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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Showing posts with label the game creators. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the game creators. Show all posts
This
article represents solely the opinion of the author and does not
reflect the opinions or views of r The Game Creators, it's employees, or
subordinates. It likewise does not reflect the views or opinions of
www.tgcstore.net and it's staff. The author receives no compensation
for this work and it is done solely as a service for the GameGuru
community at large.
GameGuru News
The public preview of the beta changes arrived and the changes are about what was expected:
per https://forum.game-guru.com/thread/221133
A bevvy of performance-related fixes were done including the draw-call batcher. * F11 in Standalone no longer causes PBR debug layers to be rendered
* New DOCDOC system added to code allowing a new 'Docs\SETUP INI Description.txt' doc to be auto-created
* Improved MIXAMO FBX Importing (2-chain-finger in T-POSE), simply select 'Uber' in 'Is Character Field'
* Added Convex Hull collision shape to the physics system, use by setting COLLISIONMODE in FPE to 9
* Fixed EXPORTASSETS flag in SETUP.INI to correctly export unencrypted full entities with standalone
Overall the results are positive but users are still reporting some errors - it's important to recall that a public preview is essentially the same as an open beta. It is widely accessible but not an official 'stable' version. Report your bugs!
What's Good in the Store
Erart made a somewhat bizarre but kind of cool 'magical hand' weapon. You have to see it to understand what I mean here:
This week the GameGuru youtube official channel posted more tutorials. Some of these are better than others but I think for most advanced users the useful ones would be the ones on blender and fbx imports.
This week we've got a lot of works in progress. Let's start with this one by C4ever08, a project titled called "Dietara" that we've covered before with lots of updates on it:
I admire the scope and personal touch of the landscape.
I'm really happy to see the response my book on GameGuru has gotten. I haven't gotten any kind of official figures but I can honestly say that this thing was a labor of love. I'll never break even on the time I invested or the money outlaid for things. I'm *STILL* dealing with some minor cleanup of items before they go on the store, though I don't see any reason why they shouldn't be up this week.
This week there was an impromptu free weekend for GameGuru. Unfortunately by the time you read this it'll have been closed. This infusion of fresh blood will likely give us a great deal more new users.
Work continues on updating older packs to PBR. I've seen some of the newer results and it's looking pretty good thus far!
Lastly on Github there are a significant amount of changes in motion. It appears some multiplayer codefixes and menu changes are in the works among other things. We'll know more as we approach release.
What's Good in the Store:
This week in the store we have some really excellent weapons by Mstockton - it's refreshing to see a modeller make the foray into weapons as they are such a tricky element to implement in GameGuru.
I'm particularly fond of how good the bottles look.
This is just a fraction of the assets you receive!
Also Mad Lobster is working on his first new pack in a long time, his film and photo pack continues his impressive use of PBR and modelling. It's well priced for the quality level you receive, and if his other pack is any indication it will easily be a top shelf item that will receive consistent updates and additions.
And lastly, I'm sure you had to guess if you know me - my first new works in nearly two years have been added to the store. I've gone and gotten fairly proficient with my new tools. Being bottled up creatively while writing a book for 10 months meant I had to run out and create something powerful - and I think I've done a fair job of that! I wanted to create the definitively highest quality space skies available for GameGuru.
What do you think ... did I hit the mark? I'll be putting the pack on sale by the time this post goes live for This week only. After that it'll go back up to it's normal price.
Also, I am yet to include the 'pack exclusive sky'. That should be added later this week so people who already purchased it - you'll see that in your inventory soon!
Please note there are a lot of good links just past that for BOTR's 3rd party utils - make sure you grab them while you can!
Free Stuff
I gave out a handful of my 'throwaway' 4k space skies. This is specifically for the ones I didn't feel met the level of quality I felt were worth selling. They still far exceed much of what's out there, in my opinion. Get your free copies here:
And sadly it's official - Bod's mods are no longer available. Thanks again Bod for all the hard work and good luck in your future endeavors!
Random Acts of Creativity (WIPs)
So right out - Wolf is continuing his work on his latest project and I have to say I'm optimistic to see it possibly reach it's conclusion in the future. What's shocking is finding out he's only using a DNIS workflow for these screenshots!
Bonesy is working on his shooter some more. I've gotten additional screenshots but the reality is I'm limited on size so I'm running out of runway on this blog post. Likewise maiacombra has also started some work on a sci-fi Robinson Crusoe style game.
Lastly Tarkus is working on a great looking game called 'Urban Histories' which has a real interesting feel to it. Looks like he's widely using readily available models with good placement and the cartoon shader to give it a good look and feel.
In My Own Works
So you may not have heard but the book is officially in the hands of the publisher, woo freaking hoo! I cannot tell you how weird it feels not having that as an ever-present companion to my work-week. I'm happy it's on it's way.
I picked out the cover art this weekend and worked on some other various side aspects of it such as the back cover text for the publisher.
I have 3-6 months to prep all of the game-specific assets that will go with it and I want to thank everyone who helped me with it. It's been a long ride and I'm really looking forward to seeing this thing in print!
Welcome back to another busy week in the GameGuru community. Let's dive right in!
Official GameGuru News
This week saw another model kit update - specifically PBR getting added to some of the collectibles and minor doodads of the Sci-Fi kit. I did notice, however, they are still using the Red Cross on the collectible for the heathkit. This is considered a no-no in the GameDev community since it violates the Geneva Convention for using the international symbol of the Red Cross. I brought this to TGC's attention and while no comment has been given thus far on it I'm certain they will take quick and decisive action to remedy this.
As we enter the traditional holiday cycle, don't be surprised to not see any major code releases or updates done for a while. I've noticed we tend to get 3-4 major releases a year and the most recent one will probably hold us for a while, likely until March or so. In the interim, it appears they are content to continue pushing Add On content and updates. It can be frustrating for users who want to see steady and complete refinement of the core product. Well hey, at least it's consistent, right?
What's New in the Store
Recently a TGCStore seller's discord was added. If you need access, contact 'TheNext' on the regular GameGuru discord.
Not a lot of brand new stuff, though it seems the cartoon-style assets are really taking off. I like how they look though I worry it's going to saturate the market a bit. Still, Reliquia and Belidos both are providing really quality stuff you can find right off the main store page.
In 2016 , there was a great bit of 'Christmas Giving' done at Wolf's signalling. I have to say, it was a nice sentiment and I would love to see more of that.
Well foremost it appears that Epic games is positioning themselves as an indie gamedev marketplace. This is huge news and deserves some praise. Steam is a great platform in a lot of respects but the 30% right off the top is pretty brutal for many involved. Epic is offering a digital platform with 12% costs, but get this - if you use the Unreal engine then the traditional 5% for using that engine will be deducted from the 12% they take. So you in reality are saving money by using their engine on their platform. Pretty brilliant marketing though they'll need more than that to defeat a monster as big as Steam.
Well, interestingly enough as work slows down on the engine, work picks up on people's projects! Lots of interesting screenies for this week for you. I hope I caught them all!
Mstockton's in development PBR Assets
Bonesy continues work on his Sci-Fi Shooter
DuchenKuke is putting out some fantastic Metro:2033 style screenshots
Len the man continues to show us how simple methods produce great results for cutscenes
VincentHendricks made this great scene using some dynamic lights set at the right coloration!
Friskon - Lotgd made this bizarre gif which sort of boggles and fascinates simultaneously!
As you can see, there's a lot going in in the community. I'm still waiting for a serious game to show up, something that can really knock the socks off other communities out there. I think if guys like Duchenkuke can keep working at it, they'll eventually release something incredible. It just takes perseverance, some tolerance for GameGuru's nuances, and a steady hand.
Beyond that we're seeing some amazing work by the other devs who contribute code wise. Check out some of the latest works of Graphix and Amenmoses - their particle system now has physics effects!
T-bone is working on stealth mechanics similar to what you find in the old Thief games: Video Here
This week I didn't get as much done as I'd like. The last mile here is proving somewhat difficult as I saved all the more dangerous or difficult tasks to cover for last. This means particles, physics, advanced engine tricks like camera control - all of that is a bit daunting to write and a lot to research and test. It'll get there though. The trick is to just keep plodding inexorably forward.
As you can see, I'll now be cross posted not only at gamedev.net and blogarama but also here on the GameGuru site itself, which is pretty awesome!
So for those of you who are not aware, I've been writing these reports for a very long time at my blog, spanning several years - all the way back to the FPSC Reloaded days. There's a ton of extra content there such as my tutorial list: http://gamegurureport.blogspot.com/p/my-tutorialstechnique-evaluations.html
This week was a huge update from the standpoint of actual Game-Guru news as you can see on the front page. This week we got our third public preview update, which represents a sort of 'last beta' before it actually is released as a final release. This public preview allows us to test thoroughly all the upcoming changes in the next major release.
The list of changes is substantial and ranges from a better physics shapes, new model changes for better animating and physics responses, better importing, improved particles (a massive update), a HUGE AI update done by smallg & Lee, and of course the usual smattering of minor bugfixes. It's completely worth taking a few minutes to review the huge list of updates on the actual news link above.
As always I recommend making a copy of your stable version of Game-Guru before downloading the PP update via steam so as to ensure you are secure in case of serious issues with the PP release.
And lastly, by 'Moshroom' - probably the coolest thing I've seen in a while - a full JRPG script kit! It's on sale now for 13.00 which is a VERY reasonable price for such a complete script setup.
Graphix has been working on his particle weather effects and recently showed off his fog effects. I'd love to integrate support for these into my weather system!
You can check out a video of it here: https://youtu.be/IC__yQpDPp8
We also have an update by Vincent Hendricks on his medieval game which is coming together rather well:
Now for my personal favorite of the week. Teabone made one of the coolest 'monster/trap' entities I've seen in a while, something I've loved for a long time since my early years playing DND: The Gelatinous cube!
I absolutely love the gelatinous cubes. They were always some of the most interesting and difficult monsters to fight; nothing worse than a giant living blob of acid to ruin your day!
In My Own Works
Well, I finally hit 120,000 words (122k, to be precise). This does not mean the book is done, far from it. I have two major sections to write: The model importer and the advanced Lua code section. Once those are done, I'll be sitting around 130,000 words, which I will probably trim down to 125-122k after editing.
After editing (should be wrapped up by mid-December) I'll then start taking the 150+ pictures I need for the book!
Then I get the joy of formatting it and typesetting it for the publisher, sending it to my editor for one last review, then sending it to the PUBLISHER's editor, then so on and so forth until it is finally accepted by the publisher (CRCPress) in February or so.
Still, I'm very happy with how this has come along recently and it's great to finally be making REAL progress on this.
Been remarkably bouncing between different types of colds this week, currently dealing with a chest cold. It's been a special form of hell for about 7 days now.
So with that, here's your 'Game-Guru in a nutshell' for this week.
Game-Guru News
Nothing particularly new but it appears there's a lot of feature fixes/updates on the issues tracker at GitHub so we'll probably see some forward motion again and soon.
We also have these awesome single individual items available for download on the store now:
I'm really liking the new stuff from 'that model guy' though all of these look really useful!
Free Stuff
Want to go bowling in game-guru? Check this out: Click Here
Graphix made a 'by request' birthday cake for GG that looks damn good: Click Here
Some nice free cars I missed by BOD (PBR): Civilian editionPolice edition
Third Party Programs
No news that I'm aware of.
Random Acts of Creativity
This week's must-see screenshots are from DuchenKuke (of course!):
I mean aside from a little heavy-handedness on the lens flares, WOW. Great work DK!
So in my own stuff, I am happy to say I've secured a few more goodies for the book release sidecar products including some weapons and products from BSP! This is a huge win for those looking to purchase my book. I really want to give a big value to anyone who does invest in it when it becomes available early 2019. I'm going to have demo maps, games, breakdowns, custom assets, free assets, you name it. Lots of good stuff going into the book for you, the readers!
The book itself is coming along. I just slogged through my EBE tutorial section which was admittedly less fun than I'd like. I will undoubtedly be revisiting that section again, but thems the breaks!
So I was working on my most recent project - *famous game* homage for my wife.
Something she could play for christmas. My son and I were both going to help each other and produce a really masterfully done game for her in the vein of one her favorites.
This would be done in a 3-4 week timeline with about 3-5 nights a week of a good solid 3-4 hour runs on adding stuff.
Sourced from Seriouslyjacque.com - very accurate assessment of stress, IMO
Well we quickly discovered how unwieldy a large map would be treated by Game Guru. So I decided to go back and optimize the map in every way I could. Here's a bit of that process.
Before we begin...Limitations
A key understanding here is that Game-Guru is only 32-bit. It's also using DirectX9. These are effective, but outdated infrastructure components.
32-Bit applications are limited to 4GBof memory. But really, considering all the underlying subsystems, operating system data, etc. It's more like 2.5 GB. Also, for the uninitiated, memory is basically the short term, high speed data storage your computer runs applications in.
Holy crap he writes, makes games AND uses excel, incredible!
64-Bit on the other hand, can access something like 16 EXABYTES ... some absurdly large number that's out of reach for the time being. So arbitrarily, we'll use a common value of 16GB for our memory example.
As you can see, your game only takes up a *FRACTION* of available memory on a 16GB system.
Bear in mind though no matter if you're running a 64-Bit version of windows (as I am) that the application itself, in this case Game-Guru, can only ACCESS 4GB of ram at any given time. And it always considers the OS as part of that.
In real terms, this means that only 2.5 GB of memory is ever available for any given time.
Now consider that every single item you add, every texture, every object, etc - occupies a bit of that storage space. If you are using thousands of unique objects, each one has to be stored separately.
DirectX9 adds another limitation in that it is vastly more CPU reliant than DirectX11. So in my case, for instance, I have a quad core AMD running at 3.2GHZ for my primary system. My video card is a GTX960, with 1gb of video ram. While it's not top tier it's still an excellent card for any game.
Except, of course, Game-Guru games. This is because DirectX9 relies on my CPU which is at best, mediocre.
Unfortunately this is another pipe-lining bottleneck we have to work around (at least until Lee gets off his duff and codes this thing in DX11!).
Optimizing Memory
From this standpoint of minimizing memory usage, we need to utilize this knowledge in a ground up context. While a lot of AAA titles these days use incredible CPU and Memory resources to produce an earth-shaking experience, many older systems and titles had to be more inventive.
Some examples of this are:
Fallout
Silent hill
Resident Evil
What we're going to do here is emulate the design by using a tried and true multi-level system with several small zones off a hub zone. This is the main world, an area where you navigate from place to place. However once you arrive off the world map, you open a door to a building and are transported to a new level. This is done in such a way that the load times are minimal and it typically makes logical sense.
Example:
Outdoor zones in fallout 4 are part of the 'world' zone -
This quarry, for instance.
But when you go to a building of any measurable size, you get an 'enter' option that you can click which gives you a loading screen like this:
Side note: Probably the most interesting weapon in FO4.
Then you're loaded to the new zone. Now we can accomplish a similar trick (albeit without the fancy loading screens) using winzones. The winzone object in Game Guru allows you to setup a pointer to another level which is then brought along when the game is compiled. When the player steps over the zone, it ports them to the new level. You can also port them back to the original level, if you desire. This is the method we'll be using.
The concept here is very simple. If you are using one large map, it's seamless - without load times. But it's going to be slower because it's got to load all those objects into memory. It's also going to be less flexible because each unique model you add to your level is going to increase memory consumption. So concessions will have to made if you do that. There's also the issue of load times. If you run a massive level, it will cause gigantic load times for game-guru. You also *ONLY* will ever have 2.5GB of memory to work with. That's a huge bummer if you're using high quality textures.
Fallout 3's map - the red spots are *mostly* a level portal to a new area as discussed.
Instead we're going to launch sophisticated areas (Schools, hospitals, houses, minizones) as their own zone and thus free up the memory we would normally use for the world and pour that into each individual zone. For the sake of load times, we don't want to go too crazy, but even if each zone is 500MB in size it quickly would add up if made as part of a massive world map.
The difference is clear, at least in terms of memory usage.
This gives us the ability to rapidly distribute the load across multiple maps and bring up our total resources used. It also gives us access to extra goodies in Game Guru such as differing skies or settings between maps.
To further speed things along we're going to use low poly models when available, low quality UVW (UV-Wraps, aka textures), and try to reuse models. Every time we reuse a model, it further saves memory by simply requiring a pointer in memory vs a huge reload of the object into memory.
Ground Up Design Processes
Now that you know *WHAT* we're going to be doing - it's time to do it!
The above is a simple demonstration of how to perform a multi-level configuration in Game Guru.
The first thing we want to do, as usual, is map out our levels. We want to keep in mind that any main areas will be sectioned off. Even the world map can benefit from being broken up into sections. I prefer to use major areas or quadrants.
I like to draw on paper exactly how things will flow for the player.
But this isn't paper. This is the internet. So you get a bad MS paint drawing.
It's terrible, but you get the idea, probably.
The next thing to do is to figure out the assets we're going to be using for these zones. Each of these areas will have it's own specific feel and layout. So make sure you create a list of each area's similar assets so you can keep track as Game-Guru's asset management is pretty abysmal.
This is, in essence, the very rudimentary beginnings of a pre-production blueprint. You should check this link on more about that:
So basically what we want to do is use similar, low cost entities when doing background pieces and higher cost/high poly models in foreground elements. Remove anything extraneous and wherever possible duplicate items.
Picture sourced from game-guru.com's screenshot gallery by user Morphtactic
You can see above a good example of reusing elements. The trick is primarily to use them assymetrically. Giving an object that's visually similar the same orientation causes the brain to see it quicker. Giving it a slight twist, say 10 degrees, can make all the difference in how two identical models are perceived. I give more info on little tricks like that in this article: http://gamegurureport.blogspot.com/2016/06/technique-training-level-building-basic.html
So all that aside that's basically it! Just break up the level into easily digestible chunks and it will keep things nice and low for you. You can still have sprawling maps - just be smart and keep the load times down!
Finer Tuning
Once you've got your indoor levels fleshed out it's important to remember that indoor levels can basically be stripped of terrain and/or water using the stock script 'goindoors.lua'. This will further help framerate on visually intensive locations. Just make sure you account for the lack of terrain if you have transparent windows looking out into the world.
Another important element is to not load up your scenes with tons of enemies. Unfortunately the AI right now really doesn't support group think very well so it tends to act in a very poor fashion when more than a handful of AI are active at a given time. Done properly (use blind corners, traps, etc) you can still make the situation difficult for the player without killing their CPU in the process.
Other things you can do are fine tune your occlusion settings, which are tricky to get functioning properly but once enabled will properly cull objects out of view to ensure that the maximum framerate is being used at a given time. This however will be a topic for a future date, when I can devote more meaningful time to the discussion of occlusion.
After Christmas I'll put a post up showing more specifically how I used this and screenshots of the work involved so a better idea can be had about how it was utilized.
So this is the review I was talking about. The one where I have some things to say that may be considered somewhat negative. Overall, I have good praise for Erart but a word of warning I do have some buyer's remorse over one object - specifically the coconut throwing weapon.
I'm usually very careful about what I purchase; I want to make sure I only buy the things I plan on actually using or I can use to some functional end. This means a great many purchases I make are actually based around my Sci-Fi WIP.
That said occasionally I purchase models for my son to use or objects I just plain find interesting. I recently made a octonauts themed series of items for my son (nothing special, just some alpha masked 2-D decals he could place, along with a poorly made 3D model of the octopod). I decided to splurge and purchase two items from Erart:
First was 'coral reef 2'. This is the lower priced of the two coral reefs he offers. It's a simple coral reef with some anemone and a starfish. That said, it's really impressive what he's done - he managed to make a very functional dynamically moving object that adds a lot of life to your underwater scenes.
As you can see from this video, it's got a lot of really cool behavior to it.
In game, it looks like this:
Nevermind the coconut, that's for later.
Now the reef itself is rather small but blends in well with grey or brown surroundings. I for one was extremely happy with this piece. It has a surprising amount going on and I'd reckon it's pretty much required if you want to run an underwater level of any kind.
The next piece was the 'underwater skybox'. I've made a number of skies myself so it's not often I purchase other people's skies. This was however a very unique offering giving an 'undersea' view of the surface water above and some jellyfish flying by.
Well.. Overall this is an excellent skybox. That said there are *SOME* complaints. Nothing major here. Primarily that the jellyfish appear very flat, are too frequent, and move way - way - WAY too fast. I mean unless those Jellyfish are mounting jet engines, there's no way they should be moving so quickly. It can be tuned, of course, manually via the skybox settings files but the end user shouldn't have to do that. So buyer beware - it's a good skybox but you may find yourself tinkering with it.
So having purchased two separate items and being reasonably satisfied by his work - I decided to go for it and purchase what I felt was a 'must have' silly item - the coconut weapon.
So as you can see from the video, the weapon seems reasonable enough. I want it specifically as a 'cheat code' silly weapon that will basically destroy anyone it hits. That's easy enough for me to implement, of course. The fact it's a coconut is perfectly ridiculous for me. I feel that this has limited utility outside of a strictly 'survivalist' game, which there's really not a lot available in that respect weapon-wise so you may find yourself never quite in the situation I was in.
So let's start with the nitty gritty - first off, the modelling, method, and texturing is really well done. What was done here was ambitious and I look forward to future weapons by Erart.
Behold the coconut, mighty in it's glorious power.
So the coconut is a hitscan weapon. It's modeled very well. The hands are a little... cartoonish but nothing game-ending for me. What kills me though is actually the OFFHAND. First of all - it serves NO function; it's just there. And second of all, it makes your character seem like they have Bell's Palsy or something. You literally run around with your hand sticking out stuck in a sort of rigor. Then when you toss the coconut, the hand comes up and comes down as if it's attached to a stick. It's ... unfortunate. I really can't find myself wanting to use this weapon simply because I can't stand the offhand. I'd rather he just get rid of it altogether, if possible. I may write him and ask this, I don't know.
Take a look:
This is the start of the throw.
As you can see above, the initial part of the throw seems ok - though that second hand really never touches the coconut at all. And the main hand is ... awkwardly angled but that's less of an issue than it might seem.
The problem is the left hand remains locked in that posture and simply ... goes down. It looks absurd.
Apparently you have really bad arthritis from years of coconut throwing.
So .. yeah. That's the meat of it. If the hand movement was less rigid, it'd be a top shelf gimmick item.
As it is, it's relegated to my 'maybe one day' bin. Overall, I applaud Erart's absolutely unique offerings. Almost everything he sells has some unique edge to it that can't be found by any other vendor. I'm shocked at some of the genuinely impressive things he's done. If he can just improve his model animations a smidgen he'll easily best some of the Game-Guru community's top authors.
I've been meaning to do a proper write-up on this kit since I bought it.
It's no secret I love Sci-Fi set pieces and that I tend to favor them (if only for my own projects sake, but nonetheless I do tend to bias *JUST A BIT* towards SF pieces when evaluating.)
Oldpman is renowned for his prolific kits that contain many building blocks with which you can build sprawling maps. I own a few and enjoy them, though mostly they don't typically fit my style.
The previous pieces have lacked the gritty realism I usually enjoy. Initially during the development phase of this, his first foray into the realm of Sci-Fi set pieces, I was nonplussed. I saw a lot of interesting shapes (that much at least was compelling) but a lot of the same out of place bright colors again. Somewhere right before I smash the buy button, this all changed. He managed to figure out illumination mapping and boy - what a difference that made!
See for yourself!
I remember sitting on the forums and watching this take shape; seeing it become closer to being a real piece I'd be interested in. It debuted shortly after the Sci-Fi DLC came out, which admittedly was probably either really great timing by riding a wave of enthusiasm or really poor timing by being a competing product. I resolved eventually to buy it when I saw some of the screen shots from the illuminated versions:
Most of this is done without lightmapping!
When it comes to Indy game development, you really have very little going for you. You DON'T have multi-million dollar budgets, more than one or two people (in most cases) working on it, and massive art departments to work with. So it's important that you have a clean, consistent style that's compelling to look at and doesn't scream "INDY GARBAGE". This is one of the reasons to purchase Game-Guru in my opinion; you can source LOW PRICED, QUALITY art/assets very easily.
The updated palette brings it into System Shock/Doom-style levels of grit and color.
We've been gifted by several really good content releases for Sci-Fi products and this is no exception. In fact, I'd easily say with the illumination mapping and low price ($14.95 as of this writing), it's firmly in the 'must own' category.
You get 118 pieces and every single one is very intelligently put together.
Fitment of the pieces is less 'snap-together' than previous kits. This does require a smidge of extra work to get pieces aligned, checked, etc. That said, it looks phenomenal when completed. Of special note is the brilliant touch of overhead glass windowed ceilings to work around the known limitation of quirky indoor lighting in GG.
Note the very clear squares letting light in from above and beautiful curved windows.
I'm going to just say I actually like this BETTER than the pieces from the Sci-Fi DLC. Now that said, there's reasons to buy the Sci-Fi DLC as well (custom character pieces for instance) - this set only includes one character. While it's not bad, it's not great. It's a non-functional 'drone' which can be used but will require customization. I like it's 'meh' face texture though the jets are a little bland looking. That's more a byproduct of the lack of particle effects within GG though.
The "You done yet?" drone was a welcome addition to an otherwise set-piece only kit.
There's a LOT here though; objects, colored lights, signs, robotic arms, even a docking bay. Really solid stuff. Take for instance this barrier door:
I love how the barrier creates shadows but also takes illumination. It's subtlety like that that makes it an Indy game look more professional than it might actually be.
At the end of the day here it's really hard to match the quality and value of this. You're paying a pittance for a FULL level building kit. And not only that, it's wildly interchangeable. A lot of these kits have a very 'similar' feel. Levels lack variety because the pieces are all square, simple, or symmetrical. The rounded corridors, variable heights, colors and shapes all make this infinitely variable which is a HUGE welcome for someone willing to put the time into developing a quality Indy title.
The bottom line: Pick this pack up now. You'll have what you need from the art department; all you will need will be to improve your skills to meet the high bar that Oldpman has set for you.
If you can't tell from my previous work threads about my sci-fi game & technique post, I'm serious about getting the lighting and look right. To me, that's a big part of making a high quality, SERIOUSLY developed game. I know it seems simple but the difference between:
And
Is night and day.
Now compare those against this:
The difference is in the subtlety of the lighting, the depth and refinement on individual textures and surfaces.
While it's listed as Triple-A graphics I'll say it really depends on how much tuning you do with your maps. That said, I'm extremely satisfied with the improvement, despite the framerate loss (I lost about 50%, will need to mess with settings to get that cleaned up). Also - I discovered in game bloom settings need turned WAY WAY down to correct once you enable this.
Overall it's a new tool for the arsenal and really helps make the scenes pop into a more believable state for something that's an "easy" game maker.
Some more updated shots for the WIP:
The reactor area. Will probably scrap a bunch of this or break it out into it's own engineering map.
Anyways it's too blue for my tastes but I like the direction it's taking. I need to do a lot more work with characters and upcoming levels as well as making sure it's a rewarding and difficult experience.
It's going to be a slog, for sure.
