EDIT: Showman's is still being done in Blender, as I have found a workaround for a serious issue I was having. A lot of my points here still stand, however, and I aim to start working with a new game engine after Showman's and possibly some other smaller projects. Only time will tell, however.

Hey all. I just wanna take a moment to make this post so you guys can hear me ramble about a bunch of stupid crap, I suppose. It’s still important nonetheless!

Blender’s game engine likes pulling shenanigans out of its ass and dropping them in front of me, then running away without saying a word, and I’m actually getting tired of it lol.

As you may or may not know, my games are made inside Blender 2.78’s game engine.

Blender’s game engine is easy to use when you get a good understanding of it, but the limitations you need to put on yourself are pretty horrid at times if you want to make a game that runs well and doesn’t crash. Blender has had a game engine since 2000, and has gotten a handful of good upgrades until 2019 when it was dropped completely, and it still couldn’t even amount to something like Godot. It has more trouble running itself than how my PC runs it, which is pretty funny and also sad.

I’ve been using Blender 2.78 and its game engine ever since May 2017. I have never tried to learn a newer version specifically because of the game engine itself, and looking at what Blender is capable of doing now in version 4.0, I’ve realized that I’m missing out on some great features. My work could easily look much better in its overall quality if I used literally any of the later versions.

I am aware of UPBGE, a community-made version of Blender’s game engine that includes content from newer versions of Blender. I’m not really interested in it mostly because I feel like it may not have any improvements to the optimization of the engine itself.

I’m also aware of something similar called RANGE Engine, and I’m keeping my eyes on it because the people developing it are active, and also seriously care about it. It has actually new and useful features to be added in the future, which is great! It’s even a version of the engine you can put games out to the public for a price, unlike Blender’s. I guess they worked something out with Blender’s team, not too sure what that’s all about though.

While I could choose one or the other instead of what I have right now, I think I should just move on to Unreal Engine, as that would help me much more with my future as a game developer. I want to do a lot more than just make FNaF fangames lol.

I feel incredibly “behind” with what I’m using. My methods of modeling, UV unwrapping, and texturing are currently quite terrible if I do say so myself. I’m not trying to compare myself to others, but everywhere I look the quality of things people make are just beyond impressive to me. They’re making beautiful renders with well-textured models done in Substance Painter, and there’s all these graphically stunning games made in various different engines.

Of course, high quality graphics don’t instantly make your game good at all, but in my case, my stuff could look at least a little better, but I’m so limited with Blender’s game engine to a point where even Roblox games have graphics better than anything I could achieve. Not dissing Roblox, but it does remind me how behind I am with my programs lol.

And the funniest part of all of this?

I have a wonderful gaming laptop that can run something like Security Breach very well, I own Substance Painter on Steam, and I also have Unreal Engine 5 installed, which I’ve even learned a little bit of.

So why haven’t I even bothered to take the time to improve my work like I’ve been really wanting to?

Simple. Phobia, and also Showman’s to a certain degree.

I don’t like making you guys wait, because I know you’re all excited for these fun little fangames I make, and I really appreciate you all. I’ve stuck with Blender’s game engine for so long and I really did think things would work out well, and it did, it’s just only gotten more frustrating when I try to up the quality of things just a little more.

It’s also become clear to me that I’m a little too focused on getting the games done, rather than actually getting stuff done for them piece by piece. It’s been overwhelming, and a recipe for a big possible disaster if it’s not handled with enough care. Thankfully I’ve had that happen in my earlier days of playing around with game development, so I can catch myself easier now.

So, in the case of Showman’s: The Awakening and Showman’s: Long Hours, I’m putting them entirely on hold. Probably for a long time. I’m going to be spending a lot of time playing around and trying to learn new things so I can make my games look and feel much better than ever before.

They will (hopefully) be developed in Unreal Engine 5, which unfortunately will toss a lot of lower/mid-end PC users out of being able to play the games, but I’ll be sure to do my research on optimization to keep things the best they can be. Also, unlike Blender’s game engine, in Unreal Engine I’ll be able to add in an options menu that can have graphical settings! FINALLY.

I won’t be letting any of the hard work done for The Awakening and Long Hours go to waste, either. The most I actually need to do for them is just learn how to reprogram the games in UE5, but I’ll probably make better models and textures to make things look actually improved. I’m going to try reusing the animations and sounds though, and I think that’ll work out just fine.

So, unfortunately we’re met with another huge delay, one I should have done a long time ago, to be honest. Showman’s was announced very early, but I kind of wanted to get that out of the way so people knew what I was doing with it all.

I love making games and all, but for a long time I’ve felt like I’m really not getting anywhere I want to be, so this kind of change is needed, as much as it’ll set everything back a lot! That alone is a little demotivating, but it’ll be worth it in the long run.

I’ll still be posting on here and stuff, of course. Things I learn, maybe some weird animations, geeking out about FNaF, art, you get the idea. You’ll know when the Showman’s series gets back on track!

Hopefully it all goes well! I seriously, seriously appreciate all of the support and patience!