8️⃣Game Maker 0.8

Important updates information and about Game Maker 0.8.

🎱 0.8 UPDATE OVERVIEW

Welcome to the revamped Game Maker version 0.8.

In this update, you’ll see a range of optimisations, multiplayer upgrades, new Behaviours and Components, Avatar controls, and User Interface changes, as well as a new Drafts Gallery filter to find shared experiences fast!

Get ready for more multiplayer, dynamic lighting, improved logic tools, immersive environment controls, and brand-new ways to explore.

0.8 is a transitional build and could impact existing builds. Please read the WARNINGS

Game Maker 0.7 and Game Maker 0.8 will coexist for a short time until an update is released that requires all experiences to the new version.

This update will provide time to learn and prepare for updates beyond 0.8.

To ensure the impact of this update is limited, it introduces new functionalities while retaining some older Behaviours and Components that will eventually be removed once they are ported in future updates.

🐇 TL;DR

Version 0.8 is a transitory update.

Read the WARNINGS before opening existing experiences with the new version.

0.8 contains a range of major upgrades and entirely new features.

🤸‍♀️ UPDATED Movement and Collision sync 🚗

• Synchronization - Behaviours and Components with state changes, such as movement, collision, or visibility, will now be experienced simultaneously by ALL players in a multiplayer experience.

• Behaviour and Component List - This includes updates to the Basic Platform Behaviour, Door Behaviour, Bird Behaviour, Pickable Component, Collectable Component, and more.

• Visit Understanding Multiplayer to dig into the details.

🔥 NEW lighting and visual effect features 💡

• Light Behaviour - Add colour, light, or darkness.

• VFX Behaviour - Enhance activities with a range of effects.

• Weather Switcher Behaviour - Change night to day or winter to summer.

• Post Processing Behaviour - Create custom filters.

⏰ NEW time-based logic Behaviours ⏳

• Timed Events Behaviour - Create timed-based messages

• Crowd Events Behaviour - Create multiplayer objectives.

🤔 NEW Logic Tools 🧩

• Logic Actor that doesn’t add to experience face count.

• Messages with Arguments for greater message control.

• Actor Property Behaviour to toggle Collision and Visibility states.

🏊‍♀️ NEW ways to explore as an Avatar 🏃‍♂️

• Swim through all liquid blocks

• Crouch and sneak around

• Crawl through small spaces

• Slide on surfaces

• Wear Equipment in social experiences

📺 NEW Video and Audio streaming capabilities 🔊 (limited access)

• Audio Streaming Behaviour -

• Video Streaming Behaviour -

⚠ WARNING ⚠: READ BEFORE YOU USE 0.8!

COMPATIBILITY

When opening a 0.7 save file, the ported Behaviors will be automatically upgraded to the new version while keeping the same configuration. They should work as closely as possible with the settings of the legacy version, minimizing the impact of this upgrade as much as possible.

IMPORTANT - Please read carefully!

If you load an existing 0.7 and experience, apply new 0.8 Behaviours or Components build, and then save your experience, you won’t be able to open it again in 0.7.

FUNCTIONALITY

‘Alternative’ functions and use cases different from what each Component and Behaviour was originally designed for shouldn’t be considered features and won’t necessarily be maintained in the new versions.

Support and bug fixing won’t be provided to the legacy versions of Behaviors and Components that have been ported. Support will only be provided to the new versions and to the legacy Behaviours that aren’t yet ported on 0.8.

PUBLISHING (PARTNERS AND STUDIOS)

If you intend to release your experience before Q3 2023, DO NOT update your 0.7 experience to 0.8.

Live events will keep running on 0.7 for a few months, so if you update to 0.8, the experience will be ineligible to appear in a live event.

If you are unsure of the risks to your existing work, don't open 0.7 experiences on 0.8.

To avoid any issues, we recommend the following:

• Not saving your current (already existing) experiences on the 0.8 build.

• Not keeping both 0.7 and 0.8 builds installed on your computer.

If you have taken the necessary steps to protect your existing work, and you understand the risks, we encourage you to start building, testing, and experimenting with these features, with the knowledge that future updates will further change functionality and workflow as more Behaviours and Components are ported.

🌟 0.8 HIGHLIGHTS

While this update as a whole introduces a heap of new features and functionality and a lot of smaller tweaks and improvements across the board, here is a list of some of the key features we are most excited to share with you.

• Multiplayer

• Lighting/ VFX

• Avatar Controls

• Logic Enhancements

• UI Upgrades

• Streaming

🌏 MULTIPLAYER

Multiplayer improvements are by far the biggest changes with 0.8.

SYNCHRONIZATION

Multiplayer now supports greater synchronisation for Behaviours and Components that control and change the ‘position’ or ‘state’ of objects and the environment.

This means when objects move, or a change to the environment occurs, every player can see those changes simultaneously.

For example, the Basic Platform Behaviour was previously only usable in solo experiences, but now it has been ported to multiplayer, and the movement and collision of the actor it’s attached to will be synchronized for ALL players.

These changes in synchronized state changes open up new ways to set challenges and provide access to different areas of an experience.

ENVIRONMENT SPLIT

Not all Behaviours and Components are compatible with multiplayer, so to address this, the 0.8 update includes a Client Only [SP] and Synchronized [MP] split for Behaviours and components.

LEFT: Client-Only Behaviours RIGHT: Syncronized Behaviours

Single Player [SP] Behaviors and Components work ‘locally’, meaning messages sent and received by them will only be sent to or received from other ‘local’ Behaviours and Components.

The resulting changes in the experience will only occur for an individual player, even in a multiplayer experience.

Multi-player [MP] Behaviors and Components work ‘globally’, meaning every message exchanged between actors happens for ALL players.

ALL players will be able to see the state changes that come as a result of those messages.

SP/ MP LIST

The Client Only [SP] Synchronized [MP] split almost doubles the options to consider when applying a Behaviour or Components.

To understand exactly which ones have changed and when they can be used, take a look at the chart below.

Because this update is transitional, not ALL Behaviours, Components, and Tools in the Game Maker have been ported to full synchronization.

A list of the ported, new, and legacy Behaviours and Components.

Multiplayer doesn’t have built-in combat yet, and there is no multiplayer-compatible Health Component, and as a result, some legacy Behaviours built around dealing with damage and combat, like Citizen, Farmer, and Melle Enemy, have not been ported.

The legacy Behaviours and Components in the table above have been marked in grey and labelled NOT compatible with MP Experiences. These should not be used in Multiplayer experiences.

Click the link to learn more about Understanding Multiplayer.

💡 LIGHTING

The 0.8 update brings a whole new way to customise the look and feel of an experience.

As in film and photography, lighting and special effects have the ability to change how a scene is perceived, and now, with some powerful new tools, the same results can be achieved in the Game Maker.

WEATHER SWITCHER

The Weather Switcher Behaviour can be used to customize the ambience of an environment by adjusting the global settings for light colour and intensity.

It even offers the ability to shift day to night and change the size of the sun and moon.

Fading between multiple custom Weather Switcher Behaviours.

Click the link to read more about using the Weather Switcher.

LIGHT BEHAVIOUR

The Light Behaviour provides a powerful tool for bringing colour, light, or darkness to specific areas of an experience.

This Behaviour uses a Point Light for lighting in all directions or a Spot Light for a targeted cone of light, and each can have its Intensity, Range, and Falloff adjusted.

Adjusting the position and colour of the Light Behaviour on a Logic Actor.

Click the link to read more about using the Light Behaviour.

POST-PROCESSING EFFECTS

Creating a unique look for experiences is now possible with the Post Processing Effects Behaviour.

This feature provides a range of premade options to filter the image for a player, as well as the ability to build your own using 'Custom'.

Shifting between Preset Post Processing Effects. Custom effects can also be selected from the drop down.

Each effect completely changes how an experience looks and feels, and with the ability to add Custom filters, the possibilities are endless.

Click the link to read more about using Post Processing.

VISUAL EFFECTS (VFX)

The VFX Behaviour offers a range of ways to add stunning effects to a scene, such as snow, mist, and even lightning.

There are also ways to adjust the variables of each VFX depending on its type, including Global Scale, Colour, Brightness, Particle Velocity, and Area Scale, to name a few.

🏃‍♀️ AVATAR CONTROLS

0.8 brings a whole new set of actions that can be performed by Avatars, providing a big shift in how an experience can be explored.

From Swimming to Crouching, Crawling, to Sliding, there are more types of motion and activity to consider when designing an experience.

SWIMMING

Get ready to explore the world beneath the sea - Avatars can now SWIM when they connect with any Block defined as a liquid.

This new movement is disabled by default on existing, pre-0.8 experiences but enabled by default on new experiences created with 0.8.

CROUCHING

Avatars will now be able to sneak around by tapping the C key to make them crouch.

Because this changes the height of the Avatar, it opens up the possibility of entering new places with a lower ceiling.

Unable to walk into the low entrance, but crouching by pressin [C] makes it possible.

CRAWLING

Holding the C key down will make the avatar crawl on the ground.

Can't pass by Walking or Crouching, but able to Crawl through by pressing and holding [C].

This movement, while slow, enables the Avatar to go through even smaller openings.

SLIDING

After sprinting, tapping the C key will make the Avatar drop to the ground and start sliding in the direction of movement.

The Avatar can slide through smaller openings than when crawling, but the movement has a short duration before the Avatar will resume standing.

Unable to walk, crouch or crawl through the sapce, but a run up and slide does the trick.

When finished sliding, the avatar will start crawling or crouching if there is not enough space to stand.

SHEATHING

Tapping the Z key will make the Avatar sheathe or unsheathe its weapon and/or shield.

Tapping [Z] to sheathe and unsheath. Clicking the [LMB] to attack also unsheathes the weapon.

When sheathed, the equipment is still equipped, so starting an attack will unsheathe the equipment automatically.

HEAVY ATTACK

There has also been an update to the Heavy Attack. After a short charge period, the Avatar will now lunge ahead, damaging any enemies it connects with along the way.

Clicking and holding the [right mouse button] will result in a fully charged Heavy Attack.

🧠 LOGIC ENHANCEMENTS

0.8 introduces many new ways to organise your logic and improve your messaging systems. From specific logic containers to timed triggers and control over message arguments, there are more ways to bring an experience to life.

LOGIC ACTORS

Logic Actors are specially designed actors that don't add to the face count of a scene and, by default, have no collision or visibility.

Using the Logic Actor instead of Assets to house logic removes unnecessary geometry from the scene and improves performance, especially when dealing with complex logic chains.

The new Logic Actor is perfect for housing Behaviors and Components that don't need to be visible, like Message Broadcasters, Weather Switchers, Lights and VFX, Timed Events and Crowd Events.

TIMED EVENTS

0.8 introduces a new way to manage logic using custom time-based message triggers.

This is a powerful new tool for creating environmental cycles, periodic logic checks, and dynamic quest mechanics.

A single Timed Events Behaviour sending different messages to trigger two Door Behaviours.

Click the link to read more about using Timed Events.

CROWD EVENTS

The Crowd Events Behavior can be used to start a Multiplayer Event, which can be completed by reaching a certain amount of points and contributed to by ALL players within a defined area.

Points are received when players perform specific actions, and the progress of the event is tracked using a bar at the top of the screen.

Click the link to read more about using Crowd Events.

MESSAGES WITH ARGUMENTS

0.8 brings a new set of ‘special’ messages called Messages with Arguments that can be used to alter the states of some actors in an experience.

These messages include Audio Pause, Audio Play, AudioStop, LightColour, PostProcessFade, and WeatherFade, and can be selected from the message drop-down menu of most Behaviours and Components.

The Message LightColour is used here to add a fade time and new colour to a Light Behaviour in the scene.

Messages with Arguments can be easily identified by their yellow text, and once clicked, they will provide further options to customize the effect they will have on ‘targeted’ actors.

ACTOR PROPERTY SWITCHER

This Behaviour functions like a Message Broadcaster, specifically focusing on triggering state changes.

An Actor Property Switcher toggling Visibility AND Collision on and off on an actor with the Bassic Platform Behaviour.

Depending on the desired result, the visibility and/or collision of actors can be changed permanently or toggled on and off, and the results will be synchronized for ALL players.

💻 UI UPDATES

DRAFTS GALLERY FILTER

A new filtering tool has been added to the Game Maker Drafts tab, making it easier to find shared experiences.

Using the filter system in the Draft Gallery section of the Game Maker menu.

Use the search field to find a specific experience or choose from the drop-down items to refine your search based on Rating, Date, or Game Maker versions.

AVATAR INVENTORY

The Inventory has been redesigned and reworked to support equipped items being displayed to all other players in a multiplayer experience.

The interface has also been updated to a classic slot-based approach, seen frequently in RPGs, where the Avatar, inventory, and item stats are displayed on the same screen.

Putting on equipment collected in game using the new interface.

Items collected in an experience are not carried from one experience to another.

UPDATED MENU

The new main menu has been released to make it easier for users to go back and forth from the Menu to the Main Menu screen.

📡 STREAMING

VIDEO STREAMING

This Behaviour can be added to an Asset with a frame and enables video to be seen, played, paused, and stopped by all players and remains synchronized for all players.

Video used with this feature must be hosted remotely in either .mp4 or .m3u8 formats.

This Behaviour requires files to be hosted by The Sandbox, and for the moment, this is only available to partners and studios on a case-by-case basis.

Video Streaming will become available to all creators once a scalable method for hosting is made available, and best practices have been established to ensure adherence with content copyright policies.

AUDIO STREAMING

The Audio Streaming Behaviour can be used to play audio in a multiplayer experience, and can be heard, played, paused, and stopped by all players and remains synchronized for all players.

Supports .mp3 or .ogg formats Hosted remotely Play, Pause, Stop controlled by messages.

This Behaviour requires files to be hosted by The Sandbox, and for the moment, this is only available to partners and studios on a case-by-case basis.

Audio Streaming will become available to all creators once a scalable method for hosting is made available and best practices have been established to ensure adherence with content copyright policies.