/maho/ - Hardware & Software

I would kill to be able to drop everything I'm doing and have my primary goal be game dev, but alas I have work and my primary secondary task is to make sure I learn JP enough to be in a good position to read raws or get an N1 certificate.

Although once that's done I really want to start doing something with all the ideas I've had floating around my head for various games that I've either collected in my head or written down, which are far fewer than the random thoughts that have come and passed. Probably want a notepad I can just jot them down on whenever they pop up, really. Making something out of them just seems like the most fun thing in the world to me. Although I'm more prone towards wanting to avoid AI because I want to understand everything from the ground up, though maybe for the practicality of making something with limited time that's a luxury.

If someone ever wanted to make a metroidvania I'd always be glad to help out with the level design because I think that more than anything I want to make my perfectly envisioned world that's interconnected in the maximum possible ways that can lead to the most fun discovery process of anything out there.

I messed around in godot for a while, made a very basic traditional roguelike thingy. Got vision implemented (stolen from elsewhere though, wanted another vision algorithm but that one I'd have to adapt to gdscript and I'm not at that level), basic monster AI, item generation on said monsters. Basic ui and inventory stuff like picking up/dropping/equipping too, although dropping broke after I updated godot and I don't feel like fixing it right now.
Can't say I had anything concrete in mind other than something similar to elona/now elin. It was fun messing around though and getting at least some idea of programming (or scripting? whatever).
If I do pick it up again it'd have to be another game with no graphics or audio (so either purely ui or ASCII), which personally I'm fine with but it's not something an average civilian would be interested in.

>>2735
>>2736
me looking at you programming haters who obviously werent using a computer from lolihood

Yeah.
I'm in the middle of making a soulslike h-game. Spent last year relearning how to program and laying out the game's framework.
This year I'm studying art since the game'll need sprites and CGs.

>>2741
You better have rewarding H-scenes and not just ones for losing...

>>2742
Oh, there won't be any "lose to see h-scene" moments. Not a fan of games like that.

Got attacking, movement and a bit of enemy pathfinding down. Player has a lock on and dodge button(forgot to dodge here, but trust me). The tiny blue squares are weapon hitboxes.

The sprites are shit, but the game's supposed to be top-down.

Topology is important! This is like a giant puzzle of trying to line stuff up, but this clip demonstrates what I'm trying to accomplish. If you have a simple grid pattern, which is what you see on like 99% of porn 3D models, you can't deform it very well or it's very inefficient.
The first two loop cuts I make that are vertical is the usual layout for torso, adding more polygons as the line goes upwards and extends to the arms, which is unnecessary and may cause issues. BUT I made the polygon path curve inward with a C shape and that means I'm only adding more polygons to the belly, where high density is needed when it's big!
I'm trying to have a whole bunch of regions like this including muscles and it's quite frustrating at times. There's still a lot more work and refining to do, but I can do it!

>>2743
Since I'll be drawing humanoids, I'm copying figures/body parts from Bridgman's book and drawing them again from memory.
The actual figures will obviously need to be sexier than these. I'll probably use Weichun's book + nude female figures to practice drawing women.

>>2823
Some kuso heads I drew as practice.

>>2823
>>2824
The one of the best pieces of art advice I ever received was that you should construct the major forms of your figures out of cubes and other boxy forms, and then rounding them out afterward. I didn't draw picrel, but it's a good example of the kind of thing I'm talking about

Rounded forms like spheres and cylinders seem easier, but really they're just better at hiding errors. Cubes are good because they face a definite direction and take up definite space, even before you've added the construction lines.

Downloaded a bunch of tutorials, but I'm not sure when I'll make the time to watch them. It's not that I'm busy, it's just that it's hard for me to stay focused.
It feels like sometimes the tutorial creators are padding it to run up the time, so maybe I should look at ratings or popularity of the videos to see what's worthwhile.

Anyway, I've been doing the retopologizing thing again and it's not as painful as it used to be. I think I'm starting to see quads in my dreams. I don't even know if I'll keep this geometry, but it's legitimately fun to try and puzzle out the shapes.

>>2729(OP)
Been learning vulkan mostly

>>2859
Been learning DirectX myself! For Windows dev.
Thinking of getting into OpenGL or Vulkan once i'm "done" with the Windows version, to create a Linux version. Any reason you choose Vulkan over OpenGL (or DirectX)?

Hand topology makes me want to cry. I understand that humans hands are one of the most complex things in the known universe, but a 3D imitation shouldn't be this annoying.
I guess this just shows my inexperience of touching hands in 3D stuff since in my days of modding and sculpting for fun I focused on the more fun parts of the body. Do people even pay attention to hands in games? I'm not sure they do.

So many skills to learn if I want to solo dev, and unfortunately I don't really want to make simple games. Can I get a hyperbolic dev chamber please

>>3655
I haven't got too much into blender yet, I did some tutorial years ago but forgot everything. Did the donut tutorial recently as a refresher and promptly forgot most everything again while slacking/playing XXX hours of xenoblade chronicles and elin. Also looked up how people manually tweak the normals(?) of shapes to create an anime look on faces, that was neat.
After fooling around with pixel art I've been thinking the best strategy for minimum viable artstyle is probably mediocre low poly characters with shaders carrying the entire aesthetic. Shaders and the programming GUI they use are fucking esoteric arcane to me at the moment though.
Having to draw/redraw 2d art constantly sounds like it might be even more tedious than modelling/rigging/animating depending on how much unique art/animation you use.

>>3656
> I did some tutorial years ago but forgot everything. Did the donut tutorial recently as a refresher and promptly forgot most everything again

Yeah, you really have to do this stuff monthly at the very least. I remember a tutorial where a guy said he opens a 3D program to sculpt and model every week specifically so he doesn't forget things. I can't even remember if I did the blender donut thing, but I think I'll do it again soon.
I think opening up zbrush to sculpt every week is something I want to start doing soon at least. Sculpting can be very relaxing. It's the other parts that fill me with dread and procrastination.
I've been trying to figure out butt topology for a couple weeks now. But, I guess I'll go with what I have here for now. I need there to be some decent density in the flat region above the crack since tails will attach there. And then you need the lines going in a certain direction for animation, but then there's muscles and aiahnsduiosahndu9iashnu9dasidhuasiodhnaosui I HATE TOPOLOGY

Thinking about it? Constantly. Getting stuff done? Not so much. I've started multiple game projects over the years and no matter how small I try to make them I always run out of steam after spending a couple of weeks on a crude prototype.
Doesn't help that I liked working with Unity, after their pricing model bullshit a couple of years ago I kinda lost all respect for the company and don't want to open the engine anymore. I should really try to get into Godot or Unreal.
This was a rant but some day I'll publish something, even if it's just a tiny project, I promise.

When thinking about game dev for more puzzle games in this age of data mining warriors, I wonder how Noita remains one of the few games that can't really have its most cryptic puzzle solved by any of the many attempts at datamining that have been done and how other devs can learn from this to make the secrets of their games more of a secret.

>>4042
It's a white people thing. You wouldn't get it.

>>4042
You wouldn't because you have a slave mentality and think that everything you work on must be for the sake of others instead of making a game that you'd think would entertain yourself and close friends.

>>4044
Asia's arguably better at it nowadays.

>>4045
>you wouldn't because you have a slave mentality and think that everything you work on must be for the sake of others

no, quite the contrary. Not a single reason I listed here >>4042 is for the sake of others
your reading comprehension sucks, but such can be expected from someone larping about "slave mentality" and white supremacy

as for entertainment, making games is hard work. There is a reason why people are paid for it. No matter how passionate you are about inputing numbers into a computer, you will have to work for dozens and hundreds of hours.
Seems like a bad deal to me. As far as entertainment is concerned, isn't it better to be a consumer?

Lets be honest, the real reason why you want to make games (or create anything for the matter) is because you crave validation on emotional level. If you entertained some other human beings, you don't feel like a clown or a circus monkey, but you feel all happy about the praise you get from them. You don't think pragmatically, rationally.

I >>4042 have enough money that I don't need to worry about it, nor do I have any desire to get clout or "recognition" from others. Quite the contrary, my greatest desire is to remain unnoticed, is for humanity to fuck off. That's how I survive in a hostile world bent on destroying true individuality.
Speaking of which. If you want your game to succeed, and not just be satisfied with having made it, you will have to compromise on your vision to fit the tastes of your target audience. Have fun.

>>4047
If it's already in your head, what's the point of making it real? Reality can never live up to fantasy. As you start compromising on your vision, due to technical, financial and target audience restraints, you will eventually realize that you are not having fun and whatever you have create is nothing like what you want it to be.

Besides, most people aren't a ZUN. You will most likely not write the code, draw the graphics and compose the music yourself. No, you will have other people do it. Thus it will never be truly your work or your game or your achievement, in a way a book or a painting can be. It will be collaborative effort of multiple people and they will share ownership of the product with you.

If you truly respected your vision, you would let it bloom in your heart, instead of throwing it to outside world to rot and get picked apart by carrion birds. But lets be honest...

>>4048
this anon is right. You will never actually get to doing anything. You will enjoy your 5 minutes of feeling morally superior to me, and then go back to nihilistic pontificating.

I actually want you to prove me wrong. Hell, I actually want you to make a good game. So I can play it for free at your expense. I may even leave a positive review, praising all that is to be praised in it, and your heart will go doki doki at the sight of it.

But lets be honest. This won't happen.

>>4049
Why do I keep someone mention this name every few months? I have no idea who it is and it's only ever used negatively. Is it just some guy nameshaming himself for attention? Am I better off not knowing?

>>4052
there's an anon with a distinct posting style that everyone apparently can spot when he is posting.

>>4042
The act of creation itself is good for the mind and and spirit and it can be a strong compulsion people have just like eating or sleeping. Without it the mind can go insane or just deteriorate.
Just working towards something, even if slow, gives you something to aim for. It can be fun, too. Game creation, though, yeah that's not all going to be fun. The tools that are out there these days can help streamline the parts that aren't fun, though, albeit with a hit to quality.

>>4046
>nor do I have any desire to get clout or "recognition" from others.
You very much do. The people that go around telling others at length how much they don't care are the ones that care the most.

>>4071
Tbh I have brain damage so I just use it more like a mental exercise, less of a confirmation, and more of a test if I can still present my ideas in coherent manner (and I guess see if there are any holes in my logic/train of thought by getting 3rd party feedback). I am also something of a bully and a jerk, so I guess I also test if I can make anyone mad/collapse by poking holes in THEIR logic as well, in a safe environment where I don't have any reputation to uphold.

Of course being toxic is not the only thing I do on the internet. On sites such as reddit where there is upvote and downvote system, I practice my social skills by saying things I don't really believe in that will give me most upvotes, seeing if I can guess what the current community mood is about and how fast I can get social credit points and control the narrative. I use the advice found in the book "how to make friends and influence people" and hone these skills there, to use them where it matters next (for example, in real life...).
It wasn't always easy though, for example when going on mental health support communities, in the beginning I was WAY too obvious with my advice, and people could tell I am fake and just repeat empty platitudes. But now I honed my abilities enough to be able to fake concern, empathy and honest conviction in just about any cause quite efficiently.

Politically too. For example, on a pro ukrainian discords I am fiercely anti russian, on pro russian discords I am fireclay pro russian, using various arguments used by each side in such a way that said community finds acceptable and rising up in status there. I guess it's duping delight, of sorts.
And last but not least...

>>4068
yeah, just like social media and chats, getting replies is dopamine release, in the same way pulling for gacha is or seeing numbers go up in litrpg novels. Guess it all boils down to boredom, in the end, in a world where my other hobbies can no longer entertain me like they used to.

>>4073
Your human analysis doesn't seem as on point if you're failing to present your idea in a manner that connects. It seems more an exercise in trying to pleasure yourself through a bit of bullying on the assumption that the efforts will most likely amount to nothing because of your belief that not enough motivation or willpower exists. I don't believe your logic to be on point so I simply reject your accusations and believe what I hold to be true to be as such. I will make my game, partly because I want others to play it, true, but I want someone else like myself to experience the satisfaction I think I would feel were this dream game to come out.

Although it will probably take a good deal of time to iron out the art and programming skills I'd need to make my game a reality, I don't think I'll have to worry so much since I'll have plenty of time eventually since I have money.

>>4077
so what game are you making?

>>4073
Ewww, you use Reddit?