Here is the recording of live broadcast #02 on GameGuru MAX progress:



Here are the answers to your live chat questions:

​What's scripting like to work with in Game Guru?
A: The best place to get a sense of scripting in practise is to comb through the old Twitch Broadcasts as there are many cases you see me go in, make changes or create new scripts in order to add game logic, and perhaps get a glimpse into the process of using scripting in your game making adventure. Here is a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLE96dx27Ac&list=PLE-iCIs1FHEGnoCFNnH_kMSIHMSE9FQ8i

​Can we have rtx ray tracing please as a separate upgrade ?? Also support for rtx2080 series cards?
A: There are no plans to add RTX (real time ray trace rendering) to MAX, we are using a good old fashioned forward and/or deferred rendering approach so it has a chance to be fast on cards from 4-5 year ago. RTX requires much more monster cards!

Will this be saved to your channel because I can't continue watching
A: Yes all live broadcasts are recorded and will be added to our YouTube Channel playlist.

​Can you fix the latest sound issue? Setting Global sounds volume to 0 and you can still hear it. Just thought I'd throw that in before you leave ? Be a nice fix in the next update
A: Best place to report bugs and issues is via our GitHub Issues Board, which you can find here, and you will see we have been pretty busy fixing all bugs reported: https://github.com/TheGameCreators/GameGuruRepo/issues

​Will Max work under Linux or Linux Wine?
A: There are no plans to add cross-platform support for GameGuru MAX, including Linux and Mac. For the time being this will be a Windows 10 PC only product.

​Will there be an update of the alpha in this month of May that includes the correct functioning of the enemies that I have from the classic gameguru so that I can enjoy my asset classic gg in gg max?
A: We intend to release an alpha build every month, including one in May. It is highly unlikely you will see consistent backwards compatibility in the early alphas, so functioning enemies may not happen until we enter the early beta stages.

Will wicked be in the next alpha build
A: It is highly likely the next alpha will have some Wickedness inside it, though you might find your functionality has taken a backward step!

Still dx11 and win 7 ?
A: Yes DirectX 11 is our choice for MAX, but Windows 10 is the minimum OS, not Win7 as Win7 does not support Windows Mixed Reality.

Is camera now going to be a separate entity ? can we have many cameras for cutscenes now?
A: There are no plans for separate camera objects in MAX, it will remain the single camera you control 'out of the box' and to some small degree via scripting.

​Will the character creator allow for sitting and other animations?
A: There are no plans to add specific animation sets to the core product, but we will be supporting the importing and stacking of animations you crafted yourself onto the rig so your characters can perform the animations you need via script control.

​Also can you please drop direct x format
A: We need to keep X file format support for backwards compatibility with Classic, but there is no necessity to use X format in MAX as we will be supporting the import of GLTF and FBX.

Will there be any changes to the GUI or is it now set in stone?
A: I believe there will be additional changes to the UI as we have some strong feedback from several quarters in this regard. We are happy with what we have, but compelling feedback during the alpha stages may cause some improvements before final release. Watch out for this in future sneak peeks!

Can we add a custom shaders as material ?
A: By default, all shaders in MAX will be provided as fixed so you can achieve all the visual effects necessary. It has not been determined if custom shaders will be possible in MAX, as it might require pre-compiling at the binary preparation stage. That said, we will be looking to see if we can keep the door open a touch for users who want to make shader modifications, compile them and add them as a choice for changing the way an entity is rendered.

What is the possibility of C# and access to user created dll files as a add on
A: There are no plans to support C# code in MAX, we will continue to use LUA as the primary method of scripting logic, and there are no plans to add support for loading and calling functions from a custom DLL (though the idea is interesting and adding it to the GitHub issues board as a feature request would be a good idea).

So, Win7 and x32 dropped for good ?
A: Not at all, you can still use GameGuru Classic for 32-bit and Windows 7 support, and many bugs and functionality additions will continue to be released for Classic at the same time as MAX. Only choose MAX if you want Windows 10 or above, 64-bit only and a higher graphics card requirement.

​Will there be some info on working in CC parts in the future?
A: Yes indeed. The only way we can encourage users to import their assets instead of depending on TGC to provide thousands of stock items is to document the processes and formats that GameGuru MAX requires, including how to make and assign body parts for the new Character Creator.

​Can more than one character 'talk to each other' for creating cut scenes?
A: You could create a script that controls multiple entities to talk in turn, but alas this requires some scripting know-how. There will be no out of the box system for complex character dialog.

Will you be including wicked engines particle system into Max? or will it be the existing one?
A: I had planned to use something closer to the Particle Editor system, but before I commit to writing it from scratch I will be looking at the Wicked Particle system to see if there is a way the Particle Editor data structure can be used with the existing system, giving us the best of both worlds, an editor to make the particle effect and optimized particle rendering from Wicked shaders.

Can a PATH be added in a different way in GG Max - ie. as spline or catmull-rom points's spline ?
A: No plans to add catmulrom splines for paths, only the one we have already implemented which is a series of nodes connected by straight lines. The characters themselves (or entities in some cases) will rotate smoothly at each node so its not as robotic, but there is no sweeping curve plotted for the path. You can however write your own in LUA scripting as the waypoint path data node positions are readily available for your control points.

Godot's UI is also part of the engine's api, so it's possible to use its UI elements in games for the in game interface. Will game guru users be able to script the imgui elements for their games.
A: There are no plans to add IMGUI commands to the LUA scripting system at this time. There are benefits to it, and we are looking some version of this (primarily to allow script writers greater control interface options) but there is currently no plans to allow IMGUI to be used for in-game controls and gadgets, and remains the exclusive domain of the editor UI.

​Can we have full body awareness? And ally’s and cut scene makers?
A: There are no plans to add full body awareness, allies and cutscenes in MAX. We want to focus on the new terrain system and new graphics engine, and get those right.

​Is photon multiplayer still coming we really need that
A: The Photon Multiplayer is already created, but needs modifying for MAX so is currently disabled for the alphas. Once the visuals have been reassembled, we will return to the Photon functionality and get that activated once you can see and manage your game levels again in MAX under the new graphics engine.

​Is there any chance of a cut scene editor?
A: No plans to add a cutscene editor in MAX. This would be a chunk of work, but if you want to see this as an add-on DLC, we might be able to commission a third party to design and develop this as a MAX bolt-on module. You can, of course, do all this with scripts and your own data files, but there would be no out of the box functionality for cut-scenes in MAX.

​Do you plan to support other OS besides windows? I mean export of the finished game
A: No plans to run GameGuru on anything other than a Windows 10 or above PC system, and no plans to export to anything other than a Windows standalone executable.

Excellent ..
Thanks Lee.

I will be working again is there any chance someone can ask about water and the water from the new graphics engine. Will there be swimming under and as i saw volume of water in the engine video. Just curious as my tomb raider style partswould be hugely beneficial if i was to join the ggm

Interested to see how you guys are getting on, looking forward to it

Dave

So please do not answer my question, do it here.

I would like to know this as well. If no swimming, will the water shader at least have underwater? I'm certain someone would be able to code swimming themselves so long as the water looks good from below. You don't know how disappointed I was when I found out the water in Leadwerks doesn't have any kind of "underwater" shader, just looks like a wavy plane of glass above you.

I will likely be asleep during those hours, so I also have a few questions of my own I'm hoping someone could pass along for me!

--Will we see any kind of WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) GUI editor? Custom GUI/HUDs are super important for making unique games.
--Will GG Max fully utilize Wicked Engine's features? (Wicked has a really nice particle system, cloth physics, etc.)
--Characters made with the character creator have a lot of nice little touches, like rather than constantly rotate to face the player, they only follow with their head, and turn their whole body with an animation once they turn their neck too far. Will enemy characters have similar touches? (Animations for starting/stopping movement, headlook, etc.)

I believe at one time when initially discussion MAX, Lee had said there were no plans for this. However, that was before deciding to use The Wicked Engine and when Lee thought he was going to code the engine himself (at least I supposed that's what he was planning). Now that the engine is, basically, taken care of (and, yes, I know there is a good amount of coding that needs to be done to hook it all into MAX), I really wish Lee would revisit the concept off adding a GUI creator of some kind to MAX. I, too, think it's essential.

My thoughts exactly for asking again lol

Might catch it later if I am not too busy. Be good to see how things are coming along

Thanks, Lee for updating Q & A, it helps a lot.

Nice one Lee, I see this is coming on very nicely.

One question though - will the GG classic way of rendering text to screen be dropped in favour of a system where we can use installed windows .ttf fonts. So much easier to use and the end user can create custom fonts easier too.

Yes, the aim is to use the font system from Wicked (True Type Fonts) and also 'hopefully' UNICODE support so we can translate to any language. We will then try to match the old system as close as is practical to retain enough backwards compatibility and open up the necessary controls to do more with your text.