Issue #225 - Math, Optimization, Flash Deals and more!

This article was originally published on GameDevDigest.com

Some more interesting posts for you heading into the weekend. Plus don't miss those flash deals! Enjoy!

My favourite animation trick: exponential smoothing - There’s a certain simple animation thing that I’ve been using almost since I’ve ever started doing anything related to graphics. I use it for rotating & moving the camera, for moving figures in a turn-based game, for moving UI elements, for smoothing volume changes in my audio lib, everywhere! So I decided I’ll write about it. The trick itself is nothing new, - in fact, you’ve probably already heard about or even used it, - but I’ll also show it in some examples and explain how it works mathematically :)
lisyarus.github.io

Ace of Aces: or, why you should Do Maths as a game designer - Every now and again you come across something that stretches your brain in a new direction. Last week I stumbled on a magic trick of a Choose Your Own Adventure: Al Leonardi’s Ace of Aces, a paper computer running a first-person shooter, programmed in 1980—eleven years before Wolfenstein 3D, the “first” first-person shooter.
paxsims.wordpress.com

Helldivers 2 Trailers Review - The Helldivers 2 trailers are a great example of how easy it is to make a trailer which does not highlight a game's hooks and strengths. They are overall very well made, but there is one which stands out because of how much it DOESN'T stand out.
derek-lieu.com

My thoughts on writing a Minecraft server from scratch (in Bash) - For the past year or so, I've been thinking about writing a Minecraft server in Bash as a thought excercise. I once tried that before with the Classic protocol (the one from 2009), but I quickly realized there wasn't really a way to properly parse binary data in bash. Take the following code sample:
sdomi.pl

Optimizing Texture Memory (VRAM) & Size - Here's some notes on optimizing texture size, on both worlds and avatars, to reduce VRAM usage and download size. These are geared toward PC optimization, but outside of specific formats, they apply to mobile platforms (like Quest) as well.
poiyomi.com

Refactoring C# Code – 4 Essential Techniques Simplified - I’ve been writing code for 20+ years, and along the way, I’ve written a ton of code that I needed to go back and refactor. It happens. In fact, it’s almost guaranteed if you want to keep a codebase alive as you’re evolving it. As a result, I’ve done a lot of refactoring C# code and want to share with you some simple refactoring techniques which can be especially useful if you’re just getting started.
devleader.ca

VR Conservatory Part 1: Rainy Glass Shader - My goal is to build a conservatory (the plants kind, not the music kind) because I like green spaces and growing plants in 3D. This is also sure to create exciting technical nightmares for me because plants are hard to optimize and transparency cheats are a real performance killer.
toadstorm.com

Deep Dive: How we got one million players to give a dam about Timberborn - Mechanistry comms manager Michal Amielanczyk reveals the marketing strategy that helped Timberborn's popularity soar with only two years in early access.
gamedeveloper.com

Videos

Learn C# Beginner Complete Course! - Here is a FREE video with all the Video Lectures for the Beginner section of my complete C# course!
Code Monkey

Unity Profiler Walkthrough & Tutorial | Unity - In this video, we look at an overview of the Unity Profiler in Unity 2022 LTS.
Unity

Sprite Fusion - Obscenely Easy TileMap Editor with Godot and Unity Integration - Today we are checking out Sprite Fusion, a free browser based tilemap editor with integrated support for Godot, Unity, GB Studio as well as PNG and JSON exports. It makes creating tile based game levels super easy.
Gamefromscratch

Don't use the Unity Animator, Use Code Instead! - Tutorial - Unity developers often create messy animator tabs. Animating like a programmer allows you to clean it up, and have more control of your animations. This is how to set up your animations in any project.
Small Hedge Games

4 Game design Methods you NEED to Know! - Are you struggling to design your next game? Well here are 4 Game Design Methods that could help you get you started!
IndieDev Corner

Horror Games Don't Have to be Scary... - I was invited to make a game in 21 days for $3,000 against 5 other GameDevs. I Developed the Game in Unity, and this is a Devlog of the progress i made. Horror Games Dont actually have to be scary, theres plenty more that they can be, as emotions are at the foundation of the genre. This is by far the largest Game Development challenge ive ever been in, and im really proud of how i did.
Wishbone Games

EVERY Post-Processing effect in Unity | What you NEED to know - Unity went through a lot of changes when they introduced URP and HDRP, and so there's now a lot of outdated information about how to use post-processing.
Sasquatch B Studios

Assets

Flash Deals Are Back! - Flash Deals assets start at 70% off and will drop to 60% off after 24 hours, and then to 50% off after another 24. New assets are added every 24 hours!
Unity Affiliate

Game Dev Toolbox - Master Unity, Unreal Engine, Blender And More - Software Bundle - Become a versatile game developer

Looking to become a game developer? This bundle of video courses will serve as your foundation. Learn to create stunning in-game assets with Blender, ranging from stylized character models to detailed environments—and acquire the skills required to bring those creations to life in Unreal Engine. Master programming in C#, the versatile programming language that will help you work in Unity, create apps and games for Android, and much more.

Pay what you want for over 20 courses—a value of over $2,500—and help support charity Alzheimer's Research UK!
Humble Bundle Affiliate

Game Architecture, World Building, And AI - Worldbuilding & more for game makers
Game makers aspiring and pro alike, don’t miss out on this bundle of books presenting a wealth of knowledge related to the subtler aspects of your craft. Once Upon a Pixel examines the storytelling and worldbuilding techniques driving recent hits like Red Dead Redemption 2 and The Last of Us. The Indie Game Developer Handbook runs you through all aspects of running a dev studio, from initial concept to release. Game Design Deep Dive: Platformers delves into the history and design evolution of this enduring genre.
Get all these books and more, valued at over $1,200, and help support the Hidden Genius Project!
Humble Bundle Affiliate

Precomputed-Culling - Public repository for Precomputed Culling.
Prographers Open Source

LineRenderer2D - Scripts for rendering pixel-perfect GPU-calculated lines in 2D (Unity URP 2D Renderer).
QThund Open Source

Unity-Prefab-Collider-Generator - Unity PCG Generates a Box-Collider Encapsulating Every Child Mesh, Collider or Transform. [Also Unity Custom Primitives by ltmx]
ltmx Open Source

MemorySnapshotAnalyzer - Analysis tooling for memory snapshots of managed code runtimes, specifically, Unity Memory Snapshots.
facebookexperimental Open Source

LiteEntitySystem - Pure C# HighLevel API for multiplayer games
RevenantX Open Source

Unity3D-Python-Communication - A very fast, simple, and general inter-process communication example between Unity3D C# and Python, using ZeroMQ
offchan42 Open Source

LSystemsInUnity - L-System is a rewriting system used mainly to model the development of plants. L-Systems in Unity enables you to rapidly create plants in your Unity games. [Also Roadgen, a Road network generation tool for Unity by pboechat]
pboechat Open Source

serializereferenceeditor - Unity SerializeReference Editor
elmortem Open Source

EditDistributionTools - A collection of C# scripst to ease the distribution of modifications of fbx files in Unity
HashEdits Open Source

AI_Debugger - This repository contains a Unity-based AI debugging tool that leverages GPT Assistants for runtime analysis. At design time, it creates a pdf of all the code. At runtime, it scans environment for objects within a specified proximity and uses Reflection to gather information about their classes, methods, and variables.
TheWiselyBearded Open Source

Flexi - Ability System Framework for Unity
PhysaliaStudio Open Source

URP-Fog-Volumes - Implementation of Raymarched Volumetric Fog in Unity's Universal Render Pipeline
sinnwrig Open Source

UnityTilemapMask - SpriteMask component but for Tilemaps
CalmlyGrass Open Source

lithium-ui - reactive ui framework for Unity based on UI Elements
Niikelion Open Source

RTSCameraController-Cinemachine - A RTS style Camera Controller for Unity 3D's Cinemachine system.
Nickk888SAMP Open Source

The Best of Synty Game Dev Assets #2 - Build a low-poly wonderland. Bring your game to life with this massive bundle of distinctive, stylized low-poly 3D assets from Synty! You’ll get assets usable in Unity and Unreal to fit a wide spectrum of settings—everything from Ancient Rome and various flavors of the modern day, to far-future sci-fi! Included are dozens upon dozens of characters, buildings, interior and environmental props, special effects, and more. Craft grand Greek-inspired temples, neon-drenched urban nightclubs, and sleek, deadly starships, and people them memorable characters appropriate to their settings. Pay what you want for this jam-packed bundle and help support Girls Who Code with your purchase!
Humble Bundle Affiliate

Become An Audio Hero With Royalty Free Music And Sound Effects - Your audio needs solved, forever. Creators of all stripes, this is the all-inclusive audio bundle you’ve been waiting for! Within you’ll find a treasure trove of royalty-free, forever-licensed music and sound effects perfect for whatever your project. Are you scoring an action flick? Need a suitable soundtrack for your game or VR project? Looking for a slick sound package for your YouTube channel? This bundle has you covered. Pay what you want for over $3,500 worth of stellar audio assets and help support the Children’s Miracle Network.
Humble Bundle Affiliate

DragonECS - C# Entity Component System framework
DCFApixels Open Source

unity-addressable-importer - A rule based addressable asset importer
favoyang Open Source

DevLocker - Tools and other good stuff for Unity
NibbleByte Open Source

Publisher Of The Week Sale - 50% off Neo Star Studios. Neo Star Studios specializes in crafting high-quality 3D assets that prioritize performance efficiency to meet the needs of indie developers. Elevate your game with their studio’s blend of creativity and efficiency. PLUS, get Vast Desert Environment for FREE with code NEOSTAR
Unity Affiliate

Spotlight

Old School Rally - A nostalgic racing game that combines the charm of classic retro style visuals with the thrill of international rally competitions.

[You can ge tthe game in Early Access on Steam and follow them on Twitter]
Frozen Lake Games

My game, Call Of Dookie. Demo available on Steam

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