Hi all, I took a break from the forums to continue work on a current project. I've now hit a point where I require some info, answers or maybe I need to dedicate a weekend to reading here

1. EBE, Is this the Easy Builder Editor for rooms/buildings? If so, I can work out from some posts here on the forums this is not available yet?
Is there much info on this part of the editor (videos etc), such as will it be using a segment system like fpsc or will the fpsc segment system be implemented?

2. Has there been any updates to accommodating large numbers of npc / AI in one scene?
Such as too many waypoints causing AI problems has this been addressed?

3. Animated doors? Maybe this has been working or in editor for awhile, something I have never used just interested if this works.

4. I noticed a few threads mentioning Steam hate, and something about people pushing out games to early.
Then I read something about a problem with compiling a game. So my question is can we save games now, and has anyone found a limit on level/data limits?

Thanks in advance to any one that can assist with my noob questions.

1...The EBE is still in beta but if you want a preview then twitches 54 and 55 will show you a preview of its progress ..
https://www.game-guru.com/live-streams

2... I haven't heard of any issues with waypoints and they seem very stable for me now .... Of course no good will come from dropping 50 enemy in one spot in any game development .... Spawning enemy at specific points ( just like attack waves ) allows you to place hundreds of enemy in your game but only having to deal with maybe 5 at a time keeping the fps up and the game sensible ..

3 ... There is no easy animated doors as of yet apart from buying sets on the store or creating your own ....

4 ... We can now save games in standalone anywhere.....at any time ....on any level

5 ... Releasing games on steam is easy ..... To easy sometimes and many have just been slapped together with no thought and look really bad... On the other hand there are some good one with good reviews and are doing well .... Its all down to how well you develop your game ..

I would prefer the old segment system over EBE any day of the week.While the intention of the EBE is to make building, the grid is quite limited, and you are going to find a hard time making complex indoor level with it, the end result is going to be rather lackluster to say the least, and many ways worse then FPSC segment system.

For one the FPSC segment employed port culling, sure EBE would have some sort of culling, but I can nearly guaranty it will not be as effective.
However that said EBE might work for you or it might, just depends on the level of detail you are looking at creating, that said the level of detail isn't going to be all that great, the end result is you still need to model additional shapes to compliment the environment you are working.Just much much much easier to model every thing in one go apply the grid snapping method to what ever you are making you will be miles better off.

Unfortunately there are those that wholly disagree, but whatever, each to their own.You will be sorely disappointed in EBE if you are expecting miracles if you are a long time member.


Have a look at the stock level morning mountain stroll it is a massive level and has over a 100 AI in the level all of them spawned, due to culling and such, they aren't active, definitely wouldn't rule out have 10 or 15 AI running around in a busy scene, it would still require some smart level design to accommodate large numbers of AI, but not entirely impossible.

Thank you both, much appreciated.

Hey Defy!

I try to make this brief and to the point:



From what I have seen, the EBE is somewhat similar to the old segment system, however, there is no telling how much of that will change and what the final product will look like. Personally, I started to rely way more on modular pieces and models. Wizard of id has a lot of recommendable stuff on his store page.



Bugsy is working on optimising enemies to have a scene support more of them, however I too have not yet experienced problems with my waypoint scripts. I'd say that, depending on rig you can go as far as having about a dozen enemies active at once and the scripts should work. Personally I rarely to never go above 5. (A map can, however, have plenty of enemies as long as you spawn them. But you know that!)



Sure! I have plenty of different doors up and running. Not that much more complicated to set up as back in fpsc. You can have pressure pads, keys, triggers to unlock them...the whole videogame shabam! There are many on the store if you want to get started. (Also some in the stock media if you want a blueprint to import your old ones from FPSC)



Nothing important! GG does of course not have the most rosy reputation but I've seen that if you deliver a decent game nobody cares.
The hate is often geared more towards terrible games that deserve it rather then the engine they run on.
I've played games with up to 6 levels and find GG builds to be way more stable than FPSC ones (I know this doesn't say much, but hey, you've been with us in the same boat. I remember your tutorial on stitching levels together manually for the final build ^^)
As far as data limits: The memorycap is still there! (yaaaay! ) but I have never come close to hitting it with my levels and they have conventional map sizes for the kinds of games I make. I'd say your fine as long as you keep optimisation in mind. Fathers Island, Ertlovs Game currently on Steam, has huge levels for example.

I hope that was somewhat useful, buddy! Happy developing.



-Wolf

I think Lee should make new posts on the update thread rather than editing the original. It would help a lot with notifying people of updates. It would help solve a lot of questions at the least about progress and changes.