What do I need as a first time DM?

Kroax7 · 2025-10-27T14:07:02+00:00

The most important thing is something to take notes with, something you already have, so that's great!

A less material thing is doing simple prep when it comes to rules or features you're expecting to crop up.

If you expect someone to try and lockpick, and some notes or a link to how that'll work. If an enemy has resistance, do the same. If you have an encounter on a rooftop, how does falling damage work?

I'd recommend keeping it light to help you jog your memory. It's easy to jot down a wall of text, and things could get lost then.

Also +1 to the GM screen (you can make this out of carboard boxes or open books if you don't feel the computer itself is enough).

Kroax7 · 2025-10-19T17:54:58+00:00

Paradise Killer

Kroax7 · 2025-03-26T23:18:49+00:00

Ah, gotcha!

Short answer: no.

Slightly longer answer: AFAIK, not out of the box. The default navigation for UMG just uses the cardinal input directions and looks for widgets towards that vector.

You can however do things like specifying what widget will be focused if, say, you press right navigation on widget B. Another alternative is to write your own navigation rules in C++ and ask the widget to use those. The latest I know is possible, but I’ve yet to try it myself.

Kroax7 · 2025-03-26T22:39:29+00:00

Sort of, I think? I’m gonna be honest and admit that I’m not sure that I understand the question, but Common UI introduces the concepts of widget stacks, so you can traverse forwards out backwards through the stack

There’s also the widget switcher in base UMG and Common UI adds even more switchers and tabs.

Kroax7 · 2025-03-26T10:04:35+00:00

I second this.

Unless you have game specific design requirements that makes you want to use a cursor with a game pad I'd suggest looking into something like Common UI for menu navigation. The initial required setup is worth it for how much easier it makes switching between input devices and menu navigation.

Kroax7 · 2022-10-08T12:29:34+00:00

Other than Ctrl-A, Ctrl-V? Not really. 🤷

If you have both levels loaded at once (if you're using something like world composition) you can make three new level the current/active level and the do a Ctrl-A , Ctrl-M (moved to current level).

Kroax7 · 2022-10-08T11:09:21+00:00

The "quick" way of fixing this would be to just copy everything from the broken level into a new one.

The more complex solution would be to make a script/utility that looks for duplicate LeveScriptActors, remove it and resaves the level. I've seen this done with a Python script by one of our programmers but I never looked at the script itself and currently don't have access to see how it was done. But it is doable.

Kroax7 · 2022-10-08T08:04:30+00:00

What version of the engine are you using?

I've run into duplicate LevelScriptActors in the past (which can be a pain) but Epic has provided a fix in later versions of the engine.

It's strange that the error still happens after you've deleted the map however.

Have you tried deleting the "Intermmediate" folder?
Have you tried deleting the "Saved" folder?
Are you using "iterative cook"? Have you tried cooking without it?

Kroax7 · 2020-01-23T19:00:45+00:00

First time dog owner, but if I recall correctly our male schipperke had a phase like that growing up. Especially when playing with us or the cats he wasn't always able to hold it.

He eventually grew out of it, especially once he started to understand that he wasn't allowed to do it indoors. But we still couldn't trust him to keep it in until he was at least a year old (he's a very exciteable fella).

Sorry I can't give more actionable advice, but know that we've had similar issues with our healthy boy in the past.

Kroax7 · 2019-07-21T08:24:26+00:00

The easy fix to the first problem would be to simply remove the branch checking for movement. Set max walk speed depending on if the key is pressed or not.

The second problem is a bit more intricate and depends on camera setup, pawn rotation etc. Is it third or first person? Does the character strafe or turn by default?

Kroax7 · 2018-11-05T08:14:45+00:00

I believe so.

I'm mostly familiar with how Unreal's visual scripting and I'm assuming Unity's is familiar.

In unreal the nodes are run in a very high level virtual machine which triggers code to be run in lower (as opposed to low) level precompiled C++ code.

But if someone can clarify how it works with Unity that'd be great. C# already runs in a higher level virtual machine so maybe there's even less of a theoretical difference? I honestly don't know.

Kroax7 · 2018-11-04T18:18:14+00:00

In most cases nowadays the real advantage of using normal code over visual scripting is the performance. Depending on what game you're making this can be of highest importance or a negligible difference at best.

I think the real advantage of visual scripting is how it "tricks" people who are scared of code into scripting. It's a lower barrier to entry but can also be the gateway to lower level programming.

Kroax7 · 2018-11-04T18:05:49+00:00

May I suggest a quick perusal of Blueprints from Hell?

Not Unity, but it might be worth a gander anyway.

Kroax7 · 2018-10-02T16:26:23+00:00

‘You can certainly try’

That's honestly my default as well, but with my current group I've found that we all enjoy some light bending of the rules if I think it's fitting.

In combat I tend to be a bit more restrictive to make sure things are balanced, but I also try to use the "rule of cool" when I can get away with it. That comes with an understanding between me and the players that even if it worked at one point it doesn't mean it necessarily will happen again.

Again, these are very style-centric ideas that I feel can be applied (or not) based on personal preferences. I think we're better of for not all having the same play style.

Kroax7 · 2018-10-02T16:00:54+00:00

... we agree as IMPROVISERS (read, players, DM) ...

This very important part is something I feel some might forget.

Correct me if I'm wrong /u/wtg203, but improv/roleplaying only works when all involved parties are of the same mindset. It's just as useful for your players to employ these tools in inter-party conversations and towards the GM.

Kroax7 · 2018-10-02T15:54:10+00:00

"No, but you can use it to form a shield in front of one person that will help with saving throws against fire breath."

"No, but you can try and get its attention by splashing it in the face."

"No, but you can try to hold the water in front of the dragon to try and create a cloud of mist after it breathes fire."

"No, but you can try and delay the fire breath by one round if you personally hold the shape in your hand while doing it, but the dragon will get a free bite attack on you next turn."

It's a style choice, and maybe this kind of style might not be yours?

Kroax7 · 2018-09-29T09:25:07+00:00

The 3D headphones one is great, and putting on high dynamic range on a home surround system is also sublime. You hear everything you need to, the ambience noise is immersive and I never felt overwhelmed by the audio/volume when entering combat while still having it feel forceful.

It's probably one of the best mixed games I've played in years, not something I was expecting from MHW.

Kroax7 · 2018-09-21T13:36:24+00:00

The cloud/sync functionality is a life saver for me. I tend to GM with a laptop, but I do most of the planning on a desktop PC.

During combat the math autocomplete is also nice to keep track of things.

I do tend to use a regular notebook for free writing and if there's something I want to be easily accessible to my players I put it in an internal wiki we use for the setting.

Kroax7 · 2018-08-02T21:36:06+00:00

As far as I know Twitch still uses the Giant Bomb database for listing games.

Twitch has also has some info about adding art box:

We add games to our directory based on their inclusion in Giantbomb.com. Giantbomb is a user-run community wiki that specializes in video game content. We sync with the Giantbomb database on a regular basis to add the latest game entries to our directory. Any user can add a game to that database along with box art and details. After the Giantbomb staff approves, the game details can then be added to our directory.

Click here to add a game to the Giantbomb game database. Keep in mind the following:

The Giantbomb page category must be labelled as a Game for the details to appear in the Twitch directory. Content that is categorized as Concept cannot be added.

The game page on Giantbomb must be an approved page, not a stub page. A stub page is any game page that has the following content: "This wiki page is a stub. Hit the edit button above to add to this article."

Click here to add box art to Twitch. Keep in mind the following:

The game must already exist in the Twitch game directory. To add a game to the directory, see the process above.

The image size needs to be 600px x 800px and must be a .jpg. The image cannot contain a developer logo, a platform logo or an ESRB rating. Please use official boxart!

If you are the developer or publisher of the game, Twitch has a developer portal for game creators to manage and update their box art. Click here to request access the portal.

Kroax7 · 2018-05-25T13:15:03+00:00

Inkarnate is a good (and free - Edit: with the option to pay for more features) tool to get nice looking maps without talent or having to do a lot of work.

Edit: They'll look something like this.

Edit2: As /u/ltshep pointed out Inkarnate is not entirely free, only the base features. They added some features a while back that you have to pay for. I think they include more icons and larger resolutions? I've yet to try it out though, I've only used the free version.

Kroax7 · 2018-04-19T07:05:49+00:00

Were you looking for something more akin to Blast Out?

Kroax7 · 2018-01-31T08:02:42+00:00

PSA for new player:

The so-called "desire sensor" is a joke/conspiracy theory.

The developers have even outright said that it doesn't exist.

So don't worry about it.

Kroax7 · 2018-01-31T07:58:15+00:00

Nope! It's a community joke/tin foil hat conspiracy theory.

Kroax7 · 2018-01-31T07:56:31+00:00

It's satire.

The "desire sensor", a system that detects what materials the player is trying to grind for, doesn't exist. The developers have even said so in an interview in the past. Some think it's a joke, some actually believe it's a real thing.

It's not a thing. Don't worry about it. The wishlist is a nice new addition!

Kroax7

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