Week 51-52 - New tile, new tileset, new features and...
Week 51-52 - New tile, new tileset, new features and more
(September 14th - September 25th, 2017)
It's been two weeks of fun! New tile type, new tileset, updates on the Image Editor, and we are putting the final touches on Tile Builder beta. Whew! Exciting times. :)
Tileset Pixel Backgrounds(part 1) 23 pixel background images are headed to the market this week for testing.
Tileset Pixel Backgrounds(part 2) Be sure to look for the tileset this week in the Market Center.
Builder tile - create/remove 'effects' Added effect options for the create and remove elements of the Builder tile type.
The Image Editor(sprite editor) is getting worked on!
Build a Game 'Universe' is a full suite of tools for you (the developer). The latest tool we mentioned (last time) was the Image Editor. A big goal we have for the Image Editor is to provide a 2d drawing, painting, and animating solution that can replace the other 2d painting and pixel editing tools on the market (for free).
With that said, below are a few features we're highlighting this week.
Image Editor: Layers The layer panel provides an easy way to paint on different layers, move layers up/down, and develop in a traditional digital way.
Image Editor: Animation Clips The animation clips (video goes a little fast), are setup to create the animation directly in the scene with any number of layers per animation clip. You can view the animation with the Animation Preview window.
Image Editor: Printing Printing - Added last week in to the Image Editor. Now you can easily print out your drawings!
After writing up a brief bit about the Image Editor, it makes me think we should dive in deep to the fun features. We'll look to do an article on just the Image Editor next month!
Training Videos This week, we have on our list to work up videos for all the new tiles and features that have been added. Also, there are 820+ Videos currently available for learning Build a Game!
Our Silver Standard Reminder (Silver Coin Allowance)! During the beta program, you will receive 1,000 silver coins into your account each week. Have fun purchasing games and tiles!
Beta Group Signup Sign up for the Beta. Email steamkeyplease@buildagameuniverse.com to get your steam key and be a part of the testing. =)
Have a great week with Build a Game!
Thank you!
Chad - Nathan - Eric
Week 50 - Builder Tile Tool
Week 50 - Builder Tile Tool
(September 4th - September 13th, 2017)
This past week we took on a fun challenge to make a tool that makes tiles! 'TileCrafting' in Build a Game. :)
Tile Type Builder (New!) The Builder tile provides a simple way to create tiles in game. Be sure to check out the videos (below) to find out how to use it. Tile Builder should be available in the Default Tileset this week for testing. Thank you!
Training Videos 820+ Videos are available for learning Build a Game!
Our Silver Standard Reminder (Silver Coin Allowance)! During the beta program, you will receive 1,000 silver coins into your account each week. Have fun purchasing games and tiles!
Beta Group Signup Sign up for the Beta. Email steamkeyplease@buildagameuniverse.com to get your steam key and be a part of the testing. =)
Have a wonderful week building and being creative in Build a Game Universe!
Thank you!
Chad - Nathan - Eric
One Year In Beta!
One Year In Beta!
(August 23rd - September 4th, 2017)
Wow! What an amazing first year!
We are super excited about the progress, and blessed by everyone's support of Build a Game Universe. Your constant testing and feedback has been amazing! Thank you for all your help. :)
Let's Review Last year, we made excellent progress in multiple areas of development. Let's highlight several achievements from the year.
+ Almost 2,000 beta testers using Build a Game Universe
+ Fixed 3,000+ bugs (I guess that's good). :)
+ Nearly 4,000 commits (revisions)
+ Added over 16 tile type
+ Recorded over 800 training videos
+ Polished the user interface and icons
+ Added a tooltip system (community request (super fun!)) + Created a bug tracking system
+ Completed the loop (tile builder - to reviewer app - to market - to game builder - to publish)
+ Added full joystick support
+ Added 8 player co-op mode (edit and play) + Added 12 tilesets to the Market Center
+ Used Build a Game in two summer camps
+ Three developers...still the same three :)
+ Weekly updates (almost) + And more :)
Awesome!
Let's take a look at where the Universe is headed! As we continue to round out Build a Game for developers, players, and on-lookers, our goals are the tiles, the tools and the talent. :)
First Tiles. We have a short list of 130 tile type ready for development. Here are a few from the list. :)
+ 2d boned character
+ Inventory, crafting (the works) + Item - Builder (aka. minecraft tool) + Item - Cannon launcher
+ Item - Sling shot
+ Item - Vehicle (side, top, 3/4) + Board game type (chess, checkers, connect 5, cards, dice, dominoes, puzzles, and more) + Sports (billiards, bowling, tennis, ping pong, darts) + Random ones -> Status indicators, mini-map, lasers, ropes and more.
Below are a few prototypes for animated characters (bones) and vehicles (side, top). The character system will be a seamless transition between the current single tile animation and the bone sprites. But we'll talk more on that when the time comes. :)
Character with bone driven animations Vehicle side view (arcade style)
Vehicle top view (arcade style)
Second Tools. What makes Build a Game Universe so much fun for us, are the tools. We've mentioned the 'other' tools once or twice in previous posts, so let's take a look at just the apps we will focus on during this next year.
+ Game Builder (Build a Game Editor) + Tile Builder
+ Market Center
+ Reviewer App (Approval system) + Image Editor (Drawing/animation tool)
Image Editor (wip)
The image editor continues to take shape. A quick feature list includes:
+ Standard 2d drawing tools
+ Color picker and swatch
+ Animation previewing
+ Layers and blending
+ Timeline and clips
Third Talent. It's time to start gathering the artists and designers. That's right! This month (probably the end of the month), Tile Builder will be available! Along with a full set of training videos and starter content to help with development. :)
Final Notes Okay! That wraps up our year end review (overview), and sets the stage for the coming months. We hope you've enjoyed the updates. Thank you!
Training Videos 810+ Videos are available for learning Build a Game!
Our Silver Standard Reminder (Silver Coin Allowance)! During the beta program, you will receive 1,000 silver coins into your account each week. Have fun purchasing games and tiles!
Beta Group Signup Sign up for the Beta. Email steamkeyplease@buildagameuniverse.com to get your steam key and be a part of the testing. =)
Thank you!
Chad - Nathan - Eric
Week 47 - Finally finished the Hook!
Week 47 - Finally finished the Hook!
(August 16th - August 22nd)
Quick Update! The default tileset has been updated!
New tiles include:
+ Fog of War
+ Grass (dynamic spring)
+ Grapplinghook (lots of fun options)
+ Water Reflection
+ Updated Image effects (100+)
Special Note! We are coming up on the one year mark in Beta! Our next post will come at the beginning of September, with a laundry list of things we have accomplished this year with all your help. And we're looking forward to sharing with you our plans for next year! :)
Training Videos 810+ Videos are available for learning Build a Game!
Our Silver Standard Reminder (Silver Coin Allowance)! During the beta program, you will receive 1,000 silver coins into your account each week. Have fun purchasing games and tiles!
Beta Group Signup Sign up for the Beta. Email steamkeyplease@buildagameuniverse.com to get your steam key and be a part of the testing. =)
Thank you!
Chad - Nathan - Eric
Week 46 - Grass (spring motion) and more!
Week 46 - Grass (spring motion) and more!
(August 10th - August 15th, 2017)
First.
We have gifs for images! Only took 46 posts to get there. :) If you like them, let us know and we'll keep them coming.
Last week we spent time polishing off the grapplinghook. It's fun to play with and hopefully ready for testing. We'll have it up on the store (Default Tileset) this week. :) Below are a few more examples of what it can do.
Hook and Swing
Drop In
Grab On
Boost to Top
Second.
Tile Type Grass (New Tile!) The grass tile type (spring motion) allows for a controlled bounce effect on all axis, when triggering.
Final Notes.
New Tile Videos should be up by the weekend. We'll be sure to cover the new features for the grass tile and the grapplinghook. :)
Training Videos 810+ Videos are available for learning Build a Game!
Our Silver Standard Reminder (Silver Coin Allowance)! During the beta program, you will receive 1,000 silver coins into your account each week. Have fun purchasing games and tiles!
Beta Group Signup Sign up for the Beta. Email steamkeyplease@buildagameuniverse.com to get your steam key and be a part of the testing. =)
Have an excellent week building!
Thank you!
Chad - Nathan - Eric
Week 45 - Image Effects and the Grapplinghook
Week 45 - Image Effects and the Grapplinghook
(August 1st - August 9th, 2017)
First.
The Grapplinghook Tile is the lastest tile type. (Coming soon)
We were going to update on Monday, but wanted to have some video of the grapplinghook tile. :) Things are 'nearly' complete with the grapplinghook, just polishing this week, then it'll be available for testing.
Second.
New Additions to Image Effects Tile(videos)
The image effects have been updated with new elements to make your games visually unique and more controllable. We also added a LUT (look up table) with over 170 different color swatch options. These are great for adding a splash of color and an instant change of mood to your full scene.
With 227 different image effects available, that's a lot of different ways to transform the camera view for your game. :)
Final Notes.
Training Videos 810+ Videos are available for learning Build a Game! Also, if you need a specific video lesson, let us know. :)
Our Silver Standard Reminder (Silver Coin Allowance)! During the beta program, you will receive 1,000 silver coins into your account each week. Have fun purchasing games and tiles!
Beta Group Signup Sign up for the Beta. Email steamkeyplease@buildagameuniverse.com to get your steam key and be a part of the testing. =)
Let us know how your week goes with Build a Game!
It's always great hearing from y'all. :)
Thank you!
Chad - Nathan - Eric
Week 44 - Jumppounding Enemies and More!
Week 44 - Jumppounding Enemies and More!
(July 25 - July 31, 2017)
First.
New tool property -> Selection Expand Group!
We're excited about this one. It's a simple idea and useful. :)
When using the select tool, you can now click on a stack of tiles and select from the group.(Video below).
Fourth.
How did you do that?! Here's a new idea we're testing. :)
On occassion, we'll put up a Question to test your Build a Game skills!
So, before peeking at the answer, see if you can come up with a similar solution. (Post your answers for everyone to check out!) Question 1: How to make a spider trail Answer 1: Spider trail revealed!
Final Notes.
Training Videos 810+ Videos are available for learning Build a Game! Also, if you need a specific video lesson, let us know. :)
Our Silver Standard Reminder (Silver Coin Allowance)! During the beta program, you will receive 1,000 silver coins into your account each week. Have fun purchasing games and tiles!
Beta Group Signup Sign up for the Beta. Email steamkeyplease@buildagameuniverse.com to get your steam key and be a part of the testing. =)
Have fun being creative!
Take care and God bless,
Chad - Nathan - Eric
Week 43 - Fog of War, Particle Updates and More!
Week 43 - Fog of War, Particle updates and more!
(July 18 - July 24, 2017)
It's always fun to start the day by reviewing last weeks development. :)
Overview:
+ More bugs fixed (Yea!)
+ Fog Of War (New tile)
+ Added 3 more grids to the editor
+ Particle tile overhaul
+ More trigger events added to tiles
First.
New -> Fog Of War Tile Type soon to be released.
The Fog Of War tile provides a traditional fog on the playing field with a fun set of behaviors. (Image below).
Second.
New Features (videos) + Particle tile has a fresh coat of paint. We've updated some legacy elements, added more control on colors, colliders and events.
+ Gui tile button state has a new way to make button actions (event trigger) work even easier.
Third.
Bug Fixes! Last week we had 84+ fixes and revisions on tiles.
A few highlights:
+ Shader fix on cloud shadow
+ Polished off toolbar icons and spacing
+ Particle overhaul - lots and lots of fixes/improvements
+ Gui tile now supports a button state for click(s) completed, event trigger and reset button state
+ Updated trigger events with camera, check point, dialog, door, dynamic sky, fog of war, goal, gradient sky, jetpack, reflection and more.
Final Notes.
Training Videos 800+ Videos are available for learning Build a Game!
Our Silver Standard Reminder (Silver Coin Allowance)! During the beta program, you will receive 1,000 silver coins into your account each week. Have fun purchasing games and tiles!
Beta Group Signup Sign up for the Beta. Email steamkeyplease@buildagameuniverse.com to get your steam key and be a part of the testing. =)
Next week, we'll try and have the default tileset updated with all the new features. Till then, have a great week being creative in Build a Game!
Thank you,
Chad - Nathan - Eric
Week 42 - Trigger Events and Reflections!
Week 42 - Trigger Events and Reflections!
(July 11 - July 17, 2017)
Two things made it to the list this week. :) Trigger events and a reflection have been added to make things more fun. Details below!
First.
New -> Reflection Tile Type soon to be released.
The Reflection tile provides a water like effect especially designed for tiles (Image below).
Second.
New (Fixed) Features (videos) Trigger Events are one of the hidden secrets (and still in progress) features of Build a Game. We are currently working through each tile, and making them 'event-able'. The videos (below) show off just a few cool things you can do with them. (Example 4 is simple and fun!)
Third.
Bug Fixes! Last week we had 24+ fixes on tiles. A few highlights are:
+ Door tile works correctly now with pads and levers (in all state options)
+ Subtile brushes scale correctly in Edit/Game modes so that Gui tiles are still clickable
+ Updated trigger events with audio, autotile, background, block, bomb, camera, gui, damage, base, and more.
This coming week, we'll continue to focus on trigger events in the rest of our tile types. Let us know if you run in to any issues with the trigger event system and/or tiles using it. Thank you!
Final Notes.
Training Videos 800+ Videos are available for learning Build a Game! Also, if you need a specific video lesson, let us know. :)
Our Silver Standard Reminder (Silver Coin Allowance)! During the beta program, you will receive 1,000 silver coins into your account each week. Have fun purchasing games and tiles!
Beta Group Signup Sign up for the Beta. Email steamkeyplease@buildagameuniverse.com to get your steam key and be a part of the testing. =)
Have fun building!
Thank you,
Chad - Nathan - Eric
Weeks 38, 39, 40, 41 and Counting
Weeks 38, 39, 40, 41 and counting
(June 15 - July 10, 2017)
First.
We're back with a new post! The past few weeks have been busy getting some major things (back-end, front-end) fixed up and polished off. Also, we have completed our tasks on Tile Builder and are prepping it for release (No release date yet). It's working smooth and should be ready for public testing soon. :)
Plus:
+ Bug report system way more accurate and easier :)
+ Market center (lots of fixes and polishing)
+ Products can now be 'Removed' from list
+ Eyedropper fixed in light tile type
+ 240 bug fixes and revisions
+ and much more
Third.
New Tilesets are coming (soon)!
Here's a few images from the high rez version of Tile Guy!
Fourth.
Survey Time! 8 Questions about Build a Game Editor Two minute survey on your current impressions of the Editor in Build a Game. Also, a couple fun feedback questions. :)
Final Notes.
Training Videos 800+ Videos are available for learning Build a Game! :)
Our Silver Standard Reminder (Silver Coin Allowance)! During the beta program, you will receive 1,000 silver coins into your account each week. Have fun purchasing games and tiles!
Beta Group Signup Sign up for the Beta. Email steamkeyplease@buildagameuniverse.com to get your steam key and be a part of the testing. =)
We'll see you back here next week!
Thank you,
Chad - Nathan - Eric
