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Producer Letter #12: Design Thoughts & Future Plans

[p]Hello everyone! Producer Morino here again.[/p][p]We thank you for your patience! It’s finally ACTION GAME MAKER’s release date![/p][p]For this 12th outing, I’d like to use this Producer Letter to discuss some thoughts about the design of ACTION GAME MAKER and what we’re planning for future updates.[/p][p][/p][h2]The Design of ACTION GAME MAKER[/h2][p]With the release of the demo version, we got a lot of comments surrounding the difficulty of the UI, the lack of “Maker series feel”, and other similar comments expressing confusion and doubts. This feelings are related to the fundamental design goals of ACTION GAME MAKER.[/p][p]In the first and second Producer Letters, I explained that making something that would be accessible and allow for anyone to make a game is our primary goal. In order to realize that goal, we also approached this project with the intent to not lose Godot functionality and therefore based our UI on top of Godot 4.3’s UI.[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]We are very understanding that whether you come from the previous Pixel Game Maker MV or one of the RPG Maker titles, and learning a completely different interface can be quite challenging. What we can say is that for those who are able to learn the new UI and structure will be able to make something that eclipses what has been possible in the Maker franchise before now.[/p][p][/p][p]As all of Godot’s 2D functions are usable, any game you can make with Godot can also be created with ACTION GAME MAKER. And of course you can combine visual scripting with GDscript! Godot continues to improve, and so is ACTION GAME MAKER. We started development on Godot 4.1, and have recently moved to 4.3. We’ll be moving to 4.4 in a future update.[/p][p][/p][h2]Regarding Performance[/h2][p]Godot Engine is known for being lightweight and very performant, but there’s already been a few questions about ACTION GAME MAKER’s performance from some users. So let me explain a bit.[/p][p]ACTION GAME MAKER created Objects currently using the Godot CharacterBody2D structure, which includes a lot of advanced features for things like physics calculations. This has the demerit of increasing processing load, but this was done for the following reasons:[/p]
  • [p]All physics and other calculations can be used.[/p]
  • [p]Improved handling of collision/sliding around walls and tiles.[/p]
  • [p]Advanced hit detection with rich calculations, and this significantly reduces clipping through collisions boxes at high speed.[/p]
[p]So we decided that these merits would provide the most benefits as the default Object structure.[/p][p]This means that while low- Object count experiences have lots of improvements available, developers making games such as a bullet hell where several hundred or even thousands of Objects are wanted will still be limited by what our visual script offers. But, we offer hope! This is going to be improved in a future update. And, of course, if you are able to take advantage of GDScript this limitation of the visual script won’t hold you back[/p][p][/p][h2]Update Plans[/h2][p]Currently, we are in development of the following changes for future updates.[/p]
  • [p]Update to Godot 4.4[/p][p]This will update the base version of Godot used in ACTION GAME MAKER.[/p]
  • [p]Editor Support for Linux[/p][p]We received many requests for official Linux, so we’re happy to finally make that a reality![/p]
  • [p]New Export Platform: Linux[/p]
  • [p]New Export Platform: Android[/p]
  • [p]With these changes, we will be able to support even more platforms for our users.[/p]
  • [p]Create Actions and Conditions using GDScript[/p][p]By allowing users to create their own Actions and Conditions, the Visual Script system will become highly customizable and more flexible.[/p]
  • [p]“Light” Object Type for Bullets[/p][p]In order to allow for higher Object counts for developers that need them, we will be implementing a special simplified Bullet Object type based on Godot’s Area2D or Node2D, which will greatly improve performance.[/p]
[p]There are of course just the areas we will be tackling for inclusion first, and we will be addressing more requests and feedback going forward. For example, I’m sure some are already thinking about “What about Mac or iOS exports?”. We’ve already started testing them, but we’ve encountered some issues which prevented them from making the initial cut. But we do want to address them in future![/p][p]And with that, I’ll close this Producer Letter. I will continue to keep the community updated with our development status and progress well after release, so please stay tuned for next time![/p]