I'm a Linux Systems Engineer, amateur sci-fi author, and gamer who's dabbled with gamedev since I was about 12 years old. Author of several mods as Mechwarrior 4's Siege Mode and the CoopBot for Quake1. This blog is my sounding board on Game-Guru, gamedev, and tech topics in general. Currently authoring a start to finish guide on Game-Guru for Taylor and Francis publishing, should be on shelves around June 2019.
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ENGINE UPDATE PROGRESS REPORT
I think it's fair to say we've been waiting a while for a real update.
Public Preview 2 is out and we've had some time to evaluate it. It's not as bad as the first public preview, in my opinion, but it still has miles to go as evidenced by the github repo issues log: https://github.com/TheGameCreators/GameGuruRepo/issues
This is disturbing because I think when we started down this road to DX11 we never expected we'd be sitting on the same FUNCTIONAL stable version of Game-Guru for nearly a year. We're going on 10 months now since the last real update to Game-Guru. I cannot understand why the decision was made to not at least offer simple proven bugfixes to the base DX9 edition. I cannot also understand why the DX11 edition wasn't spun off into a separate purchase option but that's just me being my usual Capitalist pig self.
NEW PRODUCTS IN THE STORE
My LightKit is on sale this week for $2 USD: https://www.tgcstore.net/product/30936
This week can be boiled down to two distinct updates of new content:
First - we have a whole western themed town, which is a fantastic addition to the store and really fits a pretty empty niche.
This is just a fraction of the immense asset list.
On top of that, it has a significant degree of quality that makes it worth the $19.99 pack price being asked. The kit includes around 80 models in varying levels of quality from 100 to 6000 polys with one outlier in the 9000+ range. Some of the models have an extremely simple design but the texturing is expertly done. For this guy, that's hugely important.
The artist Sula has the pack available on the store here: https://www.tgcstore.net/pack/11009
Second we have a sort of 'dueling tree competition' between m2design and honkeyboy.
I'm not sure why, but both of them have submitted trees to the store for your perusal. There's already a lot of trees on the store but hey, what's a few more right?
FREE STUFF
- GraphiX continues his free weapon parade with this awesome drill-bit shooting gun: https://forum.game-guru.com/thread/219394
I'm always in favor of new free weapons, as they are time consuming to make and usually cost a fair amount on the store. So anytime someone is generous enough to provide even something halfway decent, it's a boon for the rest of us. This however is a really nice piece with excellent texturing. Not wild about the colors but the actual textures look great!
Wolf's change to Acythian - He updated saying he's renaming the project listed as Acythian to... something else. He's going to start a new project for Acythian that he feels is better suited for it. 'Guns of Solo' - Not a bad first try for a project, in fact a pretty good one. Levels look well designed, use of custom assets is decent enough. I have to say it's a pretty good attempt and I hope he takes the time to finish it.
IN MY OWN WORKS
- added several thousand words to book, almost finishing one of the final chapters on selling, legal information and dealing with hostile customers.
- current word count sits at 37,000+ out of a projected 120,000+.
Sorry for the delayed update this week. Family's been sick and I'm not feeling that great myself.
ENGINE UPDATE PROGRESS REPORT
Currently the engine appears to have a PP version brewing for mid-February which should resolve many of the issues we've seen with a quick followup (hopefully) to a regular release. That'll put us on track for Lee's usual 6 month release cycle for major changes.
Beyond that it appears there's ongoing work on previous download content and add-ons for Game-Guru getting the 'PBR treatment'. This includes now the Mega Pack 1 DLC as mentioned here.
NEW PRODUCTS IN THE STORE
Mad lobster keeps adding more and more to his laboratory kit. I'm astonished he'd continue to give current owners extra value on what was ALREADY a good value. The price of the kit HAS gone up to reflect that, but if you're a current owner make sure you download the latest goodies for the laboratory kit.
It looks like the venerable (and somewhat wacky) Colosso has increased his proficiency at modeling considerably and his newer objects continue to add quality and value to his portfolio. His newest pack and objects are proof of that.
Teabone has added some fine clutter objects, including the best looking food object I've seen in a long time. Not sure how he does it, but definitely worth a purchase for that low of a price.
Also, as a side note, purchasers of my Advanced Time of Day and Weather kit will have an update available to them. It's a fairly major bugfix and update. You can see the details below in the 'in my own works' section.
FREE STUFF
The big news here is that Lafette has given away a very major piece of work for free out of what seems to be boredom with the project. It's an extremely high quality science fiction kit that can be found here: https://forum.game-guru.com/thread/219315
THIRD PARTY TOOLS
Heightmap import (HIMP) tool is on hold due to BOTR having a newborn son. Congrats!
Entity welder is also on hold for the same reason.
RANDOM ACTS OF CREATIVITY
Looks like Dimoxiland is doing some more work on his project "Space Losers" for GG. These updates are always exciting because he's pretty much the cream of the crop for Game-Guru developers. Check out this screenshot!
That's what I'm talking about. All custom code, graphics, etc. It's impressive beyond any reason and if he finishes it will probably put Game-Guru on the map.
Added specular effect for snow to give it whitish appearance for terrain objects on highest values. I basically changed specularity to 50x for white. This can be commented out if it's not desirable but overall I think it works well enough considering the engine itself.
Repaired broken build with files specifically from PP
dev build of mine cross-pollinating live non-pp (DX9) build.
updated test map file
Fixed/repaired time function(s), they sync to states now and also rollover seamlessly day to day
Fixed broken cycleloopcounter pointers which were still working in old code (singleuse/singlestate/etc).
Fixed bag_w_indoors script, huzzah!
Added 'pp' versions of the weather effects. If they don't work, let me know the error you get.
So to sum up I basically had a non-pp build get mixed with a pp build that accidentally got uploaded. I basically made separate FPE files at this point for the PP weather effect decals which can be used in place. The script remains the same for both as it will function on both. I'm also including both .fx files for the effectbank folder which should resolve any conflict between the two versions. The biggest fix is the resolution of the w_indoors script, which now functions seamlessly.
Camerakit is almost ready to be bundled up and posted to the store, expect that very shortly!
Dimoxinil is not only a hard to spell username, but also one of the premier Game-Guru creators.
His previous works (though uncompleted) really set the bar rather high for what's capable with this handy little engine we all like to dick around in from time to time.
This newest game is a really well thought out piece of work and we got a little off topic discussing level design principles; specifically this particular image:
And also it was noted that there should be some differentiation in the shapes being used by Dimoxinil on this image:
It's really hard to believe quality like this can come out of Game-Guru.
So this got me thinking and I had to expand on some of my own thoughts posted there by way of a highly verbose piece written here :)
So I really have no complaints myself about this particular image. It's a little washed out, maybe, but the shapes used are really pretty good at providing a maze-like feel. If that's what you're going for, that is. If you are trying to provide a clearly navigable experience, however, you get lost in it.
I personally don't really like the trend of modern games going the route of "This is my linear movie level. It's highly detailed, but not mentally stimulating in the least."
An oldie, but a goodie!
The above picture really illustrates once again that no matter how you dress up a simple linear FPS game, it's really just that - a Linear FPS game.
When I read "Masters of Doom", which I consider a must-read by any serious FPS game dev, I saw that John Romero had gotten his start in 3d level design making mazes. Now this is an important differentiation between modern game design and 'old school' game design.
Because of the lack of horsepower, gamedevs were FORCED to use more inventive methods to stimulate the player's interest. This included mental stimulation on the level of insidious puzzles and secrets. This wasn't even a new concept. The further back you went, the more obvious the mazes were (primarily because of the limitations involved with graphics,storage, and processing hardware).
One of the first mazes I recall from my youth showing on my TV screen.
In fact, if you look at video gaming history, it's rife with mazes. At least, until, hardware improved.
Then we found ourselves in a place where the streets were long and flat but the window dressing was really good. I noticed a correlation with this in the early 2k's. Games were getting prettier .. and easier. Tutorials, controls, everything started slowly getting simplified.
Maybe our games are making us dumber? The lack of mazes means lack of higher order thought; people can't process their environments anymore. It's difficult to really figure your way around a maze with no clear start or end.. with no walls to guide you. That however can bring it's own enjoyment. There are, however, certain tricks you can use to make sure your players aren't getting lost (at least, until you intend for them to be!).
Now it's not hard for you to figure out I live in Pennsylvania. I've lived here my whole life. I have spent many, MANY hours as a boy meandering around the forests. It's real easy to get lost because so much of it is just .. so ... SIMILAR. As I got older my interest in Survivalism and Hiking helped me get a solid sense of navigational techniques. These same techniques can be used to help guide a player. Some games virtually beat you over the head with modern methods such as the 'use a light to guide the player' technique:
I absolutely enjoyed Doom 2016 but the hell maps were a case study in 'follow the green light to move on'
While I respect and appreciate some of the things modern level designers have done (the aforementioned Doom, for instance, had superbly designed secrets), I really feel like we've over-simplified some of the bits that made gaming fun for those of us who cut our teeth on the Atari, Nintendo, and 286/386/486 PCs.
Rule One: Try to provide a significant landmark to guide players.
That big rock gives you a clear sense of where you are.
When you're out navigating the woods, when you find a major landmark you latch onto it. It is your anchor, your safety net. Landmark-based navigation is among the oldest and most easily used methods of finding your way through difficult terrain. In the above picture, you have two great landmarks. You have the big rock but ALSO a winding river. Now if they diverge into separate paths, most people will automatically use that to triangulate where they are. It's sort of a built in function of the human brain. Giving people a clock tower, obelisk, large river, mountain, or building can easily change a level from a faceless, winding maze to something where you never truly feel lost. After all, you're always still anchored to that rock in the distance.
Rule Two: Light is a landmark, but don't overdo it.
Another time-honored tradition in the real world for navigation is using the position of the sun, moon, or stars to determine where you are. It's natural for humans to seek light as a source of navigation; cave exits, campfires, houses, all are denoted by lights. When you get to the point of literally cutting almost every single light out to give people a deliberate trail though of 'green lights' then you are at that point going a little too far, in my humble opinion.
The light is a precious resource; something you don't realize until you are lost in the forest, alone.
Consider this; you are walking through a forest, on a path without a compass. The path is winding with many forks and the trail is faint. The trees are like walls, blocking out any landmarks. You have a watch and know it's 8am. Suddenly, you get a glimmer of light from the sun; you realize it's to your right and because of that you know that the sun rose in the east - making your direction currently north. That's opposite the way you wanted to go! You return to your previous fork and try a different path, carefully keeping the position of the sun in line with the direction you wish to go.
These are real world usages of this. I've been lost in the forest myself before. I was literally standing on a path wondering where the hell I was. I knew the path had diverged before. Obviously I was *SOMEWHERE*. Until I caught a glimpse of the sun though, I really had no idea which direction I was headed.
Rule Three: Paths are guidelines, not rules.
Sure, you can keep following the path, but what happens when you go off the trail?
The expression "off the beaten path" is an oft-used one but really denotes that most people tend to follow the trails as given. Which, let's be fair here, trails exist for a reason. They are the typically navigated path. The problems arise when you put the player on a trail they cannot deviate from. That's not a trail; that's a railroad. Providing a player a rewarding experience is more than simply giving them a huge art budget and professionally written story. It's about making the game fun too; exploration is an oft-underutilized component of modern gameplay. Worse still are examples (I'm looking at you, World of Warcraft) that literally turn exploration into a clinical exercise in boredom.
Rule Four: If you really want to get a player lost, take away their frames of reference.
Variety is the spice of life. While it's wonderful to give players a thoughtfully done level that is intuitive to navigate, yet challenging in it's complexity, it's often good to sometimes pull the rug out from under them.
Photo by Alex Wise.
When you dump your player into an area with no clear beginning or end and everything looks the same... they're going to feel a type of helplessness that really can't be described in words. This type of change of pace can often be enough to really help break apart the monotony of longer games. Putting in a hedge-style maze that's got a ceiling on it, a teleportation maze where every room is almost the same, or just a great big forest with a whole lot of trees can really change the tempo of a game and give you a real hand in the player's fate.
In conclusion:
I think Wolf really said it best on the original forum post in question:
"I think divisions like this are toxic in a medium that should be about
freedom of art and expression. Multiplayer legends like "killbox" or "facing worlds" wouldn't make me an expert?
A lot of very simplistic multiplayer levels are well loved. This also
feeds into the culture of bearded, flannel wearing people with a mild
depression that tend to overthink and navel gaze game development. This
statement is personal, neither objective, nor fair, nor grounded in
anything but my own petty dislike for some happenings in the indie scene
lately though."
Or if you really want to simplify it, take Bugsy's sage advice:
"remember kids: if your map doesn't have a rotunda, you're not an expert level designer"
Sage advice, indeed. I'll settle for just telling anyone reading this to maybe think about maybe adding more intellectually stimulating mazes, if only for my own gaming pleasure.
I have been waiting a long time for something like this. I've had a Sci-Fi project on the back burner which I have wanted to do for a long... LONG time. Years before even doing anything with FPSC:R.
So without hesitation, I purchased the kit.
Hot damn. Sci-Fi always gets the blood pumping.
I was not disappointed.
This kit cost a meager 8 dollars; that's a pittance for what you get:
5 guns, one low price.
Lets review the 5 weapons given:
You get the IronFist Shotgun. I have to say as a firearms owner and enthusiast - this thing is awesome. It behaves EXACTLY as I want a "Space Shotgun" to behave. It fires out of an eight round drum magazine and the animation is smooth as butter. It's easy to handle and frankly just feels good.
Next up is the Quasar Gun; this is a full-auto carbine which has a good bit of recoil. Of the bunch, its my least favorite aesthetically though it does have a pretty nice alien feel. I really enjoy watching the drum rotate as it fires. It features a thirty-two round box magazine which then feeds into some kind of accumulator drum that rotates. There's one minor flaw and really my only complaint here. If you really go frame by frame on the box magazine it shows some pretty gigantic bullets. I don't really care honestly because it happens too fast for the user to notice but it is a fault and bears mentioning. That said, ejected shell casings are PERFECT on all weapons - no more full cartridge ejections!
The S4-VC6 pistol is a fantastic weapon; it's a nice all around weapon with good visibility of the gloved hand. Now normally I'd complain about how you can see the hands but honestly I don't plan on using non-standard weapons and if I do, I will simply reduce the weapon's visibility via configuration files.
A pre-alpha WIP screenshot of my upcoming space-shooter.
The Sniper R400 Panther is a well rounded sniping weapon. I have a confession to make - I hate sniping weapons in this game engine. They are quite simply too strong. They make the game exceptionally easy on a number of levels. This gun, however, feels balanced and decent with it's twelve round stick magazine- unlike the base level 'remington hunting rifle' that comes with gameguru. It's a good weapon in most circumstances and basically acts as a long range 'upgrade' to the pistol. It's also gorgeous in the right lighting.
The Typhoon is straight out awesome. At first I thought "oh great, another full auto gun." But in truth, it's a weapon unto itself with a fifty round magazine of what are effectively pistol rounds. It does less damage than the Quasar but slams out the rounds so fast and cleanly it is my preferred weapon of the bunch. This little monster feels fantastic and is right at home in any Sci-Fi game.
One important note: All of these guns actually come with an alt-fire mode. Literally press left-alt and you get a melee attack animation that's not shown in the video or really documented at all. Your character lowers his gun and throws out a quick right hook. It's a nice freebie and makes the 'what do I do if I have no ammo' situation less difficult to work around.
Overall opinion and observations: This pack is extremely well priced. You get 6 weapons for the price of 4, effectively, which is a helluva deal. The weapons all feel unique enough and their respective weapon boxes/ammo boxes look great too. The muzzle flash on all of these guns is SPOT on and looks fantastic. The minor flaws of the other weapon packs (recoil, gun feel, ejected weapon cartridges, etc) have all been clearly lessons that were learned from. BSP has outdone himself.
If I had to buy just one: It's 8 dollars. Just buy the pack. There's really no reason not to. But if you are absolutely trying to be as cheap as possible - get the Typhoon. It's too fun not to have.
I've got tons of reviews over there and some good original content if you're interested. Here's some hotlinks to the 'good ones' (In my humble opinion):
