glad to see a well planned team continually pushing the boundaries of what gameguru can do. Any project manager who saw this and was commissioning a budget FPS would make a move immediately considering gameguru's price. If only it were a little more stable and fast

I have to agree with bugsy.



It's getting there.

Dave

This is really, really cool- Someone posted a link to this on a review I left for 'game guru' over at Steam and I was blown away.

This really stands out and not just because of the graphics (which are fantastic btw) but in the originality of the entire concept- I'm really impressed with what youve done here.

As usual, top quality work! The mechanics and scripting you've created are very inventive but what really sells it all is the art style. You deserve all the praise you're getting for the look and feel of every element you create, from the characters to the environments, to the cards. Hell, even the little Space Losers ident at the beginning of your videos is top notch artistry. In this way your game is transcending what 99% of us make with Game Guru; it looks like something truly original and unique.

I admire that strength of vision and perseverance and I can't wait to see this game come to fruition!

AE

Hello to all the Guru developers and all curious minds.


Hi Wolf. I will mention one example to illustrate this. Well.. I will try.
I take as a reference Dungeon Crawlers boardgames like Heroquest, Masmorra, Dungeon run and a long etc. Where the characters statistics are very important.
Each Space Losers have their own statistics based on Health, Weapons, Stamina and Luck.
For example, The luck affects the chances of finf objects, win at gambling, pick more favourable card, critical hits, etc..
Even though you don't see it, you are rolling the dices constantly. I even developed a card bombat system.. nearly one month of work, but it was too risky. I lose a lot of market share.


Hi Bugsy. I absolutely agree with it. I would also add a particle system.


Hi SaintPhillip. Could you tell me what review?. Only as something curious.


Thank you, Avenging Eagle, for your extremely kind words.




And that's it for this week. Bye.. Deica logo.

-Dimoxinil

Hello to all the Guru developers and all curious minds.

I leave you a brand new Dev blog video, in which you can see the gamble game and the Rune temple.
This first Rune temple has been designed to be a tutorial.. The following Ruune temples will be much more difficult.

I am now working in the hiperjump (think you'll like it very much) and the characters dead ( including burial sites) and a new enemy.
Next week I'll show you the progress.

I hope you like and you enjoy watching!



And that's it for this week. Bye.. Deica logo.

Off topic

Have a look at a simple and interesting description of the level design tests, created by game designer Robert Yang.


-Dimoxinil

What I am seeing here:
beginner: has never made a map, or does all the time but is explaining an idea to a friend drunkenly at a bar on a napkin
intermediate: definitely uses FPSC to make maps or the Easy Building Editor in GG. actually more likely a beginner
advanced: probably uses their favourite 3D software tool to produce maps, like any sensible person would. Rushed this one out.
expert: probably does the same thing as the advanced guy, but considers themselves more "architecturally inclined" and is likely the same level of talent as the advanced guy, but more inspired when making that specific map. More likely they closely copied the layout of their grandmother's house

remember kids: if your map doesn't have a rotunda, you're not an expert level designer

I feel like that's kind of a bad test. I don't have a steady hand capable of putting straight lines on a whiteboard but can make biopmorphic/organic inspired architectural form, art-noveau ornamentation, faithful braddock, aspen, hawkeye, and oxford trusses, and all other sorts of architectural or in this case "level design" trappings given 3d tools. Does that make me only a beginner? Also, considering most of these things would be far too complex geometry-wise for GG to handle, doesn't that automatically make us all beginners?

ALSO: the only person who seems to have passed the test would be intermediate. I am only seeing what looks like 2 spawn points and 2 bombsites on one of these maps (which is what is necessary for an MP map). Expert and Advanced seem to have submitted half-finished drawings that do not an entire map make. (or at least, their maps would be highly unbalanced).

Regardless, there are quite a few people around here i think that would benefit HEAVILY from seeing this.

This test is elitistic masturbation. It does not factor in skill with given tools, money/time ratio, tone, purpose, available assets or even theme of the level. (what if my shooter is armed assault? Is this assuming that quake 3 levels are objectively worse than counter strike levels?) You are not a superior level designer if your idea resembles an architectural blueprint on a white board. I'd just draw a big throbbing male genitalia on there if someone'd ask me to do that. Judging from what I can see on the test creators website:



I would probably ace the test.

I'm okay with what he does and all and has obviously a larger player base than my releases but 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, flanel wearing people with a mild depression that tend to overthink and navelgaze game development. This statment is personal, neither objective, nor fair, nor grounded in anything but my own petty dislike for some happenings in the indie scene lately though.

there is some truth in this but its mostly overshadowed with a stench of judgmental pseudo intellectualism.

Also read some descriptions of this dudes games. Not one of them is a multiplayer FPS (but they are certainly something.)

Thats my take on this. Also @dimoxinil: I think jacking up the contrast a little would improve your games look.



It wuld help to better be able to differentiate shapes from one and another and navigate in a 3d space. Just ma opinion ma man


-Wolf

So frakking true. ANd I am so glad you point that out, saves me a lot of time.

Hello to all the Guru developers and all curious minds.


I agree with your opinion. Thanks for the tip, Wolf.

next week.. new dev blog video.. showing the use of mines.. weapon update.. new enemy.. and the hiper jump.



And that's it for this week. Bye.. Deica logo.
-Dimoxinil

Hyperjump sounds very interesting! Looking forward to seeing that.

What a well-crafted piece of work, I can't wait to hear more from this!

Wolf and Bugsy's posts with respect to that 'test' were probably the funniest things I've ever read on this forum in my entire time with this community, bar none. Hilarious on a level I was not prepared for, haha!

Personally I definitely agree with those listed complaints. I was had a career of sorts as a semi-pro tournament paintball player and I can tell you, unequivocally, that the 'amateur' map listed was actually some of the most fun team 'FPS' Stuff I've ever done. It's highly variable and interesting. Simplistic? Sure. But try building a multiplayer map like that sometime and throwing a 4 v 4 match in it. You get some pretty insane stuff from it.

I've done some pretty heavy duty analysis of game design maps from the original Doom if anyone is interested. I always appreciated their unusual and abstracted level flow. I'm not a fan of the recursive-style builds that people favored in the 2004 area (see Q3 Arena, for instance) or the modern "I got my architecture degree but can't get a job in architecture so here's my 'level' that's really just a blueprint for a failed building design I did" style.

My analysis on doom levels:
http://gamegurureport.blogspot.com/2015/12/lessons-learned-from-doom-1-pt-1.html - particular proud of this one because Romero himself actually read it and we had a little discussion on it.
http://gamegurureport.blogspot.com/2015/12/lessons-learned-from-doom-1-pt-2-tom.html - this best represents what can be done in gameguru, IMO.
http://gamegurureport.blogspot.com/2015/12/lessons-learned-from-doom-1-pt-3.html -best use of traps/hidden mechanics
http://gamegurureport.blogspot.com/2016/01/lessons-learned-from-doom-1-pt-2.html - Romero's more modern work is an interesting case study in evolution of design.

Most of the old-pro game makers got their start by making mazes. Today's modern games aren't mazes. They're linear movies, with some interaction thrown in. That's not mentally stimulating to me, from a game design standpoint.

Dimoxinil -Your level design looks great; I would agree some differentiation in color and shape would help. I'd probably put some very large obelisk in as a landmark so people could always get a sense of distance and space. Example:



See how the large mountain/rock anchors your position better than simply being in a corridor full of trees? It gives people a clear thing to latch onto so they can get a sense of direction. Even if this is simply a bright sun:



It's always good to give people something to latch onto unless you are attempting to deliberately try to disorient them.

Example of how to disorient a player:


You'll noticed I picked forests for all my example pictures. I wanted a level of similarity between my examples to help illustrate different ways to provide the player some kind of frame of reference from similar mazes. Growing up in the forests of Pennsylvania, I'm very familiar with how to navigate and not get lost in what can otherwise be a maze of similar shapes and colors. It's beautiful until you realize you have no idea where you are.

Anyways, just some thoughts to help you refine your work, if that's even possible. I still have to say you represent some of the top efforts by this community (along with many of the others in this very thread) so please continue your work and know you have our best support.

On an aside, you've inspired me to do a post on this very topic on my blog, so thanks for that

Corresponding blog post: http://gamegurureport.blogspot.com/2017/10/technique-discussion-modern-games-and.html

dimoxinil how do you achive the part when the player get the card enter the screen, and then card disapear, and then you cna upgrade those it is your own scripts?

like here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSu3DwhfziA

This is a brilliant idea!

@Bolt Action Gaming: Currently pretty early in level design process of my own game! I'll defiantely read through your articles later.



-Wolf

Hello to all the Guru developers and all curious minds.

@Bolt Action Gaming:

I read your article and your Doom references.. and I think you are right . The game needs more focal points. , it is easy to get lost. Clear benchmarks are necessary. The player needs more reference places to contrast with the background, which will allow the player to be located inside the maze.. wip

The big problem that I face is the drawing distance. I can't use large objects becose my Camera Distance is 5 for optimization, dessing and other reasons. A possible solution could be create a custon skybox with a enormous obelisk. I need to study this carefully .

I had such a great time reading tour post. A big thank you to you, Wolf and imothep85 for the support.

Next week new dev blog video with..

HUD/GUI updated.
color/textures updated.
weapon level up system.
Burst (old impilse) system.
new enemy.
menu updated.
Mining system.. WIP
card system updated.
etc..



And that's it for this week. Bye.. Deica logo.
-Dimoxinil

Thanks for the kind words. I believe there are settings which can be used which disables distance culling on objects that can be used to ensure it's visible from any location. The skybox's fixed nature does make it a prime candidate in a walled maze such as yours. It's probably the method I'd use. That said, it's still a bit of a blunt instrument. I look forward to whatever clever solutions you implement Dimoxinil.

I love the little details of grass growing on the stairs; that's a really nice little touch

Hey @dimoxinil do you still have the screenshots of your levels/games from FPSC? I thought they would be very cool to compare my projects to (in terms of visual excellence and scripting). And the new stuff looks cool! And like said above a contrast would be nice. Nothing in the screen pops up, as in telling me where to go. However they look excellent. Hope you keep this project up!

Hello to all the Guru developers and all curious minds.

Thanks for your interest, support and patience.. much patience .

@Teabone
It's the little details that make a world of difference.. also applies to videogames

@Mriganka
I'm going to see if I can upload a few old fpsc pictures , but no promises.

@imothep85
You have to excuse me, I didn't respond to your question.
yes, all the scripts are mine.. So you have an idea, the menu script are more than 500 code lines and it's not quite there yet.

A new add.. the companions.. You can view this in the next video.




Bye.. Deica logo.
-Dimoxinil

-Your wish is our command.

These images really make me jealous! Have you ever made any working builds on that project?

You totally surpassed my FPSC level design in every way.

Wow. You should give classes on environmental design, seriously.

Very nice,great look to those old levels.

Dave

Dimoxi your work is fantastic!

NEW DEV BLOG VIDEO

Hello to all the Guru developers and all curious minds.


So there might be a few builds placed somewhere.. maybe one day I will publish some of those builds when I have more free time.. Now I'm a bit overwhelmed. Mriganka


I seem to recall you upload a few public demos or games and it's really good Wolf.. but..I don't publish nothing.. notning.. I am all mouth and no trousers.


I likes to pretend I'm a good level designer.. it's all bluff. I am a mediocre level designer.. but I work hard to improve my desing skills.. I read and reread level desing articles, Watch video tutorials, learn efficient environmental design techniques.. But I have my limits. There are many talented people than I in this forum.


Thank you for your support Dave.


Thanks Medmatheus , I'm doing my best.. I am trying.

I leave you a brand new Dev blog video,

Companions
HUD/GUI updated.
Color/textures updated.
Weapon level up system.
Fury (old impilse) system.
New enemy.
Mining system..
Carry explosives.
etc..



And that's it for this week. Bye.. Deica logo.

I'm blown away by how you're able to achieve what you done so far! Could you show us more on the companions?

This is really coming along well. Looks very polished. Is the gameplay randomized at all?

Another inspirational blog thread this is for me.

Really hope it ends in a release.

Cheers.

Hello to all the Guru developers and all curious minds.


Hi Landman. The companions are robots with special features who can lead you through your journeys.. if you also have the money.
Most of them have their own weapons, but they have a limited quantity of ammunition and They can't get more. You must innovate new strategies and tactics depending on the companions you choose. Thanks for your post.


Hi Bolt Action Gaming. All the cards that can be seen in the game are completely randomized.. You don't know what cards you're going to get. There's also a series of events and activities situations which are completely random , it makes replaying the game enjoyable.. I hope. Thanks for your post.


Hi cybernescence. If all goes well, it should be in early acces the last quarter of 2018.. Things often do not turn out as one would think . Thanks for your post.

At present I am immersed in enemies behaviours.. I'm sort of satisfied but not smug about it, you know.. It's a shame the AI navigation system cause of so many problems.



And that's it for this week. Bye.. Deica logo.

If you are a mouthy guy with no pants in public I'm sure people would pay attention to you!
Yes, I released a few things but also never the "bigger" projects. As Mriganka said. Releasing a few somewhat finished maps from your FPSC collections on the down low would be an interesting thing for a lot of us, I'm sure. Maybe have a temporary download link up

I can understand if you rather not release anything unfinished as well though.

omg dimoxinil your FPSC work there is incredible o_o

WOW your project is very special and professional, you have lot of skills I really see your game on steam

This is an amazing project and looking forward to supporting on Steam when its ready.

Personally I still think E.L.E is the most original game dimoxinil has done and it was a real shame that never saw the light of day (or the assets). That project would have really progressed FPSC a lot more quickly than it did back in the day.

Bring back E.L.E !!!

Hello to all the Guru developers and all curious minds.

Thanks for your all comments.. basically I've been concentrating on the game, maybe too much.

At the beginning of December, I start with the private game tests.. The testers play the game and I observed them.. It wasn't very long until I realized that the game was a mess. A complete and utter failure. The tester were lost in the maze.. the comabt was boring.. They lose interest in the game in a very short time.. I've been hoisted upon my own petard.

I have been focused on creating a game too ambitious. I wanted to create a mixture between Zelda and Bloodborne.. yes.. you've read it properly. I'm basically a [Mod Edit]. It would take fourteen years or more to do the game that I had in mind.. and It'll still be a rubbish game.

I spent weeks experienced.. The days passed and I went to a really dark place.. But one day .. A glorious day, long in coming!.. A light bulb went off in my head, and I started doing tests .. Everything just fell into place so perfectly. I've been working relentlessly for weeks and I went back to do the tests with the same people.. They played the game for more than one hour, and they were having a good time. Now the game was fast, fun and very addictive. . highly addictive.. and the most important.. It is complete and absolutely viable.

The game is finished in a 40% and at this moment and I hope to have it ready by the end of summer.. Well if GameGuru solve your memory and AI problems .. and a log etc...

And that's it for this week. Bye.. Deica logo.

Look stunning anyway but I have to admit ... That looks a lot more fun

Good that you figured out a way to redesign the game! I can relate to this a lot an try to find the right balance myself.
Game looks good too.

A side note: Try to avoid the heavy swear words



-Wolf

Wow, interesting re-vamp. Keep fighting the good fight. I love the art, the scripting, that little 'relaxation' scene is a trip. Perfect so far.
I have some roguelike scripts I'll be posting on the store in the next 1-3 months, they might be useful to you.

Do you have any need for things of that nature? I'm asking because I want your project to succeed enough to gift them to you once they're done ( if you actually can use them, of course).

interesting, small and fast paced does seem to work well and fits easier on your time i'm sure - though the original game would have been good too

Hello to all the Guru developers and all curious minds.

The first thing to do isto say moitas gracias (Thank you) for your constant interest and support towards my game.


That is the idea, if I do it? and thank you very much synchromesh for your nice comments! Always encouraging.


You have to find your way, Wolf. I think you like the open world like stalker.. fallout and similar.. me too.. these games are incredibly fun. Now I was going to say say something like "Emulate these kind of games can be very difficult and trying by a single person" My best advice... Do something you love and enjoy do it.. and that's it.

P.S. I'm sorry about the heavy swear words.


Hi Bolt Action Gaming. Roguelike is by far my favorite genre. I really appreciate your kindness but I prefer to create my own game scipts to have complete control over the game and learning Lua.. well I called for help many times.


I think so, too, Smallg, Actually everything to go according to the timeline that I have established. Let's see how long this timeline lasts. Thank you very much for your words, master. Your Kung fu is the most powerful.

The game is divided into three eviroments. At the moment I'm working on the second eviroment, far most flourishing and green than the first enviroment seen in the last video. In this enviroment there are roots everywhere and if you stomp about them you slow down.. well.. the tentacles coming from the walls don't help either



And that's it for this week. Bye.. Deica logo.

you must save a BUNDLE of resources using single-colour textures like that. I was never originally a big fan of the kitschy visual style to begin with but seeing my ""realistic"" textures cause frame rate dips on large outdoor levels, I can't help but wonder if your style is the most effective means of optimization at this point.

what build of gameguru are you using?

what are the frame rates like on your levels?

can you show me a top down view of an entire map so I can get an idea how big it is/how much of it is background content?

Hi Bugsy.


Up to now we have been working with the last directX9 version. I just started to work with the last public preview yesterday.


I use vsync=1. the game run smooth 60FPS...
superflatterrain
no scale object.
no polygonal collision.
no more than 250 drawcalls.
no lod objects ( I have eliminated all lod from my props to save memory) In a game with a Camera distant of 3 that are no longer required .
low poly enviroment.
etc.. etc.. Well I have to admit that the game is already optimized.


I'm really busy with the PP right now.. when things get back to normal. I am now migrating the game to PBR.. lot of work

Thanks for your comment Bugsy.

Love to see how things are working in the latest Public Preview for you. If you ever encounter any bugs you can report directly to the TGC team over on github:

https://github.com/TheGameCreators/GameGuruRepo/issues

Can't wait to play this one when its finally finished. Its a fun journey just watching your updates!

Hi Teabone.

The truth is that it has been out of necessity, The last GG directx9 update has a bid bug wihit he AI. In certain situations the IA stopped working and the enemies begins rotating round itself and forming infinite circles.. etc.. Apparently it seems fixed in Public Preview. The previous PP looked a little too much unstable. So, Like the coward that I have been waiting for a more stable release.

Thanks for your comment Teabone.

I have been working with the PBR the whole weekend. I have used props fron Dungeon Losers because it have all the textures needed (color, gloss, metalness, etc..) First experiences was very positive. Very.. I hope I can work on Space Loers PBR tomorrow.

Here you have a couple of screenshots of my early attempts to manage the GameGuru PBR.







And that's it for this week. Bye.. Deica logo.

nice! sometimes i wanna use super flat terrain but I dont because terrain helps the horrible AI pathing if its under the ground directly for me, idk
does scaling stuff affect the FPS?
I try to use as little polygon collision as possible, except for main geometry thats all modelled
i usually have WAY below 250 drawcalls and no vsync
i too eliminated lods and use a lowpoly environment, I just wanted to pick your brain. I also use the last DX9 version. Thanks for the answer!

the PBR is truly well done!

the mockups you have done with the PBR in GG looks fantastic

Oh.. wow.

I mean, I can't say much else. That's very, very, impressive.

Hello to all the developers and all curious minds.


well.. In theory, although I'm not sure.. The GPU need the extra calculations. To give you an idea, The ubisoft internal game engines dont have the scale tool.. no kidding.

I haven't started to work on the PBR (Physically-Based Shading) update, I wanted to finish it in one week.. but then again, I am wrong.
Okay, the point is, preserve the appeal of the game but without renouncing to the new possibilities. I believe I have found an acceptable balance between both.. But, of course, I also thought that the laser disk was the future.

I give you a sample of the PBR in Space Loser.


Thanks for the support and hopefully we'll see you araund here soon!
And that's it for this week. Bye.. Deica logo.