Topic

Game Development

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

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

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

News

Unity 2022 LTS has been released

Unity's latest LTS (Long-term support) version as been released. LTS versions are focused on stability and bug fixes, making them suitable for projects that require a stable development environment. LTS releases are supported for at least two years through biweekly updates. According to Unity Technologies, you can rely on Unity 2022 LTS to create sophisticated DOTS-powered games, multiplayer experiences, immersive HD environments, and visuals that perform great on any platform you target.

Published: 5. Jun. 2023

News

Cascadeur version 2023.1 has been released

The 3D character animation software Cascadeur has been updated. According to Nekki, the company behind the product, this is a long in the works update that brings many new features. One of the most significant new features is the Finger AutoPosing that is now available in the Pro version of Cascadeur.

Published: 22. May. 2023

News

Steam introduces new trailer rules for game developers

Valve has recently changed the way visual content is presented to players on Steam's game pages. With this update there are now trailer limitations and an option for assigning specific trailer categories. There is also a new algorithm that arranges the sequence of trailers and screenshots.

Published: 8. May. 2023

News

Babylon.js 6 released with exciting new features and improvements

Babylon.js is an open source 3D game engine for the web. The recently released version 6 brings multiple performance improvements, rendering enhancements and new features that according to the developers will make the web a whole lot more exciting.

Published: 24. Apr. 2023

Tips

Understanding the audio import options in Godot

The Godot game engine provides us with useful options when importing audio assets into our game. In this article I'll go over what they mean and when to make use of them. The audio import options are shown in the "Import dock" after selecting an audio file in the “FileSystem”. The import options change according to audio file type selected. In Godot it's best to select the most appropriate audio file format for each purpose.

Published: 18. Apr. 2023

Tips

Audio in Unity: Demystifying the import options

The Unity game engine has some great built-in import options that can help you better optimise your audio assets for your specific kind of game. These options can however be confusing for developers who are not experts in audio. That's why I created this article. To help you understand the options available to you and when to use them.

Published: 17. Apr. 2023