#StartMenu

[tvmblrsillyman]

⚠️WINDOWS 11 USERS⚠️

you want to download mica for everyone soooo bad

You want to download Mica For Everyone, install .net, and then set all window (global rule/explorer/mspaint) settings in the following:

Dark

Acrylic

Slightly Rounded

and then you will download openshell

and then you will install the combo skin made to look more like windows 7 as well download the image of the windows 7 button, install the skin download into the installation directory (the folder that openshell is installed in) where the skin folder is and then restart openshell to select that skin under the Skins tab

and then mess around the settings to customize your start menu and pin the program you use the most into your secondary start menu, of course don't forget to select the "start button" tab and select custom to add the icon you downloaded so you can actually preview both button and the sick menu you just got

ohhhh you want to follow these steps soooo baaaad that you want to watch this video for a more step by step tutorial

You want to mod your appearance of your desktop that windows is actively parading itself for letting you to change the color of the taskbar and customize the emoji box

[limbolanegames]

Gotta show love to some press ❤️ Thank you StartMenu for the great review! You can read it here. (also, likening GREAT GOD GROVE as the weird baby of Disco Elysium and Luigi's Mansion is insane but makes full sense, kudos)

[castleinthemist]

Here's a gaming list for ya!

[blushingtendertiel]

The beautiful children of HardwareError and CitationNeeded are here! Say hello to LithiumBattery, StartMenu, ToroidInductor and LiminalSpace!! You can find them here, all listed to ah for 500g, I take treasure and mixed payment 1:1000

[nitrosodiumfmpsequel]

Making an Itch.io Page

I've decided to put Robot Shepherd on Itch.io as the main way of showcasing it, and also so other people can play my game. I did this with the previous FMP, and doing it again seems like a good idea.

I made this as a cover image for the game. Itch needs a 630 x 500 image to display when the game is searched for and linked to, and I didn't want to use the same image I had done for the menu and loading screen. So, I went to the old Level 1 (if you remember, the in-game Level 1 had all the foliage taken from it except the vines) and posed these two robots next to the Escape Pad, which had its text altered to say ROBOT SHEPHERD. The binary code at the top says "Cooperation is the only way we will survive", displaying the game's core idea and also presenting a mystery that should hopefully help to hook the player and draw them in.

This is the description I decided to give.

Issues then presented themselves when I tried to upload the game. Even as a zip file, it was 3 gigabytes, which meant I couldn't upload it. (You can contact Itch support, but I didn't know if they'd get back to me in time). This made no sense to me, and so I opened up the project and used the Size Map function to see what might be bloating the file size.

I did some quick calculations, and found that deleting the FirstPersonMap plus the redundant GameLevel1 would bring the file size down by a big amount, and taking out some unused textures would bring it down to roughly half size. That, plus deleting all the starter maps that show off Niagara effects and such would probably get me to under 1gb, and allow me to put the game on Itch.

I also checked this forum post on ways to decrease the file size, which gave an easier way to do this without actually deleting maps. There is a setting in Project Settings to only include certain maps in a packaged version. I tracked this down, and made it so only StartMenu, GameLevel1OnlyVines and GameLevel2 were included.

Before repackaging, I added this to the main menu widget, to keep track of any future version updates. This one is currently v.1.1.1.

This worked, and the size decreased drastically. Here is the page:

[dglfmp]

Main Menu

Once the level design was complete I decided that I would need a main menu for the game, I kept the process of this pretty simple.

I created a new level called MainMenu. After doing so I created a user widget called StartMenu. At first when going through ideas as to what I can do in order to get a good start menu I decided to go into photoshop and make a title using the same text font that I have previously used for the interact systems and the note systems.

I also grabbed a spider image in order to display that the game involves spiders. I ended up not using this however but this image could potentially be used as the logo for my game.

The startup that I went for ended up being plain white text on a black ground.

When the game starts: The text is invisible and is zoomed out/tiny but in the span of a second it zooms in towards the monitor and becomes more visible.

Once the start menu was completed as a sort of little "startup cinematic" I actually needed to get a main menu made and so I simply created another user widget called Main Menu and made the game open up to that as soon as the first widget is finished.

Inside of this menu, I had the option to make the player need to click on what they wanted to do but I completely forgot how to do that without the buttons and so decided to do what was easier at the time and went with keybinds. I made it so that if the player pressed Enter then the main game loads up, if they press ESCAPE then the game quits and if they press E then they get put into a tutorial which I have to make.

[techvandaag]

Testversie Windows 10 bevat nieuwe accountknop met minder opties voor gebruiker

Microsoft heeft een nieuwe testversie van Windows 10 uitgebracht. Deze versie bevat een gewijzigde accountknop in het startmenu waardoor gebruikers niet meer rechtstreeks kunnen uitloggen, maar enkel hun Microsoft-account met de bijbehorende producten kunnen bekijken. http://dlvr.it/TCMPyx

[byggingenjorpettersson]

Run .msi-files

most .msi-installations don't run just by double clicking them.

you need to run them through the command-prompt

open the startmenu, in the search field write "cmd" and hit enter

right click on the icon of the msi, choose "copy filepath"

write in the command-prompt: msiexec /i and paste the filepath, including quotes hit enter

[jazhara7]

So, I got a new keyboard for my birthday. It's mechanical, which I wished for, but that is irrelevant right now.

What is relevant, is that I realised it has the most awesome key ever. A key I never realised I needed it. A dedicated key to open the Calculator App. Also, mute, volume up and volume down, which are fine. But Calculator? I think I hit the jackpot. I'm not even kidding. This is great. I don't need play, pause, etc. and whatnot keys. The volume keys are neat, not saying no to those. But seriously, I don't need the calculator often enough to warrant a shortcut or pin to the startmenu or taskbar. But when I do need it? I need it *fast*. I love my new keyboard even more now.

[priyeshmeenasourceandsign]

BLOG-4

Realism in Games

Being a game-loving student, I always find myself wondering whether games can be realistic. It is actually a controversial issue that has made people discuss in many quarters including gaming circles and academics as well. This blog post will cover realism in games and its ramifications, including its effect on the gameplay experience. Sources both academic and my experiences guide me.

Realism in Games: An Overview

Realism in video games is a multidimensional concept that goes beyond just graphics. It includes dramatic conditions, gameplay procedures and overall experience of the game. This realism in video games can be categorized according to Rogers et al.'s systematic literature review into types such as typicality, magic window, perceptual fidelity, virtual experience, utility and identity.

For instance, "Red Dead Redemption 2" has been praised for its realistic portrayal of animals and landscapes that immerse players in the action. In contrast, "Squad" is all about realistic combat scenarios and weapon behavior emphasizing teamwork and communication.

The Impact of Realism on Player Experience

A player’s experience can be greatly affected by the level of realism in a game. There are those who believe that realism in games helps to immerse players more, making the game world seem more plausible and engaging. For example, the game “Assetto Corsa” has incredibly accurately reproduced real-world physics, car dynamics, and tracks, resulting in a more lifelike driving experience.

Nevertheless, not all games benefit from being realistic. The industry’s pursuit of hyper-realistic faces can seriously damage the gaming experience of people with prosopagnosia or face-blindness. Moreover, there is an ongoing argument about the role of realism versus fun in games since some believe that it is only an aesthetic choice while others maintain that game mechanics should simply be about providing enjoyable and interesting gameplay

Realism and Violence in Games

Additionally, the effort to make games closer to reality has refreshed discussions on video game violence. This is because graphic resolution increases realism hence more violent killing in games. For example, “Dead Island 2” has the Fully Locational Evisceration System for Humanoids (FLESH), which generates images of brutal events that can be seen as being so harmful to those who interact with them.

My Perspective on Realism in Games

Thinking about this, I have come to appreciate how complex and diverse realism can be in games. Even though I love being completely immersed in the game world and getting the full experience of it, I still see some problems like an increase in violent acts and exclusion of some people.

I think that game realism should be consciousness regarding player enjoyment, inclusivity and ethical implications. While game developers are continuing to make games more realistic than ever before, they should not forget one thing; fundamentally, games are entertainment. Such sources of fun should be accessible, enjoyable and above all considerate on a wide basis.

To sum it up, realistic games are complex ideas that affect game designs and users’ awareness dramatically. As a gamer and academician, I have realized more on this area as I have taken time to study these ideas concerning the influence that video games exert on societies.

References

Rogers, K., Karaosmanoglu, S., Altmeyer, M., Suarez, A. and Nacke, L.E. (2022). Much Realistic, Such Wow! A Systematic Literature Review of Realism in Digital Games. CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. doi: https://doi.org/10.1145/3491102.3501875

Plarium. (n.d.). The 10 Most Realistic Games of All Time - Plarium. [online] Available at: https://plarium.com/en/blog/realistic-games/  [Accessed 14 Dec. 2023].

Donovan, I. (2019). Realism in games is actually impairing engagement for disabled gamers. [online] Startmenu. Available at: https://www.startmenu.co.uk/home/realism-games-actually-impairing-engagement-disabled-gamers  [Accessed 14 Dec. 2023].

ArbitraryFrequency (2020). The whole ‘fun vs realism’ debate is flawed. ‘Realistic’ is a flavor of aesthetics, ‘fun’ is the goal of game mechanics. [online] Reddit. Available at: https://www.reddit.com/r/EscapefromTarkov/comments/fhrri2/the_whole_fun_vs_realism_debate_is_flawed/  [Accessed 14 Dec. 2023].

Jaenchen, L. (2023). Realistic Graphics Renew Debate About Video Game Violence. [online] Movieguide | The Family Guide to Movies & Entertainment. Available at: https://www.movieguide.org/news-articles/realistic-graphics-renew-debate-about-video-game-violence.html  [Accessed 14 Dec. 2023].

Jessey, B. (2023). The Most Realistic-Looking Video Games Ever. [online] The Gamer. Available at: https://www.thegamer.com/games-with-most-realistic-graphics/#red-dead-redemption-2  [Accessed 14 Dec. 2023].

[jonnietech-blog]

How do you like to use your laptop? Do you use it connected to a monitor and separate keyboard and mouse? Do you use it sitting at a coffee shop with your favorite beverage? . . . . . . . . . . #computers #informationtechnology #help #jonnietech #applemac #windows #microsoftwindows #startmenu #windows10 #laptop #comfy (at Bordeaux, France) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2DYx06lUNT/?igshid=1gmrakkbcuxwy

[marsminds]

Sharing for @Cyberminds Training

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[terminaltrend]

Unlike old versions, Windows 11 has the taskbar icons and Start button placed in the center. While it is pleasing to the eye, some of you may prefer the old layout, in which the taskbar is aligned to the left corner. And switching to the older taskbar design from the settings is easy.

[castleinthemist]

Neat interview with the folks who made the unearthed treasures showcase i've been plugging this week....tap out of the gaming hype engine and go and check out some already released, under the radar stuff (and give this a read too, cheers)

[projectseven]

Some interface and HUD concept art, with icons based on objects and props that can be found in Crescent. Greatly inspired by Hollow Knight’s beautiful and atmospheric interface c:  

Concept art by Karoline Brenno. 

[nitrosodiumfmpsequel]

Preparing the Game for Packaging

Now that I have got my game as highly polished as I can, it's time to package it and turn it into a proper playable experience outside of the editor. There are a few things to do before this, however.

Firstly, I added a proper quit game button to the player's code. While you can quit using Escape in the editor, this of course does not work with a packaged game, and so I made a basic Quit Game block for it.

I then went to the project settings, and set it so the first level is the StartMenu, instead of GameLevel1OnlyVines.

I then needed to make an icon for the game, to replace the default Unreal one. I decided that a head of one of the robots would look cool, so I went back to my test map and made a basic white backdrop to take a screenshot on. I then removed the background in Paint 3D and got this.

I then also made this for the loading screen, out of the same screenshot used for the main menu.

After this, I packaged the game, creating a proper experience.