Alpha UTIKI - UI Editor (and more!) for GameMaker [Last Update: 05/04/2022 -- mm/dd/yy]

FoxyOfJungle

Kazan Games
PRESENTATION:

Hello, welcome to the Utiki Editor "work in progress" devlog topic.
"Utiki Editor" is a software that aims to streamline the process of creating games, using a Drag and Drop interface. This is a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get).


CURRENT STATUS:
  • Hiatus. | Update: (March, 17, 2023).
  • Version: Alpha. Not released.
  • Demo: (not yet).
  • Latest Post: Devlog #7.
Note: Everything presented here is in a very early stage of development, so many things can change or not, be added or removed, everything will depend. This topic is not yet complete, I will modify it in the course of development.
Currently (04/10/2022) I am redoing the project from scratch and much better, so it takes time.

❗ It will actually be more than a UI editor, currently, but an integrated environment where it has several cool features, such as: Particle Editor, Post-Processing, Image Effects (including rendering sprites with animations), Sprite Font Maker, Sound Studio, 3D Model Viewer, State Machines and Rythm Game editor. (also, maybe a tileset editor).


OBJECTIVE:

Save time by creating a very detailed and laborious interface for a game.
In general, you will insert items on the screen and the UTIKI will export the code ready to be used in Game Maker Studio.


SOFTWARE CANVAS/INTERFACE:

In the current state of development, this is the interface and basically how it will be:
This is the interface when opening the program:


(Screenshot before engine rewrite)


All "spoiler" info is old (from 2020), so you hope it's different now, but i'll use some things.

In the left part (now referred to as the area), there will be layers and objects, which can be selected according to the tabs above. The layer system is a powerful system that is being created for better organization of objects depth, it is possible to add, remove, move, identify, delete, hide and show all objects or layers.
The object tab shows all the objects in the workplace, regardless of which layer they are in, there is a button to delete them all.

In the center area there is the workplace, it is the place where the interface will be designed and where it will be created, it is where the objects will be placed.

On the right area is the Inspector, this is where you can edit the properties of all objects, each object will be differentiated by type, if it is an image, it will open a specific editor for the image, if it is a button, it will open one for a button, and so on. There is a Project Settings tab, it will be possible to modify some project settings, such as project name, GUI size and others.

The inspector will look something like this:
(Image from Internet. I don't have copyright of the image and I don't know who created it. Using only as a demonstration).

At the bottom there is the File Manager, this is where the files that will be used within Utiki will be, the supported files will be: Sprites, Fonts and Sounds. In the Console tab, it will show the input of mouse clicks and other interactions with the UI when clicking on play and being able to test in real time. The Log tab will be a list of debugging information from Utiki, just like the Game Maker's output.

There is a beautiful shader that blurs the window background, giving a modern and clean look to the canvas, it does not consume much GPU performance, however, it will be possible to disable it, obtaining more performance.
Notice that there are shadows on the windows, differentiating from the background color and giving it a professional look.

At the bottom, there are buttons related to Recent Projects, when opening the program, it is much easier to open the last file you were editing in just one click!

In "Get Started" you can create a new project or open any Utiki project file.

When you move the cursor over the buttons, they change color, when you click, the color reverts.


Creating a new project:


(Old screenshot) Perhaps some will notice, in fact the interface is inspired by the Godot Engine interface, however, it is not the same, the Godot interface has outlines, this one does not and this is more modern. The colors of the entire interface have been changed to a dark theme.


When clicking on "New UI Project", a new window will open.
Here you put some project information, the whole project will be saved in just one file and not a folder. The file extension will be .utk.

The "Pixel Art UI" checkbox indicates whether I should use a linear interpolation filter or not when working in the workplace.

In the future, I will put a preview on the right side.


This is the workplace, where the interface/UI for your game will be made:




The entire interface is responsive and the areas can be resized:
Note that the objects can also be selected in the "objects" tab.
The scrollbar allows you to scroll the list.




With the powerful Layer system, there are many possibilities to manipulate the depth of the items.





Note that when selecting a layer, it highlights which objects are contained within the layer.
It is possible to hide and show the layer or individual objects.
It is possible to change a layer position, changing the depth of all contained objects.
The first layer button adds the layer to the bottom of the list, the second adds it to the next layer.

Note also that above the workplace, there are tabs, similar to the browser, in them, it will be possible to create new workplaces, they will simulate the Game Maker rooms, this will be useful when I create a menu for example, if I click on a button, I can make me go to this imaginary room, which are actually codes to draw in the draw event, all of which will be saved in the same file.

Still in the Inspector, it will be possible to define the X and Y position of the objects, rotation, scale, anchor, click actions and many others. It will be possible to add codes in a text box (in which they will be executed when I press, but this will not be executed inside the Utiki, but in Game Maker when exported)


FEATURES:

For now, this is the list of items that I plan to add, so that the user can choose:

- Background (Stretched or repeated)
- Sprite (You can define whether it will be 9 slice or not)
- Text (With custom font. It will be possible to add some cool things like 0's before a number, text typing effects, alignment, width, color, etc.))
- Button (With mouse click).
- Virtual Button (For Mobile, using device functions).
- Virtual Joystick (For Mobile, using device functions)
- Virtual Keyboard (On the screen or it will be possible to be a keyboard using the keyboard)
- Checkbox
- Healthbar (That uses a custum sprite or functions like draw_healthbar. It can be vertical or horizontal)
- Speedometer (For racing games, can be customized)
-
Geometry (functions like draw_rectangle, draw_circle...)
-
Menu (Mouse or Keyboard, it will be possible to choose the style of the menu: changing the text color, using draw_rectangle at the bottom, using a side indicator sprite on one side or both and others...)
- Scrollbars (horizontal and vertical)

-
Anchor (I think this is the most important UI object, with it it will be possible to create an imaginary rectangle, it will serve as an anchor for other objects to be drawn from it, that is, the X and Y of the child object will be connected to it, if I move the anchor, the objects attached to it move. You will also be able to choose not to use them, just use coordinates from the GUI itself to orient objects on the screen. (be responsive)).

-
Sprite Arrays (Horizontal or vertical. It will be possible to choose the variable as far as the loop goes.)
-
Geometry Arrays (Horizontal or vertical. It will be possible to choose the variable as far as the loop goes.)
-
Text Arrays (Horizontal or vertical. It will be possible to choose the variable as far as the loop goes.)

-
Array of Sprites with Text (Horizontal or vertical. You can add more texts like name and price for a store for example)
-
Array of Geometry with Text (Horizontal or vertical. You can add more texts like name and price for a store for example)


Best things:

The interface is wysiwyg, that is, what you see is the result. Everything will be draggable, as well as it will be possible to define exact values of the positions of the items.
I think about adding guidelines to the workspace, so that the objects align automatically (you can disable this).


Example of UI interfaces that can be easily created:


(I got these images from the internet, I don't have any copyright, I don't know which one created, I'm using it just for the demonstration principle, in fact, this is incredible.
If the owner is seeing this and wishes, I can remove.)




FUNCTIONALITIES:

The program will be translated into 13 languages:

- English
- Portuguese
- French
- Spanish
- Italian
- German
- Dutch
- Japanese
- Korean
- Russian
- Africaner
- Chinese
- Chinese Traditional

It will be possible to modify the interface/canvas theme, for now there is only the dark theme, but it will be possible to use a custom theme or pre-defined themes.



CORE ENGINE:

The entire canvas is drawn on a single object, basically everything consists of arrays, structs and variables.
The format of the file to be exported is .utk, inside it will actually be .zip with the files inside, such as sprites, fonts, sounds and the file containing essential project information.
I'm using Dialog Module, File Manager and File Dropper made by @Samuel Venable (Thank you so much!)

The entire program is loaded in a previous room window. Loading takes an average of 2-3 seconds.

Some areas of the interface don't use surfaces, but they do use shaders, thanks to @YellowAfterlife for creating the shader that allows the software achieve this performance. (Thank you so much!)

I created the shader that highlights the layer in red, this was done by simply multiplying the red color by the texture in the shader fragment.

The software does not use application_surface, it only uses the GUI event for everything, everything is drawn on a surface. There is a surface for the workplace, one for the camera and one for the Interface/canvas.



LOGO:



Old logo concept:
This was courtesy of a friend, I will make a similar one and more neat. (Thanks Rhyan!)
Image



DISCLAIMER:

I must make it clear that the program will not be able to perform miracles, it cannot do its entire game alone, you will have to learn how to use the right tools and put everything together to make your game (although the software does much of the process), this software serves as an quickstart for you to create a great and beautiful interface without having to spend hours trying to do something nice. Although it will create a complete interface, "surfaces" related things you still have to do. (Maybe I will change that in the future). I do not guarantee that everything I have quoted will be created as written, but I will do my best according to my experience with GML.
I was a little limited to using only 10 images in the topic.

I count on your feedback to develop it together :bunny:
Thank you so much for reading this far, have a great day! 😀
 
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Honestly, UI management is probably the feature that GMS2 is missing the most in my opinion (especially with the new additions to 2.3 adding a lot of the previous "missing most" features). Plenty of others have solutions available as well, but this looks especially well put together, both beautiful and extremely flexible. Great work!
 

kburkhart84

Firehammer Games
I don't know how you are doing all of this, but there is one thing I did with my input system that you might want to do here as well. Since 2.3, the datafiles folder is for the old "included files." Furthermore, you no longer have to import the files into the IDE(though you can still change settings for them). This means you can update those files, remove some, add some, whatever, and they will always just work and get put in the working directory.

In my input system, I was previously copy/pasting values from my configuration program. Now, I have a #macro in the project that points to the datafiles folder. When you want to run the configuration, you simply go to the right room in a build, either by putting it at the top of the room order, or having some object take you there, or whatever is easiest. That configuration program then updates files in the datafiles folder(the sandbox has to be turned off).

I found this to be a neat way to handle configuring things. You can easily run a build to do the configuration. You technically could also create an executable and just run that(though you would have to do it again if you ever moved the project directory). In your case, you could easily make the user find the directory instead of using a #macro like I did. In your case, you could easily put GUI definitions of some sort in that files, either multiple in a single file or one per file. Then, you would have objects that simply dynamically create those GUIs on demand via a function call or something.
 

FoxyOfJungle

Kazan Games
I don't know how you are doing all of this, but there is one thing I did with my input system that you might want to do here as well. Since 2.3, the datafiles folder is for the old "included files." Furthermore, you no longer have to import the files into the IDE(though you can still change settings for them). This means you can update those files, remove some, add some, whatever, and they will always just work and get put in the working directory.

In my input system, I was previously copy/pasting values from my configuration program. Now, I have a #macro in the project that points to the datafiles folder. When you want to run the configuration, you simply go to the right room in a build, either by putting it at the top of the room order, or having some object take you there, or whatever is easiest. That configuration program then updates files in the datafiles folder(the sandbox has to be turned off).

I found this to be a neat way to handle configuring things. You can easily run a build to do the configuration. You technically could also create an executable and just run that(though you would have to do it again if you ever moved the project directory). In your case, you could easily make the user find the directory instead of using a #macro like I did. In your case, you could easily put GUI definitions of some sort in that files, either multiple in a single file or one per file. Then, you would have objects that simply dynamically create those GUIs on demand via a function call or something.
Thanks for the explanation and the tips, I will analyze better what you said at another time, I'm a little sick, with a headache too... 🤧
 
S

Sam (Deleted User)

Guest
This looks very impressive! The first thing I noticed was the attractive user interface. Well done!
 

FoxyOfJungle

Kazan Games
UTIKI DEVLOG #1 [ v0.0.1.1 ]


* Graphics:

Utiki logo remade:






Loading screen:



For now there is no demo, I will reinstall Visual Studio to return to using YYC. Also, I just created the logo.
Edit: Now it has.



* Core:

Many optimizations made, before I had 500 - 700 FPS, now 1818!

 
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FoxyOfJungle

Kazan Games
UTIKI DEVLOG #2 [ v0.0.1.2 ]


* Core:


The scrollbars now work perfectly, so far I haven't made a horizontal one, but it should be simple. I made several internal adjustments to the engine core. I also included some clip shaders in some parts of the canvas. Now, the tabs in the workplace do not now go over the canvas. I increased the height of the instance buttons. The performance has been improved, however there are some things to improve, such as drawing the list items only in the visible area.



Demo is now available.
 

FoxyOfJungle

Kazan Games
UTIKI DEVLOG #3 [ v0.0.2.0 ]


* Visual:


Added the Object Creation Menu, here you can choose which object to add with just 1 click!





You click this button and the menu opens: (in a future update, you will can press Shift + A too)
Next to it there is the play button, this is where you will test the interface.



Note that zoom buttons have been added, there are preset values for the zoom now, so no bad pixels, now it's all PIXEL PERFECT!
Note the zoom on the right:
Gizmo maintains 1:1 scale:



The gizmo is the indicator of where the objects will be created, to move it, just click with the middle mouse button or ALT.



Fullscreen button added:



Whenever I move a layer, now it highlights:





* Core:


The save and load system is ready to be used, now when creating a project, it creates a .zip file and compresses all resources used in Utiki: Sprites, Audios and Fonts and convert to the .utk extension.
When loading, it extracts in the included files folder in LocalAppData in a folder called "cache". To free up space, whenever you exit the program, the folder is deleted. Each folder is unique, so I can open as many instances of Utiki as I want!
In the future you will have a button to clear the cache completely, in case there is a power failure and the files are still there.

Many internal adjustments have been made, the scrollbars have been reformulated and the text boxes have been optimized, they no longer use objects, now they use structs.

Demo is now available.
 
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FoxyOfJungle

Kazan Games
UTIKI DEVLOG #4 [ v0.0.3.0 ]


First of all, sorry for the delay in posting, these features have been added for some time ago, but I just had time to show you now.



* Core:

It is now possible to hold Shift + Click to select multiple objects.
Press B to create a selection box and select several:



New tab that shows only the objects of the layer, now there is a tab that shows all the objects on the side, when selecting multiple objects it is possible to view. It is also possible to select the objects in the list itself.



You can now press Shift + A to open the object creation menu (making it possible to create objects quickly!)



Improved the spacing of the buttons in some pixels and now I moved the text with information downwards, so that it leaves more space for the buttons.



Discord Rich Presence added:
This is a cool feature to show to your friends that you are using a super cool program :)



Fixed full screen bug (in the past, when leaving the full screen, it didn’t maximize correctly):




Other internal adjustments have been made, all JSON files have been updated and improved to work with the new GMS 2 functions. The way the Utiki saves the temporary project in the cache has also been slightly modified, and the name of the temporary project now has a code and an "_" in the name.
Thanks!


New Demo is now available.
 

FoxyOfJungle

Kazan Games
UTIKI DEVLOG #5 [ v0.1.0.0 ]


* Visual:


A powerful system of dialog boxes has been added that will be used for messages like "If you click here everything will be deleted", preventing the user from clicking where he shouldn't. Besides that every program needs this :D








As you can see, two NEW THEMES have been added: White and a new Dark!! In the future there will have more, for all kinds of tastes :)




The FPS went from 1800 to 500 because of the openned window, but that doesn't affect performance, it's running smoothly.


* Core:

The scripts for drawing the menu buttons and the project creation window have been improved dramatically.
Fixed a bug where it was not possible to delete the first layer.


New Demo is now available.
 
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Joh

Member
This is all around super impressive! Looks great.
How are you keeping such performance?! Ui/text heavy interface games/programs rapidly destroy GM frame rate.
are you using existing frameworks or is it all custom made?
Seems like this project could be quite handy! best of lucks.
 

FoxyOfJungle

Kazan Games
This is all around super impressive! Looks great.
How are you keeping such performance?! Ui/text heavy interface games/programs rapidly destroy GM frame rate.
are you using existing frameworks or is it all custom made?
Seems like this project could be quite handy! best of lucks.
Hello! My intention is that everything is as fast as possible, both IDE and generated code, I'm trying to get as much as possible that GMS 2 offers. I'm using some shaders to save CPU work, so that makes it a lot faster. In the end, there are only 3 surfaces in the entire program: 1 full screen (I don't use the application surface), 1 from the workplace camera viewing window, 1 from the workplace area. Everything was done absolutely from scratch, if you are curious, I have already posted status updates on my profile since the beginning when it only had "green areas" lol. Thank you very much! 😁

I restored the website and you can try it now :)
 
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Japster

Member
This looks great @FoxyOfJungle , but it's daunting trying the demo with no object, examples etc - I was a bit lost as regards what to do to even quickly try something! - could you perhaps bundle an example of some of the UI stuff you've made using it at all please mate? - at the moment I haven't a clue where to start playing, without an example project to show me a bit more about it? :)

I do like the glass / semi-transparent bits to the initial window though, cleanly done!

Cheers!
 

FoxyOfJungle

Kazan Games
This looks great @FoxyOfJungle , but it's daunting trying the demo with no object, examples etc - I was a bit lost as regards what to do to even quickly try something! - could you perhaps bundle an example of some of the UI stuff you've made using it at all please mate? - at the moment I haven't a clue where to start playing, without an example project to show me a bit more about it? :)

I do like the glass / semi-transparent bits to the initial window though, cleanly done!

Cheers!
Thank you!
Well, technically there is nothing to do but visualize what the program will look like in the future, it is still in development, so there is no way to do many things yet... I will upload a new demo for you to test. :)
I am not doing it actively, just sometimes due to lack of time.

 
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FoxyOfJungle

Kazan Games
Hello!
I want to show you some things I've been doing in the new Utiki:


Logo reworked:

First, I reworked the software logo:


I particularly loved the result!

There is a variation of two colors: The first one will be used in general. The second is for specific cases where we use the logo without colors (simplified, just the silhouette). This will depend on the design of the UI project in which it will be inserted.


UtikiEngine.dll

I'm happy to announce that I'm producing many of the features using C++!
Yeah! Window functions, FFT and lots of cool features that will be used in Utiki! It's been a challenge for me, but I'm really enjoying the result.





Product renamed:

The product has been renamed from "Utiki - Ui Editor" to "Utiki Editor" (explanations below).


More features

Utiki will now be more than a UI editor, but an integrated environment where it has several cool features, such as:
  • Particle Editor -> Edit particles on in real time using the built-in system (you can export too)! I would also try to create my own particle system with more cool stuff like "particle attraction";
  • 3D Model Viewer -> Visualize 3D models! Formats supported: .obj, .d3d, .3ds and .fbx; It will be possible to add scenarios, lights and backgrounds. In addition to taking screenshots of the scenario with the model;
  • State Machines -> Visual state machines editor + ready-to-use script easily;
  • Rythm Game editor -> Yeah! It will be possible to create rhythm games easily! An editor with timeline and visualization of audio waves. Export a file with the beat info, import it into your game and get things moving to the beat of the music!;
  • Sound Studio -> Make music! Will support audio formats: .ogg, .wav, .au, .aiff, .raw and .mid. Currently it will be something simple, since the GameMaker audio engine doesn't allow much;
  • Post-Processing -> Image effect for your game! Currently Post-Processing FX will be used! Edit and configure effects in real time! With image preview too;
  • Image Effects (including rendering sprites with animations) -> trees and others;
  • Sprite Font Maker -> Render TTF fonts to PNG atlas super easily and with cool effects like outline and shaders;
First, the focus will be on the UI editor, however. :)


Free

I've decided that Utiki will be free to download for everyone!
You will be able to use all the features and save your project whenever you want! :D


New version system

Now Utiki will have year, month, day and build versions. Example: 2022.4.13.100


New save system and GitHub compatibility

Now Utiki stores files in a normal folder. Before it was in a file that was later unzipped in a temporary folder. It used a legacy GUID system where there could be key clash.



Now all this has changed with the new save system: Now all files and folders in the project have a .meta file, in it you can get information from the file. Each file has a GUID, which is unique and will be used to identify the file and folder (instead of by its name).



This makes it possible to have more compatibility with Github, as each file will be independent. No useful information will be saved in the main project file.
Currently, this is what you have in the main file only:




Audio frequency Waveform:

I made a script to render the frequency of the audio files! This will be used for the rhythm and music editor (in addition to displaying in the IDE). Something essential.





Exception Handler

Now Utiki has a Crash Report! When a fatal error occurs, the program closes and opens another one where it will be possible to send an error report!




Grid shader and Dashed line selection:




Checkerboard shader:



Rounded corners shader:



Project:

Currently, this is how the project is. I've done all the initial organization and data structure creation.
In addition to preparing important encryption systems, libraries, extensions and others. Still in progress.



I know it's a long project, and I hope to be able to do everything little by little. I'm doing other projects besides this one, like Post-Processing FX, so it takes time.
I'm really looking forward to doing the Utiki, though!

Thank you for your attention! 😁
 
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Stra

Member
Were you going for a neutral expression on the logo guy? The way his eyebrows (and mid-brows) are slanted, looks like he's scared.
 

FoxyOfJungle

Kazan Games
Were you going for a neutral expression on the logo guy? The way his eyebrows (and mid-brows) are slanted, looks like he's scared.
Interesting observation. It's a tiki, and most tikis are like this:




I also got inspired by Godot logo :)
Oh, that's not the eyebrows, it's like a "face paint" 😆
 

FoxyOfJungle

Kazan Games
it will be something for windows only? that tempt to make a clone of Vib Ribbon xD
Nop, all platforms. Including HTML5, Android, iOS... :)
Only Utiki itself will only run on Windows, because I don't have an Apple MacBook... And I don't even have a Linux/Ubuntu computer (sadly).

Hey, this game is funny 😄
 

gnysek

Member
And I don't even have a Linux/Ubuntu computer
External disk should be enough for it, just add it as first boot device in BIOS, so when disk will be connected, GRUB boot manager will display what you want - Ubuntu or Windows, and when you disconnect it, Windows will boot as usual.
Also, to be extra safe about not erasing/changing boot for normal disk, just unplug/unscrew it during Ubuntu install, so there's no internal disk :)
 
S

Sam (Deleted User)

Guest
If there's any features you would like implemented on the C++ side you have questions or need help with I'm happy to do it in your case for free because I really want to see this project reach it's full potential at the most cost-effective it can be. Can't beat free 99! :D

Feel free to hit me up on discord.
 

FoxyOfJungle

Kazan Games
UTIKI DEVLOG #7

# UI System


Hi! Since 4 days ago I started making the new UI system (It's been a big challenge, I confess). In fact this one is drastically better than the old one.
The whole system is based on structs and arrays, there is not 1 switch() in the system. Note: The system is being focused on both software and games UI.

Simple demo:




Themes - WIP:

Still in development, but it will be possible to create themes, in which it will be possible to add elements to be used by the UI system, such as: sprites, colors, fonts and constants. It will be possible to update the UI theme and modify the theme on the fly!



Layouts - WIP:

With the layouts, it will be possible to say where each container will be located. It will also be possible to resize the layouts using the mouse, making the UI responsive. I will also make a docking system where I can drag containers to other places and dynamically reposition the UI.


Anchor points:

Anchor points are points that contain x and y where children can be linked to it and can be repositioned. All UI items can be coupled to each other, making everything versatile.
Anchors can stay inside containers and even link to other anchors. This is one of the super light elements.




Containers:

Containers are rectangles where they can control and manipulate their children, such as their positions and sizes.
This is the simplest, it only serves as 4 anchors, basically:



Container inside a container that has a child sprite:



Everything above, but with an anchor that is the parent of the sprite that is attached to it:




Margin Container:

This container is the same as the normal container, but it has margins, allowing for a more professional interface and without having to define it manually.
The individual margins can be changed: left, top, right and bottom.

Everything above, but with a margin of 50 pixels:




Tab Containers:

A container where you can add children to each tab, you can create as many tabs as you want. All the contents of the current tab are shown only, leaving the rest invisible and inactive.



Note that it only updates the ones that are visible, making it performative.


Sprite element:

Draw a simple sprite:



Sprite stretched element:

Draw a stretched sprite (can be a nine-slice too!), super useful for backgrounds in containers.
There is an option to have it automatically stretch into the container.



Current functions:




# Exception Handler

I improved the error message further.

 
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descrubb

Member
Wow! I am incredibly impressed, although impressing me isn't hard to do. This looks like it requires a lot of knowledge of how gamemaker works behind the scenes as well as for coding too.. My curiosity is so very piqued as to how you managed to get such a cleanly interact-able menu. I've worked on a lot of ui stuff in GML Code and the way it appears to perform looks great.

I am hypercurious 🤪

Also, how is life and development going lately? Hope you're staying healthy!
 

FoxyOfJungle

Kazan Games
Wow! I am incredibly impressed, although impressing me isn't hard to do. This looks like it requires a lot of knowledge of how gamemaker works behind the scenes as well as for coding too.. My curiosity is so very piqued as to how you managed to get such a cleanly interact-able menu. I've worked on a lot of ui stuff in GML Code and the way it appears to perform looks great.

I am hypercurious 🤪

Also, how is life and development going lately? Hope you're staying healthy!
Hello!

I really appreciate the words ^^

I'm not sure if I'm going to continue on this project, it's a big and ambitious project, I'm not sure it's going to be worth the time and effort I would put into it. Although I was even excited about all of this, doing the UI part of it put me off a lot. Even more so because I'm an independent developer. When I could be developing real games with the time, and etc.
Also, with the upcoming new UI system in GameMaker, it may no longer be necessary to make one from scratch...

I like this project, however, I just don't have the motivation to continue it right now. I'm pretty motivated doing my Post-Processing FX and Crystal Lighting Engine asset though :)

Cheers!
And thank you for caring about my health, I hope you are fine too ^^
 

descrubb

Member
Hello!

I really appreciate the words ^^

I'm not sure if I'm going to continue on this project, it's a big and ambitious project, I'm not sure it's going to be worth the time and effort I would put into it. Although I was even excited about all of this, doing the UI part of it put me off a lot. Even more so because I'm an independent developer. When I could be developing real games with the time, and etc.
Also, with the upcoming new UI system in GameMaker, it may no longer be necessary to make one from scratch...

I like this project, however, I just don't have the motivation to continue it right now. I'm pretty motivated doing my Post-Processing FX and Crystal Lighting Engine asset though :)

Cheers!
And thank you for caring about my health, I hope you are fine too ^^
You're totally right this is a huge undertaking and in this case, since you've set your mind to work on new things, I hope that new UI system actually ends up matching your own work here. In the past, whenever I've worked hard on something and then decide to release and do work for free, I end up losing a lot motivation juggling hobby coding, work, and life. especially when I know the code could be architected better and want to redo it from scratch. And then more ideas come and then it gets put on the back burner. But that seems to be life...

You mentioned developing "real games". Do you have any game concepts that you have wanted to pursue? I've checked out most of your stuff; It's inspiring that you have such a robust skill set built up for GMS2, I'd be surprised if you didn't have a full time job working on games already, but I suppose GMS2 is decently niche enough to not have a high demand for devs right now.

Thanks for the good health wishes, and best of luck on your new Lighting and FX assets project!
 

FoxyOfJungle

Kazan Games
You're totally right this is a huge undertaking and in this case, since you've set your mind to work on new things, I hope that new UI system actually ends up matching your own work here. In the past, whenever I've worked hard on something and then decide to release and do work for free, I end up losing a lot motivation juggling hobby coding, work, and life. especially when I know the code could be architected better and want to redo it from scratch. And then more ideas come and then it gets put on the back burner. But that seems to be life...

You mentioned developing "real games". Do you have any game concepts that you have wanted to pursue? I've checked out most of your stuff; It's inspiring that you have such a robust skill set built up for GMS2, I'd be surprised if you didn't have a full time job working on games already, but I suppose GMS2 is decently niche enough to not have a high demand for devs right now.

Thanks for the good health wishes, and best of luck on your new Lighting and FX assets project!
Hey, I just found out that you replied to the thread, so sorry for the delay! xD

Yeah, I was feeling just like you said. At the moment I'm happy with the projects I'm developing, they're really cool to do ^^

I don't have a real job at the moment, I only do freelance work sporadically, in addition to working on my own assets and games... I've posted some prototypes on GX.Games, but I plan to continue development on some at some point in the future :)
 
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