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tak4hir0 · 5 years ago

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CUSTOM GAME ENGINES: A Small Study A couple of weeks ago I played (and finished) A Plague Tale, a game by Asobo Studio. I was really captivated by the game, not only by the beautiful graphics but also by the story and the locations in the game. I decided to investigate a bit about the game tech and I was surprised to see it was developed with a custom engine by a relatively small studio. I know there are some companies using custom engines but it's very difficult to find a detailed market study with that kind of information curated and updated. So this article. Nowadays lots of companies choose engines like Unreal or Unity for their games (or that's what lot of people think) because developing a custom AAA-level engine requires lots of resources, so, I decided to list here some of the most popular custom engines with the team-sizes and notable titles released with those engines. Most of the engines listed here have been developed along the years with multiple iterations and multiple videogames, those engines have gone through several versions or even complete (or semi-complete) rewrites from scratch, with a consequent engine name change. Also, important to note, most of those engines use numerous middleware for specific functionalities (Platform, Physics, Network, Vegetation, UI, Rendering, Audio...). *NOTE: I tried to be as much accurate as possible with the information about the employees count (I checked the companies websites, Wikipedia or company LinkedIn) but take it with a grain of salt (some employees numbers could not be up to date). The BIG Companies *From left to right: Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Final Fantasy XV, Red Dead Redemption 2 Below list is for very big corporations, sometimes with complex corporate structures with several divisions (not only focused on videogames) and various studios/subsidiaries developing games. Some of them work with multiple engines, not only custom ones but also licensed ones. Company Employees Studios Engine(s) Notable Games Activision/Blizzard ~9200 ~9 custom engine(s) Call of Duty series, Overwatch, Starcraft II Electronic Arts ~9300 ~36 Frostbite 3 Star Wars Battlefront II, Anthem, Battlefield 1/V, FIFA 20, Need for Speed series Ubisoft ~16000 ~54 AnvilNext 2.0 Assassin's Creed series Disrupt engine Watch Dogs series UbiArt Framework Rayman Legends, Child of Light, Valiant Hearts Snowdrop Tom Clancy's The Division 2, The Settlers Dunia (CryEngine-based) FarCry series Silex (Anvil-based) Ghost Recon Wildlands LEAD engine Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series Dunia-based The Crew Capcom +2800 ~15 MT Framework Monster Hunter: World RE Engine Resident Evil 7, Devil May Cry 5, RE2:Remake, RE3:Remake Konami +10000 ~30 Fox Engine Pro Evolution Soccer series, Metal Gear Solid V Square Enix +4600 ~18 Luminous Studio Final Fantasy XV Nintendo +6100 ~8 custom engine(s) Zelda: BOTW, Mario Odyssey Riot Games ~2500 ~3 custom engine League of Legends Rockstar +2000 ~9 RAGE engine GTA V, Red Dead Redemption 2 CD Projekt +1100 ~4 REDEngine 3 The Witcher 3 Epic +1000 ~11 Unreal Engine 4 Fortnite Usually those companies invest in custom engines to have full control over the technology and also avoid the revenue cut imposed by the licensed engines. Despite that fact, there are some big companies that in the latest years have chosen Unreal Engine for their productions, the most notable cases are: Capcom is using Unreal for the new Street Fighter IV/V titles. Bandai Namco latest big hits are using Unreal: Jump Force, Dragon Ball Fighter Z, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, Tales of Arise. Square Enix also moved to Unreal for several new titles: Dragon Quest XI, Kingdom Hearts III, Final Fantasy VII Remake It's interesting to see that those big three are Japanesse companies, I wonder if that's maybe a market trend for Japan. Also to note, the chinesse holding Tencent owns 40% of Epic Games, I bet it has some influence in the Asian market. Middle-size Studios *From left to right: Rise of the Tomb Raider, Uncharted 4, A Plague Tale Here we have the medium-small companies that decided to create their custom technology for their titles. The number of employees could be a nice reference to consider because a custom game engine is usually developed in-house (I mean, not outsourced) but note that some of those companies could have a big number of people due to in-house artist/audio teams, while other companies out-source those parts of the development. It would be really nice to know how many engineers are working on the engine division for each company, I'm sure there would be some big surprises, probably by the low number of engineers working in the engine and tools! Also interesting to know more info about the tooling included with those engines, it's really difficult to have access to that kind of information. Engines tooling is usually a hidden-secret (beside some GDC presentations or some quick showcase videos). *From left to right: Horizon Zero Dawn, God of War, Death Stranding Company Employees Engine Notable Games Creative Assembly +650 Warscape Engine Total War series Bungie ~600 Tiger Engine Destiny series Infinity Ward +500 IW 7.0 Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Eidos-Montréal ~500 Dawn Engine (Glacier2-based) Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Paradox Interactive +400 Clausewitz Engine Imperator: Rome Bethesda ~400 Creation Engine Skyrim, Fallout 4, Fallout 76 Valve Corp. ~360 Source 2 Dota 2, Half-Life: Alyx Crystal Dynamics ~350 Foundation Engine Rise/Shadow of the Tomb Raider Avalanche Studios ~320 Apex engine Just Cause series, Renegade Ops, Mad Max, RAGE 2 Naughty Dog +300 Naughty Dog Game Engine Uncharted series, Last of Us Rebellion Developments ~300 Asura engine Alien vs. Predator series, Sniper Elite series Techland ~300 Chrome Engine 6 Dying Light Crytek ~290 CryEngine V The Climb, Hunt:Showdown From Software +280 Dark Souls engine Bloodborne, Dark Souls III, Sekiro Remedy +250 Northlight Engine Quantum Break, Control Guerrilla Games +250 Decima Killzone Shadow Fall, Until Dawn, Horizon Zero Dawn Platinum Games ~250 Platinum Engine NieR Automata, Bayonetta, Vanquish Santa Monica Studio +200 custom engine God Of War series id Software +200 idTech 6/7 Doom, Doom Eternal, Wolfenstein series Sucker Punch +200 custom engine Infamous Second Son, Ghost of Tsushima? Insomniac Games ~180 Insomniac Engine Rachet&Clank series, Marvel's Spider-Man Quantic Dreams ~180 custom engine Detroit: Become Human IO Interactive ~170 Glacier2 Hitman series Asobo Studio +140 Zouna A Plague Tale Ready At Dawn ~120 custom engine The Order: 1886, Lone Echo Mercury Steam ~110 custom engine Spacelords, Castlevania:Lords of Shadow series Monolith Productions +100 LithTech F.E.A.R. series, Condemned series, Shadow of Mordor/War 11 Bit Studios ~100 Liquid Engine Frostpunk Frozenbyte ~100 Storm3D Trine series, Shadowgrounds Kylotonn ~100 KtEngine WRC series, TT Isle of Man series, V-Rally 4 TaleWorlds Entertainment ~100 custom engine Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord Daedalic Entertainment ~90 Visionaire Studio The Whispered World, Deponia series Media Molecule ~80 Bubblebath Engine Dreams Deck13 ~70 Fledge Lords of the Fallen, The Surge, The Surge 2 Nihon Falcom ~60 Yamaneko Engine Ys VII, Ys VIII, Ys IX Croteam +40 Serious Engine The Talos Principle, Serious Sam series Some observations from this list: Rise of the Tomb Raider lists only 10 programmers working on Foundation engine in the credits, probably a good reference number to get an idea of the people working on the core engine. Kojima Productions use Decima engine, developed by Guerrilla Games, for Death Stranding, previously they used Fox Engine for Metal Gear Solid V. Media Molecule latest game/engine (Dreams) seems to have been developed by only ~15 coders, amazing! Companies targeting one single platform, usually have less restrictions and can push the limits of that platform. Unfortunately, that's a luxury that most companies can not afford. Asobo Studio, the company that originated this market study is not that small... but, like other companies, they seem to work in multiple titles in parallel. Very nice to see that some of the engines have entries in the Wikipedia with some details and titles released, it should be a must. Small-size Studios (Indie Studios) *From left to right: The Witness, No Man's Sky, X-Morph Defense Here we have some really small studios that also choose to develop a custom engine for their games. Note that most of those engines rely on other libraries/frameworks for certain parts of the game, the common choices we find are SDL (cross-platform graphics/input), OGRE (rendering engine), MonoGame (cross-platform game framework, also relyes on SDL, SharpDX, OpenTK, OpenAL-Soft...). One question many people could ask is, what parts of the engine are actually coded by the developers? Well, it depends, but usually coders take care of the screen-manager, entities-manager and content-manager as well as the wrappers/interfaces to the external libraries. Second question, what parts of the engine usually rely on external libraries/middleware? It also depends on the company resources but usually audio-system, physics, rendering, networking, ui-system, terrain-system, vegetation-system and some other pieces. *From left to right: Factorio, Thimbleweed Park, Owlboy On the following list (and the next one below) I added the publishing date (only +2012) and the link to Steam for all the games... there are not many games with custom engine from small studios out there and I think they deserve to be recognized and supported. Company Employees Engine Notable Games Shiro Games ~30 Heaps.io Northgard (2018), Evoland (2013), Evoland II (2015) Hello Games ~25 No Man's Sky Engine No Man's Sky (2016) Frictional Games ~25 HPL engine SOMA (2015), Amnesia series DrinkBox Studios ~25 custom engine Guacamelee (2013), Guacamelee! 2 (2018), Severed (2016) Supergiant Games ~20 MonoGame-based Hades (2019), Pyre (2017), Transistor (2014) Wube Software ~20 Allegro/SDL-based Factorio (2019) Chucklefish ~20 Halley Engine Wargroove (2019), Starbound (2016) Ronimo Games ~17 RoniTech Engine (SDL) Awesomenauts (2017) Runic Games ~17 OGRE-based Hob (2017), Tochlight II (2012) Lab Zero Games ~17 Z-Engine Indivisible (2019), Skullgirls (2013) Introversion Software ~14 SystemIV (SDL) Prison Architect (2015) Exor Studios ~14 OGRE-based Schmetterling The Riftbreaker (2020), X-Morph: Defense (2017) Tribute Games ~11 MonoGame-based Flinthook (2017), Mercenary Kings (2014) Thekla Inc. (Jonathan Blow) ~10 custom engine The Witness (2016) Terrible Toybox (Ron Gilbert) 9 custom engine (SDL) Thimbleweed Park (2017) Matt Makes Games (Matt Thorson) ~7 MonoGame-based Celeste (2018), TowerFall Ascension (2014) Coilworks ~7 custom engine Super Cloudbuilt (2017), Cloudbuilt (2014) Lo-fi Games (Chris Hunt) 6 OGRE-based Kenshi (2018) D-Pad Studio 6 MonoGame-based Owlboy (2016) BitKid, Inc. 6 MonoGame-based CHASM (2020) Double Damage Games 5 OGRE-based Rebel Galaxy Outlaw (2019), Rebel Galaxy (2015) Almost Human Games 4 custom engine Legend of Grimrock (2012), Legend of Grimrock 2 (2014) Wolfire Games 4 Phoenix Engine Overgrowth (2017) Some observations from this list: Nicolas Cannasse, co-founder of Shiro Games, is the the developer of Haxe programming language and Heaps engine, used by Motion Twin for Dead Cells (2017). Hello Games is a very small studio considering the size of No Man's Sky and that they use a custom engine. Really impressive! Runic Games was dissolved in November 2017, the founders created Double Damage, now they are working on Echtra Games on Torchlight III. Rodrigo Braz Monteiro, Chucklefish CTO, is the person in charge of Halley engine, actually the engine is open-source! In most of those studios the people in charge of creating the game engine it's only 1-3 persons! Lo-fi Games was a one-man team (Chris Hunt) for more than 6 years! Some of the games in this list took +5 years of development! Not many games... a couple of hits per year... One-man custom engines *From left to right: Stardew Valley, ScourgeBringer, Eagle Island Finally, the list of the heroes. Games developed by 1-2 people with custom game engines, engines mostly coded by one person! Respect. Creating an engine and a game from scratch to the point of publishing it is an extraordinary accomplishment, not many people in the world is ready for that. Almost all of them are 2D games, usually with very small budgets and developed along multiple years. Congratulations to the developers! *From left to right: Axiom Verge, Ghost 1.0, Remnants of Naezith Some observations from this list: Some of those teams are formed by 1-2 people but probably grew at some point and/or outsourced some parts of the development (art, audio...). Usually the publisher also helps with some resources (localization, marketing...). Omar Cornut from Lizardcube is the main programmer for Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap engine and also the developer of Dear ImGui, a free and open-source immediate-mode gui library used by lots of AAA custom engines. Ben Fiquet from Lizardcube is also the main artist for Streets of Rage 4, the custom engine of Guard Crush Games is written by Cyrille Lagarigue. Marc Flury programmed Thumper game engine rejecting the OOP paradigm in favor of a procedural programming approach. Christian Whitehead is the creator of Star Engine used in Sonic Mania but Headcannon (Simon Thomley) and PagodaWest Games (Jared Kasl and Tom Fry) were also involved in the development of the game. Some of the games in this list took +5 years of development! Not many games... a couple of hits per year... There are some other remarkable games using custom engines (usually XNA/MonoGame) that worth mentioning: Minecraft (2011), Braid (2009), Super Meat Boy (2010), Terraria (2011), Dustforce (2012), Sword and Sorcery EP (2012), FEZ (2013), Dust: An Elysian Tail (2013), Rogue Legacy (2013), Dyad (2012), SpaceChem (2013). Conclusions I'll start saying I'm biased, I'm really passionate about videogames-making technologies and I admire custom engines and game-making tools. I also contributed to custom engines ecosystem with my grain of salt: raylib and several game-making tools. I prefer a custom engine over a licensed one, I consider that the extra amount of effort put into the product usually translates into some specific great mechanic or some amazing in-game details. Said that, I must admit that creating a custom engine is a big endeavour and not many people are ready for that. I recognize Unity (and Unreal to less extend) have really democratized videogames development, lots of small-medium size companies can use Unity today to develop games quicly and put them on the market, sometimes with very low budgets... But, still, lots of big companies prefer to rely on their own custom technologies. From my gamedev-teacher perspective, I think students must learn how engines work internally with as much detail as possible. Relying only on engines like Unity/Unreal for education to allow students develop eye-candy project in short-time is not the way to go. At the end of the day, someone has to write the engine and the tools! NOTE: Feedback and improvements are welcome! :)

#Gist

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terryblount · 6 years ago

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Starbase is a new hybrid voxel/vertex-based space MMO from the creators of the Trine series

Frozenbyte, the team behind the Trine series, has announced a new game called Starbase. Starbase will be coming to Steam Early Access later this year and Frozenbyte has released a gameplay trailer that you can find below.

According to its description, Starbase is a hybrid voxel/vertex-based space MMO with a fully destructible and infinitely expanding universe, with a focus on building and designing spaceships and stations, exploration, resource gathering, crafting, trading, and combat.

Set in a universe of vast scale and detail, the fully-destructible environment and hybrid voxel/vertex-based game mechanics enable simulations in the game at immense depth; minor collisions may break a few outer plates from your spaceship, while fast-speed crashes can rip the ship apart.

“Thruster propellant pipe leaks may cause spaceships to stall, but the corrosive, leaking propellant might also melt the superstructure of the ship and cause a catastrophic failure. Damaged ship controls in a spaceship do not necessarily mean the journey is over, as manual values for the flight can be applied directly to the generator and thrusters from the engine room.”

The scale and depth of the simulation in all aspects of the game promises to give players the ultimate freedom to exploit their innovativeness and creativity. From constructing single spaceships with durable outer plating to creating massive automated factories and designing electricity and data networks, players are free to do it their own way.

Do note that Starbase will remain in Early Access for at least 1-2 years and Frozenbyte plans to update the game with one major feature every month, with smaller updates on a weekly basis.

Enjoy!

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Starbase is a new hybrid voxel/vertex-based space MMO from the creators of the Trine series published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

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webpostingpro-blog · 8 years ago

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New Post has been published on Webpostingpro

New Post has been published on https://webpostingpro.com/nintendo-switch-games-list-news-stock-update-and-pro-controller-price-reveal/

Nintendo Switch games list news, stock update and Pro Controller price reveal

Nintendo Transfer video games hold getting introduced to the brand new machine’s eShop, this week proposing three new launches.

A complete of over 60 video games have been confirmed to date for the Nintendo eShop and enthusiasts can expect some additional bulletins at some point of E3 2017.

And assisting in reinforcing the gaming list that is currently dominated by Zelda: Breath of the Wild, enthusiasts can now play conventional ACA NeoGeo title, Metallic Slug.

News: HEARTHSTONE ON NINTENDO Transfer?

There are masses of different NeoGeo titles presently available in the Nintendo eShop, despite the fact that there are other options for enthusiasts to strive out too.

Snake Bypass is now available on Nintendo Switch, costing £15.99 and launching earlier this week.

Has-Been Heroes is any other name to make its hybrid console debut this week, an action game developed via Frozenbyte and posted by GameTrust that’s now available in North us but won’t reach Europe until April 4.

And Nintendo Switch enthusiasts can anticipate a steady waft of unconventional new releases, as Nintendo pledges to create lots of new franchises.

The Japanese video games massive desires to move beyond established franchises,

And create modern stories that take benefit of the innovative Joy-con controllers and flexible hardware set-up.

This is according to Nintendo’s Shinya Takahashi, who informed an interviewer (via Nintendo Everything) that the enterprise is making ready one new IP after every other for Nintendo Transfer.

Takahashi said that fanatics may want to count on games which are revolutionary and unconventional. He also praised indie releases like Snipperclips, stressing how important they are for Nintendo Transfer.

It is probably Nintendo will exhibit some of these innovative new releases at this 12 months’ E3 gaming expo

New Nintendo Switch stock has arrived this weekend inside the United kingdom, with enthusiasts now able to buy the console from the likes of Argos, Amazon, and Smyths.

Further, restocks are planned for this week, so if any fanatics missed out or now see sold out notices, there might be new alternatives quickly.

in line with Wedbush Securities’ Michael Pachter, Nintendo is going to want lots greater inventory if they are going to preserve up with demand in the destiny.

“The Transfer works honestly nicely- you’re basically playing with a controller and display right in front of your face,’ Pachter commented SIFT video games.

Video Games and Its Implications

Do you suspect playing a video game is great? Of route not, if you cross by means of the older convention. But in state-of-the-art cutting-edge worn video games are the maximum commonplace form of entertainment some of the people. The younger generation is more addicted to video games than the older ones.

The way to play an online game?

To play an online game you want a recreation first. Then you definitely need to put in your favorite sport. You’re ready to go after right set up of the sport. Whilst you begin playing you want to recognize the guidelines and rules of the play. if you are a very good learner you will quickly get achievement in the sport.

The earlier you examine the extra degrees you could clear and get rewarded. With all this stuff these video games are surely unique. Besides being a source of leisure it has certain other advantageous sides.

Advantages of gambling those video games are-

• Help in boosting reminiscence- Even though humans are not aware of this fact But a video game can really Assist to keep matters I reminiscence properly. Via the video games, someone has to constantly have a mental interest. This maintains the mind alert and active. Hence, things do no longer without difficulty slip out of memory.

• Increase coordination- Mind might be extra prepared and the individual ill be greater coordinated of their work. This is largely due to the fact they might be stimulated through the video games which do comply with an orderly technique of development.

• Cognitive fitness might be better- Studies have determined out that at the side of memory, cognitive fitness becomes all the greater better. Because of this you becomes centered in your work and could be able to make higher decisions.

• Less of pressure and depression

Most people stay secluded and are consequently not able to talk with others. those games are a digital international. In it with the aid of turning into stay possible make virtual buddies communicate with them. This can lead them to strain-free, Much less depressed and livelier.

• Higher choice making- you may be higher in determining matters in real life. This circumstance is brought on by means of the instantaneous choices that one has to take Whilst in the game.

As a consequence, it is pretty evident that these games Though are a source of enjoyment additionally, has a good deal more implications at the fitness of the players. So, all people wondering that video games are bad to have to give a second thought to what they are saying. it’s miles one of the essential matters to take into account.

Choosing the Right Stock Broker

Whilst you are making inventory investments to make income for the destiny, you’re the use of your difficult-earned money. To assist keep away from making an investment in the wrong stocks and dropping your money you need to locate the right professional stockbroker. You need one that you are feeling comfortable with and agree with. You furthermore may want them to manual you exactly on which stocks to put money into and might preserve the economic state of affairs in thoughts. Locating the proper stockbroker may be a tough task as there are numerous online and rancid line stockbrokers to select from.

One of the first things which you want to decide is whether or not you want a reduction broker or a full-service dealer.

• Discount broker they do no longer give the recommendation or manual you but as a substitute will best invest in stocks that you tell them to put money into. You’ll be only that comes to a decision the funding strategy. Their fees are much less due to the fact they provide no monetary advice. • complete provider dealer-they’ll guide you on the kind of investments which you need to make, and which shares you ought to spend money on, depending upon the economic desires you have installation. They offer a greater diversity inside the terms of economic products, which include annuities, bonds, shares, coverage, and derivatives. In addition, they fee an excessive price for their knowledge expertise.

When you choose a web booking it’s far essential which you test the pleasant of customer support that the brokerage company offers. One instance is if you cannot get right of entry to your PC can you continue to get your account information furnished to you over the smartphone. You have to also ask if the website is slow could you call and talk to a stockbroker for my part. Make certain that you do your research earlier than deciding on a web booking.

A few agents will ask that you make a minimal deposit to open an equity account,

Which suggest the more money you need to invest the more alternatives you may rent a broker. before choosing a stockbroker to ask if there’s are any financial necessities that need to be met. test to peer if the brokerage company is a member of the Countrywide Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) due to the fact if they’re because of this they’ll be truthful in their dealings. You ought to additionally check to look in the event that they have a club in the Securities Investor Safety Organization (SIPC). This club will shield your belongings in a brokerage account for as an awful lot of five hundred thousand dollars. This even covers if the brokerage company fails. When you have selected a complete carrier booking, Make certain that they do not unnecessarily recommend that you vicinity an alternate on occasion because they earn a bonus each time you change.

SEO Works With Algorithms: How an Algorithm Update Impacts Your Site’s Ranking

Information the algorithms utilized by search engines like google, together with Google, may be mystifying. Permits begin at the start:

What’s a Search Engine Algorithm?

An Algorithm is a mathematical process used by a laptop to remedy a trouble or answer a query. Google, launched in 1998, is the main Search engine. The hunt engine Set of rules was designed to discover documents at the net.

Google uses many algorithms,

But the very first one ever used is known as PageRank, which measures the importance of all web pages (PageRank is called after Larry Page, the software developer, and Google co-founder). PageRank capabilities by means of counting the quantity and fine of links to positive net pages to decide an estimate of the website’s significance, and as a consequence, its ranking compared to other websites in the identical discipline or category.

Google has used the idea that the greater critical websites are most likely to have greater hyperlinks from other websites, and therefore rates the internet site with a better rating at the Seek engine consequences Page (SERP). PageRank occurs to be the maximum widely known Set of rules used by Google. A whole enterprise of enterprise offerings to take benefit of PageRank is now called Seo (Search engine optimization).

Google’s algorithms change approximately 500-600 instances consistent with the calendar year – extra than once each day.

The adjustments are applied to make The quest experience extra applicable for the person. most of the adjustments are minor and do not typically exchange website’s ranking to any important diploma.

For nearly two many years, Google has been refining their Search engine service, turning into the greater state-of-the-art, with their huge algorithms affecting the manner websites are ranked.

What is an Algorithm update?

Most important updates had been rolling out on an ordinary basis, each named and unnamed. Organizations offering Search engine optimization services devote their sources to figuring out how each trade influences the websites they manipulate. The stakes are very high, particularly for websites engaged in e-commerce. If a website is built and maintained using exceptional practices, with a focal point on precise content and an easy-to-navigate consumer revel in, the website will charge nicely. A strong rating becomes an advanced Web page ranking if you want to offer more internet site visitors.

A number of the named updates over time have been: Panda,

Penguin, Hummingbird, Pigeon, Possum, RankBrain, Mobile addon, and Pirate. each update pertains to a specific aspect of a website, along with internet site link great, semantic content Search, and cell friendly (or responsive) websites.

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symbianosgames · 8 years ago

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Before the Nintendo Switch was released on March 3rd, the developers who were among the first to bring their games to the new console described themselves as having been “gagged.” Nintendo had forbidden them from saying anything public about the process of developing games for the Switch.

After March 3rd that gag was removed and many of those silenced developers have been able to speak up. But forget any association with kidnapping that the word “gagged” may have. Those developers aren’t telling horrific stories of being locked up in development hell. On the contrary, the consensus is that the Switch is “the least demanding Nintendo console” to develop for yet.

This is no small feat given that the whole idea behind the Switch is that it doesn’t serve one console experience but many. It can be placed in a dock and transmit to a TV like a traditional home console, but it can also be taken out of that dock and played as a handheld, and from there the two Joy-Con controllers can be detached from the sides of the screen for multiplayer sessions.

All of these transformations happen in a snap, too, so developers have to ensure both an instant and smooth transition. Except they don’t. “Usually, you have to think about a second screen or some kind of feature that requires rethinking your game from the ground up,” says David D’Angelo of Yacht Club Games, the studio behind Shovel Knight. “The portable/console transition [of the Nintendo Switch] just works and is seamless!”

The notion that it “just works” is repeated by the other early Switch game developers. “The switch between the handheld and the console mode was the first thing we tried. It worked on the get-go. Nothing to do for us, the display changed from TV to the LCD (and vice versa) without any specific code,” says David Bellanco of Game Atelier, the studio making Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom.

Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom

“After the first test we just had to handle the change of gamepad mode and make it work at 720p resolution in handheld mode," adds Bellanco. "That's it, really! It's very easy to have the game working in those two modes.”

This is a big relief for all. The big question for most developers when it came to the Switch is how many small adjustments it would take to get their games working well on both a large TV screen and a smaller handheld one. But it seems Nintendo has performed a magic trick by almost entirely eliminating the potential hassle of that process.

The only minor note on this topic came from Brian Provinciano of VBlank Entertainment, who is making the open-world action game Shakedown Hawaii for the Switch. “One difference is the need to handle the old TV ‘safe area’ when in console mode, but not in handheld mode. TVs by default cut off the outer edge of the screen,” Provinciano explains. “If you don't leave extra padding, half of the score might be missing, for example. So, if you run your game identically for both, you'll notice a bit of a border in handheld mode. The alternative is to use a different camera, and use different HUD/UI placement for each.”

Shakedown Hawaii

Other than that the Switch has arrived as a blessing for these developers, especially Dant Rambo of Choice Provisions, who is currently working on rhythm game sequel Runner3. With its BIT.TRIP series alone, Choice Provisions has developed seven titles that were released for both the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo 3DS. That was a lot of work. But in having dropped that dual console approach with the Switch, and instead releasing a hybrid, Nintendo has thankfully lessened the development work for multi-platform studios like Choice Provisions.

“After years of spreading ourselves thin focusing on several platforms at once, it’s been an incredible relief to focus all our efforts on just one platform, and for it to be so easy to develop for,” says Rambo.

Given that the Switch is a hybrid console, being for both TV and handheld gaming, one of its biggest tests is the power and performance of the hardware. Consoles have always been judged by their processors and graphical output: the bigger the better. But the Switch is a different kind of machine that requires a new measurement stick.

For Valerio Di Donato of 34BigThings, who is working on futuristic racing game Redout, “the Switch is first and foremost a mobile console.” What that means for him is that, while the Switch’s custom NVIDIA tech does have “some real power,” it’s not necessarily trying to compete with other consoles on that front. Instead, Donato looks at the Switch in its own category and with its own goals.

“I think NVIDIA did an amazing job with the GPU of this console and you can't simply find anything that matches it in terms of GPU power and portability at this time,” Donato says. “I would probably have preferred to have something to spice it up once connected to the dock instead of just unlocking additional power on the same components, but I'm assuming something like that would have skyrocketed the costs.”

The other developers had no complaints whatsoever about performance or power but this is largely due to the low demands their games put on the hardware. “Shovel Knight is not the most power hungry game in the world, so we haven’t spent the time really investigating the bounds to wish you can push performance on the Nintendo Switch,” says D’Angelo. “That said, the specs outline a very powerful machine at that size and price - we’re impressed!”

The only potential exception in the group was David Bellanco, whose game Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom is a 2D platformer like Shovel Knight, but happens to be a little more heavy going on hardware. But the Switch passed that test too. “Before we got our hands on the hardware, we were concerned about the mobile chip: fill-rate is important for a full HD 2D game (lots of alpha blending is really taxing on any GPU),” Bellanco says. “But the performance is excellent and the game is running 1080p at 60fps. We can keep adding graphical features to the game without fearing any optimization trouble.”

It’s not only the physical hardware of the Switch that has helped to make game performance so smooth and optimization so easy for these developers. The console’s integration with third-party engines is also a big contributing factor. “The Nintendo Switch is compatible with Unreal Engine and Unity engines, and our games being mainly developed on those graphic engines, it is really convenient for us,” says Stephane Longeard of Microids, who is developing adventure game sequel Syberia 3 for the Switch. “We can also count on Nintendo’s support during development process as well as Unity’s.”

[embedded content] Syberia 3

Donato adds to this that if you’re already using Unreal or Unity then “porting the game should feel exactly the same as porting it to any other console: each has its quirks and workaround to fight and you will still need to pour a lot of work into it, if you care for a decent porting.”

If you’re not working with Unreal or Unity, but are instead using your own game engine, then evidence so far suggests there shouldn’t be any big issues there either. Kai Tuovinen of Frozenbyte, who is bringing roguelike action-strategy game Has-Been Heroes to the Switch, speaks on this.

Has-Been Heroes

“We didn't have almost any difficulties with making Has-Been Heroes for Switch, our own engine has been pretty flexible and easy to adapt to it, and we managed to get the game running at 60fps at 720p portable and 1080p docked,” Tuovinen says. “One of the things we stressed about in the early stages was how to make the resolution change dynamically from the handheld's native 720p to 1080p when going from handheld to docked and vice versa. This turned out to be a non-issue in the end, and it works great.”

One of the Switch’s defining features is its two Joy-Con controllers. They have been criticized by some users for being so small, at least in comparison with traditional game controllers, and this was a concern for some of the developers at first, but that soon passed. “We were a little worried at first that hand cramping could occur if you played for a long period, but that hasn’t been the case,” says Rambo. “They’re really neat little controllers.”

What most players agree upon is that there’s a luxury in being able to have your hands separate while playing a Switch game. Each Joy-Con has its own face buttons and analog stick, but also come with an accelerometer and gyroscope motion sensor so they can be used independently. You can play with your hands down by your sides or you can split them between people during multiplayer games.

The developers also found this to be a major boon while playtesting their games on the Switch. “The biggest surprise was how nice it is to play with the separated Joy-Cons, one in each hand,” says Provinciano. “Even with games designed around a traditional controller, it feels pretty good having the freedom to rest each hand and arm wherever. I'm pretty into ergonomics though, so I might be extra inclined to like it.”

Greg Wohlwend found a similar behavior occurred among his team at aeiowu as they worked on rolly roguelike TumbleSeed for the Switch. “We'll often detach [the Joy-Cons] when playing development builds when we're all in the same place working on the game together. That way we can pass them around when testing out different feels in the rumble or whatever else,” Wohlwend says. “That's really handy. We pretty much use the Switch as it wants to be used, unplugging it and doing some bug-testing on the couch is a nice change from sitting in the desk chair hunched over.”

TumbleSeed

The biggest complaint about the Switch’s controller from users since the console’s release is that the left Joy-Con has trouble maintaining a consistent wireless Bluetooth connection at certain distances. But the developers didn’t come across any similar issues with connectivity or the inputs of the controllers themselves.

Bellanco sums up their impressions on that topic when he says, “It’s pretty straightforward. We have here the same number of inputs as the Xbox One and the PS4 controller, so we didn't have anything to change.” The only slight hiccup experienced with the Joy-Cons came from Donato: “We had to change the mapping of one single button and everything worked automatically, but that's mostly thanks to Unreal Engine and the Switch integration,” he says.

What practically all of the developers that were questioned got very excited about was the HD Rumble feature built into the Joy-Cons. It’s an advanced version of the rumble functions that modern game controllers have in that it allows for multiple sources of vibration to be felt within the controllers. One of the mini-games in launch title 1-2-Switch, for example, has players tilt the Joy-Con in order to feel how many balls are rolling around inside it. There are no balls inside the controllers but the HD Rumble gives the impression that there are many.

“I think the best new thing about the Nintendo Switch is the HD Rumble feature. We can have real stereo vibration with an accuracy level we didn't witness on the other platforms,” says Bellanco. “We only have it implemented in some limited cases for now but this feature is something intend to use more in the game.”

Wohlwend gets especially giddy when talking about the HD Rumble feature as it suits the focus on movement in his game TumbleSeed. “The HD Rumble is the big feature we're diving deep into. Because our game is very physical and you're constantly rolling around trying to avoid holes and attack enemies you want to know as much information about how fast you're going, where you are on the screen ALL THE TIME. So HD Rumble gives us that ability to communicate that sense or feeling to the player.”

Omar Cornut of the studio Lizardcube wasn’t initially so enthused by the HD Rumble but when showing Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap at GDC his perspective was changed. “We will put more resources at getting the haptic feedback right,” Cornut says. “As we found out with various demos shown last week [at GDC], the rumbles on the Joy-Con are really nice and it’d be a shame to not take advantage of that. It’s a little talked feature but with the right software design, people will really like it when they feel it.”

Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap

It’s still early days for the Switch, but the developers working with it that were spoken to have been almost universally positive about their experience with it. They’ve found it to be a modern and overall pleasant package to work with. The biggest hope they have for the Switch’s future is for Nintendo to stay on their toes by continuously improving the software and listening to developers in the years to come.

When asked to rank the Switch against other modern consoles, many of the developers put it on par with the PlayStation 4 in terms of ease to work with. And they all seemed to agree that it’s the best Nintendo console for developers at this point. “The tools and hardware are much better than they were for the Wii U, so devs from the previous generation should look forward to digging into the Switch,” says Provinciano. “Nintendo's also been good with support whenever I've had technical questions.”

These thoughts are mirrored by the team at Frozenbyte who, like Provinciano, have developed for a number of different Nintendo consoles. “It has been easier to develop for than Wii U, mainly because of better documentation and the whole ecosystem has been thought out much more from a developer perspective - our programmers have been praising the API as well,” says Tuovinen. “It is so much nicer to work on a platform that has been designed well, not just from the hardware perspective but from the development perspective too.”

Another veteran of developing for Nintendo hardware is Bellanco, whose final thoughts are more mixed. “I've worked on several Nintendo platforms over the years, from the DS to the Wii U. Working on the Nintendo Switch is like night and day,” says Bellanco. “Nintendo did a very good job making it easier to develop on the Switch. It's very straightforward, I push play on my visual studio, it runs on the device and I can debug very easily.”

However, Bellanco still thinks that Sony is better with the SDK, but views Nintendo as rapidly catching up in that department. He finds the API easy to understand and the documentation that came with the Switch to be helpful, but not perfect. He wasn’t hugely critical but did say that Nintendo “could improve their docs; some API or features have limited docs. I like samples, I always want more samples.”

This was followed by Cornut whose criticism wasn’t aimed at Nintendo as much as it was all current console manufacturers. “I keep saying it, and it is daydreaming at this point, but the first console manufacturer who will allow programmers to publicly release code that uses their API (even if the actual libraries and release process are still fully under their control, like Apple does) will make a huge leap in term of development quality,” says Cornut. “Right now console developers can’t easily share code or discuss issues because, well, no one can release their code. It’s a mental switch that first-parties have to flip in their head, but it would be a small revolution.

Out of them all, it is probably Wohlwend that had the most damning complaint of Nintendo and the release of the Switch. “Don't release a new Zelda while we still have to finish TumbleSeed,” he says. “That's just mean.”

#IFTTT #Blogger

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linuxgamenews · 2 years ago

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Trine 5 to have you work together to overcome via Steam Play

Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy action-packed adventure game coming to Linux via Proton with Windows PC. Once again due to the amazing work and tireless effort put in by the developer Frozenbyte. Working to make its way onto Steam and GOG this summer. Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy is a new game coming to various gaming platforms. Players control Amadeus the Wizard, Zoya the Thief, and Pontius the Knight as they solve puzzles in a fairytale world. The game has twenty levels with different challenges and offers a unique skill quest system. Featuring a clockwork army that threatens the peace and security of the world of Trine. So the three heroes must work together to overcome this threat and save the day. As far as Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy and Linux, the developers are aiming at Proton. Since "Proton will hopefully work well" as it does for Trine 4. That being said, the developer is using their own custom engine again. Although no details yet on being Steam Deck Verified. However, since THQ Nordic is publishing this edition, there is a good chance. The game takes place in a world of magic and adventure. The three heroes will encounter many enemies and obstacles as they travel through the Trine 5 game's levels. Linux players can play the game alone or with up to three friends online or locally.

Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy | Announcement Trailer

youtube

Trine 5 is a 2.5D puzzle platformer that offers a lot of gameplay variety. Each level has different puzzles to solve. So it gets harder or easier depending on how many players are playing. While you pick up new powers and abilities as you play the game. The game is set in a magical fantasy world with stunning graphics and music. You can even change up the heroes in different outfits to change their look. One of the best features about Trine 5 is that it adjusts to how well you're playing. If you find it too easy or too hard, the game changes to make it more fun. There are also different quests you can do for each character. These are due to level up gameplay even further. Trine 5 action-packed adventure game is back with a lot of levels, puzzles, and battles. Due to offer an exciting story. So whether you're playing by yourself or with friends, Trine 5 brings back its magical adventure. So be sure to Wishlist the game on both Steam and GOG. Due to release (TBD) this summer on Windows PC, but playable on Linux via Proton.

#trine 5 #a clockwork conspiracy #co-op #puzzle #adventure #linux #gaming news #frozenbyte #ubuntu #windows #pc

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linuxgamenews · 7 years ago

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Trine 4 coming 2019, but no Linux port

Trine 4 is coming next year thanks to Frozenbyte, but not for Linux. While premier indie video game publisher Modus Games today announce their partnership. There are only releasing Trine 4 next year for Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.

Linux Support for Trine 4:

"Hi Todd, Thanks for the interest in Trine 4. I'm sorry to report though that we don't have a Linux version planned at the moment. We are using our own proprietary engine."

So replied to this email, since the lack of reply is triggering. The Trine games have always had native Linux support. What happened this time around?

"You're correct about the Linux support for the previous Trine games. We've had it, but not for our latest games ( Has-Been Heroes, Nine Parchments etc.) as the sales on Linux have been quite low. And we've had a shortage of Linux-savvy programmers for a few years now. We unfortunately don't have a Linux version planned for Trine 4. Ws we decided to focus on Windows+consoles. Can't make any promises post-launch either at this stage. The expected release is in 2019, with more details to follow."

This detail also sets me off. I know the previous two games are not available for Linux. But the Trine series is synonymous with Linux support. So even though these are negative details, there is also an inkling of hope. Since the developers are not ruling out a post launch native release. Given the issues around the Trine 3 release back in 2015 being such a short game. We ended up getting the supplemental Shadwen in 2016.

Trine as a series:

The Trine fantasy action series has sold over 8 million copies worldwide. And continuously receiving praise since its first game, Trine, released in 2009. Over the past three years since its last instalment. Fans have voiced their desire for another title from the popular franchise. So in 2019 these wishes will materialize. “We are absolutely thrilled to embark on this journey with Frozenbyte,” said Christina Seelye, CEO of Modus Games. “There’s no doubt Trine 4 will be the game players have been asking for.” “Trine 4 is going to be the best in the series,” said Lauri Hyvärinen, CEO of Frozenbyte. “We have rekindled our love for the franchise, heard and seen the fan feedback, and our hearts are set on exceeding those expectations. Trine is back!” To learn more about Trine 4, visit Trine4.com.

#trine 4 #co op #adventure #game #linux #gaming news #frozenbyte #modus games #windows #pc