UnionVGF Indie Game developers (or thinking about becoming one) corner

I did check that have activated Inverse Kinematic, standard, will do animations within Unity, but gone do a bit more testing first.
Upper body and arms are good, however some smaller problems with legs and feet and with closing of fingers.

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So I hailed your advice, (poor photobucket compression, but intention is intact), so far having a back box is best of the bunch of things I tried so far.

Surprisingly easy to set up. there is already a draw_rectangle to screen function. I just need to enter the location, & size of the box. You can define the alpha of the rectangle, & color.

I just draw the rectangle where the text are display by using the the size of the text + some extra border length, & its done. Gonna love these modern game engines. They thought of everything (most things).

Yes, it ran at a poor 16fps at 1080p on my laptop rig (with background programs running etc)....hence I need to look for a new 'beasty' Desktop PC rig soon.

Yep, that is much more legible and should work even if the scene is unavoidably high contrast.
 
Yep, that is much more legible and should work even if the scene is unavoidably high contrast.
Ya. Better. I just finished making the door opening/close mechanism. Fair bits of scripting, & simple animation. But its fairly fuss free. I made the door blueprint (think class in C++ but using nodes instead of typing), so it can be
-locked on creation,
-unlocked on creation,
-open (only if unlocked) or close on creation,
-open close wise or counterclockwise
- link the door latch (or whatever its called) to the door handles, so when I turn the handle, the lock retract etc.
(More will be added, like recognised the right key to unlock, but thats for later.)
& the door will play open or close door animation as intended.

WIth this done, I can then copy & paste the same door to different room, & I can fit each door to my needs.


Unfortunately, I do not have a gameplay recording software to record what I done so far.
Looking at some recording software option. I think Fraps seems to pop up quite often, also cheap at I think 20 bucks (& people still pirate it, shame on these people). The downside is I heard FPS will drop quite a fair bit.
 
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Ya. Better. I just finished making the door opening/close mechanism. Fair bits of scripting, but fairly fuss free. Unforunately, I do not have a gameplay recording software to record what I done so far.
Looking at some recording software option. I think Fraps seems to pop up quite often, also cheap at I think 20 bucks (& people still pirate it, shame on these people). The downside is I heard FPS will drop quite a fair bit.

I downloaded BB Flashback Recorder a while back. It might be worth looking into if it still has a free version. I don't know if it'll affect fps or not, but then it's free to try if it's still available.

Anyway, I was helping someone on the Construct forums fix his controls for his platformer. It gave me some motivation to work on my platformer that I started a long time ago. I originally set it aside because I didn't think I could do it justice back then, but with how much better I am at Construct and with the new 3d programs I have, I feel like I can do a lot with it. I already fixed a lot of my old code to make it much better. It's amazing how much you can learn in a year.

I'm going to take a slight break from my isometric game and work on this for a bit. It's got a cool combat system and should be pretty fun to play. It would also be a lot easier to port to the Wii U since Construct 2 has a Wii U exporter, and this type of game is more suited to consoles.

The game is sort of like Ninja Gaiden on NES, but with some modern elements thrown in such as being able to block or evasive roll. I am also including some things from Dark Souls such as poise and roll invulnerability time. This will make it much more playable and strategic than the old games I am using as inspiration.

As far as completion time if I choose to finish it, I'd say next summer/fall at the earliest depending on how things go. However, my other game would be about the same really. There's a lot that needs to be done with it, and I still hadn't decided on some gameplay mechanics such as what the goal of levels will be. So, the platform will be much more straight forward and easier to port to both Steam and Wii U giving me two monetizing options.

If I don't like the direction it's going, I'll just mark it down as practice and resume my old game. I'll post a screenshot when I get some work done on it. I'm using NES sprites with some modifications while I test the combat and controls, which are getting pretty good.
 
Cool. My 2D skills are limited so I rather do 3D, but everything is exponentially more time consuming to made in 3D. At least my game is confined to a small area.

I like to do an action RPG game, but that's something for the future when I can build a bigger team of people.

I will check out BB flashback also.
 
Cool. My 2D skills are limited so I rather do 3D, but everything is exponentially more time consuming to made in 3D. At least my game is confined to a small area.

I like to do an action RPG game, but that's something for the future when I can build a bigger team of people.

I will check out BB flashback also.

There are pros and cons to both 2d and 3d.

In 2d, for animation, it gets tedious. I have to draw the figure and make sure I like it, then keep it consistent in every single frame I choose to draw. This is why most 2d sprites use very few frames. You have to make sure to check proportions, anatomy, clothing or item placement on the figure, and all that with every frame you draw. If you make a mistake or want to make a change, you have to redraw the part in each frame, or redraw all the figure in each frame if it was a big mistake. You also do not have the benefit of previewing an animation. You have to work out the animation beforehand so you know what to draw, wheras in 3d, I can see a preview of the animation and makes changes to it in real time either with controls or the graph.

In 3d, all I have to do is create a figure, rig it, and animate it. All frames of the animation will be exported as PNGs. Since I'll be saving each animation in Modo, if I make a change, I can do so without having redo very much. So, longer to set up, quicker to get done and fix/modify.

3d also makes it much easier to get the look you want. For cartoony indie games, hand drawing is fine, but if you want something more realistic, then drawing each frame by hand in 2d is a pain.

Luckily, since my game engine is 2d, I have zero constraints as far as detail goes. I can make the figure use 1 million polygons if I wanted to. I probably won't since it's not necessary though.

My levels are generated from sprites, so 3d or 2d makes no difference. I can draw something in photoshop or render it in Modo. It'll just be small sections at a time.

2d engines are really easy to work with since it's all on one plane and all based off of sprites/images.
 
U7yiWbH.jpg

http://www.allegorithmic.com/products/substance-painter

can also be bought on steam:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/273390


Dear Friends,

The new generation of texture painting has arrived! Substance Painter 1.0 is out, with a mission: democratizing 3D painting.

The most significant features for this 1.0 include:
• 4K resolution support, to achieve superb detail in your painting.
• The ability to import your own rendering shader to paint in your own style.
• A much improved UI, making the tool easier than ever.
• A lot of new content: a dense library of PBR materials, Substance brushes, noises, mask generators and much more.

As promised, everyone who purchased the Beta will be upgraded today, for free.

http://www.allegorithmic.com/products/substance-painter
 
My first gameplay video. Considering I only have UE4 for a month, & most of the time were spent learning, I am pretty happy for the progress.

Remember to watch in HD. My apology for the crappy sound. It wasn't that bad in game. Must be due to Windows live Movie maker compression. Guess I need a new video editor also.

Recording using Fraps
 
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Concept art, have used many years drawing and trying to figure out how the characters will look: (only a small sample for now) creating them all gone take long time.

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I will be going on holiday, & visit my parent, & meet some old friends in October, so I will be taking a short braek from development work. Sometimes, I will dream about working, so I ready need a break. Haha.

Maybe I spend the time on lighter stuff like plot/story/puzzle. They are pretty mature for now, but there are gaps that needed to be filled.

Also any recommendation for a video maker. The Free Windows Movie maker pretty sucky. Its like the MS Paint is to painting software. Only reason for using it is its came with the OS, & you have no other program that does the same thing.
 
Finally figured out how to part up the mesh, using "P" in Blender edit mode.
Sow I parted up hilt and blade on my sword, made new normal maps. Then into Substance painter where I first painted the hilt on the sword then after the blade and last into Unity (last picture left is the new one, right is the old.

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Made 2 drawings that you can find in game. Like the game gone home, you find out more about the house and its occupants from documents. One drawing is clearly much older than the other, yet something link them together.

MeAndKatie_zps24518d17.jpg

AlanKaty_zpsb4bb07dc.jpg
 
Trying out TerrainComposer (unity asset), in only took a few minutes to get this. Gone replace some of the textures and use Relief Terrain Pack.
Hmmm, should still go for top down, or should try for first person ?

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Hmmm, should still go for top down, or should try for first person ?

Well, it's hard to say without seeing gameplay. I would need to know how the game plays and what games it will be similar to before I can offer advice on whether it would work better as a first person or top down game. They each have their advantages and disadvantages, and each is more suited towards a certain style of game.
 
Well, it's hard to say without seeing gameplay. I would need to know how the game plays and what games it will be similar to before I can offer advice on whether it would work better as a first person or top down game. They each have their advantages and disadvantages, and each is more suited towards a certain style of game.

Have changed many times, first I wanted to make a game sort of like Skyrim, then I was thinking 2d was easier and then I started going back to 3d.

Hoping to be able to make a big open world rpg game, however gone make it way more simple (no inventory, weapons switch between by number keys) as well as skillpoints earned for each level up.
Some jumping puzzles I feel is needed in the game, dungeons, deadly pits and sow on.
 
Have changed many times, first I wanted to make a game sort of like Skyrim, then I was thinking 2d was easier and then I started going back to 3d.

Hoping to be able to make a big open world rpg game, however gone make it way more simple (no inventory, weapons switch between by number keys) as well as skillpoints earned for each level up.
Some jumping puzzles I feel is needed in the game, dungeons, deadly pits and sow on.

Hmm, in Skyrim I play pretty much all in first person. I only switch to 3rd person when I want to walk around the countryside or towns. 3rd person has always been a weak point in Elder Scrolls games, but it is getting better. It's still not there though.

Now, some games do 3rd person really well. I mean games like Dark Souls or Ninja Gaiden on Xbox are fine. It just depends on how it is done.

If you think you will have a lot of platformer elements, a 3rd person camera may be best. There have been some first person games with platformer elements, but it depends on how it is handled.

Mirror's Edge is a game that comes to mind when you talk about first person platformers.

Honestly, the only thing I can say at this point is determine which is easier for you and which one you feel more comfortable with.
 
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I think its best to test it out (different perspective) . But the decision of perspective must be decide early, as it affect the gameplay, design & asset creation.

The same way I planned puzzles, locations early in my design, so I do not wasted time creating asserts that will not be used later.
 
Yeah I think I will test out different perspective, could maybe try a combo of them just to test what would be best like in Skyrim (think gone make a camera script where can switch between 3rd and first person).
 
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Then to go back to hands and rigging, seems I should go for 1st person perspective.

Edit:

Was trying out different materials and found this material in the Alloy asset:

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I do like the effect it has.
 
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I would brighten the level a bit, other wise its looking good
 
Also, if you're going for first person, it'd probably be a good idea to focus details where it counts such as the sword and hands. In 3rd person, they would be further away and need less detail, but in first person that's the only thing you see, and it's right in your face. So, they need to look especially good. The rest of the body won't matter if you can't see it, so only use details when necessary.
 
Yes I think I will save up for Zbrush and Modo to make detailed meshes, I did read that they work great together.
Gone take time save up the cash unless a sale.
The detailed meshes made in Zbrush looks fantastic (did a google search) .
 
There's an update to Zbrush coming out hopefully this year. They are adding some much needed box modeling tools (for hard surface objects).

Here is a link with videos of the new features: http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showth...nting-ZBrush-4R7-(Updated-with-Summit-Recaps)

For now, I create any hard surface objects in Modo and then bring them into Zbrush. There's just no way to really create things with hard edges in Zbrush right now, at least that are "easy." I mean, there's shadow box, but I don't find it that great for creating things.

Zbrush does have a learning curve because it does its own thing. For example, to delete a polygon on Modo, you click on it and press delete. In Zbrush the only current way I know of is to hide everything you want to delete with the selection tool, then once the part you want to delete is hidden you go to geometry > modify topology > delete (del) hidden.

So yeah, some things will be confusing. You'll definitely want to follow some tutorials.

However, I still feel like Zbrush has the best sculpting tools available. That's what it's made for, and it keeps getting better. As far as I know, updates are free.