GameGuru MAX News

[p] [/p][p]Today, we’re excited to release a major restructuring of the way we release and host DLC that puts the community spirit front and centre, while also delivering a bold price reduction: almost all asset packs are now radically reduced in price.[/p][p]Over the past few years, DLC creation by the community has blossomed into a vibrant ecosystem producing countless assets, and we aim to support and encourage this for years to come.[/p][p]Below, we’ll walk through why we made this change, what it means for creators and developers alike, and how you can get the most out of the new model.[/p][p] [/p][h3]Why Restructure?[/h3][p]1. Community First, Profit Second[/p][p]By lowering prices, we lower the barrier for indie teams, hobbyists, and students to experiment with premium‑grade assets—ultimately expanding the audience that can benefit from community work.[/p][p]2. Simplified Pricing Tiers[/p][p]Previously, each pack carried its own pricing logic, called Booster, Asset, and Mini-Kit, at fixed prices.  The new system allows artists themselves to decide on the content and value of their creations, providing more flexibility and freedom to creators and more choice to users.[/p][p]3. Fairer Revenue Distribution[/p][p]With reduced prices, we have increased the royalty rate to all DLC creators to 70%, with the remaining 30% paid as commissions to help prepare and manage the Steam listings. DBS now only make revenue on core product sales. This ensures that the community continues to earn sustainably, encouraging all the talented artists out there to contribute fresh packs.[/p][p][/p][h3]Community Creations[/h3][p]Every single DLC currently available for purchase is community‑created. That means:[/p]

1. [p]Authentic Diversity:  The range of themes reflects the varied styles and cultural backgrounds of our global creator base.[/p]
2. [p]Rapid Innovation: Community creators iterate quickly, responding to trends and feedback far faster than traditional pipelines.[/p][p][/p]

[h3]Benefits for Developers[/h3]

1. [p]Budget‑Friendly Prototyping: Build proof‑of‑concepts or early demos without draining funds.[/p]
2. [p]Scalable Production: As projects grow, upgrade to higher‑tier packs for richer content while staying within budget.[/p]
3. [p]Support the Creators: Even at reduced prices, your purchases directly fund the artists who made the assets possible, fostering a virtuous cycle of creation.[/p]

[p] [/p][h3]How to Make the Most of the New System[/h3]

1. [p]Leave detailed reviews and rate assets: High‑rating packs gain extra exposure, helping creators earn more and provide feedback and encouragement to produce additional content.[/p]
2. [p]Participate in Discord Challenges: With the release of new, themed packs, you can engage in the Photo Competition on our Discord, with winners receiving general kudos and prizes![/p]

[p][/p][h3]So what happened to all the DLC created and owned by DBS?[/h3]

1. [p]We absorbed them all into a new Starter Kit: Admittedly, we only had 3 DLC, but in the spirit of the restructure, we have added Booster Pack, Aztec Game Kit, and Particles Pack to a new bundle and priced it as cheaply as Steam would allow.[/p]
2. [p]More DLC Absorbed: When we consulted with artists a few months ago about our plan, some blew our minds by offering their DLC for the Starter Kit too, 16 DLC to be exact. So basically, thousands of additional assets, all thanks to our amazing artist community![/p]
3. [p]The Latest: At the time of writing, it was not possible to set the absorbed DLC to FREE for the Starter Kit Bundle, this needs to be done by Valve. For now, we have set all the prices to $1 and created a discount that effectively makes "MAX + Absorbed DLC" the same price as MAX alone for new users. For existing users wanting the absorbed DLC for "completely free", hold tight on buying the Starter Kit Bundle and keep watching our DISCORD channel news for the latest. If we cannot make the Bundle work for you (our preferred route), we will round up all the absorbed DLC and make them available via a lovely ZIP file :)[/p]

[p][/p][p]Please let us know if we have missed anything! We invite you to dive in, explore the new Starter Kit Bundle and the newly priced packs, and let us know which assets helped bring your vision to life.[/p][p]If you’re an artist or sound designer and want to see your own creations as the next MAX DLC, please reach out to us at [email protected][/p]

[p] [/p][p]When we first started to introduce Model Packs as DLC for GameGuru MAX, the goal was to give developers quick access to high‑quality art, sound, and effects so they could spend more time building worlds and less time hunting for resources.  Over the past few years, that vision has blossomed into a vibrant ecosystem powered almost entirely by community members, who pour countless hours into crafting assets that inspire, empower, and elevate games of every scale.[/p][p]Today, we’re excited to announce a major restructuring of the way we do this that puts that community spirit front and centre, while also delivering a bold price reduction: most asset packs will now be priced at roughly 50 % of their previous cost.[/p][p]Below, we’ll walk through why we made this change, what it means for creators and developers alike, and how you can get the most out of the new model.[/p][p] [/p][h3]Why Restructure?[/h3][p]1. Community First, Profit Second[/p][p]By lowering prices, we lower the barrier for indie teams, hobbyists, and students to experiment with premium‑grade assets—ultimately expanding the audience that can benefit from community work.[/p][p]2. Simplified Pricing Tiers[/p][p]Previously, each pack carried its own pricing logic, called Booster, Asset, and Mini-Kit, at fixed prices.  The new system allows artists themselves to decide on the content and value of their creations, providing more flexibility and freedom to creators and more choice to users.[/p][p]3. Fairer Revenue Distribution[/p][p]With reduced prices, we have increased the royalty rate to all DLC creators to 70%, with the remaining 30% paid as commissions to help prepare and manage the Steam listings. DBS now only make revenue on core product sales. This ensures that the community continues to earn sustainably, encouraging all the talented artists out there to contribute fresh packs.[/p][p][/p][h3]Community Creations[/h3][p]Every single DLC currently available is community‑created. That means:[/p]

1. [p]Authentic Diversity:  The range of themes reflects the varied styles and cultural backgrounds of our global creator base.[/p]
2. [p]Rapid Innovation: Community creators iterate quickly, responding to trends and feedback far faster than traditional pipelines.[/p][p][/p]

[h3]Benefits for Developers[/h3]

1. [p]Budget‑Friendly Prototyping: Build proof‑of‑concepts or early demos without draining funds.[/p]
2. [p]Scalable Production: As projects grow, upgrade to higher‑tier packs for richer content while staying within budget.[/p]
3. [p]Support the Creators: Even at reduced prices, your purchases directly fund the artists who made the assets possible, fostering a virtuous cycle of creation.[/p]

[p] [/p][h3]How to Make the Most of the New System[/h3]

1. [p]Leave detailed reviews and rate assets: High‑rating packs gain extra exposure, helping creators earn more and provide feedback and encouragement to produce additional content.[/p]
2. [p]Participate in Discord Challenges: With the release of new, themed packs, you can engage in the Photo Competition on our Discord, with winners receiving general kudos and prizes![/p]

[p][/p][h3]So what happened to all the DLC created and owned by DBS?[/h3]

1. [p]We absorbed them all into the core product: Admittedly, we only had 3 DLC, but in the spirit of the restructure, we have added Booster Pack, Aztec Game Kit, and Particles Pack to the core.[/p]
2. [p]The core absorbed more DLC: When we consulted with artists a few months ago about our plan, some blew our minds by offering their DLC for the core product too, 16 DLC to be exact. So basically, thousands of additional assets, all thanks to our amazing artist community![/p]

[p][/p][p]These changes will take effect from the 13th of October 2025. When we go live, we invite you to dive in, explore the newly priced packs, and let us know which assets helped bring your vision to life.[/p][p]If you’re an artist or sound designer, and want to see your own creations as the next MAX DLC, please reach out to us at [email protected][/p]

[h2]August 2025 Update[/h2][p]Since our June release, development on MAX has been busier than ever — a flood of new features, dozens of updated and new behaviors, and a long list of stability improvements. This cycle saw an especially heavy focus on expanding the behavior system, giving creators more built-in gameplay mechanics, UI controls, and visual feedback options right out of the box. Alongside this, the editor gained several usability upgrades and optimizations aimed at making large projects faster and smoother to work with.[/p][p]Here’s a round-up of what’s now part of today’s release:[/p][hr][/hr][h3]Major Features & Additions[/h3][p]Behavior System Expansion[/p]

• [p]New Behaviors: Booster, Particle Toggler, XP Monitor, Objective Monitor, Freefall Object — plus many new icons (life/health, hand, disk, trade, switch, progress bar) for clearer in-game feedback.[/p]
• [p]Enhanced Existing Behaviors: Huge sweep of updates to quest, vehicle, door, switch, HUD, stealth, NPC, environmental, and combat behaviors — including fixes, optimizations, and new highlight/icon support.[/p]
• [p]Gameplay Mechanics: Improvements to object interaction (carry, break, destroy, hack, search, climb, etc.), better stacked object handling for destructible items, and refined flashlight logic (battery drain, auto turn-off, and specific use cases).[/p]

[p]Lua Command Additions[/p]

• [p]SetPlayerRun(v) — toggle player sprint ability.[/p]
• [p]Include(file) — load external Lua scripts into your logic.[/p]
• [p]MoveDown(e,v) — quickly shift entities in the world.[/p]
• [p]Multiple new player, HUD, and weapon animation control commands, including ForceGunUnderWater, SetGunAnimationSpeed, and full control of gun animation frames.[/p]
• [p]Added new g_UserGlobal entries for ammo, health, and lives tracking.[/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]Editor & UI Enhancements[/h3]

• [p]New Global Behaviors system centralizes common scripts for easier reuse.[/p]
• [p]Status bar and highlight colors now independently configurable.[/p]
• [p]Modern Dark theme refinements, plus re-addition of Darker Style.[/p]
• [p]Faster storyboard thumbnail and .fpe loading.[/p]
• [p]“Empty Level” grid controls with adjustable floor height.[/p]
• [p]Expanded editor menus for project management, toolbar layouts, and icon selection.[/p]
• [p]Improved import of remote projects and custom fonts.[/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]Visuals & Effects[/h3]

• [p]Added gun tracers for aircraft and below-barrel tracer options.[/p]
• [p]Optimized decal rendering for smoother animation.[/p]
• [p]New particle emitter rotation support and trigger types for more dynamic effects.[/p]
• [p]Improved handling of custom materials in standalone builds.[/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]Bug Fixes & Stability[/h3][p]Gameplay & Logic[/p]

• [p]Fixed numerous behavior logic issues (quest progression, stealth zones, objective visibility, NPC state changes, underwater detection, particle toggling, and more).[/p]
• [p]Resolved fog setting restoration after test games, weapon ammo handling, and custom material activation problems.[/p]
• [p]Fixed font loading, WPE resource validation, and workshop subscription edge cases.[/p]

[p]Editor & Standalone[/p]

• [p]Prevented freezes when saving/loading large levels.[/p]
• [p]Improved validation of duplicated entities in standalones.[/p]
• [p]Fixed missing skybank handling, crash cases from collection saves, and hot-loading object issues.[/p]
• [p]Enhanced VRAM management between levels for smoother transitions.[/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]Performance & Optimization[/h3]

• [p]DDS conversion and compression options to reduce texture memory use.[/p]
• [p]Freed VRAM between level loads, optimized material handling, and reduced “not responding” waits for big levels.[/p]
• [p]Faster decal, storyboard, and .fpe loads.[/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]New Swimming Arms in Global Behaviours[/h3]

• [p]Thanks to the awesome community contributions, you now have access to a new global behavior that, when selected, will employ animated swimming arms when underwater[/p]
• [p]You can find this behavior in the new Global Behavior feature titled "swimming.lua"[/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]General Observations[/h3][p]This has been one of the broadest updates we’ve done for MAX in terms of scope — from deep gameplay scripting tools to quality-of-life tweaks in the editor. The Global Behaviors push, the massive wave of behavior updates, and the addition of powerful Lua commands give creators more freedom than ever to build complex, interactive worlds without starting from scratch each time.[/p][p]As always, the best way to see these changes in action is to join our community on Discord — share your creations, test the new features, and help guide where MAX goes next.[/p][p][/p]

We are thrilled to announce that GameGuru MAX, AGK Studio, GameGuru Classic, and all associated game development intellectual properties have officially been acquired from TheGameCreators by Dark Basic Software Limited. The transfer, finalized in May 2025 and announced in June 2025, marks the beginning of an exciting new era for our game-making communities!

This seismic change will refocus our development efforts moving forward, with a greater emphasis on product improvement, community involvement, and building on our ecosystem of contributors. We've been very fortunate to have had the support of passionate, highly experienced contributors over the years, and we feel this is a great way for a small team to build a great product.

So what does this mean for our loyal users? Nothing changes, except for the better! You’ll continue to get your quarterly updates and regular news on progress. The only difference you’ll notice is a renewed energy behind the scenes, including:

• Faster development cycles
  
• Quicker and more responsive bug fixes
  
• More frequent updates
  
• New features and enhancements rolled out with greater consistency
  
• A tighter feedback loop with the community
  

So, what does the team behind Dark Basic Software Limited say? Well, this is more than a business decision; it’s about renewing the energy behind the development effort, creating the space and freedom necessary to deliver the kind of tools we always dreamed of for indie developers and creators. We’re excited to share this news with our community and can’t wait to show you what’s coming next!

Looking ahead, we’re already hard at work on several exciting updates, and this new structure allows us to move faster and listen closer than ever before. GameGuru MAX is entering a new phase of evolution, and the journey is just beginning. Thank you for being part of one of the longest-standing (and long-suffering) game-making communities out there :)

Here's to the future, let’s build it together!

[h2]June 2025 Update[/h2][p][/p][p]For those following the ebb and flow of development on GitHub and our quarterly update announcements, you'll know we've been assigning bug fixing as top priority. Indeed, it's been our top 3 priorities, much to the chagrin of some users who want us to go much faster. The good news is that single-mindedness has now paid off, and with this update, only 10 bugs remain outstanding on our issues board. Here is a summary of the last 3 months of development, now part of today's release:[/p][p][/p][h3]Major Features & Additions[/h3]

• [p]HUD & UI Enhancements[/p]
  • [p]New alternative in-game HUD system and logic for enabling/disabling shooting during live HUD.[/p]
  • [p]Improved HUD screen management: duplicating/renaming screens, selector dropdowns for various scripts.[/p]
  • [p]Expanded “Active HUD” and “HUD Zone” behaviors for more dynamic overlays and controls.[/p]
  • [p]Added assorted and interactive icons (drink, climb, carry, break, push, etc.) for better visual feedback.[/p]
• [p]AI & Gameplay Logic[/p]
  • [p]Improved soldier AI for melee combat with new block, counter, leap attack, and stun/ground logic.[/p]
  • [p]Added new master interpreter commands for enhanced combat logic.[/p]
  • [p]Better patrol logic for AI and fixes for quest-giver and NPC control behaviors.[/p]
  • [p]Added new Lua commands for explosions, entity properties, and HUD interaction.[/p]
• [p]Materials & Graphics[/p]
  • [p]Improved custom materials system, material settings fixes, and restored custom material tick function.[/p]
  • [p]Added support for custom shaders, delayed point shadows, and new particle system controls (including the ability to disable particles).[/p]
  • [p]Performance optimizations for raycasts, sound modes, and texture handling.[/p]
• [p]Editor & Project Management[/p]
  • [p]Enhanced deployment and build automation scripts.[/p]
  • [p]Improved handling of standalone game packaging (DDS handler, memory optimizations).[/p]
  • [p]“Completely Empty Level” mode for faster scene setup/testing and space levels.[/p]
• [p]Scripting & Behavior Updates[/p]
  • [p]Numerous updates to Lua scripts for spells, items, and zones—especially for user global selection, HUD, and sound handling.[/p]
  • [p]Added water zone behavior and associated sample models.[/p]

[h3]Bug Fixes & Stability[/h3]

• [p]Editor and Level Stability[/p]
  • [p]Fixed corrupt references in editor lock list, crash scenarios in matrix math, and rare crashes from model files or physics.[/p]
  • [p]Fixed issues with player speed, entity duplication, and improper material settings carrying over.[/p]
  • [p]Autosave for storyboard modifications and improved error trapping for old levels.[/p]
• [p]Gameplay and AI[/p]
  • [p]Fixed quest-giver always being active, improved handling of player/NPC states, and rogue sound issues.[/p]
  • [p]Fixed various issues in melee combat, attachments, and sound playback (notably XAudio2 bugs and volume reset issues).[/p]
• [p]Scripting and Logic[/p]
  • [p]Fixed problems with multiple global lists, bug in workshop subscriptions, particle system behaviors, and sound system edge cases.[/p]
  • [p]Fixed array overruns, premature blood loads, and issues with entity spawning and navmesh toggling.[/p]
• [p]Visuals & UI[/p]
  • [p]Fixed image references, HUD screen selection, and icon updates for a more consistent UI experience.[/p]
  • [p]Unified workshop scripts into the core for improved compatibility.[/p]

[h3]Other Noteworthy Updates[/h3]

• [p]Performance and Optimization[/p]
  • [p]Added more logging, error trapping, and performance metrics (OPTICK events).[/p]
  • [p]Improved handling of large-scale levels and standalone performance.[/p]
• [p]Automation[/p]
  • [p]Enhanced scripts for automated build, deployment, and changelog generation (pulls live from GitHub).[/p]

[h3]General Observations[/h3][p]It's been a very active period with a mix of major features, usability improvements, and a strong focus on stability. Continuous improvement to both user-facing features (HUD, icons, AI) and backend/editor tools (build automation, error handling) has been made, and ongoing cleanup, deprecation of old behaviors, and streamlining of the codebase have put the engine in a good place.[/p][p]With the last of the bugs being rounded up, MAX enters a new phase of development, and exactly what shape that takes will be discussed extensively by our amazing community. To find out what comes next, the best place to hang out is our Discord channel, where you can learn about official developments and also what the community is creating right now with MAX.[/p][p][/p]