News! Tech! Tools! Talks! Games! And Stuff Worth Sharing!

[jonaz.dk]

KeyQuest Studio just got their Steam page for Dead Ends up and running!

Met with the two devs for the first time at Gamescom last month. Super nice guys!
It's super impressive what they have been putting together for less than a year. They are dropping by our office tomorrow to say hi, always nice with a friendly visit!

[jonaz.dk]

Forbrugerrådet Tænk anmelder 17 spil for at manipulere spillerne med virtuel valuta
17 af de mest populære spil, herunder Fortnite, Minecraft og Pokémon Go, slører prisen på køb i spillet ved at opgive pris i virtuelle valutaer og gøre det svært at regne ud, hvad den faktiske pris er i kroner og øre. Det er i strid med markedsføringsloven, og derfor anmelder Forbrugerrådet Tænk spilvirksomhederne til myndighederne.

https://taenk.dk/presse/forbrugerraadet ... uel-valuta

Disse spil er anmeldt
Spil anmeldt af Forbrugerrådet Tænk:
- Call of Duty: Mobile
- Candy Crush
- Counter-Strike 2
- FIFA: Mobile football
- Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
- Hayday
- League of Legends
- Overwatch 2
- PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds: Mobile
- Pokémon Go

Spil anmeldt i samarbejde med den europæiske paraplyorganisation BEUC:
- Clash of Clans
- Diablo IV
- EA Sports FC 24
- Fortnite
- Minecraft
- Rainbow Six Siege
- Roblox

No Danish developed games was reported to the 'Forbrugerombudsmanden' (fixed) and some games that was reported might be hard to define as games strictly aimed at kids to say the least.
Though there are certainly examples of potential problematic games here in Denmark, touching hundreds of millions of kids around the world with 'creative' business practices. But for now they have not been reported.

At the fundamental level.. operating a game studio in the big leagues of the Freemium/F2P space would be VERY difficult. If not outright impossible and the studios wouldn't be around as we know it, if they didn't conform to the global game of competition in the F2P space.
Another studio would just take it's place while the original studio would just be missing out on the opportunity, scoring a huge own goal.

Also it is not like the 'Forbrugerrådet Tænk' doesn't have a point. They certainly do! But the only real solution is to... not have a company and make games that earns millions in tax revenue and salaries for their numerous employees?!

But who knows! Maybe some day some sort of big EU regulatory thing comes along and pulls the carpet underneath these studios and they will have to completely reevaluate their business.

So yeah.. it's an interesting discussion!

[jonaz.dk]

Unity cancels the controversial Runtime Fee!

After deep consultation with our community, customers, and partners, we’ve made the decision to cancel the Runtime Fee for our games customers, effective immediately. Non-gaming Industry customers are not impacted by this modification.
https://unity.com/blog/unity-is-canceli ... untime-fee

Adding:

[jonaz.dk]

Astro Bot on PS5 - Virtually Flawless - Digital Foundry Tech Review

[jonaz.dk]

The Origin Story Behind Counter-Strike's Most Iconic Map - Noclip Documentary

[jonaz.dk]

UDU has filed for bankrupcy.
Big props for giving the super ambitious dream a shot! And may everybody affected land somewhere great in the near future!

Ville sælge 100 millioner enheder: Dansk selskab konkurs
Den danske konsol Udu blev døbt 'Nordens Nintendo' og skulle ramme det markedet i august. Nu er selskabet bag gået konkurs

https://ekstrabladet.dk/forbrug/Teknolo ... s/10370640

Promo video

[jonaz.dk]

Launch day for Funday Factory's Wild Indigo Ranch. Formerly known as 'Don't Die In The West'.
Grats with the launch to the team at Funday!

Launch trailer

[jonaz.dk]

Interview with @Spruss on Arkaden.dk

Fra 3D-animation til spiludvikling: Mød Stefan Prüss og Clay Crown Games
Spillet As The Leaves Fall blev annonceret i sidste uge og skiller sig ud med sit unikke tema og visuelle signatur. Mød udvikleren bag, Stefan Prüss, og læs om hans rejse fra animation til spiludvikling
https://arkaden.dk/fra-3d-animation-til ... own-games/

AS THE LEAVES FALL - Announcement Trailer




Spiludvikling.dk announcement thread here:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5331#p24658

[jonaz.dk]

TAGS åbner for tilmeldinger

Tomorrow’s Awesome Games Showcase (TAGS) vender stærkt tilbage i 2025 og åbner tilmelding til showcasen idag.

Efter en succesfuld debut under Copenhagen Gaming Week 2024, er Tomorrow’s Awesome Games Showcase (TAGS) klar til at vende tilbage i 2025. TAGS er dedikeret til at fremme næste generation af danske og nordiske spiludviklingstalenter og vil igen være en integreret del af Copenhagen Gaming Week, som finder sted fra 13. - 15. Februar i Bella Center. I dag åbner TAGS for at virksomheder og spiludviklere kan tilmelde sig til showcasen.

TAGS 2025 bygger videre på sidste års succes, hvor 39 banebrydende spil fra indieudviklere og studerende blev fremvist i Bella Center. TAGS 2025 vil endnu engang give både spirende spiludviklere og nyuddannede studerende en unik platform til at fremvise deres projekter for et bredt publikum, herunder publikum, brancheeksperter, investorer og spilentusiaster.
https://gamesdenmark.dk/tags-abner-for-tilmeldinger

[jonaz.dk]

Rebots developed by our office mates Flat Ponies now has a launch date set for the 7th of October this year.

[jonaz.dk]

Grab all the megascans before it's too late! Sadly the free stuff will not be free anymore.
But there are ways that works by adding all the assets to your accout.



The updates script work fine here:
From: https://gist.github.com/jamiephan/0c049 ... ile-run-js

Code: Select all

(async (startPage = 0, autoClearConsole = true) => {
  const getCookie = (name) => {
    const value = `; ${document.cookie}`;
    const parts = value.split(`; ${name}=`);
    if (parts.length === 2) return parts.pop().split(';').shift();
  };

  const sleep = (ms) => new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));

  const fetchWithTimeout = (resource, options = {}) => {
    const { timeout = 10000 } = options;
    return Promise.race([
      fetch(resource, options),
      new Promise((_, reject) =>
        setTimeout(() => reject(new Error('Request timeout')), timeout)
      ),
    ]);
  };

  const callCacheApi = async (params = {}) => {
    const defaultParams = {
      page: 0,
      maxValuesPerFacet: 1000,
      hitsPerPage: 1000,
      attributesToRetrieve: ["id", "name"].join(","),
    };
    const fetchData = async () => {
      const response = await fetchWithTimeout("https://proxy-algolia-prod.quixel.com/algolia/cache", {
        headers: {
          "x-api-key": "2Zg8!d2WAHIUW?pCO28cVjfOt9seOWPx@2j",
        },
        body: JSON.stringify({
          url: "https://6UJ1I5A072-2.algolianet.com/1/indexes/assets/query?x-algolia-application-id=6UJ1I5A072&x-algolia-api-key=e93907f4f65fb1d9f813957bdc344892",
          params: new URLSearchParams({ ...defaultParams, ...params }).toString(),
        }),
        method: "POST",
      });

      if (!response.ok) {
        throw new Error(`Error fetching from Cache API: ${response.statusText}`);
      }

      return await response.json();
    };

    return await retryOperation(fetchData, 2000, 5);
  };

  const callAcl = async ({ id, name }) => {
    const fetchData = async () => {
      const response = await fetchWithTimeout("https://quixel.com/v1/acl", {
        headers: {
          authorization: "Bearer " + authToken,
          "content-type": "application/json;charset=UTF-8",
        },
        body: JSON.stringify({ assetID: id }),
        method: "POST",
      });

      if (!response.ok) {
        throw new Error(`Error adding item ${id} | ${name}: ${response.statusText}`);
      }

      const json = await response.json();
      if (json?.isError) {
        console.error(`  --> **Failed to add item** Item ${id} | ${name} (${json?.msg})`);
      } else {
        console.log(`  --> Added item ${id} | ${name}`);
      }
    };

    return await retryOperation(fetchData, 2000, 5);
  };

  const callAcquired = async () => {
    const fetchData = async () => {
      const response = await fetchWithTimeout("https://quixel.com/v1/assets/acquired", {
        headers: {
          authorization: "Bearer " + authToken,
          "content-type": "application/json;charset=UTF-8",
        },
        method: "GET",
      });

      if (!response.ok) {
        throw new Error(`Error fetching acquired items: ${response.statusText}`);
      }

      return await response.json();
    };

    return await retryOperation(fetchData, 2000, 5);
  };

  const retryOperation = async (operation, delay, retries) => {
    let lastError;
    for (let attempt = 1; attempt <= retries; attempt++) {
      try {
        return await operation();
      } catch (error) {
        lastError = error;
        console.warn(`Attempt ${attempt} failed (${error.message}). Retrying in ${delay}ms...`);
        await sleep(delay);
        delay *= 2; // Exponential backoff
      }
    }
    throw lastError;
  };

  let authToken = "";

  const initialize = async () => {
    console.log("-> Checking Auth API Token...");
    try {
      const authCookie = getCookie("auth") ?? "{}";
      authToken = JSON.parse(decodeURIComponent(authCookie))?.token;
      if (!authToken) {
        throw new Error("-> Error: Authentication token not found. Please log in again.");
      }
    } catch (_) {
      throw new Error("-> Error: Authentication token not found. Please log in again.");
    }

    console.log("-> Fetching acquired items...");
    acquiredItems = (await callAcquired()).map((a) => a.assetID);

    console.log("-> Fetching total number of pages...");
    const initialData = await callCacheApi();
    totalPages = initialData.nbPages;
    itemsPerPage = initialData.hitsPerPage;
    totalItems = initialData.nbHits;

    console.log("-> ==============================================");
    console.log(`-> Total items: ${totalItems}`);
    console.log(`-> ${totalPages} total pages with ${itemsPerPage} items per page`);
    console.log(`-> Total items to add: ${totalItems - acquiredItems.length}.`);
    console.log("-> ==============================================");

    if (!confirm(`Click OK to add ${totalItems - acquiredItems.length} items to your account.`)) {
      throw new Error("-> Process cancelled by user.");
    }
  };

  let acquiredItems = [];
  let totalPages = 0;
  let itemsPerPage = 0;
  let totalItems = 0;

  const MAX_CONCURRENT_REQUESTS = 5;

  const mainProcess = async () => {
    for (let pageIdx = startPage || 0; pageIdx < totalPages; pageIdx++) {
      console.log(`-> ======================= PAGE ${pageIdx + 1}/${totalPages} START =======================`);

      console.log("-> Fetching items from page " + (pageIdx + 1) + " ...");

      const pageData = await callCacheApi({ page: pageIdx });
      const items = pageData.hits;

      console.log("-> Adding unacquired items...");

      // Filter out already acquired items
      const unownedItems = items.filter((i) => !acquiredItems.includes(i.id));

      // Save current progress in localStorage
      localStorage.setItem('currentPage', pageIdx);

      // Limit concurrent requests
      const queue = [...unownedItems];
      const workers = Array.from({ length: MAX_CONCURRENT_REQUESTS }, async () => {
        while (queue.length > 0) {
          const item = queue.shift();
          try {
            await callAcl(item);
          } catch (error) {
            console.error(`Error with item ${item.id}: ${error.message}`);
          }
        }
      });

      await Promise.all(workers);

      console.log(`-> ======================= PAGE ${pageIdx + 1}/${totalPages} COMPLETED =======================`);
      if (autoClearConsole) console.clear();
    }
  };

  const finalize = async () => {
    console.log("-> Fetching new acquisition info...");
    const newAcquiredItems = await callAcquired();
    const newItemsAcquired = newAcquiredItems.length;
    const newTotalCount = (await callCacheApi()).nbHits;

    console.log(`-> Completed. Your account now has a total of ${newItemsAcquired} out of ${newTotalCount} items.`);

    alert(`-> Your account now has a total of ${newItemsAcquired} out of ${newTotalCount} items.\n\nIf you find some items missing, try refreshing the page and run the script again.`);
  };

  try {
    // Check if progress was saved
    const savedPage = localStorage.getItem('currentPage');
    if (savedPage !== null) {
      startPage = parseInt(savedPage, 10);
      console.log(`-> Resuming from page ${startPage + 1}`);
    }

    await initialize();
    await mainProcess();
    await finalize();

    // Clear progress
    localStorage.removeItem('currentPage');
  } catch (error) {
    console.error(error.message);
    console.log("-> The script could not be completed.");
  }
})();

[jonaz.dk]

Major Announcements From Unity Unite 2024 in Under 10 Minutes


Adding: The nice cinematic piece Time Ghost.

[jonaz.dk]

Steam page is live for Niila's TagTime

[jonaz.dk]

'Kind of Art 2024'

Københavns førende event for visuel kreativitet inden for animation, spil og VFX-industrien er tilbage afholdes den 25-26 oktober, 2024, på det historiske Palads Teater i det centrale København. Dette to dages event forener Danmarks kunstneriske arv med de nyeste globale trends og tilbyder inspiration, networking og praktisk læring inden for underholdningsindustrien.

KIND OF ART 2024 vil byde på inspirerende talks, live-demoer, paneldiskussioner, konkurrencer og hands-on workshops. Dette event er en enestående mulighed for lokale kunstnere, animatorer, spiludviklere og VFX-professionelle til at dykke ned i kreativ læring i hjertet af deres egen by. For dem, der ønsker at fremme deres karriere, tilbyder arrangementet en chance for at skabe forbindelser med Københavns blomstrende kreative fællesskab og engagere sig med professionelle, og få personlige portefølje evalueringer. Arrangementet fokuserer ikke kun på kunsten, men også på den menneskelige dimension, inklusion og mangfoldighed, og meget mere.
"Vi er virkelig glade for at kunne afholde KIND OF ART endnu en gang!" Med et stærkt fokus på innovation, inspiration og de psykologiske aspekter af at skabe kunst, ønsker vi at danne et hyggeligt rum, hvor kunstnere kan blive inspireret, dele idéer, diskutere de udfordringer de støder på, og forbinde sig med et globalt kreativt fællesskab. KIND OF ART er der, hvor kunstnerisk vision møder brancheinnovation. I en konstant udviklende industri tjener dette event som en påmindelse om, at kunst handler lige så meget om personerne bag værket, som værket selv.” – Christian Rasmussen, Executive Producer af Kind of Art & Business Development Director hos MOOD Visuals
Som et centrum for design, innovation og kultur har København længe været en by, der skubber grænserne for kreativitet. KIND OF ART 2024 afspejler denne filosofi og viser byens rolle i at forme fremtiden for den globale underholdningsindustri. Det historiske Palads Teater, et kulturelt ikon siden 1912, bliver det perfekte sted for eventet, med sine 17 moderne auditorier, der leverer de smukke omgivelser for at udforske fremtidens visuelle fortælling og design.
Højdepunkter i programmet:

Inspirerende forelæsninger fra Brancheeksperter:

Ian Hubert (Dynamo Dream & Lazy Tutorials)
Esben Lash (League of Legends, Valorant & IOI Interactive’s kommende Fantasy Titel)
Sam Surplice (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Hotel Transylvania & Sea Beast)
Peer Lemmers (Horizon: Forbidden West, Jurassic World & Edge of Tomorrow)
Farhang Namdar (Larian Studios: Baldur’s Gate 3)
Magnus Bruun (Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed: Valhalla & Last Kingdom)
Live fremvisninger af nyeste teknikker inden for animation, spil og VFX.
Paneldebatter om de kreative og psykologiske udfordringer ved at leve af at skabe kunst.
Konkurrencer der opfordrer kunstnere til at fremvise deres talenter og udvide de kreative grænser.
Hands-on Workshops designet til at finpudse på færdighederne og udvide kreativiteten, under vejledning af professionelle fra branchen.
Portefølje-evalueringer der tilbyder direkte og personlig feedback fra brancheledere.

KIND OF ART 2024-konkurrencen er en enestående mulighed for både nye og etablerede kunstnere til at fremvise deres færdigheder inden for animation, spil og VFX. Deltagerne vil engagere sig i en dynamisk, kreativ udfordring, bedømt af førende branchefolk. Konkurrencen byder ind til innovation og kreativitet, og udfordrer deltagerne til at udforske grænserne for visuel fortælling og design. Vinderne opnår ikke kun anerkendelse, men også muligheder for at få deres arbejde set, af førende nøglepersoner i branchen samt muligheden for at vinde fantastiske præmier. For mere information, besøg den officielle side på KIND OF ART Competition.
Uanset om du er en etableret kunstner, studerende eller har et ønske om at komme ind i den kreative industri, er KIND OF ART 2024 din mulighed for at forbedre dit håndværk, skabe forbindelser med danske og internationale kolleger og blive inspireret af de bedste i branchen. Da Danmark spiller en fortsat afgørende rolle i at forme globale kreative trends, vil dette arrangement give en platform til at fremhæve dansk talent og dets bidrag til fremtidens visuelle fortælling.
Sted:
Palads Teater, Axeltorv 9, 1609 København V
Dato:
October 25-26, 2024
For mere information og tilmelding, besøg https://www.kind-art.com/ husk at følge KIND OF ART på Instagram og LinkedIn.

Tickets:
https://moodvisuals.ticketbutler.io/en/ ... -art-2024/
Students 500,- DKK
Standard 1.500,- DKK

[jonaz.dk]

A bunch on DK games and their developers, as well as SE games will be featured on 'The Spill' developer hang out live stream the 8th of October. See you there!

https://www.the-spill.com

[jonaz.dk]

Midnight Girl from Italic releases on mobile.

[jonaz.dk]

Oh boy! The Godot community goes competely bonkers.

Games From Scratch does a fairly neutral coverage.

[jonaz.dk]

Recent DK Talks and dev logs

(Michael Flarup - Northplay) Chasing Fun: Creating a Career You Love



Devlog update from KeyQuest Studio's Dead Ends

The Combat Gameplay Update That Could Change Everything! | Devlog #9

[jonaz.dk]

Short intro video by Snutt for the upcoming The Spill. Featuring a bunch of DK developed games.


More on:
https://www.the-spill.com

[jonaz.dk]

[jonaz.dk]

Unreal Engine 5.5 new features recap.. they just keep kicking ass!

[jonaz.dk]

Playdead leder efter spiltestere.
https://playdead.com/spiltester/

[jonaz.dk]

Today is launch day for FlatPonies' Rebots.
Releasing in a few hours from time of writing. After around 6-7'ish years of development.
Also there is a demo available at the moment.

Sadly I swiftly ran onto a game breaking bug in the tutorial. Couldn't press Escape to exit a menu when the game prompted me to do so. Anyways I hope they will swiftly root out bugs like this.
(Adding: probably a rare bug anyways that everybody doesn't experience)

Give the (Full game) demo a spin for a limited time. Grats on the release in a few hours!

[jonaz.dk]

The Spill starting in less than an hour!

Lots of DK games on display. Remember to vote in This-or-That.

(Click Watch on Youtube if it doesn't embed properly)

[jonaz.dk]

War Game: The Making of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Documentary