Hi All,
Find today's live broadcast recording here:
And here are the questions I could not answer during the live chat due to time:
Q> Particles will be handle via LUA? ie: those GG LUA commands that run a shader, change the lifetime, the qty, win, etc.
A> We used to have some old systems to handle particles for Classic, but for GameGuru MAX we have created a whole shader set to match the particles created from Particle Editor. All MAX particles will use this method. The LUA commands you refer to will likely be downgraded and replaced with ones that can control the new particle system, at least for the high-level parameters.
Q> Since multiplayer is getting delayed to a future update, will time be taken to do it properly? For example, multiple game modes with map rotation/selection? LAN play? Etc.
A> No details on what we are doing for multiplayer, but it was clear when we did it for GameGuru Classic that more was demanded from us. The world has exploded in terms of multiplayer expectations, and it could be after a design review that our small team will ever be able to deliver on everything users want. We will look at this question again after the release of GameGuru MAX.
Q> Does the flashlight not cast real shadows on dynamic objects, it looks like it's just duplicating the mesh and moving it over a bit, then filling it in black. Bug?
A> The flashlight is a real spot light, casting real shadows. The shadows are not very impressive only because the flash light takes its position from the camera position, not the players 'hand'. When we do VR, we will have to give the player full controller support of a flash light and then you will see very nice shadows!
Q> So in brief how will I be able to add robes cloaks and armour to the character creator?
A> There are no plans to add robes or cloaks to the character, if you refer to real physics cloth style effects. You may be able to create a body part that incorporates a robe or armour, but it would be rigged with the character skeleton. All this assumes you are a good 3D character artist and animator, and can use the templates and guide we will provide to create your own body parts. If you are not an artist, you will only be able to make characters from the parts that come with GameGuru MAX (and its future DLC).
Q> Does the shaders (CSO) going to be an internal file? Are they going to work as fx shader does in GG? if does not, what we can do to get that kind of effect?
A> There are no plans to have FX file style editing of shaders in GameGuru MAX. We are shipping all the shaders for MAX as compiled binary shaders. There are no plans to enable the customisation of these shaders for the first release, and we hope that the controls we provide throughout the software on the visual side will mitigate the need to have to write your own shaders. It's not impossible, but it is highly complex as you would need to respect the many subsystems Wicked Engine requires to produce a rendering that works well with the other shaders. Some exceptions could be particle effects, but we already have that covered with a great particle render shader.
Q> Will it be possible to add water at higher levels than ground level, and create our own waterfalls and raised lakes etc?
A> We are still working through the difficulties of allowing multiple water bodies at different altitudes. We are certainly going to provide the current water plane control so you can do seas or even in-land lakes at that level, but things like waterfalls, mountain lakes, and descending streams are still being investigated and may require more of an 'asset object' approach rather than something built-in.
Thanks for all your questions, speak again on Wednesday 4 PM GMT next week
GameGuru Classic will continue to be supported with bug fixes and functionality additions.
