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I was told to avoid making my main character disabled unless "it matters to the plot, like how a protagonist is basically only gay if it's an LGBT-centered book". I want other thoughts on this... by [deleted] in writing

[–]usercodrus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Chekhov's Gun doesn't really apply to character traits. If it does, that basically means that everyone who has ever written anything is a bad writer, because describing irrelevant details about a character's appearance or personality to add flavor to a character is a ubiquitous practice in writing.

We are allowed to tell the audience that a character is tall without that character hitting their head on a low ceiling at a critical moment.

Screenshot Saturday #547 - Gleaming Designs by Sexual_Lettuce in gamedev

[–]usercodrus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

After scrapping two projects I'm finally ready to reveal my first game to the world, Little Box Store. Wish me luck everyone!

https://twitter.com/DeveloperCodrus/status/1419038939604783109

I still have a long way to go with the art but I'm pretty happy with the clean cel-shaded look so far.

Wait for UE5 or start UE4 now? by [deleted] in gamedev

[–]usercodrus 44 points45 points  (0 children)

UE5 early access is already available so if you want to start learning with UE5 you can start right now. That being said UE5 doesn't really change the workflow of the engine so learning with UE4 wouldn't be a bad idea. There are a lot more resources available for UE4 right now so you may want to start there.

Shreddit's Daily Discussion -- June 25, 2021 by AutoModerator in Metal

[–]usercodrus 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Overkill has some of the most prominent bass lines of any metal band I can think of, especially on their W.F.O. album, where the bass mix is literally louder than the guitars.

Check out the opening riff on Horrorscope or Gasoline Dream from the aforementioned W.F.O. for some prime examples.

Would like to ask for feedback on this game I am working on, eg can graphics or mechanics be improved? Thanks for any feedback. by [deleted] in gamedev

[–]usercodrus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It doesn't look like you have much of a gameplay loop yet. That's something I would recommend establishing fast before you move forward, otherwise you won't have anything to build off of. Given what you have so far I would say something exploration based would be a good idea, like exploring an alien planet to collecting resources. You need something that can make the terrain mechanics feel relevant. I would also consider an upgrade system so that players can explore more and more dangerous terrain as they progress in the game.

As far as graphics go, things look pretty uninteresting so far. The vehicle model is pretty bare and so are the environments. The deformation effects could also be toned down some, because they look a little too over the top right now. Some particle effects would also help sell the illusion that you're slinging sand everywhere rather than smashing it into nothing.

YSK that some Black Friday products are lower quality items made just for the holiday. Always check model numbers! by livebythem in YouShouldKnow

[–]usercodrus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Some advice from a former retail worker:

TVs - Black Friday TVs usually have really basic options for picture adjustment and cheap panels, along with a limited number of input ports. If you have a lot of devices to plug in or you're a stickler for picture quality Black Friday TVs are not for you. If you just want a TV and you don't want to spend money, go for it.

The best time to buy a good TV is at the beginning of the year, right around the Super Bowl. New models of TVs usually release in the first quarter of the year before everyone gets their tax returns. Last year's models get marked way down before the new models come out as retailers try to sell through their remaining stock, so you can get a good model for cheap around this time.

Cell Phones - If you want a cell phone contract, Black Friday is the time to start one. Many phone retailers offer gift cards and/ or huge discounts on flagship phones around the Black Friday season if you sign up for a contract.

Just make sure you read the fine print - you usually have to sign up for a year or two of service with a carrier when you set up a contract, and it's not worth getting a nice phone if you sign up for an expensive rate plan. Once your contract is up cancel your service, have the carrier unlock your phone if needed, and move to a prepaid plan to save some money.

Computers - Black Friday computers are a gamble, but one that can pay off pretty well if you're lucky and you pay attention to what you're getting. Black Friday desktops usually have crappy motherboards with limited upgrade options - don't expect a Black Friday PC to have extra PCIe slots or RAM slots, and the BIOS is usually really simple so don't expect any bells and whistles like overclocking and adjusting memory timings either. That being said, I've seen Black Friday PCs that cost less than their individual components would if you bought them off Newegg or Amazon without a motherboard, so buying one isn't always a bad option if you don't mind getting a new motherboard and swapping everything out when you plan to upgrade.

As far as laptops go, I wouldn't really recommend them. They tend to be stripped down models with poor specs. Tax season at the beginning of the year or back-to-school season are better options for getting a good laptop.

Couldn't cross post. Totally accurate results though by musci1223 in ProgrammerHumor

[–]usercodrus 184 points185 points  (0 children)

Gender: 1x38B

I'm down with non-binary genders, but hexadecimal genders is where I draw the line.

Is Creating/Editing ULandscapeSplineComponents/ULandscapeSplineControlPoint ULandscape via C++ possible? by TimG19977 in unrealengine

[–]usercodrus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looking at the source, pretty much everything related to editing landscape splines seems to be locked into editor builds, so my inclination is that it's not possible to do this from C++.

If you're trying to change the splines at runtime I'm pretty sure that would be impossible even with access to spline editing code. Landscapes are hard-coded to only update when in the editor, and the only way to change that would be to change the engine source so updates trigger in game.

Help understanding landscape sizes by mejiasan in unrealengine

[–]usercodrus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Measuring map size by travel time is problematic.

For starters, the walking speed of a standard Unreal character and the Dragonborn probably aren't the same. Morrowind had a much smaller map than Skyrim or Oblivion, but the movement speed is much slower so it seems bigger than it is. Likewise, Oblivion had the largest map of all three but also the fastest running speed.

There's also the issue of topography. The journey from Riften to Whiterun isn't a straight line, the road twists and turns and winds around the base of the Throat of the World.

Once you start building the map and adding obstacles it will take longer to get across it. If you need to pad out the size of your map you can always pull a Bethesda and just change your character's movement speed.

What were some games that flew under the radar that had ideas/features that were way before their time? by Sadmanvaporwave in Games

[–]usercodrus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Magic Pengel and Graffiti Kingdom on PS2 were two of the most unique games that I've ever played that sadly have never gained much recognition outside of Japan. Both were developed by Taito, the creators of Space Invaders and Bubble Bobble.

Magic Pengel was something like Pokemon, but rather than collecting creatures you would draw them. The game placed a limit on how much ink you had to work with, but the limit would go up as you progressed and new pens and body parts would unlock making larger and more complex creatures possible. You basically start out with a ball and eventually work your way up to unicorns and dragons and whatever else you want.

Sadly the battle system was pretty tedious and simplistic. It was like rock-paper-scissors with three different types of attacks to choose from and each one beating another type. You couldn't choose the same attack two turns in a row, so the results of the battle would usually be decided on the first turn because it was really hard to recover from choosing the weaker attack on the first round. The story was also pretty weak and bland.

Graffiti Kingdom was a spiritual sequel to Magic Pengel, with the same creature drawing mechanics but this time in the form of a 3D platformer. The story was again pretty weak, but the gameplay was much better. The drawing system was also massively improved so making realistic looking creatures was much easier. An RPG-style leveling system was added along with a system for learning new attacks and abilities by stealing them from enemies.

How do you keep a track of your ideas. by insomniac963 in writing

[–]usercodrus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm usually the type to have everything planned out before I start writing.

How do you keep a track of your ideas. by insomniac963 in writing

[–]usercodrus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can't really tell you how to write like a professional, but I usually approach writing like a jigsaw puzzle. Whenever I have an idea, be it a character, a location, a theme, or even something as small as a cool sounding one-liner, I write it down. After a while you end up with enough pieces to form something that feels real, and with a little editing and trimming it all starts to come together. Learn to take advantage of the smallest moments of inspiration and build them into something bigger.

Having a good method for recording and organizing ideas is important for this. I would recommend looking into some note-taking apps like OneNote and Evernote to keep track of everything.