Game maker,3d artist. before buy question

[▼ BruteCold ▲]

Hi Im a game developer. and 3d artist Im planning to use articy:draft to develop my game, and also to organize my 3d scenes for freelance work (there is always so many objects in a animation scene)

Im going to use it in the begin of the game if I dont like I will stop using

so I wanna ask:

1) if I use it as a middleware library, and link to my game will it leave traces in the game? Im asking because I wont be happy to pay for a professional license if I dont like it, and used just as a test, also I wouldn`t like to leave a trace on a client project.

2)is it possible to link it to unreal engine?

3)is possible to use a middleware system/solution with the SE version or it would be for an API version?

4) if yes for the last is it build in or Im by myself making it work? (wondering to what extend it can help me with code)

5) articy SE on steam is the v1.5 and when it will upgrade? the demo is 1.4 right ? what I wont get on the SE today that is already in the the last version?

6) what is the subscription price for? I have to pay every year to update the software? if yes how it will work on steam?or wont have the subscription on steam?

I understand that you guys dont know yet what gonna happen with the updates, and some of those questions (5,6) have been asked before, but there still no answers to them, and I wanna know what Im are paying for.
(not really worried about 5 and 6 is just that I would like to know more)

thanks

[Nevigo | Kai Rosenkranz]

Hi BruteColdside,

that's a very exciting use case, using articy:draft to organize 3D content creation. I'd be curious to learn more about how this works out for you, so if you're gaining some more experience with that, would you share that with us here?

Regarding your questions:

Originally posted by BruteColdside:

1) if I use it as a middleware library, and link to my game will it leave traces in the game?

articy:draft is a design and content creation tool. It doesn't have a built-in runtime library and thus doesn't leave any traces in your games. If you're looking into ways to get the content created in articy:draft into your game, you can use the runtime library articy:access, which I guess is what you're referring to. Here's an article in our help center[www.nevigo.com] about that.

articy:access brings its own DLLs, which you can consider "traces" if you link them to your project.

Originally posted by BruteColdside:

2)is it possible to link it to unreal engine?

Theoretically, yes. We haven't yet created any glue-code for a UDK integration, but articy:access itself is engine-independent. Since we haven't yet ported the middleware to Xbox and PlayStation, it'll depend on the target platforms of your game. On the other hand, the platform-dependent code is maybe 5% of the whole thing, so you can easily do the portation yourself. Long story short: The integration work into UDK would currently be on your end, since we're focussing on Unity for the time being.

Originally posted by BruteColdside:

3)is possible to use a middleware system/solution with the SE version or it would be for an API version?

The API is more appropriate for tool-chain integration, since it simulates a user in the multi-user environment. So, while the API changes data, other users can see and track that when they're logged in at the same time. If you're looking for ways to push articy:draft data into your game, the XML export or articy:access are better suited. Yes, articy:access technically works with the SE version. Yet, it's currently in beta, so you can only get access to it by contacting us directly ([e-mail]). We're thinking about putting it up on Steam, but please don't nail me down to that. A lot has to be researched and clarified first. :)

Originally posted by BruteColdside:

4) if yes for the last is it build in or Im by myself making it work? (wondering to what extend it can help me with code)

articy:access is a separate product, and you'll also need a component license for articy:draft SE that enables the customizable articy:access export. That's no big deal, it's just not yet available through Steam, so you'll have to contact us while articy:access is in beta.

Originally posted by BruteColdside:

5) articy SE on steam is the v1.5 and when it will upgrade? the demo is 1.4 right ? what I wont get on the SE today that is already in the the last version?

The SE version is the most advanced for the time being. Yet, it'll not update to v2.0 automatically, so when we release the new version some time in April, the SE version will stay at 1.5. (see below for details)

Originally posted by BruteColdside:

6) what is the subscription price for? I have to pay every year to update the software? if yes how it will work on steam?or wont have the subscription on steam?

Here's some previously posted info on our (work-in-progress) updating policy.

If you have any other questions, please just drop them here or email us at support(at)nevigo.com.

All the best,
-Kai

[▼ BruteCold ▲]

Hi Kai thanks so much for your reply it helped a lot

-------------
So Im using it already to for my 3d works.

this is what I do with excel:
usually in a 3d environment theres a lot of models and textures, I would first just build a list on exel of all that need to be done, and separate in weeks so in the end of the week all that need to be done (many people do a week because some stuff go faster and other take longer than thought) so would be 18 itens in a good quality for a week in the first day I would create folders for all the reference, and all the description of the materials, things the cliend wanna.etc but them it all become confusing after some time (talking about 100s of itens here)

and this with articy:draft
with articy what Im doing is I create entites for each kind of object (model, texture,concept) and because stuff can be conect to others I can know for ex what is using the same texture, I can see really fast the description I can see the reference I can export the list of objects (really nice ones) and I color code everything so I can put all them in the flow, and I would see what need to be done first, what is done, or if is over due I can move stuff around if I need, and everything is more visual so I dont get lost, and I can find all the information I need about the iten really fast so its all in one place, and it make the work faster.

also after you do it one time you can save the template and use it again, another thing I liked is have the clients as characters them I can always know who is that 3d model for (also if I select the cliend I know all the work I need to make for him) and information about another artists Im working with, and they are all conected, like I said all in the same place :)

for some reason the first time I instaled the trial this was the first thing I used for, and still if I wanna use excel for something I can just have them on assets and connect to the iten.

I think articy:draft is really good to manage projects, by just changing my mind set I could make the software do what I wanna :) and managing games is not easy it can get big really fast.

-----------------------------------------
there is a few things I would like to know if is possible or recommend for a next update:

1)add more flows
2)making the images go to a folder for its own entitie so I can click next and appear only related images
3)having a easier way to add dates(its not a problem for me because the way I do but I can see people having this problem)
4)be able to export templates and entities to another projects (some times projects change or you make a second game with the same title, would be good to keep all the data or just get what need, also is always good to keep templates we like).

sorry I wrote a lot and with a bad english
anyway Im really enjoying the software
thanks

[▼ BruteCold ▲]

Hi I gotta an answer from Kai on you tube for my 4 question Im taking the freedom to post it in here

4)be able to export templates and entities to another projects (some times projects change or you make a second game with the same title, would be good to keep all the data or just get what need, also is always good to keep templates we like).
answer:
"Good point. We're working on template migration between projects. Currently, you'd have to clone an existing project with templates and use that as a starting point for the new project. Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for your feedback! -Kai"


thanks
brutecoldside

[Nevigo | Kai Rosenkranz]

Hi BruteColdside,

thanks for reposting my comment from YouTube, and my apologies for not answering your other questions earlier.

Originally posted by BruteColdside:

add more flows

What exactly do you mean by that? You mean a greater variety of node types for different use cases?

Originally posted by BruteColdside:

making the images go to a folder for its own entitie so I can click next and appear only related images

That's a feature we have on our roadmap, and it's called "flexible project structure". It allows you to break the chains of the currently restrictive project structure with the specific areas for Flows, Entities, Assets, etc.! This means a lot of rework on our end, and we're still a bit torn whether it's really a good idea to drop the clear structure that we have at the moment. But I think we'll go for it and offer the current model as an option ("homogeneous top-level folders").

Originally posted by BruteColdside:

having a easier way to add dates(its not a problem for me because the way I do but I can see people having this problem)

With dates you mean custom properties? Sticking to the "property -> feature -> template -> target object" workflow looks unnecessarily clumsy, but it's the best way to avoid redundancy and allow something like inheritance. Yet, UI-wise we can simplify the process, for example via in-place creation of new features while on an entity's property page, and so on.

Did that answer your questions?

Thanks again for contributing to this forum!
-Kai

[▼ BruteCold ▲]

Hi Kai

Originally posted by author:

What exactly do you mean by that? You mean a greater variety of node types for different use cases?

by adding more flows I mean be able to create more of the main folders (flows,entities,location,notes,journeys, etc.) I would like to have one more folder for flow just to organize better if I have more than one possible character to play with, everything is together,and would be good to separate them. if I have 4 playable characters or more would be good to have it more clean (they have different stories to follow)

Originally posted by author:

That's a feature we have on our roadmap, and it's called "flexible project structure". It allows you to break the chains of the currently restrictive project structure with the specific areas for Flows, Entities, Assets, etc.! This means a lot of rework on our end, and we're still a bit torn whether it's really a good idea to drop the clear structure that we have at the moment. But I think we'll go for it and offer the current model as an option ("homogeneous top-level folders").

nice Im happy that you guys are doing it I will love this having lots of references for each character it will make easier to look the images, and also it might be the answer for adding more flows :)

Originally posted by author:

With dates you mean custom properties? Sticking to the "property -> feature -> template -> target object" workflow looks unnecessarily clumsy, but it's the best way to avoid redundancy and allow something like inheritance. Yet, UI-wise we can simplify the process, for example via in-place creation of new features while on an entity's property page, and so on.

would be good to have dates for deadlines (not only color coding or notstarted-wip-done language) if I use the flow to organize the game project it would be greate, and way more visual than anything i know(I already doing it but with color code) it help to really keep everything inside of articy, and use it for manage the game in all aspects, but I know its not what this tool was build for, but seems like Im not the only one doing it so would be nice to see this.


just wanna say thanks for your reply and:

I bought articy today :)
I think its a really awesome tool it helps a lot.
this tool makes everything easier to organize, communicate with another people, makes the work faster more clear, and help avoiding mistakes. (you will save time and money)
I would recommend it for any hobbyist and professional.
it would help in any project (game,film,books..etc)
Thanks
Brutecoldside