Easybuilder

Community Forums/Showcase/Easybuilder

RifRaf(Posted 2007) [#1]
Hi,
Im not really trying to show this off as much as I am looking for artistic help. Im working in a mesh creation system based on blocks and dropped scenery. Blocks vary in shape, and you can specify the textures to use per side ect. Entities are optimized in real time to allow you to place far more in the scene than you otherwise could, faces that are not seen are removed immediatly, and are not exported with the final model(s). Lighting is very simple, so far its done on a per block basis, no real lightmap creation. Scenes can vary in size from 8x8x8 to 64x64x8. Everything is a snap to grid type of flow. Scaling Placing ect.


You can save raw data to recreate at project runtime, or export a multisurface mesh. This creates two models for you one primary, and one with scenery you have flagged to not have collisions in game. You can also drop data points wich can have any text you want assiciated with them for custom effects and things to be parsed at level load.

The help i need is with textures and low poly scenery objects that fit the basic "toon" appearance of the shot below. I would also like a few people to test it and give me critical feedback as to its interface and ease of use ect. This would be a pretty thankless position I cant pay someone to give me feedback , but I can pay an artist if any are interested and have the talent to put together some good model and texture packs for me.


these were eary shots, if i get a chance ill update them.




Fuller(Posted 2007) [#2]
that looks cool! Are you going to sell this or can i have a copy?
I'm not too bad with my army of graphics programs, just send me an email if you want me do some textures (please specify) for you.


Jsoren(Posted 2007) [#3]
ohhh! i was just looking for something exactily like this! very nice!

Are you going to sell this or can i have a copy?


^ what he said ^


RifRaf(Posted 2007) [#4]
Well its not quite done yet so no copies for anyone until then. Im waiting on some media.


RifRaf(Posted 2007) [#5]
The person I was banking on is MIA, so im still in search of a texture artist. heres my attempt to make a set.
From the shot you can kind of see what style im aiming at, phantom hourglass'ish. Ive sent out a few emails to artists I know, or have worked with before, but cant get psionics email from my old pda, and his contact button isnt working for my broswer. Can anyone give me his email ??

Alternatively, if anyone reading this can produce this kind of work, email me please, I can supply the texture samples ive created and general requirement guidelines.

not sure if it will help anyone decide to take the job, but texture size requirements are a mere 64x64



Madcap13(Posted 2007) [#6]
Dude, that's pretty cool looking. Kinda reminds me of 2d RPGs except it's actually 3d.

That's a good thing in my books.

I particularly like the few grassy bits hanging over the sides of the drops. Transitional tile peices worked can work well in 2d and they work well here too.

Keep up the good work. :)


Nack(Posted 2007) [#7]
oooooo, this looks awesome.
How did u have differnet texture on each surface for each tile?? I am assuming u didnt use a modeler to make the tiles becuase u got that toolbar with differnet texture for top,front, bottom etc. didnt know blitz3d can do that lol

Nack


jayparker(Posted 2007) [#8]
I just bought this product and quickly tested it. And it's awesome. Great job RifRaf!


RifRaf(Posted 2007) [#9]
Thank you Jay.


Panno(Posted 2007) [#10]
no paypal here grrrrrrrrrrr.....

i ask in the german forum for :)

edit....


cant log in your forum

its possible to pay in a other way ??


Grey Alien(Posted 2007) [#11]
Neat, that screenshot reminds me of an old PLatstation game, Legacy of Kane.


(tu) sinu(Posted 2007) [#12]
is there a demo, i really love the look of this.


RifRaf(Posted 2007) [#13]
No demo atm

@Panno, i cant think of any other way atm, but im not unreasonable, I would be willing to barter for texture work or somthing like that if you have any artistic skills at all. GameMaker04@...


Vertigo(Posted 2007) [#14]
This looks neat.


(tu) sinu(Posted 2007) [#15]
Im gonna hold out for a demo, i really wanna purchase it but would like to try a demo first.


RifRaf(Posted 2007) [#16]
unfortunatly im not sure when ill get around to making a demo. The one example work I plan on puttin up on my downloads page is the zelda overworld remake walkthrough demonstrating massive landscapes ect. But that will be several days at least.


(tu) sinu(Posted 2007) [#17]
that sounds cool, that might convice me :-)


Hotshot2005(Posted 2007) [#18]
I do hope RifRaf is updating Easybuilder cos it amazing program and easy to used.


Tachyon(Posted 2007) [#19]
I am interested in this too. I sent RifRaf an email through Empowered Games and haven't heard back.


YellBellzDotCom(Posted 2007) [#20]
RifRaf, what kind of models are you looking for?
Scenary like trees, rocks, grass, etc?


Characters and or monsters?
Heres a Zelda Lookalike I just drew up, if your interested I can see how a model of it looks...


Static Objects like tables, chairs, fountains, pictures, etc?

Give some details on what your looking for and Someone may throw something at you. (You may have to duck, lol)

Im no modeling expert but I like to dabble.


RifRaf(Posted 2007) [#21]
sorry guys new job has me working lots of overtime. Im looking for scnenery objests in the "toonish" styles of classic nintendo and snes. All themes are welcome, from adventure (zelda) style to future / punk. Email me again at GameMaker04@.... I am not looking for any characters however.


j-man(Posted 2007) [#22]
Hey RifRaf, I just ordered the EasyBulider3D Beta, confirmed payment with PayPal and the redirect took me back to a blank page and I never received a download link for the product. What's up? I'm really anxious to try this out.


josk(Posted 2007) [#23]
Dont worry this happened to me, You recieve an e-mail with the download link in.
I got mine within a few hours and that was on a Sunday.
Maybe send him an e-mail to help it along.


j-man(Posted 2007) [#24]
Thanks! Just got the link and got it activated and was hoping there might be a demo level. Tried to go to the EasyBulider3D forums to see what might be available but my account there hasn't yet been activated either :(


Hotshot2005(Posted 2007) [#25]
is RifRaf still working this or updating this?


Dabhand(Posted 2008) [#26]
If he is, any chance he could either a) Provide me with at least something for my $13 purchase or b) give me a refund.

To be honest, the way empower games have their sales setup is abysmal... You pay'em through paypal, you get a 404 on their after sales landing pad and there is no way to get in touch with them on the support forums as your effectively just a username with no permissions what so ever.

In fact, there is NO information at all!

Very bad


squareiris(Posted 2008) [#27]
It is currently in Beta stage and you can buy it for ca. 13 bucks. Looks very good and seems like a tool many indies could use.


Dabhand(Posted 2008) [#28]
I have bought it, but dont have it, thats the thing... What I'm whining about is their whole sales setup is absolutley cack arse, and I still havent any news regarding my purchase, do I just wait... baring in mind empowergames have stated they are not currently working on it... Which is even crapper because they are still charging for it.


TomToad(Posted 2008) [#29]
Dabhand, I ran into the same problem while ordering other products from empowergames. I did manage to get the products by emailing them at both the address in his profile, and the address used by paypal. I'm not sure which one actually got through, but try those if you haven't already.
I don't want to post someone elses email addresses here, but they are easy to find.


Dreamora(Posted 2008) [#30]
Don't buy something from this page at the moment.
The reports of users trying to contact him for weeks now to get their payed products stack up on other boards.


GfK(Posted 2008) [#31]
The guy who did Blitzplay still has that for sale somewhere too - somebody on IRC was complaining about it only days ago, i.e. money being taken and no product received.

If any of you guys are listening, you're giving the community a very bad name. Either give these people what they've paid for in good faith, or just stop taking people's money. Its simple enough!


Dabhand(Posted 2008) [#32]

The reports of users trying to contact him for weeks now to get their payed products stack up on other boards.



Well if thats the case, BRL should do the decent thing and remove the toolbox entry at least. Before anyone else gets swindled!


RifRaf(Posted 2008) [#33]
There was some trouble recently with some php I had developed by a 3rd party that was supposed to send reg codes automatically, but it was not working properly, so some users did go awhile without a download, ive since ditched the php and went back to emailing the reg codes myself.

There are some cases that the paypal email address from the user is invalid and all my attempts to send reg info are unsuccessfull. With those I contact paypal, and then wait for the user to email me with the correct address. gamemaker04@.... a few of those is still in the air atm. After one month and no contact I will refund in this scenario.

There have ALSO been a few cases where a users spam filter was grabbing all of my emails wich delayed those users for a bit. But never has there been deliberate neglect on my end. Easybuilder has sold over 100 copies and Mapcrafter has sold even more. Out of all of that there has been a small percentage of delays for several reasons most have been outlined above. Not to mention merely 10% of users sign up on my forums for support, so its likely that the other 90% may post for support elsewhere and get no reply. I really cant say because I dont check all the boards im on to give support.

Nobody has ever bought anything from me, and not received the program, or not had my attempts to deliver it. thats just untrue. as mentioned if I cannot deliver in one month refunds are always issued.

I think most of these reports are comming from realmcrafter forums, wich I dont visit since im not involved with that project anymore, the dev lead contacted me for more work but I could'nt accept the offer. As such I try not to post there now because my forum tag still reads "staff", and I get bombbarded with private realmcrafter related support messages when users see me post.

Micheal, I did send an email your way on the 5th. I resent another just now. Let me know via email (gamemaker04@...) if you do not receive it.


GaryV(Posted 2008) [#34]
I looked at one of your products (Mapcrafter) a while back but didn't purchase it because of the online activation (no internet connection on my dev machine). Is EasyBuilder3D limited by this as well?


RifRaf(Posted 2008) [#35]
Yeah, its changed over the last year however.. once you get a reg code it will work on any Mapcrafter download or update.

I just dont have the php and database experience to make this automated on my website. I did have someone barter with me to make it, but he never completed it.

You dont have to use it per machine.. that was the old method. a reg code will work on any machine. you could register at work, and use it at home. You would just have to get the program on your dev machine and use the codes that were made for you to activate it on that machine.


Dabhand(Posted 2008) [#36]
I have received my copy of EasyBuilder, so thank you for that RifRaf. Regarding the email on the 5th, the only email I received was from your support forum regarding me registering an account there... Nothing else came through my inbox regarding my purchase.

Its never good leaving customers in the lurch over a purchase... I'd expect at least a reply from an online merchant at the most within a 24 hour period, which to me, is good etiquette more than anything else.

Forgive me if I was harsh, but as a customer, the purchasing setup you had was abysmal and the experience is something I wouldnt wish on anyone, so if you'd like a little friendly advice... Ditch PayPal and distribute your products using a service such as ShareIt or SWReg.

Again, thanks for my purchase and I'll probably see you on your support boards! :)


GaryV(Posted 2008) [#37]
Dabhand: How do you like EasyBuilder now that you have it?


Dabhand(Posted 2008) [#38]
Mmmmm, okay really, from what I've played with it, and since its a beta, I cannot be more precise as stuff may chnage, but its okay and worth the $13! :)

I was going to build my own, then heard about this at Syntaxbomb, so I checked the toolbox and it seemed to be what I need... Though, I still may build my own in the end, but its very good work non the less.


RifRaf(Posted 2008) [#39]
Thank you dabhand, and yes its been in beta a looong time.. but im now at a point where I have time to continue with features and media. If you have any requests or ideas you are welcome to post them on the eg forums or email me.


Hotshot2005(Posted 2008) [#40]
hey Rifraf

are you still keep updating this your software?


RifRaf(Posted 2008) [#41]
Easybuilder, yes . I actually put in a few hours last night. Mapcrafter , no. At least not for now, its done.


Jon_E_5(Posted 2008) [#42]
This looks very interesting indeed. What model types does it except? I'm assuming 3DS and B3D at least :)
Is there some sort of scripting language for it or is that all done on the Blitz side of things?
I'm really tempted to get it, but I'll give it a bit longer see what else you get done on it. I have a Zelda(ish) adventure just screaming to be done one of these days! :)

Anyway well done it looks awesome and keep up the good work.


RifRaf(Posted 2008) [#43]
Jon, yes everything that Blitz3D accepts natively. I always use 3DS, and recommend Anim8or for shape creation/editing. www.anim8or.com

I do have a zelda map made with it already. This thread covered it, scroll to the bottom for the download link
http://www.blitzbasic.com/Community/posts.php?topic=73356#826163