Tag: Customization
Phone Custom Menu for SMILE GAME BUILDER
One of the side-projects I’ve been working on is a "useable phone", where you can call a phone interface and select its apps to toggle certain settings ON or OFF (such as Party Train) and call certain functions (such as the Save Menu) from within SMILE GAME BUILDER.
Development History
So I began redesigning the layout and interface to look more like a typical cellphone. And I began planning which features could be used as apps.
Although it’s still a work-in-progress, I will continue work on it over time. There are plenty of bugs and some of the routines don’t quite function as intended, so I still have a long way to go before a fully functioning phone custom menu.
Some app functions, such as the Equipment and Jukebox, may not be viable or achievable, so they might need removing or replacing.
Custom Menu Online Classes/Tutorials
At the end of July to the beginning of August, I’m going to start work on a series of courses or online classes dedicated to creating custom menus for SMILE GAME BUILDER, which will be available on the Gnome Treasure store.
During the course, you’ll learn how to create unique custom menus from start to finish, from a simple "settings menu" to something more complex like the phone custom menu.
I’m not sure of pricing or format yet, but that’ll develop over time, and I’ll make the announcements here and on Twitter.
Smile Game Builder — Handling Key Inputs |
Mottzy Minutes #8
Mottzy’s latest video in his Mottzy Minutes YouTube series demonstrates the basic idea behind key inputs.
Handling Key Inputs Video
This is more an introductory video on key inputs, with plans for follow-up tutorials on key inputs and image placements for things like character or object menus.
As always, you can also check out Mottzy’s blog for updates on all of his projects and his for more tutorials.
Advanced Bars & Gauges, MakerBaseSGB |
Smile Game Builder |
Mottzy Makes
Following on from his previous tutorial, Smooth Status Bars, Mottzy demonstrates advanced techniques for a dynamically moving HUD without the need for an additional overlay.
Advanced Bars & Gauges Video Tutorial
The video below is a two part tutorial. The first part shows how to set up the HUD and the second part provides a neat method for easily importing the assets and event scripts he’s used in his tutorials into your own projects via his MakerBaseSGB.
Mottzy also has a blog and a YouTube channel called Mottzy Makes. Be sure to check them out and subscribe to his channel.
Modular Market Pack Vol. 1
SMILE GAME BUILDER Assets
Available from the Gnome Treasure store.
The pack contains 50 models, including animated water for barrels and boxes. All models are designed modularly to fit snugly together and provide variety to your markets.
It’s available $9.99 on the Gnome Treasure store (slightly more on Itch.io to offset a few fees).
This is part of an ongoing series, which I’ll continue to develop over time, to fully furnish your in-game market places, including things like market stall content (fruit and veg, weapons and armor, etc.) and attachable signs for market stalls.
15% Discount for Monthly SusbscribeStar Patrons
Monthly patrons on my SubscribeStar account will receive a 15% discount coupon code on this pack, which is only useable at checkout on the Gnome Treasure store.
For other discounts and special offers, as well as exclusive content (graphics, models, etc.), you can subscribe from as little as $5 per month.
Video Showcase
This video showcases the Modular Market Pack Vol. 1 and how the parts fit together.
SMILE GAME BUILDER Tutorial 66: Advanced Variables (Part 2)
The SMILE GAME BUILDER tutorial, #66: Advanced Variables (Part 2), is up on YouTube.
We’re starting with basics and then working up to more advanced game development techniques using variables.
Tutorial Video
New Smile Game Builder Game: “Confluction”
My new project for SMILE GAME BUILDER is entitled Confluction. This is a working title only at the moment, and it might change during the course of its development, but it’s kind of sticking!
Confluction?
Confluction is an obsolete word for "confluence", the "coming or flowing together, meeting, or gathering at one point".
Our destinies are fixed, but we forge our own paths. We might make choices that cause us to stray from the path of Destiny and deviate from its course, but we’ll always return to it at some point. And that’s the subtext for the game.
Many events in the game are loosely based on events in my own life; I’ve taken certain creative liberties with them. The choices you make in life do matter!
Custom Models
I’m aiming for high-texture models and assets, so this is what will probably take the longest time to create since I create many of them by hand.
The focus will be on most of the models first, then the game itself. And then most likely at that point, I’ll work on character animations as and when they’re needed. This will be the biggest challenge for me; I’m not good at animation.
So when it comes to the perfectionist in me, I’d want to make sure all animations are smooth and fit well with the game!
Subscribestar
I now have a Subscribestar account.
Patrons (subscribers) will start benefiting from additional perks, including tier-specific Discord roles/titles, and unique content, game dev insights, exclusive content, such as demos, and more.
If you would like to support me there, either as a patron or donator, it would be greatly appreciated. All moneys will go towards several goals and will give an extra incentive to continue with the project.
I will try and update this more regularly, with more regular content and some patron-only content soon!
What About Relationship Sim?
The project I was working on before Confluction is Relationship Sim.
However, I decided to continue on THIS project first, and then resume with "RSim" when the new SGB is officially released to take advantage of some of its new features! (At the time of this post, no, I can’t say what those new features are outside of what SmileBoom has already announced publicly!)
Developing Tutoria for Live-Streams
What Is Tutoria?
As many of you already know, I started live-streaming SMILE GAME BUILDER on YouTube, specifically for developing Tutoria, the lands in which the game takes place.
Tutoria is a vast land mass sitting in the centre of the Primeval Ocean (a bit like Pangea before it shifted into the continents we know today).
It’s divided into two supercontenents: Aetios, the frigid ice-bound tundra in the north, and Kryuth, comprising more temperate climates in the south and the sweltering desert regions farther south and east.
Connecting them is a man-made bridge in the east, referred to simply as the Crossing, and an isthmus in the west known as the Dragon’s Causeway. The capital of Kryuth is Ancieryth and Aetios’s capital city is Cloverleaf.
The above image provides a very basic layout of what Tutoria is meant to look like. Details will inevitably change as development continues throughout the live-streams and the map itself might change over time. (The map was created on Inkarnate, an online map creator. You do need an account to use it, but you can still make some useful maps even with the Free version; the Pro version isn’t that badly priced either.)
The Purpose of Tutoria
The basic idea behind Tutoria – and the purpose of the live-streams on YouTube – is to create a game from start to finish (however long it takes) and then to post-process it in Unity so that it can then be downloaded and played by all.
It isn’t a serious attempt at game making! It’s simply to create a game over the course of one- or two-hour streams for others to watch. And that’s it!
As I develop Tutoria during the live-streams, I’ll also revisit some of my older video tutorials and bring them more up-to-date. Plus I’ll demonstrate how to create some of the graphics for the game, including icons, effects, and so on. This essentially makes it a tutorial live-stream with the end-goal of a completed game.
Incidentally, Sana of SmileBoom suggested the name "Tutoria" some time ago because I initially wanted to create a series of videos dedicated to creating a short game in SMILE GAME BUILDER based on my tutorials. And it stuck! Hence why it’s so named now.
Giveaways!
During live-streams I’ll be giving away free stuff! Everyone likes free stuff, right?
This could be anything from Title screens to Game Over screens to assets that I create. In last week’s stream, I gave away a Title screen of a nice fairy sitting on a toadstool in a fairy ring.
In the beginning, these giveaways will be sporadic, pretty much as and when I feel like it, but over time, they’ll become a regular feature for all the Tutoria streams. I’ll usually announce this on Twitter and Facebook.
The rules for receiving these freebies (as they become available) are:
- You must say "Hi!" during the live-stream (even if you say nothing else).
- After the live-stream, you must contact me on Twitter or Facebook, or in Discord, with the name you used during the stream.
- You must NOT use them in anything but SMILE GAME BUILDER.
- You must NOT share them with anyone else or on any other website. (Of course, you can still use them in your games if you want to.)
That’s it!
A final note about the giveaways: In time, these free assets will make their way in packs on the Gnome Treasure online store and Itch.io. So if you want free copies you can collect them in the live-streams only!
Tutoria Live-Streaming Schedule
Live-streams for Tutoria were initially scheduled for Fridays. I had to fit this into my shifts at work. Now that they’ve changed slightly to Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, however, it makes it easier to work with as far as game development as a whole is concerned.
Starting this weekend, I’m rescheduling these live-streams for Sundays because, being the weekend, and based on the feedback I’ve also received, this seems to be a more convenient slot for a people to attend.
Change “Now Loading…” Text – SGB/Unity
Here’s a very small snippet on how to change the "Now Loading…" text in between scenes in Unity after you’ve exported your game.
Properties.cs
Navigate to and open Assets/src/fakemy/Properties.cs.
Replace "Now Loading …" with text of your choice.
Notes on Editing
I recommend using Visual Studio to edit Unity files because you can auto-synchronise editing with Unity.
Cool Suggestions
Some of the edits suggested by members of the Discord Server are:
- Initializing…
- Error 101
- Installing virus //////// __ 80%
Using Mixamo With Smile Game Builder’s B-Style Characters – Tutorial
Jacob Mann has offered a comprehensive tutorial on using Mixamo with Smile Game Builder’s popular B-Style characters. And the best thing about this method is also compatible with Unity when exported with the Exporter for Unity DLC.
Video Tutorial
Support Tool for Making FBX Motions Files with Blender
There is a useful and necessary tool, called TimeSpanEndFixTool (provided by SmileBoom). It’s at the very bottom of the page.
What this tool does is fixes the end frame limit of 60fps so longer animations don’t play to the end.
3D Model Character Animation
in Smile Game Builder
It might come as no surprise that creating animated character models for SMILE GAME BUILDER is one of the commonest questions asked.
While this in itself isn’t as complicated as it may seem at first, there are a number of rules you need to follow to successfully create and import character models into SGB, notably with bones and armature.
Jacob Mann has produced a video that comprehensively explains the process from start to finish on YouTube. It’s well worth watching if you’re a relative beginner and wish to create your own 3D characters.
Although there is a plethora of tutorials on armatures, many are for more general creation and don’t take into account SGB’s especial bone structure and format, which may lead to some weird, undesired effects in SGB itself. Jacob’s video is tailored specifically to SGB and makes it easy to understand how animations are created and how they work in Smile Game Builder.
