Blips Blog

Epic Games introduces the Epic First Run program

Epic Games has recently launched a new program for developers by the name of Epic First Run. This is an opt-in exclusivity program that allows developers to keep 100% of the proceeds from eligible product sales during the first six months on the Epic Games Store. After this initial six-month period, participants will revert to the standard revenue split of 88% for developers and 12% for Epic Games.

Published: 28. Aug. 2023

News

Mesh-Peeling: A free Unity tool for peeling meshes

Mesh-Peeling is a new tool for peeling meshes created by programmer and game developer Bünyamin Sezer. This tool enables users to peel 3D meshes of diverse sizes and shapes and was created for use with models with no thickness. According to the developer, many aspects of the project have been developed with the Unity Job System. This is a system that enables developers to write simple and safe multithreaded code so that applications can use all available CPU cores for improved performance.

Published: 21. Aug. 2023

News

Population - A new crowd simulation add-on for Blender

Population is a new crowd simulator for Blender that makes it easy to populate game worlds with 48 3D photo-scanned characters divided into three categories: casual, business and sport. The add-on includes character animations featuring over 50 unique movements, all crafted using precise motion capture technology.

Published: 14. Aug. 2023

News

Unity extension for Visual Studio Code has been released (preview)

Microsoft has recently released the first preview of the Unity extension for Visual Studio Code. This extension provides Unity developers with a lightweight and streamlined development experience. The extension builds upon the rich C# capabilities provided by the C# Dev Kit and C# extensions. The first preview of the C# Dev Kit was also recently released (past June) and provides features such as a native Test Explorer, a dedicated Solution Explorer, and the incorporation of AI in code authoring.

Published: 7. Aug. 2023

News

Unigine updated to version 2.17

Unigine is a game engine marketed for the creation of 3D experiences with photorealistic graphics and large virtual worlds. It has recently received a significant update that includes DirectX 12 and Vulkan support, PSDGI, improvements to performance and tools.

Published: 31. Jul. 2023

News

Terrain3D - A new terrain system for Godot 4

Terrain3D is a new editor plugin for Godot 4 that enables you to do 3D terrain sculpting and painting. It is an essential tool for developers creating open world 3D games. This is a plugin originally created for the Out of the Ashes game, which has been generously released by the developers for the Godot community. It is a joint effort between Cory Petkovsek from Tokisan Games and Roope Palmroos from Outobugi Games.

Published: 24. Jul. 2023

News

Flax Engine updated to version 1.6

Flax Engine is touted as the game engine made by game developers, for game developers. It was first released in 2020 and has a focus on productivity with features designed to expedite and streamline the development process, making it more efficient and agile. It was created to cater to all developers, from solo to bigger teams. Some standout features include multiple scripting options such as C#, C++ and visual scripting, open world tools including terrain, foliage and fog systems and 64-bit precision for worlds coordinates.

Published: 17. Jul. 2023

News

Godot 4.1 has been released

Around four months ago, the Godot game engine underwent a major overhaul with the release of version 4. Now, the first significant new version is out: Godot 4.1. This new update includes new features along with over 900 bug fixes reported from users using Godot 4.

Published: 10. Jul. 2023

General

The 11 most iconic video game theme songs ever

Throughout video game history there's no shortage of amazing video game scores and themes. However, there are theme songs that are so iconic that transcend gaming culture and can be easily recognized even by those who never played the games before. With this article my purpose isn't to present the best video game theme songs or the best video game soundtracks but to highlight the theme songs that can be considered the most iconic. That is, the ones that gamers and non-gamers alike can most easily recognize.

Published: 3. Jul. 2023

News

The Defold game engine adds support for PlayStation 4

Defold is a free, source available game engine for 2D & 3D game development and is marketed as the ultimate game engine for the web and mobile. The Defold foundation recently announced that the engine now officially supports development for the PlayStation 4. The publishing option is available for approved PlayStation developers. Access to the necessary tools and documentation is provided for free. If required, the full source code is provided through a paid membership tier. This is not necessary in order to release PlayStation games with Defold, though.

Published: 26. Jun. 2023

News

Epic Games MetaHuman Animator now available

MetaHuman Animator is a brand-new feature set available as part of the MetaHuman Plugin for the Unreal Engine. First shown at the GDC 2023, it enables digital creators and animators to capture an actor's performance and apply it as a high-fidelity facial animation on any digital character. The process takes only a few minutes, and the capture can be done using an iPhone (iPhone 12 to 14) or a stereo camera couple. Once the data is captured, it can be effortlessly applied to any MetaHuman* character, without the need for manual intervention.

Published: 19. Jun. 2023

General

Adaptive music software: A roundup of the best options for video games

When it comes to crafting the most immersive game experiences, music plays a role of vital importance. Successful games often employ adaptive music systems of varying levels of complexity. These systems help enhance the player's immersion by modifying compositions and audio parameters in real-time during gameplay. This enables the background music to emotionally or aesthetically highlight whatever's happening in the game world at any given time.

Published: 12. Jun. 2023