001 Game Creator News

With April finally here Spring is now in full bloom, and while we're busy squashing bugs and polishing the next big release of 001 Game Creator, we wanted to take a moment to show off what our community has been up to lately! It's been great seeing more activity from you, and we’d love to keep that momentum going, so let’s kick things off with the very first community showcase for this month!



Kicking off our very first community showcase is a project that's oozing with charm and retro flair: "Dungeon Mori" by FilthyDrawings! This wonderful and stylish dungeon crawler blends SNES-era visuals with roguelike mechanics, all wrapped up in a moody, mysterious pixel world. With beautifully crafted dungeons and a solid narrative, it’s exciting to see how far this one will come, and it's even got a demo out now on Steam!

View the #show-off thread on our discord server here:
https://discord.com/channels/168417207989043200/1254669998144880670

Play the demo on Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3597590/Dungeon_Mori/





We've got another cool project here made by Sleepy Peach called "Beyond the Mountains"; yet another beautifully stylized RPG dripping with atmosphere. With a mix of hand-crafted artwork, a focus on emotional storytelling, and some classic action-based combat, this one feels like a cozy yet mysterious journey into a majestic fantasy world. The dev’s been sharing progress in the community for a while now, and it’s been awesome watching this one evolve. If you’re into adventures with rich vibes, make sure to check its free demo on Steam!

View the #show-off thread on our discord server here:
https://discord.com/channels/168417207989043200/1257490609997090879

Play for free on Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2107170/Beyond_the_Mountains/





Definitely check these out and give 'em some love in the #show-off channel! Join our lovely Discord community to learn more about these projects and share yours with us: https://discord.gg/4sTJVV5
(Maybe you'll be in our next showcase!)



We’re in the final stages of testing the next public update of 001 Game Creator! After several weeks of feedback and polishing our Patreon beta, things are looking solid and we expect the update to go live sometime in May.



If you want to be part of shaping these updates before they go public, consider joining the Insiders on Patreon! You'll get early beta access, devlogs and the chance to vote on future features: https://www.patreon.com/softweir



Last month, we released a new beta version of 001 Game Creator to our Patreon supporters! This update included a number of fixes and improvements like more stable projectile behavior, better tile shadow rendering, and a key script editor bug fix that prevents lost parameter changes. Mobile developers also got some attention with improved image dimension error reporting when exporting for Android and iOS.



Going a bit further back, we also introduced new map options that enhance alpha blending for tiles, allowing for smoother visual transitions. Android users on older or lower-end devices should now see much better 3D model rendering, thanks to a fix that significantly improved compatibility.





The beta's still going strong, and we’re getting ready to bring these updates to everyone soon!

Spring right into the warmer days of this season with a new 001 Game Creator beta update, as well as sweet discounts on the software and DLCs! The change log is huge with over 30 changes fresh off the press, with a wide assortment of new features, enhancements and bug fixes. So let's dive right in and break down some of the best parts of this update!



A fresh BETA version of 001 Game Creator has been released and is available to our patrons, with a public release on the horizon! This update will bring a couple key fixes, including resolving a crash from fast-moving actors, improved projectile behavior, and better tile shadow rendering. We’ve also fixed issues with actors taking damage when they shouldn’t, invalid network messages, and a major script editor bug that caused parameter argument changes to be lost. Android/iOS devs will also find and improved project resource preparation experience when exporting for devices with the addition of detailed image dimension error reporting!



001 Game Creator has also recently gained improved alpha blending support for tiles, major fixes for 3D model rendering on Android, and more stability improvements. If you want early beta access to these features, as well as the more fresh ones mentioned above, be sure to check out our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/softweir





In case you missed our last announcement, Open Dev Kit has seen HUGE progress! From Box2D physics, VR, HDR, and a better sprite sequencer to enhanced navigation tools and searching across all panels. We also introduced two brand-new demo templates: a 3D Platformer and a Space Shooter, helping you kickstart your projects.



Explore all the latest updates here: https://opendevkit.com



Hop into spring with a discount of 001 Game Creator at 70% off and all of your favorite DLCs at 20% off until April 3rd! With the weather opening up now would be a fantastic time to pick up these powerful tools for your game development journey!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/347400/001_Game_Creator/

A fresh update for 001 Game Creator is just around the corner, bringing key fixes and improvements, while Open Dev Kit has some new and very exciting things in the works. Plus, with Valentine’s Day approaching us, we’ve got some lovely deals you won’t want to miss.


A new version of 001 Game Creator is just on the horizon, bringing with it a bunch of fixes for improving overall stability, and addressing long-standing issues.





Some key highlights include new map options that improves alpha blending support for tiles. Android users will also see a major fix where certain older/lower-end devices could not render 3D models properly at all, meaning way better 3D model rendering compatibility on all devices now! Additionally, we've fixed an item function "Maximum Value" for "Statistic Impact on Target", and newly created Custom Events now execute properly without requiring the project to be closed and reopened.

This update was actually released as a beta on our Patreon a couple weeks earlier. If you'd like to be part of the early birds that get first-access to future software betas, consider joining our Patreon community. Apart from software Betas you also get other benefits like devlogs and polls that let you shape the future of our products: https://www.patreon.com/softweir




We've been hard at work cooking some interesting things recently that we'd like to share with all of you in this announcement. Since the last update, Open Dev Kit has seen HUGE progress! The amount of fixes implemented has definitely helped its stability come a long way, and it has received numerous improvements to so many aspects, from Box2D physics, object pointers, VR, HDR, to the sprite sequencer itself, which by the way will only keep getting better.



A couple utility improvements you will also find useful are enhanced navigation controls to scene, sprite and keybind editors via WASD, with a complementary user option to change camera speed and step when using keyboard. Also check out the added navigation tools (same system as toolbar tools) to project options that allow custom navigation tabs. Finding things should now be a breeze, as we've added searching to all panels: API, resources, instances, sprite tiles, sprite poses, sprite assets, scene tiles and local variables!



Moreover, you can now access "Resource" properties for scenes, keybinds, windows, shaders and sprites, and double-clicking script nodes gives you access to user properties/functions. We've also made it display the name of a tile in tool-tip when hovering over them, and added painting of rotated and tinted tiles (color, specular, and layer color).

You will surely enjoy a bunch of these sweet additions too, like a "Default Axis" Box2D physics option to choose between XY and XZ projection of 3D co-ordinates, the "Additive" coloring mode sprite/hologram option, and infinite sprite pose sequence duration (via -1) allowing infinite length tracks (useful for ongoing effects), and a "Draw 3D Ellipsoid" render context function.



There are also a few neat audio-related things like audio listener position/orientation global variables that can change the location of how 3D positional sounds will be heard (volume and panning), new parameters to the "Play Sound" function (position, relativity, range, attenuation) and a game audio listener object to automatically update audio listener position/orientation. And for our VR devs out there, we've added "Get VR Position/Orientation" functions to GameCanvas and Camera to allow access to VR locations of head, left/right eyes and left/right hands.



Starting Open Dev Kit, you will find the addition of 2 new demos that we've already announced a couple of times. Enter, the 3D Platformer, as well as the Space Shooter demo! Yes, starting today you will be able to use them as templates for your own projects, or to take them apart and learn more about how Open Dev Kit works. We are also working on creating documentation for all the individual template/demos in order to help you more quickly understand how they work, and even guide you on expanding on them a bit.

Don't miss all these new goodies waiting for you here: https://opendevkit.com/


In case you missed our last major post, we actually teased a little something new that we're going to start doing later this year. We're not ready to reveal many details, but basically, if you want your project to shine in future showcases of ours, make sure to join our Discord server and share your progress in the #show-off channel. Be it screenshots, videos, trailers, or updates... we want you to give us a chance to celebrate your work! Join our awesome community of over 1000 members here: https://discord.gg/4sTJVV5

We're very much looking forward to seeing your creations!




Valentine's day is looming, and starting today up until February 18th, you can enjoy these lovely deals of 75% off 001 Game Creator and 25% off all DLCs! This is a great opportunity for you to get into the game development scene and create games that touch people's hearts. So take advantage of this sale and get creative!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/347400/001_Game_Creator/

2024 has been an extraordinary year of growth and progress for our team and community! From Open Dev Kit transitioning from Alpha to Beta, making remarkable progress in its development, to introducing Steam Items for 001 Game Creator as well as other new content, we've reached incredible milestones together. As the year wraps up, we take a moment to reflect on these achievements and celebrate what we’ve made in this End-of-Year review.

At the beginning of the year, Open Dev Kit received a major update that introduced 3D Jolt Physics to the engine, something that is considered to be a staple in many 3D games nowadays, and a thing that was impossible to do in 001 Game Creator.


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Few weeks later on, Open Dev Kit kept receiving significant updates one after another, such as support for extended OpenAI functionality, which brought with it DALL-E-3. This new model was capable of generating images with far better quality in all aspects, without needing to construct super specific prompts, allowing a tremendous amount of customization and flexibility.



At that time we also put out a brand new Saving & Loading demo, where users could see a bunch of ways of handling project data. The demo covered how to modify and read the users clipboard which can contain text, images or a list of files, as well as reading and writing text and image files, or even API stuff like XML and binary data!


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It didn't take long for another amazing demo to be released for Open Dev Kit: "Turtle 3D". An educational demo which introduces robotics with realistic physics, all taught through commands set up as simple Lua scripts. Designed mainly as a STEM resource, Turtle 3D makes learning how to program both accessible and fun, offering interested students the opportunity to explore various coding concepts in a more hands-on and interactive environment.



Then, a remarkable update was also followed by a massive documentation update that enabled users to explore and learn more about Open Dev Kit! And thanks to the "F1 Anywhere" feature, it was possible to easily learn more about any functionality or scripting property/function simply by clicking on it and pressing F1! That way, no matter where they were, users would hardly get lost among Open Dev Kit's abundant features!


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Some time in-between all that, a new version of 001 Game Creator came out that greatly enhanced the HTML functionality, fixed a couple UNICODE issues and vastly improved Steam Deck compatibility for built games. It also brought along with it the full release of the 3D Maze Kit DLC, which was in development for quite some time. And thanks to our community's invaluable feedback, we were able to iron out any and every issue, and add many exciting features for users to explore and utilize!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up7wx1yax5o

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

During that period we also released the latest video tutorial in our Game Recipe series, where we visually guide you step-by-step on implementing mechanics from our already written recipes. The most recent release focused on creating a stamina display in the player’s HUD, tied to a sprint mechanic. Using the Graph tool to display statistics in bar format and integrating it with the HUD interface, the tutorial shows how to bring this essential feature to life in your own games. If you missed it, you can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TkzZRhBEaU

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
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We’d also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone in the community who has shared their expertise by posting guides and tutorials on Steam. These can really help developers of all skill levels and help elevate our community. If you’ve been experimenting with 001 Game Creator yourself, why not share your knowledge by creating a guide? Your insights could assist others, and they are sure to appreciate your work!



Make a guide and help us all out: https://steamcommunity.com/app/347400/guides/
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Summer came, and thanks to all that work we poured into our biggest project yet, having come such a long way in many different aspects — from functionality, stability, accessibility and so much more — it was finally time for Open Dev Kit to officially make its way onto the public Beta stage. Marking a significant milestone and step forward in making Open Dev Kit a powerful development tool. To showcase its current capabilities at the time, we also put out 2 demos for people to check out; a 3D platformer plus a 2D isometric RPG.


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Not even a week later, we launched a Humble Bundle sale featuring 001 Game Creator and its DLCs at unbeatable prices, to support Extra Life and Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Later in the year we also participated in two other Humble Bundles supporting Breakthrough T1D. Having managed to help raise over $127,000 this year alone we consider these Humble Bundle campaign a great success, and we hope to keep doing more in the future!


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The summer season was quite an exciting time for 001 Game Creator, as we were able to do some pretty cool things. For one, we worked on adding a page on the 001 Game Creator website dedicated towards showcasing games from our fantastic community. Showcasing user projects with style, with their names displayed, and for finished projects — or at least those uploaded to an appropriate platform (Steam, Itch.io, Gamejolt, etc) — clicking on them now takes you there to view them in more detail, and even download when feasible!

We also encourage you to make a post about it in our Discord's show-off channel if you made a game with 001 Game Creator and would like to get it there. Depending on its level of polish, chances are we'll add it as well!



Check it out for some serious eye-candy: https://001gamecreator.com/screenshots/

The other nifty thing we worked on this year was the introduction of Steam Items for 001 Game Creator! Just like most Steam apps and games, it is now possible collect exclusive 001-themed trading cards, acquire badges to show off on your Steam profile, as well as emoticons and profile backgrounds to show off your love for game development and more specifically 001 Game Creator. Some longtime users may even recognize a few easter eggs among all those items ;)


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Later on when fall arrived it was Open Dev Kit's turn to be on the spotlight. In September, a major new update dropped which featured a crazy number of improvements, new functionality and overall better stability. The biggest highlight however was the integration with the Effekseer particle effect model format (.efkefc), providing users with powerful new visual effects using an external editor that allows the creation of AAA-level stunning particle animations and effects. And it's all been designed to seamlessly work with Open Dev Kit!

https://youtu.be/M2m94uWZNUI
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

A month later a new addition to Open Dev Kit's demo projects was announced. Inspired by one of 001 Game Creator's popular demos, an upgraded version of the Space Shooter demo was designed. Able to play in both 2D and 3D, it takes things to a whole new level with enhanced visuals, smoother mechanics, and new features, all the while giving users the knowhow and inspiration for crafting their own epic intergalactic games.

It combines flawless mechanics, stunning Effekseer particle effects for highly expressive visuals, and a dynamic arcade feel that takes full advantage of Open Dev Kit’s much more powerful tools.



Join the Beta now: https://opendevkit.com/

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Whew, we're nearing the end, but we've still got one more thing we need to mention and hopefully get some of you hyped up. Just mere weeks ago, we teased something new and ambitious that we'll be doing with you in 2025. Again, can't give out any details, but do keep on eye out for the new community-driven showcases.



In the meantime, make sure to join our Discord server and share your progress in the #show-off channel. Whether it’s screenshots, trailers, or updates, we want to celebrate your work, and perhaps feature it in this new thing that we're preparing!
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Wow! What an incredible year 2024 has been! And yet, this is only the beginning of the amazing journey ahead in 2025, for both Open Dev Kit and 001 Game Creator! With 001 Game Creator moving even further towards becoming the most polished version of itself that it can be, and exciting plans for Open Dev Kit's evolution, the future is simply brimming with potential and possibilities.

As we close out this year, we want to express our deepest gratitude to our passionate community. None of this progress would have been possible without the unwavering support of our Patreon members, translators, and talented users. Your feedback and creativity continue to inspire and guide us all on this massive journey!

From all of us here at SoftWeir, we wish you a joyous New Year filled with adventure, creativity, and success. Here’s to another great year of building, creating, and sharing amazing games together in 2025!


With utmost gratitude and appreciation,
The SoftWeir Team

With the leaves falling and the air growing crispier by the minute, we're turning up the heat with a fantastic warm and welcoming Autumn Sale, plus exciting updates from Open Dev Kit! Get ready to fall in love with game development all over again!


Get hyped for the approaching Space Shooter demo for Open Dev Kit! Inspired by the 001 Game Creator iconic Space Shooter, this upgraded template showcases the sheer potential of Open Dev Kit.



Upgraded in every aspect such as visuals, gameplay and new features, it allows you to play in 2D or 3D, design epic space battles with stunning Effekseer particle effects, and craft custom alien ships, projectiles, and dynamic backdrops. With smoother mechanics, arcade-style excitement, and endless flexibility, this demo gives you the chance to create breathtaking intergalactic adventures. Stay tuned for more updates and previews.

We can’t wait for you to dive in, so check it out here: https://opendevkit.com/


Starting today through December 4th, enjoy HUGE savings with 80% off 001 Game Creator and 30% off all DLCs during this Sale! Celebrate Black Friday and the coming Cyber Monday by grabbing these INSANE discounts to jumpstart your next big project.

Don’t miss out!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/347400/001_Game_Creator/