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Learn about game development technology

Entries in this blog

Website Design

With the upcoming uncertainty that Steam Direct introduces to Steam sellers, I am putting more effort into our website, because it may be the primary channel through which new users discover Leadwerks in the future. Although the functionality of our site is awesome, the visual design is rather outdated and it's time for an actual designer to take over. I've got a rough idea of what I want the site to look like, but beyond that I am happy to let someone else figure it out.     I plan o
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Website Updates

I've successfully pulled every website page out of the Invision Power Board CMS that I can: http://www.leadwerks.com http://www.leadwerks.com/graphics http://www.leadwerks.com/editor http://www.leadwerks.com/programming http://www.leadwerks.com/features http://www.leadwerks.com/steamos http://www.leadwerks.com/gamelauncher http://www.leadwerks.com/workshop http://www.leadwerks.com/gallery http://www.leadwerks.com/videos http://www.leadwerks.com/games http://www.leadwerks.com/company
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Making Leadwerks even more better

The upcoming changes to the Steam curation process may mean we experience greatly reduced visibility in the Steam store, and I am preparing for that possibility. The plan for quite a while has been to double down on the ease of use and learning that differentiates Leadwerks from every other game development system on the market. To that end, I have begun translating the documentation into a format that is easier to view and search. The welcome page has been done away with and will be replac
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Beta Update Available

A full update for Windows and Linux is now available on the beta branch which addresses several small problems: http://www.leadwerks.com/werkspace/topic/15772-standalone-build-wont-launch/ http://www.leadwerks.com/werkspace/topic/15761-entity-gets-has-stopped-working-error/ http://www.leadwerks.com/werkspace/topic/15766-crash-anything-since-last-update-object-already-deleted/   The version of the VC redistributable has also been updated in Steam and will fix this problem if you are having t
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Marble Game Template

Previously, I laid out a pretty complete design of the racing game template I want to build. There's definitely enough there to build out the concept with very little left unanswered.   We are going to have a marble game template, because of its simplicity and ease of learning. However, unless the template really looks like a game people would want to play, it doesn't offer enough "carrot" to inspire people. This idea is less well-defined than the racing game, so I am only in the idea
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The path we are on

Previously, I have talked about my plans for Leadwerks and how to get there. In that blog I started with technical specs and went backwards with the path we would follow to achieve those goals. Now I have begun to put some of these ideas into practice and I want to review my plan with you.   I met with a very large academic institution a few months ago and talked about using Leadwerks to teach game programming. This is the whole reason I wrote this blog and did the research included therein
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Beta update available

An update to 4.3 is available on the beta branch. This fixes it so the editor is not DPI-aware and will be scaled correctly if scaling on Windows is used. This build is also built with a fresh install of Windows 10 and Ubuntu (but it shouldn't make any difference).   This is a full build for Windows and Linux, with C++ libraries included. Game Launcher is also updated on its beta branch.   If there are no problems with this, it will go onto the default branch in a couple days.
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Preparing for the release of version 4.4

I am going to try something different this time and use the Thunderclap tool to promote the release of Leadwerks 4.4, which I have scheduled for April 3: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/52943-leadwerks-game-engine-4-4   Please sign up to help with the launch if you would like to promote it.   Also, there is still time to help the launch of A Demon's Game: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/52763-a-demon-s-game-crowdfunding
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Beta update available

An update is available on the beta branch for Windows, editor and Lua executables only. This fixes a problem in the new light update system: http://www.leadwerks.com/werkspace/topic/15713-shadow-update-editor-issues/ http://www.leadwerks.com/werkspace/topic/15716-43-child-entities-do-not-cast-shadows/   The animation shaders are also modified and they will appear better: http://www.leadwerks.com/werkspace/topic/15710-all-animated-shaders-have-wrongstatic-normals/
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Followup on social media blog

I'm going to focus on directing people to the Leadwerks mailing list and getting people to sign up for Leadwerks accounts. This is much more valuable than social media followers we have no data for, or even Steam users we can't contact directly.   We do need something extra to get the word out to people on the web about Leadwerks, but I don't think Facebook and Twitter are it...
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Leadwerks 4.3 RC3

A full build is available for Windows and Linux on the beta branch on Steam. This fixes a problem with the character controller physics and with the Alt key on Windows.   To upgrade 4.2 C++ projects to 4.3, you must add the following search paths: $(LeadwerksHeaderPath)\Libraries\libvorbis\include $(LeadwerksHeaderPath)\Libraries\libogg\include   I'm pretty sure it's ready, but please give it a good thrashing. This will go up on the default branch tomorrow morning.
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Leadwerks 4.3 RC2

I've uploaded a full build for Windows and Linux, and updated the game launcher beta branch. This adjusts some very minor issues that you probably won't even notice.   Some of your characters might need to have their character controller angle setting set to 180, depending on how you have them set up. This is because some previously incorrect behavior has been fixed. You can use my third-person player script for testing.   My only concern at this point is that some of HaydenMango's games
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Version 4.3 Release Candidate

I've uploaded a release candidate of version 4.3 on the beta branch. This is a full build, for Windows and Linux. The Game Launcher beta branch is also updated.   If all is well this will go onto the stable branch in a few days.
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Beta update available

An update is available on the beta branch, which includes the editor and Lua executables, for Windows only. The following issues are resolved: http://www.leadwerks.com/werkspace/topic/14934-materials-go-crazy-when-used-on-a-prefab/ http://www.leadwerks.com/werkspace/topic/15644-latest-43-beta-causes-crawler-to-rotate-at-wrong-direction/ http://www.leadwerks.com/werkspace/topic/15597-wrong-issues-with-z-sort-materials/#entry104462
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Beta update available

I've updated the editor and Lua executables on Windows with the following fixes: http://www.leadwerks.com/werkspace/topic/15399-rc4-editor-hints-get-built-in-probe-reflections/ http://www.leadwerks.com/werkspace/topic/15646-prefabs-child-entity-scripts-start-function-not-called/ http://www.leadwerks.com/werkspace/topic/15644-latest-43-beta-causes-crawler-to-rotate-at-wrong-direction/ http://www.leadwerks.com/werkspace/topic/15593-releasecleanup-vehicle-error/   The game launcher beta branc
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Beta 4.3 available

I've uploaded a full build of version 4.3 on the beta branch. Version 4.3 will be released in short order and simply contains performance enhancements, OGG support, and bug fixes.   Version 4.4 is due out in the spring and will include the new in-game GUI system. This will coincide with the first Leadwerks / itch.io Game Jam.
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You Won't Believe what Analytics in Leadwerks Reveal

How do you like that clickbait title?   I implemented analytics into Leadwerks Editor using GameAnalytics.com last month, in order to answer questions I had about user activity. Here's what I have learned.   The number of active users is what I was hoping for. A LOT of people ran Leadwerks in the last month, but people don't usually use it every day, as the number of daily users is lower. The numbers we have are good though.   A lot of people use the Workshop to install models and othe
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Promoting your Game

You've learned Leadwerks, built a basic game, and published it to the Game Launcher, perhaps during one of the many Leadwerks game tournaments. Now what? Fortunately, there is a big appetite for work-in-progress indie games. The next step is to create an account on itch.io and GameJolt and upload your standalone game. Put your game out there on these platforms and if it is fun it will gain a lot of players. At the same time, there's a ton of talented YouTubers out there making reviews
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Common Bottlenecks

Leadwerks 4.3 brings a big performance boost to your games. In this blog I am going to talk about some of the common problems you can eliminate to make your games run faster. When slow performance is encountered, it is typically one really bad mistake that is slowing everything down. Here's a few common bottlenecks for performance you can create in your games, how to identify them, and how to fix them. Shadow Updates Shadow rendering is cheaper than regular renders because no text
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OGG Loader Update

I've updated the OGG loader with some code from Roberto14 and my own implementation of the ov_open_callbacks() function: http://www.leadwerks.com/werkspace/topic/15538-corrupt-or-missing-data-in-bitstream-continuing/   Both Robero14's and MartyJ's code was extremely useful in figuring this out.   This version may load a greater variety of OGG files successfully. Let me know if you find any problems.   Update is for Lua executables, for Windows only at this time.
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Beta update available

A new build is available on the beta branch. The editor and Lua executables are updated, only on Windows at this time. Everything is updated, including the beta branch of Game Launcher, for Windows and Linux.   I believe I have fixed the crashing in the new light management code. I also added a small optimization that checks if a moved light has the same 4x4 matrix it did at the time of the last shadow render. This makes it so if you are standing still and nothing is moving, the flashlight
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Beta update available

An update is available on the beta branch on Steam. This only updates the compiled executables for Lua, only on Windows. Optimization I've rewritten the way lights and objects affect each other. In the old mobile renderer it was necessary to store a list of lights that affect each entity, because it was using a forward renderer and had to send the information for the nearest four lights to the object's shader to calculate lighting. This was a complicated task and is not needed with a defer
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4.3 beta update available

A new update is available on the beta branch on Steam. I've merged the OpenGL2 and OpenGL4 graphics driver classes into a new class called simply "OpenGLGraphicsDriver". Everything should work, but let me know if you find any behavior changes between 4.2 and this new beta.   OGG support has also been added, thanks to MartyJ's help. The following header search paths must be added to C++ projects: ..\..\Source\Libraries\libogg\include ..\..\Source\Libraries\\libvorbis\include ..\..
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Workshop Store Updates

The Workshop Store interface has been updated. These changes will go out to the in-editor store interface soon.     Clicking on the "Buy" button now opens the item directly in the Steam client, so you no longer have to log into the Steam website. No credit card is needed if you already have one on file in your Steam account.  
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Three ways you can polish your game, without programming

In this blog I want to talk about some cheap and easy ways to give your players a deeper more memorable experience, without touching a line of code. Voice Acting Games have used off-screen voice actors for years to add character, tell stories, and create a setting with minimal investment. A good voice actor will give enough texture to the backstory that the player will make up the missing pieces in their own imagination. All it takes is a microphone and someone with a nice speaking voice. 
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