June update released!
Welcome to the second of four quarterly updates of the year! Naturally, you have access to the constantly updated Experimental Build via the Steam Beta tab, but for those who want their updates to be solid and free of experiments of any kind, here is your round-up of all the fixes and improvements since March 2024.
The last update went very well with some key fixes, and we continue to track down the remaining well-hidden issues as community game-making projects grow in size and complexity!
With performance tackled hard in the last update, we moved our attention onto stability and compatibility and are happy to report we cover approximately 85% of all Steam user PC systems out there. Despite hitting our performance targets, we are also pleased to report community contributions that pushed this capability even further, including a Level Of Detail (LOD) system into the game engine. You can learn more about this system and how best to employ it by visiting the author's own Patreon page.
Remember, you have full access to the GameGuru MAX source code on our GitHub repository and you are more than welcome to clone a copy and even contribute fixes and features of your own to the product - find out more here.
For those interested in the blow-by-blow change lot, here it is, fresh from the GitHub repository:
* AMD Black Screen Fix related to RSSetScissorRects and the latest AMD driver
* Removed DXVK hack fix for the AMD black screen issue now no longer needed
* Logic connections now activate a connected object at any distance, restoring previous behavior
* Stopped intro sound for the full version and now loads skipped common launch assets if skip the Hub and Storyboard route
* Launch time is now several seconds faster and splash remains visible
* Added intro sound to launch sequence to measure out 5 seconds (always to be the goal)
* A small free trial version works for gaming laptop testing
* Inverted the free version surge fix
* Removed workshop check from free trial fixes low-FPS surge every five seconds
* Created Graphics and Performance components of global settings for the level
* Added LOW, CUSTOM and HIGHEST quick access options
* Older levels are preset to use LOW settings for the best out-of-the-box performance
* Added the ability to hide terrain from view options, and fixed the HideTerrain command
* Fixed issue causing characters to rotate 180 degrees when loading a saved position
* Characters no longer fall through the floor when they have a collision on reloading a saved position
* Added extra LUA commands to hide and show limbs to help with the Destructible Crate behavior
* Fixed issue of group images saving when placing down objects
* Added new Group List to left panel dropdown so can see ALL groups in level
* Stopped workshop update constantly running even in level editing and game
* Fixed code to allow Ladders and ZipLines to work properly again
* Added a new command to keep entities active when a player uses them for transport physics
* Added SetPriorityToTransporter(e,1) command and updated scripts
* Shop items no longer spawn at the start, but when the named shop is opened via the trader behavior
* Characters can now fall from the air
* Many script updates and fixes
* Tracking time taken to spawn items inside shops
* Added error trapping in decal code that could cause a crash
* Prevented Zombies from adding health when in the ragdoll death state
* Modified LUA logic distribution code for more accurate logic up close
* Removed old redundant slider graphics code - no longer used
* Added method to store precalculated intersects in another thread for performant ray casts
* Reduced MAX DISTANCE for logic from 3000 to 2000 and exclusion for characters
* Added new 'Extra Thread' to take over some of the CPU work that is not on the critical path
* Renamed some performance metrics for a better understanding of the scope of values
* Improved Canyon level to remove always active from characters and updated animal scripts for performance
* Automated the creation of the VERSION.INI file for faster EXP build work
* Added Build Version String to the tooltip in the HUB feedback box
* Removed all TXT files from scripbank
* Delayed Shadows Laptop option
* 30 fps animation and Lua
* Fixed issue causing DLUA sliders to allow 0-100 when zero was used in the 'from' range
* Standalone games now reset the auto flatten state so secondary levels are not corrupted
* A COPY PASTE action is now treated as a single event to make undo easier
* Removed the back arrow from the object preview when using the importer - it was more of a hack
* CHEST HUD now shows the item selected title below the selected image
* Added debug information for auto flatten feature to pursue bug
* Updated many scripts and Guides from Necrym59
* Improved profiling labels for better performance analysis
* Allowed zones to be shown when editing Behavior Editor scripts
* Added new condition and actions to the master interpreter (istargetname,collision off and on)
* Added debug information to track the speed of loading large collection files
* Added extra error messages, tooltips, and information about the 50-screen maximum in the storyboard
* Removed attempt to improve thread handling (caused stutter on some systems)
* Cloned objects can now be included in physics helper LUA activity (weight for object pickup)
* Latest script updates from Necrymp59
* Working on thread identification to optimize core usage
* Ensured main thread stays on core/thread zero to stop hopping and makes profiling easier to read
* Allow recent cull functionality to compile by resolving object manager conflict
* Ensured non-Epic builds compile and run
* Added a new HUB right-side panel to invite users to provide useful feedback
Also, remember our monthly live broadcast is a great place to get a look at some of these fixes, so if you want to join in on these extended hour-long Q&A sessions, we host them on the last Saturday of every month at 7PM BST on our YouTube channel - see you there :-)
The last update went very well with some key fixes, and we continue to track down the remaining well-hidden issues as community game-making projects grow in size and complexity!
With performance tackled hard in the last update, we moved our attention onto stability and compatibility and are happy to report we cover approximately 85% of all Steam user PC systems out there. Despite hitting our performance targets, we are also pleased to report community contributions that pushed this capability even further, including a Level Of Detail (LOD) system into the game engine. You can learn more about this system and how best to employ it by visiting the author's own Patreon page.
Remember, you have full access to the GameGuru MAX source code on our GitHub repository and you are more than welcome to clone a copy and even contribute fixes and features of your own to the product - find out more here.
For those interested in the blow-by-blow change lot, here it is, fresh from the GitHub repository:
* AMD Black Screen Fix related to RSSetScissorRects and the latest AMD driver
* Removed DXVK hack fix for the AMD black screen issue now no longer needed
* Logic connections now activate a connected object at any distance, restoring previous behavior
* Stopped intro sound for the full version and now loads skipped common launch assets if skip the Hub and Storyboard route
* Launch time is now several seconds faster and splash remains visible
* Added intro sound to launch sequence to measure out 5 seconds (always to be the goal)
* A small free trial version works for gaming laptop testing
* Inverted the free version surge fix
* Removed workshop check from free trial fixes low-FPS surge every five seconds
* Created Graphics and Performance components of global settings for the level
* Added LOW, CUSTOM and HIGHEST quick access options
* Older levels are preset to use LOW settings for the best out-of-the-box performance
* Added the ability to hide terrain from view options, and fixed the HideTerrain command
* Fixed issue causing characters to rotate 180 degrees when loading a saved position
* Characters no longer fall through the floor when they have a collision on reloading a saved position
* Added extra LUA commands to hide and show limbs to help with the Destructible Crate behavior
* Fixed issue of group images saving when placing down objects
* Added new Group List to left panel dropdown so can see ALL groups in level
* Stopped workshop update constantly running even in level editing and game
* Fixed code to allow Ladders and ZipLines to work properly again
* Added a new command to keep entities active when a player uses them for transport physics
* Added SetPriorityToTransporter(e,1) command and updated scripts
* Shop items no longer spawn at the start, but when the named shop is opened via the trader behavior
* Characters can now fall from the air
* Many script updates and fixes
* Tracking time taken to spawn items inside shops
* Added error trapping in decal code that could cause a crash
* Prevented Zombies from adding health when in the ragdoll death state
* Modified LUA logic distribution code for more accurate logic up close
* Removed old redundant slider graphics code - no longer used
* Added method to store precalculated intersects in another thread for performant ray casts
* Reduced MAX DISTANCE for logic from 3000 to 2000 and exclusion for characters
* Added new 'Extra Thread' to take over some of the CPU work that is not on the critical path
* Renamed some performance metrics for a better understanding of the scope of values
* Improved Canyon level to remove always active from characters and updated animal scripts for performance
* Automated the creation of the VERSION.INI file for faster EXP build work
* Added Build Version String to the tooltip in the HUB feedback box
* Removed all TXT files from scripbank
* Delayed Shadows Laptop option
* 30 fps animation and Lua
* Fixed issue causing DLUA sliders to allow 0-100 when zero was used in the 'from' range
* Standalone games now reset the auto flatten state so secondary levels are not corrupted
* A COPY PASTE action is now treated as a single event to make undo easier
* Removed the back arrow from the object preview when using the importer - it was more of a hack
* CHEST HUD now shows the item selected title below the selected image
* Added debug information for auto flatten feature to pursue bug
* Updated many scripts and Guides from Necrym59
* Improved profiling labels for better performance analysis
* Allowed zones to be shown when editing Behavior Editor scripts
* Added new condition and actions to the master interpreter (istargetname,collision off and on)
* Added debug information to track the speed of loading large collection files
* Added extra error messages, tooltips, and information about the 50-screen maximum in the storyboard
* Removed attempt to improve thread handling (caused stutter on some systems)
* Cloned objects can now be included in physics helper LUA activity (weight for object pickup)
* Latest script updates from Necrymp59
* Working on thread identification to optimize core usage
* Ensured main thread stays on core/thread zero to stop hopping and makes profiling easier to read
* Allow recent cull functionality to compile by resolving object manager conflict
* Ensured non-Epic builds compile and run
* Added a new HUB right-side panel to invite users to provide useful feedback
Also, remember our monthly live broadcast is a great place to get a look at some of these fixes, so if you want to join in on these extended hour-long Q&A sessions, we host them on the last Saturday of every month at 7PM BST on our YouTube channel - see you there :-)
