• Breaking News

    Friday, October 29, 2021

    Feedback Friday #466 - Hot Update

    Feedback Friday #466 - Hot Update


    Feedback Friday #466 - Hot Update

    Posted: 28 Oct 2021 08:43 PM PDT

    FEEDBACK FRIDAY #466

    Well it's Friday here so lets play each others games, be nice and constructive and have fun! keep up with devs on twitter and get involved!

    Post your games/demos/builds and give each other feedback!

    Feedback Friday Rules:

    Suggestion: As a generally courtesy, you should try to check out a person's game if they have left feedback on your game. If you are leaving feedback on another person's game, it may be helpful to leave a link to your post (if you have posted your game for feedback) at the end of your comment so they can easily find your game.

    -Post a link to a playable version of your game or demo

    -Do NOT link to screenshots or videos! The emphasis of FF is on testing and feedback, not on graphics! Screenshot Saturday is the better choice for your awesome screenshots and videos!

    -Promote good feedback! Try to avoid posting one line responses like "I liked it!" because that is NOT feedback!

    -Upvote those who provide good feedback!

    -Comments using URL shorteners may get auto-removed by reddit, so we recommend not using them.

    Previous Weeks: All

    submitted by /u/Sexual_Lettuce
    [link] [comments]

    Why making a Discord is NOT what you should do to start building community for your indie game

    Posted: 29 Oct 2021 03:11 AM PDT

    I sat down with "how to market your game" expert Chris Zukowski for a conversation and one of the more interesting, and potentially spicy points that came up with was why Discord is not the place to start marketing your game and building a community.

    The full podcast is here, Discord part is at 44:43 (timestamped link below) but since it's Reddit I'll give a TLDW below as well.

    https://youtu.be/aHju9TZ-MSI?t=2683

    1. Discord is a chat platform and before the game is out, there isn't that much to talk about.
    2. If it's quiet, people may join but then it'll just become another server way down their long list that they forget about
    3. You don't own Discord and they may sell the company or change policies, better to send people to an email list or Steam page
    4. Importantly I said "start", once you have gotten a few players and community members, giving them a Discord to chat on makes sense, it's just not a good EARLY community tool.
    submitted by /u/mattmirrorfish
    [link] [comments]

    Do game developers have to be able to draw? What are the advantages and disadvantages of being able to draw?

    Posted: 29 Oct 2021 11:06 AM PDT

    I create a 3d game from an isometric projection and I wonder if I should start learning to draw. Do you create paintings on the walls in 3d or manually? What do you need the ability to draw for during your work, not including the concept? There is a lot of learning when creating games and I would't want to waste time unnecessarily if this skill is not used too often - I'm considering buying photos if necessary.

    submitted by /u/PoloxDisc098
    [link] [comments]

    How do I get my game out there?

    Posted: 28 Oct 2021 10:29 PM PDT

    I am starting to develop a long term game that I want to sell. I am confortable with my ability in graphics and programming but I do not know what the best ways for advertisement and getting players are.

    I researched other popular indie games and they mostly started from kickstarter. Older games started using Steam's greenlight system but there seems to be skepticism towards newer kickstarter indie games and Steam's greenlight system is discontinued.

    From researching other methods, some people used blogs to post updates on developement, while others used youtube. I feel making a youtube channel with well edited videos would be to time consuming though. I liked the idea of a blog that I would post images and take suggestions from users on, but how would I even get people to visit my blog? Is there a website people use for game development blogs? Should I make my own website? (within my capabilities)

    I have used Itch.io for game jams but I feel thats what its mostly used for.

    I want to here any other methods people are using for getting their game out there, or what they think are the best methods for getting players.

    submitted by /u/BaldursThones
    [link] [comments]

    Postmortem Authors - DEV Hours are a Useful Metric

    Posted: 29 Oct 2021 11:44 AM PDT

    First, postmortem authors, thank you for providing valuable insight and analysis in your development journey. Any sort of information that you provide the community is invaluable.

    Second, yes, I'm using "developer" (or "dev") hours as an alternative to "man" hours to be PC, but "dev" hours is essentially accurate and telling of the activity anyway.

    I would like to suggest that postmortem authors use the metric of dev hours as opposed to months that they have worked on a project. Months or weeks does not fully describe how much actual time had been spent on the project; only a time frame.

    In just one month, there is a lot that happens to a person. The developer could indicate part-time/full-time employment, long commutes, single/partnered, kids/no kids, physical/mental health issues, family problems, or even full-focus, near-burnout, crunch-all-day, etc. But obviously, some or all of that information is extremely private to some people. But, indicating the number of actual hours spent working on the project informs readers, without having to divulge any of that private information, that the developer did not spend every waking hour in a month on the project.

    I understand that the "dev hour" metric is hard to track when not everyone plans out and tracks their project regularly. In these cases, even a rough average estimate, or maybe a ballpark min-max range, would be helpful.

    Dev hours are an extremely useful metric that other game developers can relate to. It inspires others to find that same amount of time in their own busy schedules to possibly, eventually, hopefully release a game that's just as good as what others are doing in that time, or at least help them gauge as to what skill level they'd need to strive to reach. Thanks!

    submitted by /u/Under_the_Weather
    [link] [comments]

    AltUnity Pro (Alpha Release), a UI test automation framework that supports WebGL is now available for download and we need your feedback!

    Posted: 29 Oct 2021 02:52 AM PDT

    The newest release, AltUnity Pro Alpha now supports WebGl, besides PC and Mobile. We greatly need your feedback to create an improved version.

    AltUnity Tools is a UI test automation framework Unity Apps. By instrumenting your app with our framework you will get access to all the Unity objects from your app and it will enable you to write and execute tests in C#, Python, or Java.

    What we plan with our future releases:

    • Pipeline Support - To run your tests remotely on a runner.
    • Recording & Test Generation - Allows you to record actions which will be translated into code so you don't have to worry about writing the tests yourself.
    • Support for consoles

    You can try out AltUnity Pro Alpha for free, and you can help us build an improved version of our framework with your feedback! More info here: https://altom.com/altunity-pro-alpha/

    submitted by /u/AltomTools
    [link] [comments]

    Is it possible to create a coming soon page in the Steam without creating the actual game?

    Posted: 29 Oct 2021 02:24 AM PDT

    I have started working on my first game title. I have thought to show people the graphics of the game to various social media platforms and if they are interested then they can wishlist the game on Steam? However, there is a requirement that people should have a build of the game before submitting it. Does it mean that I should have created the game before submitting it to Steam? I have seen some games which have Steam pages before they start building the game. How do they do it?

    submitted by /u/Hot-Produce
    [link] [comments]

    Looking to test our playable ads creation platform - We'll pay for $150 worth of ad spend on Facebook for your mobile game. Details inside!

    Posted: 29 Oct 2021 12:20 PM PDT

    As the title says—we've created a playable ads platform called Snappi and want to test it out on Facebook ads.

    We're looking for any TWO developers who:

    • have a published mobile game (android or ios) with at least 1000 downloads
    • would be interested in us paying for $150 USD worth of ad spend (free for you!)
    • would work with us to create the ad on our platform by providing assets, content and graphics help as needed.
    • would share insights/feedback on how the ad performs

    To ensure transparency, we'll respond that we'll work with the chosen eligible game devs in the comments and share the results with /r/gamedev once the ad is made. This post will be updated once we've found two devs who want to try this.

    submitted by /u/Jeffu
    [link] [comments]

    Godot engine official tu "Your first 2D game" error

    Posted: 29 Oct 2021 06:16 AM PDT

    Hi there!I am fairly new to godot development and also this subreddit. So i don't know if i can clarify my compiler errors here.

    I start following the official godot engine tutorial: Your first 2D Game(https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjU9Mn_1-_zAhUFU30KHe1aCYUQFnoECAkQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.godotengine.org%2Fen%2Fstable%2Fgetting_started%2Fstep_by_step%2Fyour_first_game.html&usg=AOvVaw0m6IB1rzASn7DARygETv-K) today and have almost reached the endBut I am stuck with this error:

    Invalid call. Nonexistent function 'instance' in base 'PackedScene'. 0 - res://Main.gd:25 - at function: _on_MobTimer_timeout Here's my Main.gd script extends Node export (PackedScene) var Mob var score func _ready(): randomize() new_game() func game_over(): $ScoreTimer.stop() $MobTimer.stop() func new_game(): score = 0 $Player.start($StartPosition.position) $StartTimer.start() func _on_MobTimer_timeout(): # Choose a random location on Path2D $MobPath/MobSpawnLocation.offset = randi() #Create a mob instance and add it to the scene var mob = Mob.intance() add_child(mob) # Set the mob's direction perpendicular to the path direction var direction = $MobPath/MobSpawnLocation.rotation + PI / 2 # Set the mob's position to a random location mob.position = $MobPath/MobSpawnLocation.position # Add some randomness to the direction direction += rand_range(-PI / 4, PI / 4) mob.rotation = direction # Set the velocity(speed and direction) mob.linear_velocity = Vector2(rand_range(mob.min_speed, mob.max_speed),0) mob.linear_velocity = mob.linear_velocity.rotated(direction) func _on_ScoreTimer_timeout(): score += 1 func _on_StartTimer_timeout(): $MobTimer.start() $ScoreTimer.start() 
    submitted by /u/Some-Guy-2509
    [link] [comments]

    Is there a place to hire someone to fix/solve your programming issue?

    Posted: 29 Oct 2021 04:16 AM PDT

    So I've got a coding/blueprint issue that has been driving me insane for a week and I've already asked on every possible forum with no solution. Now I'm at the point where I'm willing to hire someone to find a solution. Is there a place to do that? I don't want to hire a programmer who will make an entire game or program everything for me, I just need someone who will solve this issue that is driving me nuts. Is there like a "do my homework" site or something? I'm not a student just a frustrated game dev.

    submitted by /u/justaguyjoshua
    [link] [comments]

    I just finished writing a detailed devlog for my game from first commit up until now that you might find helpful (Rust, no engine/framework, \w code snippets)

    Posted: 29 Oct 2021 07:36 AM PDT

    Betrayal in Games | How Designers Motivate

    Posted: 29 Oct 2021 09:46 AM PDT

    Need help for making 3D board game?

    Posted: 29 Oct 2021 09:04 AM PDT

    I'm a 3D artist with a no knowledge about game development. I want to start learning making a simple Nepalese traditional two player strategy board game called Bagchal.

    The assets are very basic, a carved and baked low poly stone board, 4 little tigers and 20 goats which will also be in low poly.

    I can read and understand codes with my experience of rigging in maya from Mel scripts and some python scripts but never written anything for games.

    How do I get started to implement my assets in a game engine?

    Should I start focusing on learning Unity and C#?

    Or unity and python?

    I'm looking forward for your kind suggestions which would enlighten me to find right track for this project.

    Thanks... :)

    submitted by /u/gaurabkhatri82
    [link] [comments]

    How do you prototype Action games?

    Posted: 28 Oct 2021 09:36 PM PDT

    I am currently making top-down view action roguelite game, and I found it really hard to make a prototype.

    I made a prototype which has only the core battle system, containing just one melee weapon and one enemy type.

    It feels really dull without any impact vfx, no sound, or other variation of weapons.

    If I think about other action games, such as Hades, Gungeon, or Skul, I am pretty sure their core battle system feel really boring without the fancy graphic, VFX or variations of weapons enemies etc.

    Maybe I am misunderstanding what prototyping is? Should I prototype some specific weapon or other specific skills for action game since every action game is eventually quite similar?

    I want to know how other people are making prototype for their action games.

    submitted by /u/_Kimuchi_
    [link] [comments]

    New Unity blog covers how to choose your networking model for small-scale cooperative games

    Posted: 29 Oct 2021 12:24 PM PDT

    2d game physics

    Posted: 29 Oct 2021 12:20 PM PDT

    Hello, how are you? Well, I am into game dev ~1 year and I would like to enlarge my knowledge learning physics. Do you have some books/resources that would recommend to learn physics for 2d games? I am currently using Java, so it would be nice if it is explained with Java code, but if it is written/explained in another programming language, there is no problem.

    submitted by /u/davidalmarinho
    [link] [comments]

    A pre-update Post Mortem from a solo-dev

    Posted: 28 Oct 2021 01:48 PM PDT

    When I started solo-devving in December 2019 I'd been employed at a mobile games company for 10 years. There I was employed for 3D art and we used Unity so I wasn't starting from scratch but I hadn't done any code, design or marketing before. I knew I wanted to make a game in 12-18 months, just to keep the scope small and achieveable. Working on a game is fine but finishing it is just as important. Your first game may not a $1mil taker but it lays the ground work for your audience, reputation and skills.

    On June 8th I released my game: Fuzz Force: Spook Squad on Steam. Today, I'm releasing an update to the game so I wanted to share my stats and experiences on my first game and its launch.

    The beginning

    At the beginning, I trundled along with my idea to see how it played out. My first prototype was a bust, with the player not affecting the outcome. It took me a few weeks, and a few dog walks, to work out how to change it up. Even if it's your first game, if your first prototype isn't fun to you, it's worth changing it to something that is. I found once I put more thought into the new direction, other ideas for the game came a lot easier.

    My biggest timesink for the game would be the art for the players and enemies, turn based RPGs need quite a lot of characters after all. Years before I'd seen Crimson Shroud on the DS use board game miniatures for all the characters and it was a smart idea. I was already using dice, so the whole thing became board game themed. Each of the enemies I made was a static model and the characters were armless weebls, drastically cutting down the animation required.

    It's important to consider how many art assets you need before you start your art. Sometimes this is based on the genre. If a character takes you a week just to model and texture, and you have 4 characters, that's a whole month just modelling and texturing. Be realistic that the art you need to produce is something you can manage in a reasonable time and complete in your project's timeframe. Also ensure it's something you can do that wont lead to burn out.

    About 7 months in to development I split out the dice's status effects into a seperate item. So you could transfer the status effects over to a stronger dice, maintaing your build synergy. It wasn't until 6 months after that that I realised it had made the dice in my dice game completely pointless. I remerged the dice and their effects, removing battlechips despite them being around for so long. The lesson for this is to not be afraid to add something or take it away again. You sometimes need to have a critical think about how a feature aids the game. Something you add, could end up taking away from the main focus that you were building the game around and maybe go in the wrong direction from there.

    Early Access

    I released into Early Access in November with stars in my eyes to being inundated with feedback, however that was far from the case. Most of the people that bought the game during EA didn't help or bug report. I imagine some were looking for new games at their cheapest point, and sat on them until release. Some bought and refunded using early EA as a testbed without leaving feedback. Only about 4 people consistently helped but their feedback was invaluable. Having someone else play your game opens your eyes to bizarre interactions outside of how you'd normally play. Inputting clicks and keystrokes everywhere and anytime really opens your eyes to how robust things need to be. I found out that any button that doesn't immediately disappear on click needs a bool after one click just so it doesnt get repeatedly clicked and cause game issues.

    I also found out that on Steam, EA games count as released which means you're ineligible for Next Fest. So make sure you do a Next Fest before going into Early Access. However being in EA means you can get your 10 reviews before launch (has to be paying customers, not from free keys), which catapults your game into lots of Steam users discovery queues. Apart from that I can't say I found EA any better than potentially running closed betas, at least with a closed beta you can offer access with your newsletter sign ups.

    Launch

    Just before launch I reached out to a lot of press, youtubers and streamers. I tried IndieBoosts Catapult service that involves paying youtubers/streamers to play the game for x time, but that was total waste of money. Only one press website wrote a review of my game. Thankfully the bigger deckbuilder youtubers Rhapsody, Retromation and Olexa all put up videos. I got a number of streamers too and those were fun to join in with. However it became evident that the tutorial was woefully inadequate, it was too wordy and didn't focus on the less obvious aspects of the game. Everyone generally picked up how to play (you just roll dice) but there were interactions that werent clear. Within the week I drastically improved those aspects. I'm sure coverage of my update will be a lot less but I'm honestly happy if it makes the game better for those who own it.

    The Update

    I was on the fence about releasing an update to Spook Squad, considering just moving onto a new game but I went for it. It's easier to improve an existing game then start from scratch after all. With it being a spooky ghost game, I had to have the update come out for halloween otherwise I've basically missed the seasonal opportunity. Unfortunately, I was being made redundant at the end of September losing both my Maya and Photoshop licenses, so I preloaded the update work with the new enemies and characters art. It was a bit of a slog doing all art and no code. When I finished the art and started the code, I was amazed how quickly I got the new features in that I had planned however it has taken the rest of the month to polish and improve and playtest all these new things. It definitely takes longer than you think.

    As a whole, the update has taken 6 weeks and I'm quite surprised how much I got done in this time. It improves on popular feedback that there arent enough enemies and interestingly people wanted story and lore. I've added a bestiary and backstories which give additional things to complete outside of the main game. Of course I've fixed a lot of issues and improved a lot of other aspects of the game. I'm proud of what I've achieved with my first game and I'm excited to try something else. Maybe it's another turn based battler, maybe something more real time adventure. A game without enemies will free up time to focus on other things and that's an exciting prospect at this point!

    The Numbers

    Pre Early Access (Period before 17th Nov 2020) Early Access release(17th Nov 2020) to launch (June 8th) Launch(June 8th) until now (28th October) All History (Steam page launch until now)
    240 Wishlists 993 Wishlists 5,119 Wishlists 6,404 Wishlists
    129 Sales 803 sales 945 Sales

    I launched EA at about $11 I think, and upped it as I added more content, reaching $14.99 a month or so before launch.

    In total: 905 Unique users (40 haven't opened the game) and 105 returns.

    Gross revenue $12,417

    Net revenue: $10,181

    I've been paid: $5,738.33

    I'm very pleased with that amount for solo-devving and self publishing my first game. It's not enough to quit my job over but since I already lost it, I'll have to get another!

    Surprisingly I got a huge amount of wishlists in launch week. I launched the game with 1285 WL and finished launch week with 2599. The second biggest growth of Wishlists was the Roguelike Celebration Steam Sale where I earned 1,600 in those 3 days, much more than the Yogscast Tiny Teams festival. The game was also in the tabletop festival but that didn't pull any numbers, it was a very stuffed festival. I'm releasing this update with a 20% discount during the Halloween sale. Steam will only send "A game on your wishlist is on sale" emails if the discount is 20% or more. This is the first time the game has been 20% off, so it's a historic low and the first time wishlisters will be notified of the sale. Hopefully that helps convert some of those wishlists.

    At the end of the day, did I enjoy it? Yes. I loved my making my own game, especially after 10 years of making cash-grabby mobile games for someone else. I'll definitely be making another game, maybe something smaller, but I want to spend more time in the Prototype phase getting the core right. Getting a great hook is something I really want to focus on.

    Thanks for reading and happy halloween!

    submitted by /u/FuzzForce
    [link] [comments]

    I have an idea for a mobile game (that I think is great). But I need help choosing the right engine

    Posted: 29 Oct 2021 10:57 AM PDT

    I know code but not so professional and I can do some models in blender but I dont think ill use any. The problem is I have the worst laptop possible so I dont really know which engine to use so I can publish my game. I cant use unity, godot, unreal and its killing that I can't make this idea in my head come to life

    submitted by /u/RK1225
    [link] [comments]

    I Made My Game TOO Difficult WHAT Did I Learn?

    Posted: 29 Oct 2021 10:34 AM PDT

    Why game dev didn't use 3D Scanning lately?

    Posted: 29 Oct 2021 02:48 AM PDT

    I have a question for you Why video game developer use photogrammetry rathen than 3D scanning,today.

    Before 2014 video game dev used 3D scanning.After realeasing of "The Vanishing of Eathan Carter" video game dev used photogrammetry rather than 3D scanning.I see "Detroit become Human" use photogrammetry.In their previously game "Beyound Two Souls",they used 3D scanning and mocap.Why they changed scanning technique.

    submitted by /u/OkAnything5796
    [link] [comments]

    How to sell games as a minor?

    Posted: 28 Oct 2021 07:30 PM PDT

    My name is Calum, I'm 13 years old and I'm creating a game that I want to sell for around $10. However, I cannot sell my game, as I'm supposed to have an eCommerce license or drivers license, both of which I have to be 18 to be eligible for. I'm simply not patient enough. I just want to make an income so I can get something out of doing what I love.

    What do I do now? Should I use my parents' info? Should I just wait until I'm 18 to do this?

    submitted by /u/cs5947
    [link] [comments]

    Best 3d software

    Posted: 29 Oct 2021 06:02 AM PDT

    Which 3d software is the best to use with unreal engine?

    submitted by /u/skh8209
    [link] [comments]

    How to get started learning C++?

    Posted: 28 Oct 2021 09:18 PM PDT

    Hello, so I have been learning various aspects in game design the past two weeks, and have found myself at a situation where blueprints are being said as not the best tool to make games. Is there any good sources anyone knows of that can teach an utter beginner C++ Programming for unreal engine?

    submitted by /u/Weevor22
    [link] [comments]

    How to implement animation into unity 2D

    Posted: 29 Oct 2021 09:11 AM PDT

    Hello guys,

    I'm an "adventure" in that subject, actually I didn't even started to do something in unity 2d or even animations in general (total newbie). However I do love programming (most of my experience was scientific programming, i.e. solving equations).

    I was wondering which file type (e.g. .gif) unity 2d accept so I can call that file and import as animation. Also, there are any recommendations of softwares that I can start animations and draws to export to unity? I'm layman in that subject, however I expect that engines only accepts a narrow spectrum of extentions.

    If relevant, I was trying to develop a 2d plataform game similar to MapleStory and Grand Chase with pixel art.

    Thanks in advance and sorry about my poor english

    submitted by /u/LouhiVega
    [link] [comments]

    No comments:

    Post a Comment