Hi All,

Here is today's broadcast:


And here are your answers from the live chat:

Q> Is it possible to separate the draw calls and shadow draw calls slider on the camera rendering properties. This will avoid shadow popping?
A> COuld you post a more detailed issue on our issues board, with screenshots so we know exactly where you are looking, thanks!

Q> When will volumetric clouds be fixed?
A> It is on our issues list for February, specifically to stop the clouds jiggling at some points on the map.

Q> Do we have control again of things like shadows, fxaa etc etc as in can we turn them off and on while editing?
A> YOu can access such controls by activating the Postprocess component in the SETTINGS options.

Q> Will there be climbing animations? What graphics card are you currently using?
A> There are no plans for climbing animations for characters in the March release. I am using an old GTX 1080 which has a passmark of about 14000 which is pretty good, but not high-end. I expect you should get 60fps for cards above 9000 on passmark.

Q> This is a pretty important feature nearly every GGC made game gets blasted for on Steam (among other issues...), will the options menu be expanded? (Rebind controls, fine-tune graphics)
A> You will be able to customize your own menus for your standalone games, and we have created an editor to make it simple to do so.

Q> Is there any way to make the Allies less prone to attacking enemies/unarmed zombies, say if they're behind prison bars, etc?
A> Allies will attack anything they detect as a target within their range. You can set their range lower to keep them near the player and away from tempting targets. You can also set the characters behind the bars as Neutrals.

Q> Any easy way to deal with FIRESPOT in GGMax? Especially custom chars?
A> At the moment this is handled by MAX for all Character Creator creations for full compatibility with the system. For characters, you create yourself, watch this space for documentation on the requirements and how you set them up to work with MAX, including weapon placement.

Q> Is there any plans to make a tutorial series that covers how you and the crew export and import models for use with GGMax?
A> See above, we do plan to support 3D artists who want to get their amazing creations into MAX as functional game assets.

Q> Is there any info on making skyboxes for Max?
A> There is no information currently, but the process can be easily explained if you ask on the forums, it is a pretty well-known process now.

Q> Are you able to make menus and opening screens in GGM?
A> Yes indeed, you can customize all your standalone game screens to make the game look just the way you want.

Thanks for all your questions, happy to answer more next Wednesday at 4 PM GMT on our YouTube Channel

I think my question was entirely misunderstood as this answer doesn't make any sense. Currently as it stands in GGC and GGM controls and graphics settings are hard-coded; you could not say, rebind crouch to X, or rebind sprint to Q. You also cannot change shadow quality without also affecting the quality of other things, or choose a specific draw distance, or other tweaks. (Most people who lower graphics to get a game to run better like to choose to disable things they don't mind giving up, like motion blur or turning down shadow quality, so they can keep other preferable things high, like draw distance.) I'm not sure what a main menu editor has to do with this?

Done and done

https://github.com/TheGameCreators/GameGuruRepo/issues/1799

Rusty cars and some dead vehicles (old,Moodern) are good choices for the march release to complete a simple open world game play. i will ask them in git hub too. Nice job lee

@fearlesswee
I think the question was understood, but the answer could not be more precise during the Live (question too awkward). Obviously, modifying what is hard-coded is a taboo subject at TGC. It is better to answer off the mark, letting the public believe that you can already do it. But the reality is very different. Currently the only way to change the keyboard keys (by the player) is to code a small Launcher.exe which offers the keyboard options before the game launches. I haven't checked for the graphics, but I guess it's the same case. It's very easy to do, but TGC forgets that it's up to the video game application to do it. Not to us.

If all Max users were advanced coders, they wouldn't be using Max.

Good point ultravox
Although a few enjoy the ease of max like cybernessence and bored of the rings. A classic c64 adventure game. And graphix, small g. Amen moses, the list goes on. But it has a kind of design enjoyment that makes this a very addictive engine. Well tgc stuff it takes headaches away. Also the wavered costs of making games is appealing
So theres reasons. At present on unity rolfy is flying with his new project looks fantastic as is cybernessence they are doing fantastic work but cybernessence still jumps on here and likes to design rolfy did up until the new engine debates then he chose to move and to be honest heade the right choice for him.

Looking forward to seeing the 2nd generation terrain and extras

@science boy

Honestly, there isn't much addictive with Max right now. There are so many bugs and misses. It's more of a pushback. Even Character Creator seems to be a carbon copy of Fuse, only less so and with less editing possibilities. So might as well use Fuse. What I would have liked is that TGC proposed a project in which we could have participated. In terms of functionalities, we can make requests (and I do a lot of them...) but that does not mean that they will see the light of day. I find it irritating, because we don't know. We never know anything. I would have appreciated a rating system that determines whether a particular feature request will be taken into account, or not. This is to avoid wasting our time on a project that would remain "unfinished".

As @fearlesswee wrote for the Storyboard. All this is cute, but nothing can be connected. It's a fake storyboard. You change a background, a color, a Font. But you won't change anything more. The only things that can be connected are already connected. Most of Max's features are like this. Max is a GG Classic with a more advanced engine. It doesn't really know how to do more things than Classic. He does the same things, differently. But the end result may not be much different. Because the way all this was imagined, is the same way of thinking as for Classic. So for sure, the same strategic errors will appear. That's my feeling.

Everything is strange with Max. Unmodifiable textures ; no Tiling, Stretching, Shine, Rotation, Bumping..., and the vegetation system is weird. Everything is reversed : the elements are all already present on the map (textures + vegetation), but they are "hidden". And clicking to add them to the Brush only makes them appear partially in an area (the Brush) where they were already before clicking. It's like Photoshop Layers that are always present, but hidden, and you have to click on a button (Photoshop's eye) to make them appear in the Brush. Conceptually, I don't like that. And I'm not surprised that Lee didn't want to add the necessary functionality to modify the textures. I wonder if the current texture system is also "hard-coded", making the texture system unmodifiable.

Currently, I am convinced that this is so. But I didn't look for proof. It's an overall feeling I have while using Max.

Presumably this is an Alpha, and that these features will eventually arrive. Yes, maybe. But when you code such a project and add a feature as important as textures, you have to go all the way. Because some things can't wait. There is a hierarchy in priorities.

Yesterday I tested a tiny 3D app that my 13 year old son uses. It's Roblox. A small multiplayer 3D video game editor and creator for kids. Ok, it is of no great interest at our level. But I was surprised to see the "quality" rendering of certain games, and its editing and creation possibilities. And I sometimes wonder why such a small program like Roblox would be able to do things that Max is not able to do.

Just one example : swimming in water. Lee told us that it was not expected to know how to swim in water. According to him, "modern FPS" do not offer that. Maybe we haven't played the same modern FPS. And maybe the word "modern" doesn't have the same meaning, according to people...

Easiest way is to make your skies and then use xSkyBox+ to convert them for use in MAX.

OldFlak....

Tis a work in progress - it is obvious it is going to have ability to change what is connected to what>
- Preben is creating the storyboard, so it should end up being a nice feature - guess we just have to wait to see where it ends up.

Long way to go yet, long way to go....

OldFlak....

I see that the functionality of trees has been greatly improved, in a good way.

You can now select several trees and give them different sizes, for more realism. The Tree Water Distance function has also been integrated into the tree menu. Previously it was located in developer mode. It's a great thing. It remains to implement the possibility of importing our own trees into this random repository system. The same is expected for vegetation.

I congratulate TGC for this progress.

I hope you are right. I like the Storyboard concept. But I think he is underrated by TGC. And I strongly believe it could be used for other aspects of Max. Like connecting lights to switches. It's so much easier to connect these modules together, than having to bring a switch closer to a Light, because they are too far apart and cannot be connected visually. TGC should have some serious thought about this. This connection system can be used for very different aspects of Max. It is easy to use, it is clear, limpid. Scripts, light connections, keyboard keys... Almost everything can be done from a system like the Storyboard.

I can't access new ggmax as on holiday away so i have to wait till next Friday to explore.
Has anything else been done to the world system
Clouds, weather, vegetation etc a little heads up be great

No. I didn't notice anything else about Clouds, Weather and Vegetation.
Next week we may have the new vegetation.

Yeah agreed.

I would prefer a blueprint system like Unreal for game logic.

I guess a mixture of normal scripting and the connection system may be ok to a degree, but for interiors and lots of connections it would soon make for a very messy map and probably be tedious to edit it all.

But be interesting to see where it goes...

OldFlak....

Clouds will get some attention in February - maybe they do some work on weather as well then too.

OldFlak....

Lol you mean, new, new vegetation What we have now is already the new vegetation system....

@OldFlak

Me too, but I would be surprised if TGC implemented a new system. So I try to imagine solutions with what is already implemented.

@wizard of id

I understand what you mean. There will definitely be a small improvement overall. But I don't expect PBR textures on 3D objects! I sometimes have the impression that they are targeting customers with an integrated graphics card, or even worse : an S3 Trio 64V+.

We had that with GG Classic back in the day, it was the biggest mistake they ever made, it ground development almost to a halt, because a majority of the people voting (who are mostly the ones who don't usually post on forums or discord but quietly sit in the background playing with the software) had no clue about developing a real game and what was really needed and they were just voting for low hanging fruit that got in the way of real developent.

Yes voting was horrific they had far too many additions and the really good stuff got dropped for the kids who wanted strafe left over something like instancing

Yes, I remember all of that very well. I was there. Except that in my mind, it's not about that. The method used at the time was for everyone, including all beginners. What a mistake... And I already knew it at the time that it was over. I too have seen my proposals evaporate, to give way to trivialities and childishness without the slightest interest. However, there are other ways to proceed. Well, it's too late to talk about it now. It was just an observation. A finding. Because, I am not more advanced now than I could be at the time.

UltraVox you MUST wait for two weeks or more. Because the current stuff CAN NOT even create a simple complete demo. Give developers space and enough time to solve the problems.

I have never used engines other than TGC ones, except DivGames from Hammers studio, but that was a long time ago, in the Doom times.
So, I have no idea about UE4 blueprints and am not interested in them; anyway, if blueprint means a game template GGMax most likely is going to have sample levels, that might be used as blueprints to make your own.
TBH I would prefer to start my own game from scratch, although I understand someone that likes to use some game template for starting and getting their hands dirty.
I considered any game template you use, kill the freedom, so now you are forced to make your game around that template, and yes, you can end up with a game that has nothing to do with the start template, but if so, then you can ask yourself whether really you need that template. imho.

@Supe


I did not say otherwise. And I participate on Github, like others here, in the evolution of Max. I reported dozens of bugs of all kinds and I also brought my share of ideas and suggestions, at all levels. The only thing I said was about textures and the absolutely necessary options to control them. I remind you that Lee had let it be understood that these options would not see the light of day in Max before the release. And many of us consider that to be professional misconduct. A stupid choice that will lead to very bad reviews. I also mentioned the vegetation system. Again, I'm not the only one to think that the choice of Lee/TGC is a bad choice. Regarding vegetation, 2D Sprites belong to the past of video games. For several years, professionals use 3D models, textured in PBR. Because the quality of the rendering is superior to anything else. But I also recalled, above, that we were waiting for the functionality that will allow us to choose our own vegetation. Just like the trees. Yes, we have to wait. But it is also to be hoped that these very important options will see the light of day. And there is no guarantee that it will happen. Do you understand the problem better ?

And you're wrong to think we can't do a demo. Personally, I don't see where the problem is. Not everything is perfect, to put it mildly. But that doesn't stop you from doing the job.

@UltraVox

You are true. i will think about that later ...

Guys, I personally don't give almost anything undoable in GGMax, Lee is just shaping GGMax and trying to get everything more or less ready for March, and although personally, I would love to have 3d vegetation instead of decals, there is no time for more; Switching to 3d vegetation involves much more than just placing a 3d grass on the ground.
Although this does not imply that a user cannot express his desire to have features in GGMax, which on the other hand could greatly benefit the final product.

As soon as we saw the 2D Sprites appear, TGC was warned that this was a bad thing. And we gave them the idea of ​​3D in PBR by showing them comparisons in the form of screenshots which showed the rendering of Max, and that of a "Modern FPS", as Lee likes to call them. And what decision was made ? Just improving 2D Sprites. So TGC knew, but did nothing. To me that means their intention is to keep the Sprites. My only hope now is that a future feature (but in the very near future, then!) will allow us to remove it entirely from our games, to integrate a superb 3D vegetation that we will have chosen -same. Since obviously, TGC was not able to make the right choice. Of two things, one. That TGC makes not very judicious choices, it is one thing. You can also be wrong guys... It happens to everyone. But then, we must be able to choose, too. Because I don't intend to release a video game with Sprites from the 2000s, while spreading the false idea that it would be a "modern FPS".

I am undoubtedly very critical of TGC's strategic and technological choices, that's a fact. But it is not a question of attacking them, nor of gratuitous wickedness. Every time they do something good, I'm the first to publicly congratulate them. I did it here and on Github. But I'll be sure to point out what's wrong with a modern FPS and ask what features go with it.

@ // Templates and Blueprints n stuff... //

Yes, you said it. There's the good and bad to supplying users with your own assets, easy buttons and pre- designed areas. ( @ developers ). MAX has a LOT of competition out there. It's no longer just Unity and Unreal. There's a few modded Unity and Unreal tools. So it's a shark tank world- like everything else.

While others say it's awful, I personally prefer the slightly lesser polys, slightly lower textures visuals- not extremely low, just volumed down a bit. Sorta Fortnite-esque. Drab visuals are for the ... drabs.

Maybe if you provide assets, you gotta go all the way, or not at all or like this ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC1XYGYlU_w

It is not. Blueprint is a means of visual coding.

oh, a connecting nodes system such as visual code but pre-made.
@ Argent_Arts thanks for the tip.

No. Not pre-made in the least. It is a coding system. You code visually. You can go very deep with Blueprint, if you like. It's an alternative to C++ (or can be used alongside C++).

BTW - Not trying to be mean, but GOOGLE is your friend here. There are "zillions" of pages on Unreal Blueprint that will tell you all about it, including Youtube videos showing them in action. There is no need to guess at this stuff. There is no need to not know.

As I said before "I'm not interested in" and it should be clear due to my lack of knowledge about blueprints, taking into account getting some related info is as easy as going to google as you already said; but again, I'm not interested about another engine rather than GG/GGMax.
Anyway, thanks for the tip.

Yes, I got that. But what I was referring to is, if you are going to enter into a conversation about something, then you should at least have an idea about what you're talking about. Else, why say anything at all?

People who are already able to code find blueprints easy but pointless as they could already code it themselves.

People who can't code otoh find blueprints just as hard to get to grips with as coding would be.

So my question is, who are they for exactly?

If does not, so, does not make sense to say anything else.
You stated it is a code template or whatever it is, so, does not need to say anything else.
I'm not willing to loop about the same over and over, it does not make sense for me.

Actually, no. There are many that use both for a variety of reasons. Especially when it comes to things like Unreal's prefab system and other things that Blueprints are integrated with. It is not always one or the other with Unreal.



Actually, no. I can't code (as in typing out code) for whatever reason. I mean, I can ... but I can only get so far. But I can do visual coding via nodes with various systems. With Blender, I use it for things like materials. With Unreal, I can use it for things like Materials, too. So, it's similar to that already. I've used other, similar coding systems in other places and got along pretty well with them. As an artist, they made sense to me. I could "see" what I was doing and it just worked. So, Blueprint seemed to be made for people like me.

Recently, just for fun, I started looking at the recently renewed Blender Game Engine (UPBGE 0.30) which uses EEVEE. There's a system called Logic Nodes, which is a lot like Blueprint. With it, I was able to code an FPS camera. Me, the non-programmer, was able to code the mouse to control the camera to look, to restrict the up and down movement, to move forward, backward, slide left and right, and to jump and let gravity take control to bring the player back down ... using visual nodes. It took math. It took a bit of thinking. It didn't work at first. When it started to work, it worked strangely. But now it works exactly as I want it. I could not have done that with LUA or C++ or whatever. But I could with visual coding. So, yeah, Blueprint and the like? It was made for people like me. And there are thousands of people like me that use it.



I did not. I never said it was a "template" in the least. It is a means of coding. An alternate to typing.

@Argent_Arts


I have been a programmer-developer for a long time. I have developed lots of very different things, from standard software (accounting, business management, etc...), through music and sound software using VST technology, to the 3D engine and other real-time 3D apps. And I totally agree with you. Even as a programmer, if Blueprint (and the like) didn't exist, a lot of things couldn't be interconnected with such ease. Visual coding has a bright future ahead of it.

"Visual coding has a bright future ahead of it"
I'm sure you have to be right about that. I'm not arguing against a visual system (never tried one)- that at least would be better than the old worn and deceptive sales line of "No programming needed"!!
)
Rather, as a scripting language, I think that Lua in game engines and the like is kinda somewhere in between strictly native programming from scratch, (though libraries also exist for that), and visual scripting. (*my viewpoint*) It's sorta a plug in/ (nodes) with text for things you want to accomplish specifically for the software at hand. But you still have to 'know the language' and also those script function requirements. The way visual scripting and text scripting relate or require the same knowledge is that you need to know the 'inner workings' of certain parts of a game engine-- primarily 3D graphics concerns. (directions, angles, etc). So if you don't know those things in order to text script, I don't see it being disclosed automatically for visual scripting unless it was a very advanced console. Since that is usually unlikely, I don't see visual scripting being quite as flexible as regular scripting. But maybe someone can help me learn otherwise here. Then there are the types that just insert the text into colored squares that you can slide around and call it visual scripting. Okay....

// Side-note;
// I don't even know where to start to write Roblox scripts. I looked over that stuff, but couldn't say to
// this day how to assign things in Roblox to scripts! My son was trying to make a Roblox game, he was
// doing pretty good, and I tried to help, but I just couldn't wade through the alien looking directions.
// On the other hand I picked up GG scripts relatively easy- super easy comparatively.

Our primary GG scripting people like Lee, AM and *I only suspect* small_g
did work that we will never hardly see or know about to get GG lua where it is.

What percentage of the GG users have used > 3% of the lua functions and libraries?
I just checked; there's 2000 lines of code in global.lua 3% of 2000 = 60.

When will you be able to use you own scripts in Gameguru max

You can now.
Put this at top of your script:
DESCRIPTION: My awesome script.
Than MAX will find them.

OldFlak....