Yeah, i heard that on the iPhone 8/8plus and presumably iPhoneX the a11 bionic chip is making untiy shadow flicker. in my experience, each new phone brings a big pitential for breaking changes - theres a new IOS and a new CPU and GPU each year Ive been working on shrinking BrightRidge's memory use using all the tricks ive learned making Vandgels. Ive found you can still have a comples world but make it up out of fewer pieces. I was able to upgrade Vandgels to Unity 5.6.3 p4 (which incidentally has a bug that makes games show up all pink on IOS 8 or below! but a patch is coming) and i am hoping this will let me upgrade BrightRidge also - ive found newer versions of unity manage memory worse on mobile but that has been improving. Anyways sometimes it feels like teher is so much technology to wrangle that there isnt any time left over to make games My path is the same though - just continue to simplify bothe the code and the memory without affecting the beauty of teh world or its feeling, and simple games are easier to debug when things go wrong, and will hopefully perform better in new updates of the game (Vandgels right now is running almost twice as fast as BrightRidge and uses a fraction of the memory)
Thanks Nullzone Vandgels is a spiritual center and there is a lot of stained glass. The glowing area is the Ascension Chamber - more on that i story mode. The size is part optical illusion - you cant reach those clouds and mountains in the background, but it really is a powerful illusion - when you see it youll see how it feels so much bigger. And the explorable world itself IS bigger than BrightRidge, it's 4 times the size, and MUCH more vertical. So lots more sight seeing and exploring nature. The work is good - it means i can pay my bill so i am focusiing on that but working a bit each night and the next game is coming along great so far, as well as imporvements to BrightRidge that are automatically added because Nimian Legends is like this global file, and Vandgels and BrightRidge are like "cartridges" i plug into it, so the new fixes (like the much better camera control in Vandgels) are automatically applied to BrightRidge retroactively.
Im currently working on the water systems - rivers, waterfalls, mist and splashes To create the rivers im using a hybrid system. First i run a fluid simulation thanks to the amazing Microsplat plugin that shows me in general where water will flow. Then i take a screenshot of this and use it as a guideline to lay down my rivers. In BrightRidge rivers were just visually placed, but in Vandgels they will follow a more naturalistic path. Ideally i would love to be able to completely procedurally generate the rivers in one step, but thats for the future Ive been compartmentalizing the different parts that make up a world - so Terrain is one, water is another, Agents (humans, npcs, animals, sentinels) are another - its part of radically simplifying the underlying structure as i prepare to upgrade to a new version of unity, probably after Vandgels release. Ive been running mobile tests in new versions and will have some terrific new terrain texturing that is much more realistic and also i need to upgrade because there are several technical issues that are slowly arising with the new iPhones that im not sure i can fix in my current version. Ive also been working concurrently on BrightRidge - many of the small improvements ive made to Vandgels have been ported to that too, and i have managed to half the texture memory used on BrightRidges startup while keeping the environment looking basically the same. Its part of the optimization - i want to keep streamlining the performance of the core engine. All shots are from an iPad Air 2
I finally got me a big iPad Pro, and Brightridge was the first game I ran Absolutely awesome, looks great. I only had time to test with the highest resolution ~2000x1500 , and it ran buttersmooth. Will see how far I can crank things up later. Also, my kid really likes your Vangdels screenshots how's it coming along, by the way?
Wow. Vandgels is looking amazing! I’ve recently picked up an iPhone X and am running the latest iOS. Still trying to find the perfect settings to run NL:BR at. Any recommendations? Also, let me know if you want me to test anything with the X.
Congratulations - thats a beast of a machine So powerful Any ipad pro feedback is helpful. I rewrote the device detection for BrightRidge and Vandgels so i can start newer devices on higher settings. Do you think I should start the game by default at 2048x1536? Im writing some of this down here to flesh out my thoughts: Which Pro did you get? 12.9 maxes out at 2732 x 2048 10.5-inch is 2224 x 1668 Regular iPads max at 2048x1536 (and so does BrightRidge options - but i am thinking i can easily add in higher resolution options for those devices) They are all 16:9 so i am thinking a new setup: iPad 12,9 2017 Very Low: 1024x768 (current medium) Low: 1536x1152 (current High) Medium: 2048 x 1536 (current ultra) I WILL MAKE THIS DEFAULT High: 2224 x 1668 (10,5 inch max) Ultra: 2732 x 2048 iPad 10,5 2017 Very Low: 768x576 Low: 1024x768 Medium: 1536x1152 I WILL MAKE THIS DEFAULT BECAUSE I DONT HAVE ONE TO TEST BUT SEEMS REASONABLE High: 2048 x 1536 Ultra: 2224 x 1668 iPAd Pro 9.7 (same as earlier iPads) Low: 768x576 Medium: 1024x768 I WILL MAKE THIS DEFAULT BECAUSE I DONT HAVE ONE TO TEST BUT SEEMS REASONABLE High: 1536x1152 Ultra: 2048 x 1536 SOmeone mentioned the game was lagging on Pros so i am still figuring all this out, but the updates should run faster Vandgels is going very well. The big delay is im updating BrightRidge and Vandgels at the same time, but Unity 5.2 which i use has some tech issues with new iPhones so i have to upgrade but new versions of Unity are buggy so its this big catch 22 i have almost figured out - in the meantime Vandgels has some great new features like Energy Ziplines that let you blast around the world and Swi Volumes which let me make oceans in any shape you can swim thorugh - its really cool in motion. Ill be uploading a beta to try very soon for both - i would love to have a buoild that starts as high as possible on your ipad and plays well Swim Volumes And this is one of my favorite pics - i have new rivers with updated textures but a big thing is splashes in rivers has returned (they existed in the free version but were removed in BrightRidge HD, until now) I bought a Nintendo Switch and it runs at 700p so i would like all the devices that can handle at least 700px height to start in that resolution - the game is beautiful but not so much on the low defaults which most devices start at, so if i can pretty that up at start i may get more notice If you can let me know which ipAd pro you have and i will make the code change right away to start in the 2048x1536 for that model
iPhone X - wow!! I think BrightRidge has some problems on that phone. If you see any could you tell me? The version of Unity I use apparently makes funny shaky shadows on A 11 CPU devices like iPhone 8 and X - when you get a chance can you tell me if you notice that? Also on at least iPhone 8 plus someone said it was laggy, but going to Options > Settings > Quality > Resolution and turning off OCCLUSION solved that for him - I have a new beta that detects iPhone x that i can upload, so any feedback will help and i can set the game to start with occlusion off on your phone if its an issue, and at a higher res i imagine? All the issue with Unity mean i am testing a new Build of BrightRidge in a new Unity version and it looks great and prefoems better, and has fixes for the iPhone 8/X issues too - i havent fully migrated but i am running experimental betas to make sure it works. So far one issue is if i upgrade i think i will lose the ability to publish to IOS 8 and earlier devices. Because I love this pic here it is again I guess if you can just let me know: What resolution does the game run best on Options > settings > quality > resolution (it will say teh selected resolution on the bottom of that screen) Does it run faster if you turn off Occlusion? (Options > Settings > Quality > Resolution) Are the shadows screwed up? Does it run in letterbox or is the image stretched? This would be a great start that i can add to the iPhone x detection right away EDIT: just solved the IOS 8 problem so i can publish to it again
Good to hear that Vangdels is coming along nicely And you're right, the Pro is a monster. I went for the big 12.9" one, the giant screen and the larger keyboard won me over (having a real keyboard is sooo much better than the onscreen one) . And the screen is definitely not 16:9 (that would suck royally), it's more like 4:3 format similar to Microsoft's Surface . I *think* it's safe to run it on max resolution on the Pros as default (with everything else unchanged). But let me test a bit more to see if I get any issues like framerate drops. And I'll check over the next week how far I can push it without FPS dropping below 30. And it might be able to handle even its native resolution, so if you can add that Ultra resolution you mentioned, that would be great. Of course I'll test Vangdels - and any new feauteres in Brightridge - when you have a Beta ready
Thanks Nullzone Youre right about the 4:3 - i have so many resolutions swimming in my head lately. If you think it can run native let me know. Im very excited because last night i tested BrightRidge using the new version of the Unity engine on all my earlier devices and it looks like its all working. This is a big deal because it means i should be able to finally update my version of Unity and that will bring a lot of automatic polish and new features to the games. One of teh best is i will be able to use microsplat - its a new feature that makes all the terrain textures look a LOT more detailed and realistic. I also bought a book to help me with Vandgels Story. its already written but i want to go over it and fine tune things to make sure teh narrative is as polished as possible
BTW did you get the 2016 or 2017 iPAd Pro? Both are the same except one has an A9 vs A10 (both are beasts) ANd they have 4gb RAm - i may add on a double texture options just for this.
It's the 2017 one with the A10X. Bought it new, not sure if Apple still sells the 2016 model. For some tech specs, you can start here: http://bgr.com/2017/06/09/ipad-pro-2017-a10x-fusion-benchmarks/ Note the extreme increase in multi-core performance over the A9X. AFAIK multicore support slowly but steadily becomes a mainstay for (at least the higher-end) PC games, so good multicore specs should make porting to iOS even easier in the future. And don't forget that Apple indirectly announced they are working on their own graphics chips now, see e.g. here http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/04/03/apple-ditching-imagination-technologies-gpu-technology-moving-design-in-house and here http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/04/03/as-apples-gpu-plans-go-pubic-imagination-fears-becoming-a-tech-orphan . If they indeed managed to snipe some great talent from Imagination, we might see an end of the PowerVR graphics chip somewhere down the road (say, 2020 or later: anything earlier would *really* surprise me) . If they can squeeze even more graphics performance out of the limited tablet formfactor, that would be amazing. AFAIK Imagination's next PowerVR generation is expected to crunch ~50% more again than what we currently have in the iPad Pros: they are already 2 generations further than the Pro's chip, but I don't know of any mobile devices with even their "generation 8" (iPad Pro is on "gen 7" (Series7XT, see e.g. here https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_A10); but I couldn't find if it's the 7XT's first or second iteration. Also note on the "Apple A10" page that the processor still supports TWO 32bit instruction sets and thus physical architectures. Now with iOS11 being fully 64bit, I absolutely expect them to ditch 32bit completely from the processor architecture: which opens up a lot of possibilities, as it frees space on the die, in the instructions sets, developer capacity, monetary investments, etc. No idea how much of a performance boost that will give again, but it'll be something significant (my guess: at least 25% performance gain; but no guess about the area - if it'll be any of raw power, better energy usage, less heat, etc.) . I wouldn't be surprised if Apple launches a 4k resolution 13" iPad Pro around 2020 (-1/+2 range). Displays with insane dpi (>700 on a Sony phone, IIRR) already exist. For comparison the Pro is only 264 dpi (see here https://www.apple.com/lae/ipad-pro/specs/) , which is very low-end for such a high-end device, actually). LIVE UPDATE: Oh dear, it's 800 dpi actually - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Xperia_XZ_Premium, right side down in the specs bar. Note that while the dpi and low 4K resolution of 3840x 2160 are indeed very impressive, it's only 5.5" . Blowing that up to 13" I imagine to be quite a feat. But I've already read about prototypes and even small series of 8k mobile displays, so I think it's possible; only with a very low yield for the first generation or two - just look at the problems 4k TV panel manufacturers have with their production processes. No idea when they'll hit the mass market, thus. And 16k is already in the works, lookie here: http://www.techradar.com/news/qualcomm-your-future-smartphone-screen-will-push-resolutions-to-6k-8k-and-beyond . Oh boy, did I sidetrack... Anyways, in light of the above I expect Nimian Legends 4 to be in 8k in 2025 or so
UPDATE on last post: Holy flying cow manure, was I wrong. Apple already made their first own graphics chip, and it's in a product already - guess what the iPhone X has: - processor/architecture only supports a 64bit instruction set - Apple's *first own graphics chip design*, a triple core (which sounds a lot less impressive than PowerVR's 12, but who knows what the actual architecture is? 3 cores could pack more power easily) . Geez, just look at the specs: "A new, second-generation performance controller can harness all six cores simultaneously, delivering up to 70 percent greater performance for multi-threaded workloads, giving customers more power while providing the same great battery life. A11 Bionic also integrates an Apple-designed GPU with a three-core design that delivers up to 30 percent faster graphics performance than the previous generation. " - Word of God from here: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/09/iphone-8-and-iphone-8-plus-a-new-generation-of-iphone/ . If that monster can't run 4K then I don't know. - a Neural Network Engine, for F...'s sake Ah, iPhone X display is 2436×1125 px resolution, (458 ppi) - from here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone_X: plus more nifty stuff like HDR support: and I think I read 60Hz screen rate somewhere. So you know what you'll have to support on the high-end. Fingers crossed that you can squeeze that out of Vangdels already. I'd worry about backporting to Brightridge later (i.e. not at all for now). Also, I just realised the specs put it on the lower end of the scale for high-end PC gaming rigs already. Pretty sure that's a first for a mobile device.
Wow thanks - this is all great insight. Im glad Nimian Legends is built to scale. I think the next update will have some more high end options. In my experience, the CPU is generally responsible for the framerate of the game, and the RAM holds the textures - most crashes come from too much texture use in the RAM. With 4gb i am wondering if it can handle full textures. Right now i am using 1/4 and 1/2 options of texture resolution in BrightRidge, but i will add in the full texture option in the next build in case the pro can handle it - they make a big difference in the look, right now you can increase the texture res in options > settings > quality > resolution > Full Textures (which is actually half textures but just labeled as full becuase it's higher than the 1/4 default)
Just in case you don't see my update, as you already replied, copying below: Ah, iPhone X display is 2436×1125 px resolution, (458 ppi) - from here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone_X: plus more nifty stuff like HDR support: and I think I read 60Hz screen rate somewhere. So you know what you'll have to support on the high-end. Fingers crossed that you can squeeze that out of Vangdels already. I'd worry about backporting to Brightridge later (i.e. not at all for now). Also, I just realised the specs put it on the lower end of the scale for high-end PC gaming rigs already. Pretty sure that's a first for a mobile device. Oh, and 3 Gig RAM... there's room for way more, like, say, in an iPad's larger body
yeah and on the smaller screen it will look very crisp. With 2gb+ devices i should be looking at starting the games in high texture res by default, and with the new optimisations BrightRidge and Vandgels are running a lot faster on my test devices. Full iPhoneX supoort will have to wait a bit. problem is you have to use Xcode 9 to make it, but Xcode 9 wont run on Mac OSx 10.10 which is what i have. To use it I have to upgrade to the newest High Sierra OS, but Unity is having big problems with the new AFPS or whatever it is called file system. So i wont be able to create it outside of a letterbox for now. Once they make all the fixes i should be able to upgrade my OS then. Its kind of crazy because there are so many technical hurdles in addition to actually making the game that ned to be conquered, but i am very glad at least it looks like i can use the newer version of Unity shortly. BrightRidge artificially restricts the framerate to 30fps, but with options > settings > quality > resolution > unlock frame rate i am seeing 40fps sometimes on my iphone 6 with the updated version of the game.
Well, I tried a bunch of things. Turning off Limit Framerate helped me get a smooth experience. Once I changed the resolution, it went from a normal looking aspect ratio to a squished one, where the circles in your menus turned into ovals. After I changed it once, I could never get it to go back. The shadows do indeed have some weirdness to them. Kind of like blurry pixels randomly appearing and disappearing where the shadow should be just solid. My photos probably cant convey it well, though. Turning on motion blur made darker things flicker too. The thing I couldnt seem to fix while messing with the settings is there appeared to be black patches everywhere on the ground and stuff where I imagine light should be reflecting. Turning on filters would make it worse. But turning off everything didnt seem to help. Its a bummer Apples innovation has to come at the cost of good developers needing to rework things in an app because it effects things. Hope this and some images could help.
It keeps failing to upload my photos. I’ll try another way. Maybe twitter? https://twitter.com/curtneedsaride/status/932740047211819008 https://twitter.com/curtneedsaride/status/932740120394043393 Your logo has a black partly covering it I think.
Thanks Curtis - this is CRAZY helpful I think it might be time to upgrade my version of Unity. Ive been avoiding it because 1) I have several years experience with my current version and the new one is untested for me 2) newer versions have been unstable 3) The new version is slower to work with in several areas BUT It should have fixes for this issue and it will bring new features I'm going to think it over carefully tonight, and i think i will probably make the plunge. In the meantime, if you have time, theres a few things you could tell me that would help. I want to see how much i can fix with the current version of my software: If you close and start the game fresh, and as soon as the world loads goto Options > settings > quality > resolution and tell me what it says on the bottom? This build doesnt detect iPhone X so it is loading a default resolution and i want to know what it is When the game starts before changing any resolution is the image squished and does the game appear with black borders to letterbox it? (it looks like it appears letterboxed and unsquished at start from your pics) If the squishing only happens once you change the resolution that means i think that my resolution change is working but it breaks out of apples letter box-this means i can probably already change the resolution to aspect ratios that work with iphone X even before i upgrade. Ill add in iPhone x low/med/high/ultra resolutions in my beta Based o your experience, do you think i should Unlimit frame rate by default at the start? Does options > settings > quality > resolution > OCCLUSION OFF affect the performance positively? Does Options > Playground > Effects > BLOOM OFF get rid of those crazy black patches Does options > settings > quality > shadows > SHADOWS OFF get rid of those crazy black patches? Does options > settings > quality > resolution > FORWARD RENDER get rid of those crazy black patches? The motion blur black patches is a known issue. It overloads the filters and pushes some things to black. Thats something i can fix if i upgrade unity (probably will) Yeah, we cant upload photos here - we have to link them. Thanks for taking the time to post your pics, they helped a lot - its the first time i at least get to see things I downloaded and am linking the pics below. I can see from your screenshot that the game is detecting your iPhone X (iphone 10,6) but because i didnt add it it is setting resolution for an iPAd (4: aspect ratio) - thanks for that pic - ill add in those resolutions Kind of neat to see the iPhoneX "slide up" mini bar at the bottom of the screen. It is a bit of a bummer what you mentioned - by far the hardest part about this game development has been the difficulty with all the moving technology - Unity software + Xcode version + MAcOS version + IOS version + IOS CPU/GPU + Metal changes - its all so crazy, but at least i have proof of concepts working in the new unity. Bu if anythings gonna make me give this up, its how fast the tech is moving - sometimes too fast for solo indies to keep up and often bringing new bugs into the process. Anyways im daunted but excited about the idea of upgrading because in the end it can potentially add alot to the game and fix these issues Thanks again so much for your help.
