Gm Tech Magazine :: Issue Four

» contents

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Welcome

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Staff:

GM News

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Staff #2: rup13 (assistant editor)

Review - GTA Example

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Staff #4: RyhsAndrews (reviewer/preview)

Staff #1: gamez93 (editor)

Staff #3: gmjab (reviewer/preview)

Staff #5: Medieval (researcher)

Review - Platform Example

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Staff #6: davidp222 (researcher)

Others:

Review - Water Spider

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Review - Age of War: The Coming Storm

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Many thanks go to the people who have cooperated with this magazine and support it. We would also like to thank everyone for submitting to the magazine.

Online:

Worth a Look - Websites

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EXCLUSIVE! Preview of Magi

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EXCLUSIVE! Facts about Magi

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EXCLUSIVE! Screen Book of Magi

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EXCLUSIVE! Concept art of Magi

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Worth a Look - Free Applications

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EXCLUSIVE! Interview with Darthlupi

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EXCLUSIVE! Screenshots of Hover Tank 3D 2

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Closing Comments

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WEBSITE: www.gmtech.x10hosting.com FORUM: www.gmtech.invisionplus.net EMAIL: [email protected]

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Click on the image above, to visit the official Adobe Reader website.

» welcome

Welcome Readers! Written by gamez93

Hello and welcome to another issue of GM TECH MAGAZINE, we have once again tried to make this the best possible magazine for you by, not only changing the layout a bit, but by also jam packing the issue with three exclusives. Some of you may of remembered the competition that we did last time for the opening of GMA 2007; this only got three entries, so we have had to cancel the contest. A lot of changes will be happening before issue five and the big one is a new host, with great uptime, a new website layout and a .info domain. We hoped for the release of Game Maker 7 to come early but it looks like it may be worth the wait. We are going to continue to try and make your experience with us the best one that you can possibly have, if you do have any questions then please contact us via our email - [email protected]

GM News Written by rup13 & gamez93

At last, Game Maker 7.0 has now been completed and released, YoYo Games have final got everything sorted and released Game Maker 7.0, 45 minutes than expected by all GM users, they were due to release it at 17.00pm (GMT). Once GM 7 was released, there site was hit with server crashes and slow downloads. but at the end of the day it has finally been released and most people are happy, if you want to visit YoYo Games GLOG to post your comments then you can via this link: http://www.playsnack.com, or visit there main site http://www.yoyogames.com

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» review - gta example 1.5

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Title: GTA Example 1.5 Author: Against The Law Ratings: Quality: Usefulness: Overall:

http://forums.gamemaker.nl/index.php?showtopic=250238 http://forums.gamemaker.nl/index.php?showtopic=250238

Preview Written by gmjab

In the past there have been many GTA examples, tutorials and games made with and for Game Maker. This GTA example however exceeds quite a few other examples by it's quality and usefulness. The current version of this GTA example doesn't include shooting and pickups yet, but it has more in-depth features of the fake 3D overhead view and car features. Firstly one great thing about this example is the camera zooming. Camera zooming isn't a feature that I have seen in other GTA examples and it works perfectly in this example to show how to give a real 3D look to your GTA game. Like a few other GTA games and examples it shows how to make a fake 3D overhead view with tall buildings. One thing in particular I like that I have not seen other examples show is overhead walkways to two buildings, this is one thing that makes this example better. The character and car control is also very well done. Unlike other GTA examples the character actually walks to the driver's door before getting into the car. The car physics and controls are better than quite a few car physics examples that I have seen. When turning the car, skid marks appear and when you hit space the handbrake goes on and the car slides around. Also unlike other examples the car doesn't get stuck when colliding into walls, it turns and slides along them. Now when you actually view the code of this example it is fairly well done. It isn't the cleanest code I've seen but it is heavily commented. The only down side to the example is it may be harder for a new person to extract code to put in their game. I only experienced 2 bugs in the example. 1) When colliding straight on to a wall the car will turn on it's side and slide, this should not happen. 2) When pushing another car, the car being pushed doesn't slide smoothly. Overall this is a great example that includes great quality features and is a must have for anyone wanting to make their own GTA game. I will being keeping this example for a long time and I look forward to future updates. Good Work !

» review - platform example

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Title: Platform Example Author: Against The Law Ratings: Quality: Usefulness: Overall:

http://forums.gamemaker.nl/index.php?showtopic=253190 http://forums.gamemaker.nl/index.php?showtopic=253190

Review Written by gmjab

After downloading and running this platform example, I found it to be very different and yet quite simple. This platform example doesn't contain very many features, but could still have a long way to go. The first thing I noticed different about this platform example is that it has a fake 3D style, which is not often done in platform examples. The example has the basic movement features, but it is lacking a lot of other features like: running, crawling, climbing, swimming and all the extra platformer features. Even though the example is lacking, it has some good features for a shoot 'em' up platformer like: reloading, gun switching, Shoot light effect, bullet shells that fly out, bullet sound effects and a few more. Like the GTA example by Against The Law, I found this example to be heavily commented and I actually felt that the code was better organized in this example. The only thing for me that felt unrealistic was how the gun could overlap the walls. I also don't think it is greatly usefully since I have not seen or heard to many people making and looking for fake 3D styled platformers. Besides those few down sides to the example, it could be a good example in the making and I suggest you keep working on it. Some improvements I would like to see are: - New Character abilities (Running, swimming, crawling and climbing) - Platformer features(Water, Jump through platforms, ladders and springs) - A good A.I engine

» review - water spider

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Title: Water Spider Author: d41 Games Ratings: Graphics: Sound: Gameplay: Re-play value: Overall:

http://forums.gamemaker.nl/index.php?showtopic=248246 http://forums.gamemaker.nl/index.php?showtopic=248246

Review Written by RhysAndrews

Water Spider is a classic-style game in which you need to complete each level by avoiding various types of enemies, destroying ‘alien towers’, and then going into the whirlpool to advance. The layout of scores, lives, bosses, etc is similar to the likes of the classic Sonic the Hedgehog series, released on Sega Genesis – For instance, the game is based on the ‘two stages and then a boss’ formula. The bosses are large versions of enemies in the normal stages, but they have extra abilities, and are obviously harder to kill. The game is in top-down view, and you can control your robot spider with the arrow keys. It uses a more classic style of shooting – you can only shoot in 4 directions, and it is according to the direction you last moved. Enemies also have similar ‘AI’ to console classics. For instance, alien-stars bounce from wall to wall, orange blob-aliens move around aimlessly, etc. The music also has a Genesis feel to it. Though it’s written in MIDI-format, it plays relevant to the style of the game. Unfortunately, you cannot toggle the music, which I feel is extremely important when designing games. The controls are quite easy to get used to. Arrow keys move, Z shoots. Though you can’t really pick out any problems with this, I could say that it wasn’t a good idea to require the mouse to control the menu/front-end stuff, and then require both hands on keyboard for game play – but that’s if I were to be very critical. When I first tried out the game, I thought “you have got to be kidding”, as the speed of the game was very high. Surprisingly, I quickly got used to the speed of the enemies and the player, and found it not too hard. The difficulty progression and health-balance, I found, was very well done. You have a number of lives, and can pick them up in slightly-secret areas of the levels. After killing a boss, you start the next level with 3 lives (unless you already had 3 or more lives). I lost an average of 1.5 lives a level, and so it was rather difficult in some places. The level design was nicely done, and variable (in layout – but not in content) between them. Graphic-wise, I wasn’t impressed. Though all the graphics were originally made (and I respect that), there were a few common rule-breakers. For instance, the show_message function was commonly used, with an original message background but the ‘stock’ buttons. There was also excess use of the standard effect actions, which further dented the visual quality. Sometimes, the water-rapids made me feel dizzy, especially during the level in which you must run away from the laser, using the water-rapids to get ahead. These rapids are introduced further into the game. Overall, I found the game fairly enjoyable, and aced some of the classic-styles that it was obviously inspired from. The graphics, and some of the mechanics needed some work, but other than that, the game play kept me playing till the last level.

» review - age of war: the coming storm Title: Age of War: The Coming Storm Author: Mithunder Design Ratings: Graphics: Sound: Gameplay: Re-play value: Overall:

http://forums.gamemaker.nl/index.php?showtopic=264000 http://forums.gamemaker.nl/index.php?showtopic=264000

Review Written by RhysAndrews

Age of War: The Coming Storm is a top-down, fantasy action game. It has an original storyline / concept, with a wide range of weapons, enemies, and a high replay value (by personal opinion). As it says in the GMC topic, As a Firestaff in the wizard army of Lyderin, the Staffs of Flame, you have to fight your way through perils and enemies in 26 levels with 9 spells, each with variations. Judging the book by its cover is a definite no-no for this game, as I’d under-estimated how enjoyable and appealing this game actually was, when looking at screenshots and the description. The quality of this game is both amazing and simple. I thoroughly enjoyed playing around with the various weapons – including Fireballs, Knives (throwing), lightning strikes, and even summoning little gremlins. They all had secondary attacks, (for instance, with knives – you could throw 4 at a time, but they had less distance before returning to you), and were of good use for different situations. Lightning strikes were good for destroying buildings and long-distance destruction, where as knives were brilliant for slicing up the smaller enemies when they are close to you. When looking at the screenshots I wasn’t sure about the graphics. They looked like they were made with paint (which I assume they were) very messily. But in fact, when playing the game, the graphics were actually nice and sweet. Though they aren’t any more special than basic shapes made in paint, they are well animated, and have special touches of little particle effects, shadows, and animation. The menu was a nice design, based on blue-red gradients and text-effects, such as fading in/out and wavy skewing of the text. The instructions and options were clear and nicely designed. A few improvements that could be made on the graphics would include some betterdesigned particle effects (there was just a pre-defined explosion effect when destroying buildings), a better look when killing enemies (they just disappear and throw a bit of blood), and possibly some more varying terrain types, scenery objects, and a better colour of grass! One of the few criticisms I have about this game is the short levels at the beginning, and basic mission targets. The first 5-10 levels are relatively short, involving the destruction of 3-15 enemies (though varying and very fun), and in the later levels, destroying the huts that produces them. The shortness of the levels died out after a few levels, when you started to get birds creating little enemies (with the aim of destroying the birds so they can’t create more monsters), and even some huge spider thing that shot webs at you (where I fatally had to finish the game and start working on the review). But, the missions continued to be just a case of destroying all the enemies.

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» review - age of war: the coming storm

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Another criticism, though easily forgiven, was the basic AI. They simply followed you and, in the case of a rangedweapon, shot at you when close enough. In many cases this cannot be tolerated, however I still found the game very enjoyable – as the AI were still rather hard. The enemies were very varying – tribal warriors, birds, ‘spots’ (?), and a freaking huge spider monster. The game also seemed to lag a bit when there were lots of enemies, but I’m sure a bit of speed-compensation (the speed of the objects movement is relative to the frames per second to give the illusion that there is no fps dropping) would patch it up just fine. Overall, this game was a real surprise for me – I did not expect something so enjoyable, and quite bug free. It has a nice length of levels, a great replay value, a lot of variety, and a great little set of graphics. I recommend this to anyone.

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Dark Resource is a free game maker resource website. It has shareware sounds and graphics. It's main focus is the sound section, since I mostly do SFX. Anybody willing to contribute can PM me or send me an email.

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Zedman Media - Software Devision, is a company that makes specialized software (mostly for computer diagnostic) in GML.

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» exclusive! preview of magi

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Title: Magi Author: Thomas Grochowiak (TeeGee) Ratings: Graphics: Sound:

Check out our screen book from page 10 - 13, for exclusive screen shots.

Gameplay: Re-play value: Overall:

http://forums.gamemaker.nl/index.php?showtopic=243433 http://forums.gamemaker.nl/index.php?showtopic=243433

exclusive! Preview Written by gmjab First I would like to thank TeeGee for allowing the GM TECH Magazine review this almost final full shareware game and for providing a lot of great information & extras about the game. Magi is a magical game which mixes both strategy and RPG's together to create a truly original game. Magi is a beautiful and professional game in every aspect possible. Magi was developed together with the help of a few people for about 2 years, so it is a worth while game. Magi is the type of game you cannot play 5 minutes. To finish Magi, it takes a lot of strategy if you don't want you character to die fast. If I only had two words to explain Magi's graphics, I would say they were: amazingly beautiful. On the GMC you almost never come across a game which it's graphics are so high quality and professional. When starting up Magi for the first time it has a intro which although simple was extremely effective for the game and suited it wonderfully. The menu was very simple again but was absolutely perfect for the game. I think that having the menu items shake was very effective and made the menu interesting. The game interface looks so good as if has come from a commercial game and truly is amazing for a Game Maker game. Also the game particle effects are amazing again, there is an effect for each spell and they really look like magical effects. It was surprisingly to see that even though all those effects where going that the game never lagged as I thought it would. Sound is normally where a lot of Game Maker games lose there quality. But this game is far from that reality. The music is beautiful and flows wonderfully. The music composed by Rob Westwood and this game feel as if they were meant to be. The game also contains a very wide variety of sound effects for GUI controls and magic effects. The sound is defiantly no downfall for this game. This game must of been through loads and loads of testing because I have not found a single bug since I started testing this game. This game is so smooth to play and the best part about this game is it's not always easy to play. The game gets harder and the A.I gets stronger and you always have to modify your game plan because the A.I learns your strategy. Magi really keeps you on the edge with every duel, that is why it has the feature to queue spells which is awesome since it saves you a lot of time. As you play through the game you get to unlock new magical spells and you also gain new skills. Even though this game hasn't really got a story I think having the goal to live as long as you can is a great point to this game. Another reason why I think this game is very professional is because it has game options and other extra features like the statistic board. The game also contains helpful tips on nearly every item on the interface which is a great feature to see because there are a lot of games without help. It was also good to see a game tutorial when I started because it takes a little while to get used to the controls. I could sit down and play this game for a straight 4-5hr as I'm a big strategy game fan. This game isn't so much all fun, it involves you more in thinking, choosing wise moves and while in a match I felt in the game, not like I'm playing the game. I really don't know anyone that could play this game once and just leave it to gather up dust. Magi is the best Game Maker game of have seen in along time and if we had game of the month awards, this would get it. I believe this game will actually sell and it's worth every cent it costs. Sadly I cannot talk about all the features of the game but, if I was to talk about each feature I would most likely need 5 pages or more. I hope TeeGee continues development on the game possibly to make Magi 2. If you haven't yet tried Magi you have had a great loss. Also please take the time to read through the game facts on page 10, and also to have a look at the screen shots (page 11-13), concept arts (page 14-15).

» exclusive! facts about magi EXCLUSIVE! Facts about Magi Written by gmjab

Some people may want to know a bit of facts about Magi, so here they are. I have written this list below which was provided by the author. Please note that some facts may change when the full shareware version is released. Development: The game idea was first created when Thomas Grochowiak was about 10 years old. Magi was first created in Klick&Play and since then it has been remade 2 times before finally being remade in Game Maker. Magi is Thomas Grochowiak's(TeeGee) first ever game made in Game Maker and has been in development for about 2 years. > Main Credits: Thomas Grochowiak - Graphics,Programming,Idea Kate Kludge - Character design and concept art Rob Westwood - Music composer > Other people: John Urbañski - Webmastering > Beta Testers: Ansgar TCgamer Glic2000 Marius Pricing: The final full game will be shareware and sold for around $19.95. It will be listed on many shareware sites and portals. Extra Fact: The finished A.I code is 50 printed pages in size. The A.I has the ability to learn the player's tactics and also can adjust it's difficulty level based on how well you are playing.

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» exclusive! screen book of magi

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more exclusive screenshots on the next page

» exclusive! screen book of magi

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more exclusive screenshots on the next page

» exclusive! screen book of magi

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more exclusive screenshots on the next page

» exclusive! concept art of magi

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more exclusive concept art on the next page

» exclusive! concept art of magi

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» worth a look - free applications

Misfit Model 3D 1.2.0 ============================================================= Homepage: http://www.misfitcode.com/misfitmodel3d/ Have you ever wanted to find a 3D models that is simple and easy to use ? Then Misifit Model 3D is what you need. Misfit Model 3D is a easy to use cross platform 3D modeler which is not bloated with to many features like commercial models. Misfit Model supports animation, texturing and has a decent amount of 3D vertex manipulation tools. This version of Misfit Model on supports saving models to: Quake *.m2d, MilkShape 3D *.ms3d and Wavefront *.obj. Misfit Model is a great tool aimed at new 3D modelers, so it shouldn't be to hard for a new person to pick up on how to use it.

PsPad 4.5.2 ============================================================= Homepage: http://www.pspad.com/ If you like to write your scripts externally rather than use GM's built-in script editor I suggest you download this program. PsPad is a mighty code editor with tons of tool and features. Some feature it has are: hex editor, syntax highlighting, Multi document interface, macro recorder, code explorer, spelling checker, character table, colour translator, bookmarking and much much more. PsPad is a nice clean program that is defiantly a program you will keep for a long time and is surprisingly completely free.

Paint.NET 3.0 ================================================ Homepage: http://www.getpaint.net/ Paint.NET is a program some people would have been told to use and for a great reason: it is an excellent replacement for Microsoft Paint. Before you use this program you will need installed Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 to run the program. Paint.NET is probably one of the best free paint programs around because it has many great features like: Unlimited Undo/Redo history, it support plugin's and new effects, support for many popular image file formats, layers, multi document interface and it very simple and easy to use. Paint.NET also has image effects such as clouds, noise, emboss, glow, pixelate and a few more other good effects. Not only does Paint.NET look great but it's power is great for a freeware editor, this program is defiantly a keeper.

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» exclusive! interview with darthlupi

EXCLUSIVE! Interview Written by davidp22 and gamez93

Darthlupi is known on the GMC, because of the games he made which include Legend Of Shadow , The Cleaner - Serious Bug Fix and Raging Skies, we have managed to get a exclusive interview with him, some exclusive screenshots of his work in progress game Monster Hunter. Enjoy. [1] To begin, please tell us about you and when you start using Game Maker? Well, I've always thought of myself as one of those people who were hopelessly lost in his own head, and I always loved playing alone making little games out of everything. My father worked as a photographer for a couple of newspapers when I was young, and I would draw these huge detailed space battles on the blank newspaper rolls that he would bring me home. I've always loved little tiny struggles with the underdogs winning. I think that is why I make games. That and to see people smile. Yeah, making people happy is an awesome power. Especially when it is the odd thoughts in your head that do it. It's as though you secret worlds are validated and good instantly when some one digs them. So there you go. I like to make games because of some deep psychological desire to express my imagination and have it accepted. Basically, I am near insane. With that line of thought, I guess you could say that I was downloading Game Maker because I'm crazy! Ha, kidding. I wanted to find something less boring to work with then C++ for making video games, and I wanted it to be faster than Qbasic. Luckily, GM is awesomely flexible and powerful. Ha. [2] What was your goal, when downloading Game Maker? Did you ever think that you would become well known by, many Game Maker’s? My goal was simply to find a tool or collection of Libraries that was a bit easier to get a handle of in my spare time. Well known by many game makers? I really didn't think of it that way. I was too stupidly excited that my first game wasn't going to take me forever and a day to complete. I thought I was going to be a flop after I posted my first demo, Hellstalker, and I received more or less anti-praise for my hard work. Back then the best review site around for GM games was David Poo Bond's review site. My second game, Spoonpage, did receive a ten there. As I remember it, it was my favourite review. Where is Mr. Poo Bond and Squackle now? [3] What would you say to everyone who wants to follow in your footsteps? Watch where you are stepping. I think I stepped on a turd a while ago. In terms of game development, don't worry if people give you a hard time about something you made. Remember most people don't even try, and you are trying. Learn from mistakes, and don't try to do something you aren't interested in. Um, Fan Games are cool if you make them cool and don't tote them as the best game ever. People get a bit upset over that. Don't be scared to take your time on something, it's ok to start another project in the middle of another. Game making is supposed to be fun, and if making a game is more fun than playing a game you probably have a good game on your hands. Finally, don't make a game that you don't want to play. If it is no fun to you, it probably sucks and should have never been made. It's a game damn it. [4] Who would you consider a role model on the GMC? Carl the man Gustafsson is my hero. That dude is a gentleman and a bloody good scholar too. I haven't seen him around town much lately, but I am sure he'll pop in again some time. He was always nice to new people, and he was the best of the best. Check out his page - its old! http://hem.passagen.se/birchdale/carl/

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» exclusive! interview with darthlupi

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[5] What made you want to make Raging Skies? What was you inspiration? Man, Messhof really. This dude and I were working on a pirate game that used the same basic physics for the planes, and I really liked the movement. I started wondering if it would be fun in the air with the ability to shoot things on the ground. At the time scaling sprites was something just awesome to me, and my friend Tapeworm showed me what could be done with particles. I wanted to try it out. Plus everyone wanted to know where Spoon Man came from. Right? [6] The beta of GM7 has been released earlier this month, what do you think of the changes that have been made by Mark? Nothing really. I didn't really get into the new features that much. I was pretty happy with version 6. I haven't completely mastered the use of surfaces and textures with primitives yet. My hats off to Mark Overmars, all the same. I really like that guy. Only thing I want out of a new version of GM is a little more innate speed in the runner. That said, I've learned the sad truth that most of the slowness in my games is ignorance to what is slow vs what isn't to do. Damn my ignorance too. [7] Are there any projects that you are currently working on? Oh heck yeah. I've got a folder full of projects, and I have new ideas popping in every day. My main squeeze right now is Sword Fighter Zero. It's shaping up perfectly. It took me about 4 different tries to get the game play and feel of the game solid, but I think I got as close as I ever will with this idea. Basically you are a young mute who returns to his village to find his people gone. All he sees is a strange floating vehicle in the distance. He jumps on his trusty steed and heads off into the distance to see what is up. I wrote the engine originally to be a series of gamelettes released monthly. To do this I wrote my own external save system and procedurally created weapons, armour and items. Yeah, that got boring and I wanted to make an entire game out of it. So that is what I am attempting. [8] Are you going to stick with GM or go onto another game developing tools? GM for life! Well, GM as long as it does what I need. It's great working with a tool that works with you. That is what GM is to me. A great tool that works with me. [9] Who or what is your inspiration? Where do you find ideas for you games, where do you find determination? Man, who or what is my inspiration? Wow, man. Everything is. I love life in all of it's oddity. Seeing kids playing and having fun makes me wonder if I can capture that fun. Watching a moving and seeing a really moving action or love or life scene. Reading books is huge! Read lots of great books and fall in love. Falling love helps a lot. It makes you feel lots of new feelings, both bad and good. My determination comes from the fact that I have fun making games. I can sometimes picture people playing my games and feeling something new from one of my games. Wow, inducing emotion in people. What a power trip. Especially if they are good emotions.

» exclusive! screens — hover tank 3D 2

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EXCLUSIVE! HT3D 2 Screenshots Written by gamez93

I spent the last couple days talking to FredFredrickson (http://forums.gamemaker.nl/index.php?showuser=15789), about Hover Tank 3D 2, and I agreed with him a exclusive look at some of the screenshots and also some info on what's to come. Here is what FredFredrickson, had to say… ‘I'm currently planning on adding multiple weapons to the game, which will be able to be picked up via power-ups or special weapon locations, a large world for the player to explore and destroy many different types of enemies in, and a more comprehensive multiplayer game than the first game. HT3D2 should support at least 4 players in one match, and depending on the time it takes to add, may also include some sort of co-op missions. I am also working on making the world fit together seamlessly, with no huge loading sequences, so that you can travel from the home base to any part of the world. All in all, the idea is to take the things that made HT3D a great game and improve upon that, while also adding new elements to the mix to make the game interesting for people who enjoyed the previous game, and newcomers to the series.’ Now for your eyes only, exclusive screenshots of Hover Tank 3D 2...

more exclusive screenshots on the next page

» exclusive! screens — hover tank 3D 2

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» closing comments

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Closing Comments Written by rup13

Well what an issue this has been, filled with exclusives, which we have been able to get hold of before the general public, just for your eyes. Despite some sections missing, we hope you enjoyed this issue and that we continue to make issues for quite some time. Any people currently upgrading to Game Maker 7.0 stay patient with YoYo Games and have faith in them as they are working hard. If like me you were faced with the Softwrap error but have not yet solved it, please see the pinned topic in the Community forum where I provided a solution. Next issue we shall see about providing you with all the latest Game Maker news again so keep your eyes peeled for issue 5. Big thanks to those who assisted in the production of this issue and see you soon.

Do you have something to say about this magazine or Game Maker? Then why not email us? That’s right we are now allowing you, our great readers to write in and have the chance of getting your email published. It can be informative, about GM, its changes, and the lot - we just want to here from you. You can write to us at: [email protected]

GM TECH MAGAZINE

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