNQ Maiacombra made a great tutorial on how to update your models to use the illumination shader.

Apparently Vishnu Studio has finished their 'Vishnu Packer' program.  This fully featured program provides significant installation support for GameGuru standalones.  You can get your free copy here:
In an update near and dear to my heart, BOTR has is working on updating his Heightmap 2 GG tool.

Free Stuff


AmenMoses has been hard at work on several new scripts - the most recent of which is a 'freeze player' script that works for pausing the player's movement to allow specific events to play out: https://forum.game-guru.com/thread/220055?page=1#msg2614939

He is apparently also working on a 'gear library' which allows mechanical gears to function in GG.  Very cool stuff.

There's a free 'Sci-Fi Music' library on the TGCStore.  Pick up your copy here: https://www.tgcstore.net/product/32337

Graphix dropped some pipes and gauges, all PBR enabled here: https://forum.game-guru.com/thread/217932?page=14#msg2614784

Lafette put out an easter pack:



and also a beautiful fantasy loot and chest set

Thanks to all the content creators who are willing to provide freebies to the community.

Random Acts of Creativity (WIPs)

Foremost, the most recent work by Synchromesh on Protascope 'Phase 2' is looking really solid.  I'd say this is a great contender for a high end demo of what kind of work GameGuru is capable of.
The project Screos by Insane6 is coming along.  New screenshots were posted here: https://forum.game-guru.com/thread/220691#msg2615012
Cybernessence continues dropping huge amounts of information about his changes to the engine in his custom variation that will purportedly be merged into the main branch.  In this case, he's pretty much made it clear he's heavy on trying to fix the lighting system.  A great deal of new info can be found here and while technical in nature, it's quite inspiring and I truly wish him the best on his work! https://forum.game-guru.com/thread/213870?page=5#msg2614959 
An interesting concept called 'Ignite' is on the forums where a player doesn't fight enemies but uses a torch to stay 'alive' that must remain lit.  Interesting concept, I'm hoping to see some more fleshing out on this.   

Wolf has gone on to Unity, which is a shame but is rather predictable.  Many of the older hats have lost interest in waiting for updates, but often return when a major patch is released.  So we'll see you again soon!
 Lastly is an interesting project called 'Die Zombie Sausage, Die!' ... it has to be seen to be believed.

In My Own Works


This month has been mostly about building the sidecar content for the book, stabilizing deals and the like with people who are creating content to come with the book. My weapons developer has been making great strides towards some high quality weapons for purchasers of the book.  I'm really looking forward to releasing the content as soon as possible!


Tuesday, April 16, 2019

This Week in GameGuru - 04/15/2019

GameGuru News 

Nothing currently.  I've put out feelers with Deb and the team @ TGC for more details but so far there's nothing to report.  Github shows no forward momentum at this time either aside from a single ambient occlusion error listed on the issues tracker.  Details available here:

https://github.com/TheGameCreators/GameGuruRepo/commit/786ab7246e0b6d64f008ff30d81b0bef7fc518ac

So assuming we're hitting a phase of community development in the future I can offer one bit of hope for those still using GameGuru or new to it - Cybernessence.  His work in progress, 'The Cogwheel Chronicles' has a lot of custom code to it which will eventually find it's way (per his words on the forum) into the engine itself.  That said, I think many of us would truly appreciate some forward motion from the core team at TGC so here's to hoping their silence is indicative of that work!

What's Good in The Store

This week I added my pack freebie "Lonely Ice" to two different packs - owners of the 4K HD Space Skies pack will get it - as will the many Bonus Sampler Pack owners out there!  If you're looking for a low-priced way to check out one of the new 4K Skies, this is definitely the best option.  The Bonus Sampler's normal price is $1.50!

Beyond that we've got some other excellent work on the store this week:



BSP appears to have taken up the gauntlet I threw down with my skies and put together some good looking earth-based skies in high res (2k by 2k) -  https://www.tgcstore.net/pack/11099

Dagored put together some awesome exploding bridges.  I can see some serious potential with these.  Take a look at them here: https://www.tgcstore.net/pack/11100


Long-time artist "Northern" put up what looks like the beginnings of a picnic kit.  There's no pack to speak of yet though the models are of moderate quality and would be suitable as elements in most GG quality games.

Of particular note this week we have Gtox's 'Scarecrow' which features some really slick animation and fits the horror theme well. 


I highly recommend picking this up if you're making a high quality horror game in GameGuru, you can find it here: https://www.tgcstore.net/product/32636

Third-party Tools and Tutorials

This week Defy posted what I'd call one of the most important threads for GameGuru in 5 years - a very detailed breakdown memory consumption by the map size and some tips on how to keep that size down.  If you're an advanced user, you need to read this: https://forum.game-guru.com/thread/220706

I will be keeping it in my reference list on my blog (http://gamegurureport.blogspot.com) as well.

Also this week MaiaCombra put together a fairly basic tutorial that is worth the 20 minutes if you're a new user on how to make a horror-style game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9V5ZJJTONs


This week we also found out Vishnu Packer has added GameGuru Support:


This should help distribution of GameGuru Games for the layperson. 

Bored of the Rings is adding a fix to autowelder soon - details here: https://forum.game-guru.com/thread/219806?page=2#msg2614590

Free Stuff


Lafette made a building for everyone: https://forum.game-guru.com/thread/220474?page=2#msg2614566

JPH made some PBR trees: https://forum.game-guru.com/thread/219734?page=2#msg2614521



Random Acts of Creativity (WIPs)


This week saw some notable projects add to their portfolios as well as a few new ones.


LentheMan continues his work on his train scene for the cowboy shooter:

You can see the lighting start to really come together here.

Tarkus1971's 'Urban Histories' game had a video posted ... see it here: https://forum.game-guru.com/thread/220589?page=1#msg2614408

Maiacombra is putting together an outdoor military-style shooter: https://forum.game-guru.com/thread/220701

Scienceboy came back to his long-refined project "Twin Worlds" and posted some interesting teaser screenshots:



You can see more here: https://forum.game-guru.com/thread/208185?page=9#msg2614553 

And as mentioned in the news section, Cybernessence has some interesting work he's been doing.  Lately it appears that he's working with light probes to create a flashlight shadow from the dynamic flashlight light source.  Remember, he's mentioned these changes will get merged into GG when he's completed so this bodes well for the rest of us.

He provided a demo picture that is 'highly exaggerated' to give some sense of what he's doing.  Granted it doesn't look pretty but remember this picture is more of a technical demo than anything else:

Per Cybernessence: "Hugely exaggerated picture for illustration. There are no lights other than the sun in this scene. The sky and floor are being treated as ambient light sources (the probe fired as I approached) - notice the red from the floor on the wooden boards around the top of the building."

More details here: https://forum.game-guru.com/thread/213870?page=5#msg2614527

In My Own Works


This week I got my first batch of verifications from the publisher.  I also got wind of the pricing and asked about that - it appears the pricing is going to range from around $50 USD to $69USD.  That's a touch higher than expected.  I'm waiting for some words back on that as I know that's a bit much.  In other news, weapons development for the sidecar materials going with the book is coming along well.  I am pleased at what I've gotten thus far and look forward to revealing the full breadth of materials once the book is released.  Purchasers of the book will receive a copy of them for free, along with many of my other products including the Advanced Weather and Time of Day system.


Monday, April 8, 2019

This Week in GameGuru - 04/08/2019

GameGuru News


The attic pack is on sale.
Also, apparently (from the monthly newsletter):
"In the background, we have also received a new version of the GLTF importer code from a freelancer who helped create it, and although it only does static textured models at this stage, we are considering adding this new file format to the Model Importer in a future update.
We are also looking closely at a new multiplayer technology too, which will finally allow non-Steam non-owners of GameGuru to play multiplayer sessions with their friends, so watch out for official news on that in the next few months."

That's kind of neat, I guess?  I'm still anxious to hear about the bugfixes purportedly in the pipeline though.

Free Stuff

Grobyken put together a really good looking war-torn building model:




Third Party Tools and Tutorials


Some interesting info here in this AI thread: https://forum.game-guru.com/thread/220670

A user named 'Nevin' has been making several video tutorials on GameGuru including some basic scripting topics. You can find them here:

What's Good in the Store


This week there's been a lot of updates.  Lots of subjectively good things.


Dagored's got a great looking Apache chopper, Wolf's made some interesting Sci-Fi containers, Mad Lobster continues his film/photo set work, and Graphix put together some excellent looking PBR assets.

Random Acts of Creativity (WIPs)


Wolf's been working more on Acythian and fine-tuning his scenery:

A new project called "Sereos" (Serious?) made it's rounds with some decent looking screenshots:
Synchromesh added some new pieces to protascope and I have to say I'm super excited to see more work being done on this:

And I'm happy to report that Len the Man has been continuing his cowboy shooter, fine tuning his lighting and level design to produce some really nice looking results:

Keep doing the good work everyone! So far, it seems to be a very productive year for the community.

In My Own Works

The book's secondary materials are grinding along. I've also got edits to make on a very strict timeline to make the August 19th production deadline.

I've finally settled on my 'pack freebie' space sky for the new 4k kit. Owners of the 'Bonus Sampler' will get this included, as well as those who own the 4k HD Space Skies set will also receive this.
A teaser is included below and this should be added within the week!


Have a great week, everyone!




Monday, April 1, 2019

This Week in GameGuru - 04/01/2019

Happy April Fool's Day!  In this version of the GameGuruReport, I'll be covering the new Cry-Real-Ity engine, a fusion of the top three engines that is sure to deliver the best performance at the most complexity possible!

Or not.

On with the report!

GameGuru News


This week, we have the return of Lee.  I have it on fairly good authority that he's working hard on the engine, so hopefully we'll see some traction there.

On Github there's been an encryption issue recently resolved in the 'march fixer'.
Two new branches were added to GitHub - 'Alphasite and AlphasiteXR'.

What's Good in the Store


This week's totally subjective view of the store is rather favorable.  Wolf's started making models again.  I always do enjoy the style of his models.  He makes the most of the DNIS texture style.

Dagored put out a new sea creature, check it out here:

I really am digging the new 'snow falling windows' by 3com.  Very interesting work!

And lastly, a new user "fredgames77" has started putting up some interesting things, notably this scarecrow.

Free Stuff


Lafette II got out of the hospital and made a model of a volcano!

Get your copy here: https://forum.game-guru.com/thread/220474?page=2#msg2613848

Nothing else really came across my desk this week.


Third Party Tools and Tutorials


Nothing new this week, though the creator of Vishnu Packer is apparently looking at adding in GameGuru support.  

Random Acts of Creativity (WIPs) 

Tarkus1971 continues work on his Urban Histories game.

While it's heavily reliant on the Borderlands-esque cartoon shader, it has a solid look to it.  With polish, it will likely be a decent title.   I like the idea of an urban-exploration game, however, so this could be very interesting if the gameplay bears out.

Wolf showcased some new screenshots of some entities he's got as characters that seem fairly well put together though most of this is by his own words a retrofit on older media:


Still, custom media beats stock media by miles, so even a rework of older stuff is often better than the out of the box assets.  Details and further screenshots can be found here: https://forum.game-guru.com/thread/211124?page=7#msg2613860

In My Own Works

Well, finally got my production information from the publisher - it is going to be published on August 19, 2019.  So get your wallets ready :)

That all said, I have assets being made for this along with other interesting bits that are to go with this as a bonus. The weapons are coming along nicely and all should be in a nice line by the time the book goes on sale in August.  I'll be holding a promotion for a free copy as well, along with coupons, discounts and more!