#67 - April 24, 2022

From news: Sponza’s iconic demo scene has received an update, Wolfire Games has released the source code of Overgrowth, SketchUp for iPad has officially launched, Steam has resumed payments for developers from Russia, Mudbox 2023 is out.

Of interest: how the game Among Us was created, the design of the game Crankin for Playdate by Keita Takahashi, about the design of the environment and levels of Dying Light 2.

Updates/releases/news

Sponza’s iconic demo scene gets an update

First released by CryTek back in 2010, Sponza has long been used to showcase the graphics capabilities of game engines.

More than a decade later, Sponza updated. The new scene includes physically based materials with 4K textures and high-resolution geometry, photogrammetrically consistent with the real Atrium in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Wolfire Games releases Overgrowth source code

The source code for this 3D action adventure game is released under the Apache 2.0 license. AT repositories there are no assets, so if you want to run the game, you still need to purchase a copy. Overgrowth works on Windows, Mac and Linux.

Apple removes games if they haven’t been updated for more than three years

As part of the “app store improvement” process.

Similar regulations quite frustrating for regular single player games that don’t need updates or won’t get updates anymore.

SketchUp for iPad officially launched

Beta testing period ended and now the application has received an official release.

Steam resumed payments for developers from Russia

It will take enter information about a foreign intermediary bank. Naturally, it will not work to transfer to the accounts of banks that have fallen under sanctions, but it’s better than nothing.

Interestingly, payments to developers from Belarus are still not transferred.

Radeon Memory Visualizer 1.4 with SAM support

Beginning with this version Radeon Memory Visualizer (RMV) provides support for Smart Access Memory (SAM). SAM is an AMD feature that can improve the performance of graphics-intensive applications by giving the CPU direct access to all available video memory.

Oculus Quest 2 gets hand tracking update

In the new version improved tracking continuity, hand-to-hand interaction, and gesture recognition.

Mudbox 2023

In update added support for Rocky Linux and a new installer for Linux.

Paradox launches Unbound initiative to build on Vampire: The Masquerade

Developers can count for advertising support from the publisher and 67% of sales revenue.

Freebies/Giveaways/Bundles/Courses

Mushroom Generator for Blender

Can be obtained for free here.

Voxel editor and tilemap generator for Blender

You can download from site developer.

Interesting articles/videos

Dizdok game crankin for playdate

Keita Takahashi posted documentwhich can be used to evaluate the creative process. If you are interested to know how the creator of Katamari, which was quite popular at the time, thinks while working on projects, read it.

More can be read interview with the developer.

How Among Us was created

The developers talked about the first version of the game, how it became popular and what the studio is going to do in the future.

A selection of open source projects for development and debugging under the ZX Spectrum in honor of the 40th anniversary of the platform

Where to start in digital painting – and why texture brushes don’t make a great artist

Some aspiring artists download brushes in the hope that they will help create a masterpiece. But it’s not about the brushes. AT article tells you where to start if you really want to succeed in digital drawing.

Dying Light 2 environment and level design

Lead Environment Concept Artist Kasia Zelińska toldhow the world of Dying Light 2 was created, talked about creating environments that support gameplay, and explained how the various areas of the map were designed.

Postmortem Hyper Meteor

Mobin Fikri, developer of Hyper Meteor, toldhow they created an arcade shooter for Playdate.

UI Toolkit in runtime: debriefing

The UI Toolkit, available in the latest version of Unity, supports the creation of a user interface at runtime using a familiar and intuitive web-inspired development process. In this article discusses the features of its capabilities and shares tips for getting started with the UI Toolkit as an alternative to UGUI.

How to build perspective: one, two and three vanishing points

Author on step by step examples understands with the rules for constructing different types of perspectives. At the end of the article there is a short guide in cards.

Thought Visualization with Real-Time Animation: Exploring Yumi’s Cells

Yumi’s Cells uses human emotions and how they translate into behavior, exploring the wonders of the human brain. Epic Games Team talked with the artists behind the series to find out how they approached the challenge of depicting the human mind in such a unique way.

Creating a Stylized Mountain House in ZBrush and Unreal Engine 4

Clara Cox told about working on the Mountain Side Living project, shared the asset creation workflow, and gave some tips for aspiring 3D artists.

How Dread Hunger Reached 1 Million Sales

AT release podcast by James Tan of Digital Confectioners tells about the hooks of the project, its unexpected success in China and the path to 1 million units sold.

Localization of games through the eyes of a manager

Work in localization makes you scream. Sometimes from happiness, sometimes from horror. Allcorrect Project Manager Valeriy Timchenko shared impressions of the work and spoke about its most important aspects.

Texturing Adventures in Horizon Forbidden West

AT presentations with GDC talks about the implementation of deferred texturing. The technique is designed to reduce the cost of rendering vegetation. A detailed look at the various stages of implementation is presented, and how it integrates into the Decima rendering pipeline is considered.

Additionally, it shows how to implement a variable rate solution on hardware without native support.