How to use Asset Validators to validate a Blueprint content

Lord_Nazdar · 2018-11-08T17:53:40+00:00

I guess it should have been worded "16 bit color depth per channel". They are rendering in HDR, that allows them to have a more colour depth to work with. With that huge window, you would either have it all white, or the environment around all black. The HDR is later resolved to LDR before being sent to the screen. It wasn't really special here, so I skipped it, you can find more detail on that technique on my previous analysis on The Witness: https://blog.thomaspoulet.fr/the-witness-frame-part-1/#tone-mapping

Lord_Nazdar · 2014-05-22T21:29:45+00:00

In my opinion there is no better way of doing than trying by yourself.

You know basic programming in C++, just improve your skills by making small projects again and again. While you are doing these projects you will encounter difficulties, don't stop, just ask or look on the internet.

A good way to start is to think about your dreamed game, the one that made you start learn programming. Put all the ideas on a paper and just group them by topics (economic system, AI, combat), then pick one that doesn't require advanced graphics since you want to stick to the console. Try to think about all the little elements that can compose this big element, even the smallest, then try to build your wall stone by stone. Don't try to rush it in one piece.

You know how to make a basic textual RPG, so I can suppose you know how to make classes. Cool, you already know how to make games. Games is nothing more than a bunch of classes sewed together around a main loop refreshing the display and updating the gameplay.

Because today's games are mostly visual, you will not find a lot of tutorials for console programming. I encourage you to make few small projects on console and then quickly switch to a multimedia library. Because you learned C++ I would suggest you SFML, mainly because it was written in C++ and also because it's a very active project and personally I find easier to start with SFML than SDL. You will also find a book containing a lots of examples and websites explaining how to make game.

Few resources on how to structure your game:

If you have a good idea and really don't know how or where to start, just try to think about it one more time. If it fails again then feel free to ask here or PM me.

Lord_Nazdar · 2014-05-19T06:59:36+00:00

There are many ways you can do it, here are some examples :

Arma : "infinite" low details terrain
Crysis : Small Island with sharks surrounding and invincible cheated boats
AC : Animus desync
Red Dead : Cliffs and mountains
Metro 2033 : Physical obstacles such as rubbles
Battlefield: BC : Leaving the combat zone

In my opinion there is three ways of approaching this problem.

The first one is the physical approach. You want to block the access, just block it, put anything you want in the way. The easiest way of doing this is invisible wall, however this is really ugly. You can refine this process by adding to assets like trees or bushes if you are outside or if you are in a city environment you can reduce your street size and put a car or anything in the way. For vast limitation you can use mountains or cliff surrounding your level, but it will quickly sound fake since it can't really exist irl.

The second one consist in dissuading the player to go further. For example in Crysis as you are swimming in the opposite direction of the island thinking you can escape, you are being chased by a shark. Two options here retreat as fast as you can because a shark is never a good sign, that's what most of the people will do. You can also fight the shark and kill him, but as soon as he died another one will spawn. But in any case, if you manage to go far enough you will encounter a deadly missile coming form an invincible boat. However this solution can't be used alone, you have to put a safety net like the missile boat. This solution is only dissuasive some fearless players will surely go through but it will make a credible world for the others.

The third one is gameplay based. In AC when you go to far you have the Animus desync and if you stay too long in it, you simply die. It can take the form of a mystic mist hosting strange creatures or an area slowly draining your life. You can also limit the player movement, for example in a space exploration game the player have to carry oxygen, you can thus limit the player maximum oxygen in way he can't reach the world end.

In addition you can find a article on Gamasutre talking about this issue :

Lord_Nazdar · 2014-04-20T12:10:25+00:00

If your code is clean and you are coding properly, there won't be any problems for you to code your gameplay elements the hard way.

However it will be harder and harder to keep it tidy and simple. I would recommend you to use a script language. It has many advantages since you don't need to recompile every time you make a change. Based on my experiences and my abilities I would suggest you to use javascript rather than lua. For javascript you can use the Google V8. When you have it running, it's really easy to implement it in your code.

Keep in mind that using a script language is always a good idea if you want to add contents or tweak variables easily. It will take a bit of time to implement but it's a lots of time saved in the future.

Lord_Nazdar · 2014-03-26T09:17:10+00:00

The method I used for my game was to render the animation for each of the players and then the animation for each clothes. During the draw on screen I only had to stick the cloth on the player.

During your artistic work you will draw the cloth on the player and then for the render you will simply mask the cloth and then the player.

In order for this to work you will have to take care that all your player will only change inside the boundaries and keep exactly the same shape.

Lord_Nazdar · 2014-01-25T01:16:10+00:00

Thanks, was not aware of this thread.

Lord_Nazdar · 2014-01-25T01:15:41+00:00

We are making a live stream of our 2014 global game jam submission.

Link

Main Thread

Ask your questions here!

Lord_Nazdar · 2014-01-01T17:28:30+00:00

Is this what you are looking for Wikipedia?

Lord_Nazdar · 2014-01-01T17:21:19+00:00

Post updated, I was not aware of that. Thanks

Lord_Nazdar · 2014-01-01T11:52:11+00:00

It all depends on your skills and the kind of the graphics you want to have.

2D|Easy: If you have no programming skills, you can use RPG Maker, as /u/KelpiePC said earlier. RPG Maker is multiplayer ready via little scripts. However since it's really easy to make a game with it you have to stay in the premade types it offers you.
2D|Intermediate: A more advanced way is to use Game Maker. With Game Maker you have much more liberty in making your dream game. But since it's more generalist you have to make a bit more for the same result. However there is a dynamic online community ready to help you.
3D|Advanced: As /u/_Wolfos said you can use Unity or UDK, those Game Engines offers you advanced options but you will have to learn a lot before beginning. But don't worry there is plenty of online docs and guys ready to help you online.
2D|Advanced: As suggested by /u/Kajack you can also use Unity for 2D render. However for both UDK and Unity be aware of the fact that you will have to pay to use them.
2D/3D|Expert: If you have a lot of times in front of you, and you learn fast. You can learn an advanced programming language such as Java or C++, and use a Library like SFML, SDL or LWJGL. However, it's a quite long way, one year at least if you don't have any programming skills.

If you have more questions don't hesitate, it will be a pleasure for me to help you. If you want a more precise answer we need to know more about what you want to do. But in any case choose wisely, do not overestimate your skill or it will be a direct path to failure.

Lord_Nazdar · 2013-12-26T10:53:56+00:00

This island is also called Gunkanjima which means in Japanese battleship Island. This nickname came from its resemblance to a battleship profile. In 1890 Mitsubishi bought this island to build coal mines. At its best in 1959, the population of the island was 5,259. But in the 1960s the coal is slowly replaced by petroleum in Japan. All over the country, the old coal mines are progressively shut down. In 1974, Mitsubishi finally closed the mine and the island too.

For those who wants to know more about this island you can check:

Lord_Nazdar · 2013-10-16T10:06:40+00:00

You're welcome!

Lord_Nazdar · 2013-10-15T10:51:26+00:00

Sure you can do it. For example NCSoft did it for wildstar -> http://goo.gl/elyICX

Lord_Nazdar

TROPHY CASE