Build a Game Universe News

Update 87 - New Features and Steam Remote Play Together!

(July 4rd - Oct 21, 2019)


We're back with a new post! Whew, it's been too long. It's time we come up for a breath of air and show you things we've been working on for the next build. Also, the release notes are up to date with over 320 new fixes, additions and changes! :)

Topics
1. Build a Game Features
2. Steam Remote Play is here





+ Tile Type Mover - New!
Control tiles in directions with a moving walkway tile.

+ Objects pushed on to mover


+ Player on mover


+ Player on an upward mover



Tile Type Terrain - Updated!
The terrain tile system is updated to work faster and smarter while you build.

+ Terrain auto shapes


+ Terrain shape scaling


+ Terrain fill and edge mode now separated for precision


+ Terrain edge color


+ Terrain fill color


+ Node type corner


+ Node type curve


+ Node type edge


+ Eyedropper tool works for copy/paste on any terrain



Tile Type Volume - Distortion effect!

+ Distortion effect on volume


+ Player being visually effected by distortion



Snaps! In Editor - New!
The snap option provides a quick mode for placing tiles on to different surfaces, in all directions.

+ Enable settings


+ Snap position and rotation


+ Snap after moving


+ Snap, stack tiles



Additional Tile Feature Updates
+ Added player random idles (Up to 4 variations)
+ Added player on die stop camera tracking
+ Added player jump/move dash distance options for users
+ Added player on die explosion torque (rotation)
+ Added player on dead move to new position with tweening
+ Added story commands for trigger events (/trigger, wait, id (1-5))
+ Added new options for background tile scaling (separate amounts per bkg)
+ Added new tiletypes to Default Standard Tileset
+ Added hotkey (key: 7) for the amount of fade on layers
+ Added weapon charge up states to player ai systems
+ Added weapon extras (muzzleflash, hit spark, hit end, etc) control on scale
+ Added sphere collision to Parenting objects options
+ And much more (Check out the release notes)






That means you can build and play Build A Game Universe with your friends online right now!
We've already tested it out and it's awesome! :)



Full details here.

Here's how to get things working.

1. Join Steam Beta (instructions)

2. Launch Build a Game Universe.

3. Invite your friends.
From your Friends list in the Steam Overlay, select Remote Play Together. Once they accept...

4. You're playing together.



Their controllers will act as if they're plugged directly into your computer, and all your voice chat and game volume options are available in one place.

To keep things simple, only the game is displayed to your Friends, never your desktop or other Top Secret stuff. You can share — or limit access to — the keyboard and mouse. It’s your choice.






Don't forget, we have training videos available for those wanting to learn how to use Build a Game.
1025+ videos are available for learning Build a Game!
116 videos are available for learning Tile Builder!



During the beta program, you will receive 1,000 silver coins into your account each week. Have fun purchasing games and tiles!



Sign up for the Beta. Email [email protected] to get your steam key and be a part of the testing. =)


If you play on Steam Remote, let us know how your experience goes in the comments. :)


Chad - Nathan - Eric

(May 7th - July 3rd, 2019)


New tile, more features and bug fixes in Build a Game Universe!

Tile Updates + Tile Type Wavy - NEW!
The Wavy tile allows the user an easy way to create a flag or banner blowing in the wind.
- Banner type

- Wave by trigger

- Flag style


+ Camera Type Blur - NEW!
The blur camera type provides a simple option for enabling motion blur to any camera.
- Blur example

- Blur Amount


+ See-Through Option
For tiles that you want to see behind other objects, we've rolled out the first version of the see-through mode with multiple configurations and options.
- Step 1. Enable tiles you want to 'see-through'

- Step 2. Enable tiles that can be seen

- Step 3. See-through example


+ Image Effect Glow Options
The image tile has glow options available for adjusting and camera specific options to render to.





Feature Updates
+ Added on die explosion position - Choose where a tile explodes from
+ Added text option for player holding breath in volume (water) through the gui
+ Added distance checking options for dash (move,jump) attacks
+ Added an auto reset rotation option for player using match angle and gravity faux
+ Added a toggle option for fade level in editor mode between layers (hotkey '7')
+ Added x,y options for independent background tile scaling
+ Added accuracy checking system for layer depths
+ And more. :)



Tile Tip!
+ Screen Transition
When working with tiles, they can be used in multiple ways.
For example, the screen transition tile can use the event trigger to check for the player on die and respawn.

- Setup for the event trigger


- Setup transition to desired type


- On die, player respawns and transition screen enables





Don't forget, we have training videos available for those wanting to learn how to use Build a Game.
1025+ videos are available for learning Build a Game!
116 videos are available for learning Tile Builder!



During the beta program, you will receive 1,000 silver coins into your account each week. Have fun purchasing games and tiles!



Sign up for the Beta. Email [email protected] to get your steam key and be a part of the testing. =)


Have fun creating with Build a Game Universe!


Chad - Nathan - Eric

(April 23rd - May 6th, 2019)


The RPG Adventure Tileset (part 1) is live in the Market Center! It comes packed with over 100 colorful tiles to create with, including a fully animated player, weapon, and one bad guy blob.




+ Player

+ Doorways

+ Door Levers

+ Jewels

+ Blobs Attack

+ Doors (Teleport)

+ Tree Fading


+ Chest and Coins (Spawn)

+ Shrub Shooting

+ Chair Moving

+ Level Design Example

And a quick video example of gameplay
Gameplay Video





A quick update for those using the timeline tile. The documentation (manual) for all features inside story mode is complete. Let us know if you have any questions about it. Thank you!
Documentation is available here





Don't forget, we have training videos available for those wanting to learn how to use Build a Game.
1025+ videos are available for learning Build a Game!
116 videos are available for learning Tile Builder!



During the beta program, you will receive 1,000 silver coins into your account each week. Have fun purchasing games and tiles!



Sign up for the Beta. Email [email protected] to get your steam key and be a part of the testing. =)


Enjoy the new tileset for Build a Game Universe!


Chad - Nathan - Eric

(March 28th - April 23, 2019)


We want to take time to walk you through the features available in the Timeline Tile (Tutorial style). Documentation is available here.

Timeline Structure
The timeline tile provides an easy way to add story context to your game!
The structure of a timeline looks like the image below. A director tile (controls the start and general elements of an event). The clips are individual actions (ie. movie bars animate in, or play an animation sequence, etc). The props provide a series of images and audio clips to use during the timeline event.



With the Director, you can have it trigger the event to start. Each Director has an id to tell corresponding Clips to begin. The Clips run in numeric order and once all clips are complete, the event is ended.

Let's take a look at the setup and several of the timeline clip actions available:

Step 1: Using the Default Tileset, you can put the director and two clip tiles in to the scene. Then enable the Director (gif example).


Step 2: Activate the first clip.


Step 3: Set the movie bars to 'show' when activated.


Step 4. Activate the second clip.
Be sure the id for the clip is changed to 1, that way it happens after the clip 0.


Step 5. Now we can hide the movie bars after a slight delay.


Step 6. Press play and walk the player into the tile to see the event happen.


Step 7. Camera Zooming. With timeline, you can control the camera features directly as things happen. This example sets the camera to zoom out, then back in on completion.


Step 8. Actor Setup and Fade. Any tile can be enabled as an actor for the timeline.
+ Enable an Actor

+Fade Setup


Step 9. Gui Elements. When going in to a cutscene, hiding/moving gui offscreen is common. Set gui as an actor and the timeline auto toggles its state.
+ Gui Setup

+ Gui moving on / off screen



Timeline Editor
The editor is an input field with some fun features added. You can type your story directly in to it, and/or use an external tool (notepad++, etc) and copy/paste it in to the box.




Timeline Editor Menu
While we're looking at the editor, here's a quick look at the extended tools.


1 - Play : Test out what you've written instantly.
2 - Continue : Make changes and continue where you left off.
3 - Word : Available words you can type and templates to start with.
4 - Copy : Click to copy the current text to the clipboard.
5 - Paste : Click to paste the clipboard text in to the current text.
6 - Font Type : Click to cycle through font type.
7 - Text Size : Display size of text in editor.
8 - Font Color : Color for editor text.
9 - Editor Layout : Six layout options for the panel.
10 - Panel Alpha : Level of transparency for editor panel.
11 - Panel Color : Color of editor panel.
12 - Toggle Tools : Show full and compact mode.



Writing Your First Story
Let's jump in to writing! To have text appear on the screen we can use several different options. Our first option is to tell Timeline which box to type in.

~centerbox

And then we can align the text to a position. For this example we'll put it in the center of the screen using: aligncc (Note: We separate each parameter with a comma ',')

~centerbox, aligncc

Then we use the colon : to let the story know we're ready to type our message.

~centerbox, aligncc: Hi there

Now you're ready to press the play button to test it out. :)



Extra:
If you want to change the color of the font, type in:
~centerbox, aligncc, color = red: Hi there

Extra, Extra:
Want to add an icon into the text? Try this:
~centerbox, aligncc, color = red: Hi there



Introduction to Flags and their Functions

Flags and their functions
~ Speaking
@ Name and speaking
# Picture
+ Increment
! If statement
> Run
/ Command

In total, there are about 700 keywords provided for the flags. :)

A line has 3 sections:
Flag
The first character of the line, that is not a letter or a number (example: “@” is a flag). When looking up the flag, white spaces at the beginning of the line are omitted. If the line does start with a letter, then the default “~” flag is assigned. The flag is used to invoke different methods, for example the flag “#” will trigger the “picture” method, which will change an image element of the UI.

Properties
Any number of phrases, words, numbers etc. separated by a comma, located between the flag and a colon. While all white spaces count, a single space after the comma is omitted for clarity. Arguments are used by all methods differently. ~ -flag doesn't have arguments and the whole line (ex. Flag) is used as a message.

Message
Everything that comes after the colon. All white spaces after the colon and at the end of the line are cleared. Messages are used by all methods differently.

Word Samples
Click on the 'W' button and choose Templates to see a full list of examples.



And that concludes the overview and tutorial on getting started with the Timeline tile. This week we'll post full videos walking you through all the elements in greater detail. Thank you!






Don't forget, we have training videos available for those wanting to learn how to use Build a Game.
1025+ videos are available for learning Build a Game!
116 videos are available for learning Tile Builder!



During the beta program, you will receive 1,000 silver coins into your account each week. Have fun purchasing games and tiles!



Sign up for the Beta. Email [email protected] to get your steam key and be a part of the testing. =)


Have fun testing out the Timeline tile in Build a Game Universe!


Chad - Nathan - Eric

(February 2nd - March 27th, 2019)


We're back with updates and tileset previews.

It's been an excellent two months of bug fixing, feature building and game designing.
Let's jump in to everything that's new for Build a Game Universe!

Player Flight (side view) is available for testing and playing with. This is part of the Player tile type. It provides functionality for standard flight, animations, audio and more. We'll have tutorial videos available in April to walk through all the fun things you can do with it.

+ Enable Flight (tile type player)

+ Flight Take-off (speed optional requirements)

+ Flight Auto Bounce System


+ Flight Shooting (with a weapon tile)

+ Flight Crash (optional stall on slow speed)

+ Flight Stall (directional climb based stall)

+ Flight Flip (turn/flip based on direction heading)






Timeline Story Mode
The latest build includes the Timeline Tile Type. Next time, we will go over all the many features (including video training) on using timeline, narration, cut-scenes, and more with your games.

+ Simple Example of the Dialog System



Rpg Adventure Tileset
Here's a quick pic and two videos showcasing some of the 70+ tiles available in the rpg adventure set.
Example 1 Example 2 Note:Both the flight and rpg tilesets will be available in April on the Market Center!

Revisions and Bug Fixes

Over 180 commits, bug fixes and revisions for the two months.
Check out the Release Notes.



Don't forget, we have training videos available for those wanting to learn how to use Build a Game.
1025+ videos are available for learning Build a Game!
116 videos are available for learning Tile Builder!



During the beta program, you will receive 1,000 silver coins into your account each week. Have fun purchasing games and tiles!



Sign up for the Beta. Email [email protected] to get your steam key and be a part of the testing. =)


Hope you have a creative week in Build a Game Universe!


Chad - Nathan - Eric