Whew! That was a lot of work, but I've managed to squeeze in the time. I hope you all like it!
One more layer of rope and I'll be ready to start in on animation work. This takes so much time to build that I think I might finish roping up the other girl later.
2021-02-02 05:10:45 +0000 UTC View PostNew version is up and ready. Your controls have been updated. You can now press control+home to load a new test level, while pressing home will load the original level.
Tie Me Up has no load screens at the moment and it may take a few minutes for the new level to load. The game will freeze during loading.
The new level lacks enemies or items at the moment and only one house can be entered. It's just a quick test of door mechanics and the new assets I bought...
2021-01-29 18:59:43 +0000 UTC View PostIt's a problem with the scripts not loading. There is a Windows Script Debug version on Dropbox, use it if you have trouble running the game.
2021-01-25 19:59:48 +0000 UTC View PostHey all!
Tie Me Up 0.67 is up and ready! Very special thanks to Pontikue, who has taken on the role of Lead Programmer for the project! You can download it here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bw6q8w46njpzhvl/AADNu-3_aVSPKWhnCwDAer2Ea?dl=0
The first thing you'll notice is the new HUD, which you can hide by pressing TAB. It's a bit bulky right n...
2021-01-24 08:15:00 +0000 UTC View PostNew early access version just uploaded to Dropbox!
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hefrwvwp484xa61/AADanl5hFG5o-PxiZly9aSK8a?dl=0
This is a Patreon-only link. Please don't share!
2021-01-22 15:43:40 +0000 UTC View PostOn the modelling side, I'm getting closer and closer to starting in on the new animations, which I'll start once I have all the models I need. The new models will run much better on lower-end machines when they're finished and implemented in-game.
The current animations won't work with the new models. They're keyed to the old models. The new models won't even be the same thing as they'll be implemented as LOD groups.
I'll roll them out bit by bit as I finish the ...
2021-01-18 23:53:04 +0000 UTC View Post
The last model looks poor, unless we zoom out and view it from a distance. The lowest detail models aren't meant to be seen from close up when in-game.
2021-01-18 23:11:41 +0000 UTC View Post
Decimate modifier applied again to further reduce detail for the next LOD.
2021-01-18 23:08:32 +0000 UTC View Post
To improve performance further, I apply a Decimate - Un-Subdivide modifier to the model to simplify the geometry even more.
As a rule of thumb, models for mobile use should be below 2,000 tris, but PCs can handle more. I've got this model down to around 5,000 tris, which will run much better than the high-detail versions.
2021-01-18 23:07:23 +0000 UTC View Post
I've selected Face Orientation to check the normals. Faces make up the surfaces of a model, upon which materials can be rendered to make the model look less like digital clay and more like rope. Faces, however, are one-sided. If I see blue, then the normal is facing the right direction. If red, then the normal is backwards and needs to be flipped.
2021-01-18 23:03:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Shade smooth applied to ropes. Before you could see the faces that make up the structure. Shade smooth changes the way the model is rendered, but not the geometry. This gives it a smooth appearance without any performance cost in-game.
2021-01-18 22:58:08 +0000 UTC View Post
Low detail version uses the same curves as the others, but each curve has a circle attached to it as a bevel. This makes for a round shape that follows a path.
2021-01-18 22:55:01 +0000 UTC View PostNew build can be found here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hefrwvwp484xa61/AADanl5hFG5o-PxiZly9aSK8a?dl=0
This is a Patreon-only link. Please don't share!
2021-01-18 00:05:05 +0000 UTC View PostNew build can be found here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hefrwvwp484xa61/AADanl5hFG5o-PxiZly9aSK8a?dl=0
Again, this is a Patreon-only link. Please don't share!
2021-01-15 16:20:26 +0000 UTC View Post
I've decrease steps from 16 to 5 on this version. Much better tri count, but the ropes are now distorted.
When computers render models at a distance from the camera, they render all of the mesh that's visible to the camera. A 200,000 tri model will be rendered the same no matter what the distance is. But if you're far enough away, you won't be able to make out the detail on-screen even though your graphics card is in fact rendering the entire thing.
We can take a...
2021-01-14 17:07:43 +0000 UTC View Post
It doesn't look as good as the previous one, but it's not too different.
The game's ropes look good, but only because the details are actual mesh topology. It's about as detailed as you can get. But high detail like this means a slower framerate, especially on lower-end machines. There's no way around it. You can have high detail but worse performance or less detail and better performance.
2021-01-14 17:01:53 +0000 UTC View Post
The tri count on LOD0 is pretty high, which will require a fair bit of power to render, especially if there are a lot of objects on screen.
Each LOD (level of detail) has progressively simpler geometry, making each one easier to render than the last. The game will choose a version of the model based on the distance the model is from the camera.
For LOD1, I decrease steps viewport in the screw modifier from 16 to 10.
2021-01-14 16:54:14 +0000 UTC View PostNew build can be found here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hefrwvwp484xa61/AADanl5hFG5o-PxiZly9aSK8a?dl=0
Again, this is a Patreon-only link. Please don't share!
2021-01-14 16:46:35 +0000 UTC View PostYou can find early versions of the game here. Please note that these are provided as is. They'll be buggy, they'll be missing features, they can even have less stuff working in them than the regular public builds.
These are literally put together during development. For various (development) related reasons, we tend to disable or enable things, we add things, we remove things, we test things and just in general terrorize the poor Secretary. Heck, right now in the...
2021-01-13 14:48:48 +0000 UTC View Post
I've selected and erased the extra geometry, which leaves a gap.
There are other gaps in the ropes, but I position them so that they won't be visible in-game when a character is wearing the rope model.
In some cases gaps can't be hidden from view, so I'll have to bridge them.
2021-01-10 01:38:44 +0000 UTC View Post
Edit mode view of new model.
Because Blender's Screw modifier uses whole numbers for segments (you can't do a half-segment), there will be some overlap (such as the mess at the top of the vertical ropes). This generates unnecessary faces that we don't need. The more complex the model, the slower the game will run.
2021-01-10 01:35:23 +0000 UTC View Post
