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[suny]

RANDOM BULLET PATTERN #4

10.000 bullets at 60fps.
Still working on the bullet engine optimization: after a while, I'm losing memory coherency and the cache misses slow down the pattern.


S.

[suny]

SHMUP Creator Tool #1 : attach

Can be useful to create boss or complex enemies.
Still working on engine optimization: I'm really happy, the bullets are a lot, lot faster now!

[suny]

Still working part-time on the bullet engine optimization. I learned a lot of things!
There are 10.000 bullets with background collisions, at 70-80 fps on my 2016 laptop.

I'm going to stop, and re-focus on completing the beta version of the SHMUP Creator.
S.

[suny]

FEBRUARY UPDATE

Original post:  http://bulostudio.com/2020/02/15/february-update-3/

Hi there,

No update in January: bad!
But still a lot of things happened.

DOCUMENTATION:
The documentation is complete! And it’s quite big. We still have to finish some small sections and add a few pictures.

ITEM PRESETS SELECTOR:
You can open a window to chose a behavior presets for the items: how will they move, react, are they attracted to the player… And like other things in the SHMUP Creator, there is an animated preview to help users chose.

MENUS:
A lot of contextual help messages have been added to the menus to help users understand what the properties are doing.

COPY/PASTE:
In the SHMUP Creator you can quickly duplicate anything: just hold Shift and drag the selection.
But sometimes, you want to paste your selection far away, and duplicating is awkward. So I added a copy/paste feature: select something, Ctrl+c, Ctrl+v somewhere else, and voila!

SOUNDS and MUSICS
We got rid of all the unlicensed musics and sounds, and we created sounds and musics to replace them.
The Blade of Death sample game has original musics now, as well as new sound effects, and the in-game tutorials too. We still have to do the same for the 2D space sample game.

OPTIMIZATION:
I optimized the engine a lot. Now we can display 10.000 bullets in 60 fps with collisions on my 2016 laptop! Maybe I’ll write a post about it in the near future. I’m quite happy with the results. There is still room for improvements, but it’s for later.

Next:
Steam paperwork (at last!!!), and keep working on the beta in the meantime.
S.

[suny]

Original post: http://bulostudio.com/2020/04/01/march-update-2/



MARCH UPDATE

Hi,

Very small update for March.

Since the middle of March, France is confined. The situation is stressful and it’s hard to re-organize our life. I’m working form home for my employer and am still trying to work on the SHMUP Creator.
But we are not making much progress on this project right now.

Nevertheless, I corrected a few bugs and polished the translation and rotation tools.
I also created a few bullet patterns which will be included in the package as well as some default assets.
I spent some time cleaning the SHMUP Creator datas too: there were a lot of old files, unused assets and missing sounds.

That’s all.
We’ll try to spend more time on this project in the next few weeks: I’m sure it’s important for the spirit to make progress on personal projects!

Take care,
S.

[suny]

Hi!
Just a small update:

We are officially Steam devs!



Still a lot of work, but an important milestone for the SHMUP Creator.
I'll write an update next week
S.

[suny]

APRIL UPDATE:
Original post: http://bulostudio.com/2020/05/04/march-update-3/

Hi everyone,

Despite the virus situation, we managed to make good progress on the SHMUP Creator.

STEAM
First of all, we are now an official Steam developer!
This is a really great milestone for us. We are in the process of integrating the Steam DRM and uploading the game on Valve’s server for the first time. We still have work to do on the store and the library, but it means we are going to be able to start the closed beta in a few weeks!




UNICODE
Until now the SHMUP Creator wasn’t working on OS using foreign characters: for instance, on a Japanese Windows, the tool crashed. We are in the process of modifying some of the tool code to allow the import of assets on foreign systems. It also means modifying external libraries, like the one responsible for the FBX 3D models import.

LIBRARIES
Speaking of which, we updated all the libraries we are using (Ogre3D, MyGUI etc.) to their latest version.

NEXT
It’s still difficult for us to find enough time to work on this project, and it’s more difficult than ever right now, but we are quite excited: the beta is really almost ready!
Also, we are working slowly on the SHMUP Creator store on Steam. It means working on a trailer and such.
Still so many things to do…

S.

[suny]

Original post: http://bulostudio.com/2020/06/03/may-update-2/

MAY UPDATE

Hi there!

We are making good progress, and the closed beta will start in a few days.
At last!

POLISH
Last month, we corrected a lot of bugs as well as adding last-minute features to the SHMUP Creator:
. better collisions
. scores and multipliers fonts are now using the same engine as the animated sprites
.small sprites can now be scaled and use a special shader to keep the pixels sharp. Perfect for games using pixel art.




UNICODE
A lot of work went into correcting the code to make the tool work on systems using foreign characters. It was not a trivial thing, and it should work now. I had to implement a new 3D importer library, for the better: it will allow me to add new 3D formats in the future.

STEAM INTEGRATION
We completed integrating Steam to the SHMUP Creator. The store is almost ready, we received the first keys for the beta and everything seems to be in order.
Exciting times!

NEXT
We’ll start in a few days to distribute some Steam keys for the closed beta, starting with a small group of people.
There are still a lot of things to do on our list: marketing, translating the tool in French, creating a website for the game, completing the 2D game…

Don't forget to subscribe to our mailing list to know when the game will be available:
http://www.shmupcreator.com/

See you soon,
S.

[suny]

Original post: http://bulostudio.com/2020/07/10/beta-version-june-update/



beta version (June update)

THIS IS IT! WE STARTED THE CLOSED BETA!

This is really emotional and exciting. We started this project years ago, slowly, part-time. And now, real people are using it. There are only a handful of beta testers for now because we want to have time to properly listen to everybody and address the (numerous) issues. But those people are already creating incredible things with the tool! It’s a really great feeling to be surprised by its own application. Thanks people for your time and dedication, you give us the energy to make the SHMUP Creator even better.

PROGRESS:
. the SHMUP Creator is on steam for beta testers
. the on-boarding is better
. use a new inputs library: better gamepads compatibility and hot plugging
. lots of crashes and bugs fixed
. better UI
. new small features added

NEXT:
Fixing the issues is taking a lot of time, but we really have to progress on the trailer if we want to open the store on steam, ideally at the end of August.
I’m going to add some new people to the beta and continue to listen to advice, critics and bug reports: there are already some areas of the SHMUP Creator I want to modify to allow more creativity.
That’s quite exciting, and exhausting (doing this on top of our daily job), but also rewarding.

Stay tuned!
S. & Z.

[suny]

Original post: http://bulostudio.com/2020/07/10/beta-version-june-update/



beta version (June update)

THIS IS IT! WE STARTED THE CLOSED BETA!

This is really emotional and exciting. We started this project years ago, slowly, part-time. And now, real people are using it. There are only a handful of beta testers for now because we want to have time to properly listen to everybody and address the (numerous) issues. But those people are already creating incredible things with the tool! It’s a really great feeling to be surprised by its own application. Thanks people for your time and dedication, you give us the energy to make the SHMUP Creator even better.

PROGRESS:
. the SHMUP Creator is on steam for beta testers
. the on-boarding is better
. use a new inputs library: better gamepads compatibility and hot plugging
. lots of crashes and bugs fixed
. better UI
. new small features added

NEXT:
Fixing the issues is taking a lot of time, but we really have to progress on the trailer if we want to open the store on steam, ideally at the end of August.
I’m going to add some new people to the beta and continue to listen to advice, critics and bug reports: there are already some areas of the SHMUP Creator I want to modify to allow more creativity.
That’s quite exciting, and exhausting (doing this on top of our daily job), but also rewarding.

Stay tuned!
S. & Z.

[suny]

Original post:
http://bulostudio.com/2020/08/12/july-update-and-tote-bags/



JULY UPDATE AND TOTE BAGS

Hi everyone!

BETA
We don’t have the time or luxury to make a real big game with the SHMUP Creator: we made test levels and such. But some of the beta testers are going crazy and doing real games!
And the reality comes back to us: the SHMUP Creator uses too much memory, we didn’t thought of this or that, why on earth people are clicking on this and make the tool crash??? WHY?
AND we are so happy to fix problems ! That makes the SHUMP Creator stronger and better!

I divided by 5 the memory used by the tool, the levels are loading way faster, a lot of small issues are fixed everyday.
We are far from the end of the beta, but the SHMUP Creator is making great progress, and we are still amazed by what people can make with it!
Beta testers are incredible, dedicated people. Thanks again for your hard work!

TOTE BAGS
In order to go out and do something completly different, we made some tote bags! We have access to a silk screening workshop and we made 10 nice SHMUP Creator bags. For what? Not sure.
Maybe for an video-game exhibitions (like the Stunfest in Rennes (France), who knows?

[suny]

A small update.
Original post: http://bulostudio.com/2020/10/19/september-update/

September update

BETA
We are still testing the SHMUP Creator.
We invited a few more people from all over the world and I’m really looking forward to having a bigger community on Discord soon.
When I look at the change-log since last month, that’s crazy the number of small fixes, corrected bugs, polish and so on we did!
For the first time since the start of the closed beta the tool “seems” to be almost stable.
To be honest, that’s a relief, and we can at last go back to the other tasks we are postponing since a few weeks: a tiny bit of marketing (like writing this post), working on the trailer, completing the 2D game, etc.

NANOFORCE



The most impressive creation made with the SHMUP Creator right now is Nanoforce, made by Alec. I think Alec tried every feature of the tool and is really doing amazing things! His game has multi-directional scrollings, a lot of different weapons, huge enemies and boss, a lot of scripted things (moving backgrounds, texts, sounds…). He is doing everything by himself: the Art, the music, the gameplay…
Watching people do crazy things with our tool is really great, and NANOFORCE is really impressive.

You can check-out Alec’s work on his youtube page:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt-kQY_wjY9IoJ7eRlYtMDQ
… and his Twitter account:
https://twitter.com/colossal_cedric

Here a short work in progress preview:




See ya!
S.

[suny]

Long time no see. Too long.
Link to the original post: http://bulostudio.com/2021/01/25/december-update-2/

January update

We are still in closed beta.
It’s hard to find the time to make as much progress as we would like, but we are still fixing bugs and adding small features to the SHMUP Creator.

MATERIAL EDITOR:
We added a material editor for 3D objects. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it!
You can choose textures, shininess, reflection for imported models and see the result in the editor.




NEW FEATURES:
We also added a lot of new features to the SHMUP Creator:
. Users can exclude levels from the final build. It allows people to keep test levels in their projects.
. Layers can be locked to prevent moving some objects.
. Some additional controls were added to the weapon editor: Charge Shots like in R-type, ways to have a Tap Weapon and an Hold Weapon and Invincible Bullets
. A dead enemy can cancel its own bullets
. A new explosion component: light

NEXT:
We are now in 2021. Times flies!
June 2020 was the start of the beta, and was an huge achievement for us!
I really wanted to release the SHMUP Creator trailer before the end of the year, but couldn’t for a variety of reasons. This trailer, and opening the Steam store is still the next big milestone for us.

S.

[suny]

Long time no see. Too long.
Link to the original post: http://bulostudio.com/2021/01/25/december-update-2/

January update

We are still in closed beta.
It’s hard to find the time to make as much progress as we would like, but we are still fixing bugs and adding small features to the SHMUP Creator.

MATERIAL EDITOR:
We added a material editor for 3D objects. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it!
You can choose textures, shininess, reflection for imported models and see the result in the editor.




NEW FEATURES:
We also added a lot of new features to the SHMUP Creator:
. Users can exclude levels from the final build. It allows people to keep test levels in their projects.
. Layers can be locked to prevent moving some objects.
. Some additional controls were added to the weapon editor: Charge Shots like in R-type, ways to have a Tap Weapon and a Hold Weapon, and Invincible Bullets
. A dead enemy can cancel its own bullets
. A new explosion component: light

NEXT:
We are now in 2021. Times flies!
June 2020 was the start of the beta, and was a huge achievement for us!
I really wanted to release the SHMUP Creator trailer before the end of the year, but couldn’t for a variety of reasons. This trailer, and opening the Steam store is still the next big milestone for us.

S.

[suny]

Link to the original post: http://bulostudio.com/2021/04/08/march-update-4/



MARCH UPDATE - TOUHOU PATTERNS

PATTERNS MONTH!
Last month I decided to recreate patterns inspired by Touhou games.
It was interesting: sometimes it’s impossible to recreate them in the SHMUP Creator (Touhou is using a complex scripting system more akin to computer code), sometimes I found and corrected bugs but most of the time I was positively surprised by our Weapon Editor and what we can achieve with only a mouse moving some sliders.
With only a few settings and some smart uses of the Weapons and bullets features, I managed to create some complex patterns very close to the originals!


The Weapon editor:



Here are some of them:












See you!
S.

[suny]

Hi!

We are working hard on the announcement trailer and the Steam store page for the SHMUP Creator.
At last!
That’s really exciting, and a little bit frightening too

See you in a few days!
S.

[suny]

The Steam store and the trailer are live! (At last...)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1289520/SHMUP_Creator/

If you are interested in this project, please wishlist!

[brainwipe]

Congratulations on getting your store online! I've wishlisted. It's great to see something that's taken 7 years to come to fruition, it gives the rest of us hope!

Have you done much marketing up until now? IMHO your capsule isn't as nearly as eye catching as your demo and for many, that will be the only thing they see.

May I recommend Chris Zuckowski for awesome marketing tips https://howtomarketagame.com/

[suny]

Thanks!
I agree with the capsule impact: that's really hard to know what image to put on it, the SHMUP Creator being a tool, without a game aesthetic, or any game Art.

But I'll try another capsule in a few days.
S.

[suny]

Yesterday was Gradius Day!
It's the 36th anniversary of this game, which is the reason I'm working on my project.

I created part of one of Gradius level with the SHMUP Creator: it was fun and pretty quick.





S.