Epsilonions - Documents/Tutorials/Getting Started

[epsilonion]

Downloadable PDF - Getting started

This is an older guide that is due to be updated to the latest version of skyline.
It has relevant information to the latest version still so I will put it here and update it within the coming months
https://www.eve-lbs.co.uk/downloads/skylinekindle.pdf

New Gen2 Gettig started video Playlist

More Videos here: http://cms.eve-lbs-studio.co.uk/

[SolarPortal]

yes, nice you seem to have the knack for writing and those are a great start.
You also managed to do them very quickly, so good job

I understand that some of those documents are a WIP, but here is some feedback :

• The first one we read was the getting started, the font was very small and had to zoom in to read without the tired eyes blurring lol Perhaps it should be altered to look the same as the documents with green. Also having a unified look across all the documents will be much better and noticeable as a series of tutorials/documents.
• On some of the pages, you have to be careful of the margins, in case people print them off as some of the text will be clipped.
• World/Local space is actually working already in the engine. It was mentioned as coming soon.

I think between Tattie's video tutorials and your written work, skyline will be usable to the new user lol

Note: If you are using photoshop or paint.net, we can give you some image templates that we use when making images for documentation etc...

[TattieBoJangle]

is it just my age or is anyone other than me finding it hard to read this not sure if it is the blue but wow i find myself dizzy looking at it but very nice m8 its coming along nicely.

The Getting started Tutorial documentation is here

[SolarPortal]

i prefer to use this blue color:#00BFFF

[epsilonion]

LOL its not your age I will increase the fonts, I have several documents on the go at once, as I learn I update them lol..

I am using photoshop at the moment and will be putting together a templates as I am using publisher to create the documents, I just wanted some drafts banging out so I can copy and paste the information on the templates when I am closer to finishing them then coming back on another pass on them in time to polish them..

Its a process, I have to get it done when I find time and in the mood for it. lol..

Good job I am fast at typing..

[SolarPortal]

i think you have done very well for some basic documentation in only a day or 2

[epsilonion]

I am thinking of when I get all the pieces together putting up a free kindle book (should help with promotions as well), this will increase the viability of the engine as will be searchable when people search for game engine books..

Just a thought at this stage in writing..

[epsilonion]

A Little bit of a update for you guys on the progression on the Ebook's.

I started writing a proper book on how to get started with Skyline Game Engine it can be found http://skyline.eve-lbs-studio.co.uk/doku.php?id=documents_-_getting_started

I just a few hours starting it but it is coming along nicely now, added a disclaimer and all that jaz, done some on downloading and installing, the main screen and some on the terrain editor, its a good start I think and will continue to work towards getting it finished as a priority, I kind of wish I did the video tutorials instead as the typed version takes a hell of a long time especially when you are dumbing it down so it is like a dummies guide book lol and illustrating through text and pictures what things do etc.. but it is keeping me busy and my mind working so I don't mind really.

I was going to do separate books on each of the editors but I think it will be better to do it as a full book, I am thinking when it is finished to publish it on kindle for free, that should generate some interest and visibility to the general market.. always thinking of how things will help marketing..

I am open to suggestions, advice etc but they layout of the draft is not final and needs a lot of tweaking before it it finished and a cover designing but that will all come in the last phase of this creation.

I can not believe I am getting excited about a bloody book lol I am so sad, I never got excited about any of my other publications.

well I am tired now and its stupid o'clock so I am off to bed..

nn all..

[Shando]

Hey Buddy,

First of all Good Luck

A few years ago I wrote a "book" for another engine ( i'll pm you a link so as not to advertise a competitor here ). I know exactly how you feel with screenshots etc. it can be extremely tedious!!! I was lucky because I had almost 3 hours of train travel to/from work each day, so used that time to write most of it.

From what I've seen of your work so far, it's looking good, but I would suggest trying to get better quality screenshots as they look a bit blurry on my laptop screen (17").

If you do decide to show any coding, my advice ( from personal experience - Chapter 5 of my book turned into a bit of a running joke, as I made a few errors in the code when typing it up and then couldn't track down the actual code I'd used when testing, so couldn't check where the errors were ) is to check it by trying out exactly what you have written!!

Regards

Shando

[epsilonion]

Thank you for your advice, the screen shots look OK on the document, might be loosing quality when converting them to PDF will adjust some settings..

This revision of the book is about starting to use the engine, all about how to use the editors and what the buttons do, where to find the settings for things and a road map type thing of the buttons and an explanation of what they do.

I am showing the scripts and assets that come with the engine and highlighting how easy it is to use compared to other engines, I will not really be coding anything myself in this book, it is basically a getting up to speed with the engine, its editors and layout.

I will update it as I learn how to do specific things mind you and when the visual mechanics editor comes out I will show how to do doors, switches and the basic's like that as "this is some of the basic things you can do with it" and when I learn more about it then put more advanced stuff in that section or create a separate mini book dedicated to each editor (have not decided on this yet).

I was planning on putting a list of LUA API commands and functions towards the end of it so people can print it off and have a hard copy reference while there coding etc, I am looking at doing things like that, I think it could be useful for people new to the engine.

For the next book:
I was thinking about doing a step by step creating a basic game but that is way way in the future as I am learning myself, I kind of know what I want to do and pseudo code it on paper then its just converting it to that to something that works, that's the sort of stage I am at but with the mechanics editor that will make life a hell of a lot easier.

I am getting there and doing this book has advanced my learning quite a lot to be honest, it has also broadened my mind in the way of thinking about what I would like to do as a first project although it may be a bit advanced for me at the moment.

I am finding it extremely enjoyable been apart of this community and actually doing something to help has given me a good feeling as well..

[epsilonion]

Messed with the settings I think the pictures might be better now..

[SolarPortal]

wow keep going! That getting started guide has moved along alot.
I like the layout alot better than the old pink version. Much more readable and looks like a book now.

Writing & Screenshots do take a lot of time, when we wrote the manual for another engine, we had high quality screenshots from an arty scene every time. We had to dropshadow, place text in nice boxes on every screenie lol. So we understand the time you have taken to make that so far. Thank you and well done. I hope it works out well, so good luck

Nice plans on everything and look forward to seeing some games made with skyline from people using this as a learning source.

The images do look a little bit compressed, but it keeps size down.

[Dev_Peasant]

I am having a hard time finding a spot to ask this question. I was looking to possibly purchase this engine for my project, I just can't afford unity.

Does skyline support multiplayer game creation?

The game I wish to make is solely multiplayer.

[SolarPortal]

Hi and Welcome to the forums Dev_Peasant We hope you join us on this journey to creating a simple and easy yet powerful game development system.

I Believe Tech Support has just emailed you with the answer you are looking for

For others: Skyline currently does not have networking exposed to the end user, but it is integrated already and is planned to be finished soon after a couple of major tasks are completed.

[epsilonion]

Whoop Whoop...

Welcome..

[SolarPortal]

i have moved the networking to a new topic: http://www.chi-ad.com/Skyline/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=931&p=4365#p4365

[epsilonion]

OK I have done some more work on that getting started guide.

Getting Started with Skyline Game Engine Ebook **Direct Link**

Let me know what you think... any advice and constructive comments are welcome

I will be doing some supporting video's for the guide in the coming week or two and possibly going on to a more in depth book next time around.

I say in the next two weeks, if the weather picks up I will be in the garden erecting the new green house and getting my veg seeds ready for the year..

[StarFire]

Liam m8 this document is starting to look great.

I think I will try this engine out lol

Once you are happy with it we can give it a final editorial and get it out there to help new users.

weather picks up, that would be something.We may get a day if we are lucky! fingers crossed

[epsilonion]

Bump.

Will update soon having problems at home

[SolarPortal]

Thanks liam for all the hard work Hope everything will be ok at home for you

[epsilonion]

Put this here so I never loose it for future reference.

Demo Scene Start of a 3D Platform Game

Hi guys, this demo scene will be updated once more to spawn the player and to respawn the player once he/she dies.

This is going to be the start point of the tutorial series that I will be putting together, this is a basic scene designed for new users so they can slowly adjust to the workflow of the Skyline Game Engine, the next level will get more in depth with assigning materials and editing the materials using the material editor.


What this demo teaches:

Main Things it teaches:

• To create a death trigger
• To spawn in presets if it does not exist in the scene
• Give a spawned in preset a Tag so it can be referenced in other scripts.
• Add a Physics Ridged Body to the spawned preset
• To use a trigger to open a door
• To make a lift (elevator)
• To use Spot lights to make a beacon (to be finished in the next update of this scene).
• To write UI to the screen using triggers.
• To climb a ladder without editing the player script (LUA)
• To load the next scene
• To move the player within the scene (will update to respawn the player on KO (death) on the next update of this scene).

Secondry things:

• House keeping of the entity list (keeping it tidy).
• By viewing this scene you will under stand how micro scripts attach to entities.
• The importance of TAG and ID.
• Using basic geometry to help create a scene

Download here

Platform2.zip

Platform2 download

(116 KiB) Downloaded 1989 times

Also a draft Video is available her (needs doing again)

[epsilonion]

Updated this thread.

• Taken out the documents, pdf's and ebooks (need to redone at some point).
• Inserted new getting started videos.

The new videos will continue to be produced as and when I get time to do them...

I am hoping to try and cover some of the things that you would expect in the documentation and while its none existent, new prospective users and existing users need some form of documentation even if its in the form of video's, its a shame some of the old documentation could not be ported across or setup on a users wiki so at least there is something to reference to. lol