Game Dev Digest — Issue #39 - Shader Graph, DOTS, Handy Editor Scripts, How-To Platformers, Roguelikes, FPS, and Much More
Tags: gamedev, unity3d, csharp, news
Published: 2020-04-10 11:03:56

###Issue #39 - Shader Graph, DOTS, Handy Editor Scripts, How-To Platformers, Roguelikes, FPS, and Much More

![Issue #39 - Shader Graph, DOTS, Handy Editor Scripts, How-To Platformers, Roguelikes, FPS, and Much More](https://gamedevdigest.com/assets/social-posts/issue-39.jpg)

Hope everyone is staying safe out there. Here is more content for your friday. 

Plenty of Shader Graph posts to satiate your shader appetite. How-to's on game genres such as FPS, Roguelikes, and platformers to get you started. 

Lastly, a bunch of handy editor scripts below, as well, look out for the Asset Store sale starting next week. Stay tuned and enjoy!

---

[**Unity 2020 roadmap: Recapping the tech and solutions coming this year**](https://blogs.unity3d.com/2020/04/06/unity-2020-roadmap-recapping-the-tech-and-solutions-coming-this-year/)  - A lot is happening at Unity this year, and we’re excited to share some of the highlights. So grab your favorite beverage and dive into this post to learn about our recently shared roadmaps on core Unity technology and game-changing offerings for live content, as well as the upcoming Unite Now digital programming series.
[_Unity_](https://blogs.unity3d.com/2020/04/06/unity-2020-roadmap-recapping-the-tech-and-solutions-coming-this-year/)

[**The 2-year support for the first LTS release, 2017.4, ends in April 2020**](https://blogs.unity3d.com/2020/04/08/the-2-year-support-for-the-first-lts-release-2017-4-ends-in-april-2020/)  - Unity 2017.4.0 was released on 20th March 2018. It was our first Long Term Support (LTS) version and a significant shift in how we support Unity releases. The next release, 2017.4.40, will be the last in the 2017-stream. With 2019 LTS due to be released soon, it is time to end support for 2017 LTS with monthly bug fixes.
[_Unity_](https://blogs.unity3d.com/2020/04/08/the-2-year-support-for-the-first-lts-release-2017-4-ends-in-april-2020/)

[**Unity 2020.1.0 Beta 5**](https://unity3d.com/unity/beta/2020.1.0b5)  - Version 2020.1.0 Beta 5 has been released.
[_Unity_](https://unity3d.com/unity/beta/2020.1.0b5)

[**Introduction to Shaders in Unity**](https://www.raywenderlich.com/5671826-introduction-to-shaders-in-unity)  - Ever wondered about shaders in Unity? In this tutorial, you’ll learn what shaders are, how to display vertex colors and how to animate within shaders.
[_raywenderlich.com_](https://www.raywenderlich.com/5671826-introduction-to-shaders-in-unity)

[**Shader Graph - Vertical Dissolve/Teleport**](https://www.patreon.com/posts/35698820)  - Here is the Shader Graph version of this code shader : [Vertical Dissolve/Teleport](https://www.patreon.com/posts/quick-game-art-34859694) from a few weeks ago :)
[_Minions Art_](https://www.patreon.com/posts/35698820)

[**Stylised Water in Shader Graph and URP**](https://danielilett.com/2020-04-05-tut5-3-urp-stylised-water/)  - Stylised water is the rite of passage for every shader creator on the Internet. Although there’s already a deluge of water effects out there, URP is still relatively new so one more won’t be flooding the market. Today I want to recreate the water from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - it has a very distinctive, stylised appearance which we should be able to reconstruct in Shader Graph and Universal RP. Let’s dive right in!
[_Daniel Ilett_](https://danielilett.com/2020-04-05-tut5-3-urp-stylised-water/)

[**Pixelation Shader**](https://twitter.com/alexanderameye/status/1247172207274381312)  - Are you nostalgic for the past? Let's see how you can achieve this cool retro effect in a 60 second #shadersdonequick tutorial! You can [get the graph here](https://alexanderameye.github.io/pixelation).
[_Alexander Ameye_](https://twitter.com/alexanderameye/status/1247172207274381312)

[**Dark Side of the Wall**](http://www.kabuk.games/2020/04/07/dark-side-of-the-wall/)  - Learn how to partially bypass the post-process effects.
[_Kabuk Games_](https://twitter.com/KabukGames/status/1247479232953024514)

[**Sketch Post Processing**](https://twitter.com/csims314/status/1246192368350609409)  - @harryh___h awesome sketch deserves a breakdown. Took a month, but I love it . Unity URP, All Shader Graph, breakdown at the end, and [here's the git](https://github.com/chrisloop/White).
[_Christopher Sims_](https://twitter.com/csims314/status/1246192368350609409)

[**Terrain and Mesh Blending in Unity**](https://inresin.wordpress.com/2020/04/03/terrain-and-mesh-blending-in-unity/)  - In this tutorial I’m going to go over how to blend meshes with terrain (or even other meshes) in unity. This tutorial is fairly advanced, but I’ve tried to break it up into individual stages.
[_Louis Waloschek_](https://inresin.wordpress.com/2020/04/03/terrain-and-mesh-blending-in-unity/)

[**Unity Addressables: Learning Resources for 2020+**](https://thegamedev.guru/unity-addressables/unity-addressables-learning-resources-2020/)  - You probably heard how Unity addressables can help you optimize your Unity game: RAM usage, loading times, iteration times, content update with cloud storage... But you might be confused about where to start learning Unity addressables. That I understand. There's so much content out there on Unity addressables that it can feel overwhelming at start. To help you there, I compiled a list of resources to help you learn Unity addressables in 2020+.
[_The Gamedev Guru_](https://thegamedev.guru/unity-addressables/unity-addressables-learning-resources-2020/)

[**Artists’ best practices for mobile game development**](https://blogs.unity3d.com/2020/04/07/artists-best-practices-for-mobile-game-development/)  - Our partners at Arm have put together a series of in-depth guides to help technical artists and game developers optimize their game art and improve performance when building for varied mobile hardware.
[_Unity_](https://blogs.unity3d.com/2020/04/07/artists-best-practices-for-mobile-game-development/)

[**One Million Sprites. More Than 120fps. DOTS Not Required.**](https://coffeebraingames.wordpress.com/2020/04/05/one-million-sprites-more-than-120fps-dots-not-required/)  - When you lurk in the DOTS forum, you’ll see guys like this who made a DOTS library that can render one million animated sprites yet still get 60fps. I have created my own DOTS sprite renderer which is good enough for our game but it can’t handle a million. I got curious.
[_Coffee Brain Games_](https://coffeebraingames.wordpress.com/2020/04/05/one-million-sprites-more-than-120fps-dots-not-required/)

[**A simple guide to get started with Unity ECS**](https://levelup.gitconnected.com/a-simple-guide-to-get-started-with-unity-ecs-b0e6a036e707)  - How to easily implement the Entity Component System pattern in your Unity DOTS project.
[_Marios Koutroumpas_](https://levelup.gitconnected.com/a-simple-guide-to-get-started-with-unity-ecs-b0e6a036e707)

[**How to find more information about a DOTS packages?**](https://dotsplayground.com/2020/04/howtofinddotspackageinformation/)  - Do you want to learn more about the internals of DOTS implementations such as Burst or the C# Job System? In my recent blog post, I'll explain how.
[_kazum93_](https://twitter.com/kazum93/status/1247174893503995904)

[**Function Types: A Spectrum**](https://jacksondunstan.com/articles/5508)  - C# gives us lots of types of functions for us to call. We must constantly decide between them. Should this function be static? Should it be virtual? There are many factors that go into making the decision. Today we’ll look at the function types as a spectrum and hopefully get a little perspective on our options.
[_JacksonDunstan.com_](https://jacksondunstan.com/articles/5508)

[**A turtle made it to the water: projectile motion, camera rotation and object pooling**](https://lauraalmon.wordpress.com/2019/08/11/a-turtle-made-it-to-the-water-projectile-motion-camera-rotation-and-object-pooling/)  - As a big fan of the game World of Warcraft, I wanted to recreate one of its mini-games, which is a quest in which the player has to attack crabs and albatrosses by throwing a projectile at them so that the baby turtles reach the water.
[_Laura Almón Manzano_](https://lauraalmon.wordpress.com/2019/08/11/a-turtle-made-it-to-the-water-projectile-motion-camera-rotation-and-object-pooling/)

[**Unity 2D Lerp Tutorial: In Depth**](https://generalistprogrammer.com/unity/unity-2d-lerp-tutorial-in-depth/)  - The Unity 2D Lerp function is often used to move objects along a path or to change values along a path. However in essence LERP is code word for Linear Interpolation, but what is linear interpolation?
[_generalistprogrammer.com_](https://generalistprogrammer.com/unity/unity-2d-lerp-tutorial-in-depth/)

[**Hang Line Postmortem Part 1 - How pirates made my game successful**](https://gamasutra.com/blogs/EdKay/20200407/360682/Hang_Line_Postmortem_Part_1__How_pirates_made_my_game_successful.php)  - Spoiler: I was successful with my first indie game because it got pirated. But before we get into that, let me introduce myself. Hi! I’m Ed, and I survived making my first indie game by myself! Now that the shock of achieving this miracle has worn off, I’d like to give something back.
[_Ed Kay_](https://gamasutra.com/blogs/EdKay/20200407/360682/Hang_Line_Postmortem_Part_1__How_pirates_made_my_game_successful.php)

[**Tutorial: How to Make a 2d Platformer in Unity**](https://rookj.blogspot.com/2020/04/tutorial-how-to-make-2d-platformer-in_6.html)  - Custom Physics Shapes on Tiles and Slopes
[_rookj_](https://rookj.blogspot.com/2020/04/tutorial-how-to-make-2d-platformer-in_6.html)

[**Building a Roguelike From Scratch – Unity Tutorial part 4 – Player and Movement**](https://nomadhermitsgrove.prometheaninteractive.com/2020/04/04/building-a-roguelike-from-scratch-unity-tutorial-part-4-player-and-movement/)  - Hello fellow rogues! Now we finally have our map, so let’s go to the next step: spawn the player character and let the player move it around.
[_Nomad Hermit's Grove_](https://nomadhermitsgrove.prometheaninteractive.com/2020/04/04/building-a-roguelike-from-scratch-unity-tutorial-part-4-player-and-movement/)

[**How to Split Up an Existing Unity Git Project into Smaller Unity Packages**](https://www.taroomiya.com/2020/04/04/how-to-split-up-an-existing-unity-git-project-into-smaller-unity-packages/)  - Here's my tutorial on how to split up an existing Unity3d git project into smaller unity packages. Includes instructions with TortoiseGit, and even submission instructions to OpenUPM.
[_Taro Omiya_](https://twitter.com/taro_omiya/status/1246516571046064134)

[**Video Chat with Unity3D, the ARFoundation Version**](https://dev.to/icywind/video-chat-with-unity3d-the-arfoundation-version-51b8)  - In this Augmented Reality (AR) tutorial, you’ll learn how to communicate and chat with friend in AR.
[_Rick Cheng_](https://dev.to/icywind/video-chat-with-unity3d-the-arfoundation-version-51b8)

## Videos

[![Final Fantasy VII Remake’s Tactical Mode](https://gamedevdigest.com/assets/images/ff12dd2be29cc4bae6827ecdf28a84de.png)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKkZflxD0VY&amp;feature=youtu.be)
[**Final Fantasy VII Remake’s Tactical Mode**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKkZflxD0VY&amp;feature=youtu.be)  - In the Final Fantasy VII Remake, there's a new feature called Tactical Mode, which makes time slow down during the battle, allowing the player to select abilities and spells strategically. I thought it would be a good idea to try and develop a similar mechanic in this episode!
[_Mix and Jam_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKkZflxD0VY&amp;feature=youtu.be)

[**Creator Kit Mod: Slow-motion effect! (Tutorial)**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkVyYbApmTI)  - Ready to expand on the Creator Kit project? In this video, we'll show you how to add a slow-motion effect to your FPS project!
[_Unity_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkVyYbApmTI)

[**REALISTIC 2D LIGHTING in Unity Tutorial (Beginner Friendly)**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUOx9-pHsDA)  - Here is a video explaining how I achieve realistic 2D Lighting in Unity 2020, using the 2D Lights, 2D Shadows and 2D Renderer with the URP / Universal Render Pipeline!
[_Sykoo_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUOx9-pHsDA)

[**Grappling Gun in 3 steps in Unity**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5za2cY-wH74&amp;feature=emb_title)  - How to make grappling gun in Unity 2D in 3 steps?
[_Technical Friends YT_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5za2cY-wH74&amp;feature=emb_title)

[**How to make a 2D platformer (E01 Character rigging) - Unity 2020 Tutorial**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cr5Hs0CJ1Sg)  - In this tutorial series you will learn how to create a 2D platformer in Unity. I recommend that you have unity 2019 or newer installed when following along.
[_inScope Studios_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cr5Hs0CJ1Sg)

[**Dapper Dino Presents: The Building Blocks of Unity (Beginner Livestream)**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip6ZaNisyTE)  - Along with Andre (better known as Mix and Jam), I’ll be discussing two of the “building blocks” within the Unity engine: GameObjects and Components. During the stream we’ll build a target-shooting game, learn essential Unity tips, and answer your questions throughout with live Q&A.
[_Unity_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip6ZaNisyTE)

[**Creator Kit: FPS (Overview)**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTPkao2rzDY)  - Welcome to the FPS Creator Kit! This bite-sized kit has magically miniaturized you, the doctor, into a tiny sickness-fighting force of good. Your mission: to travel through your patient’s body, destroying evil germs wherever you find them.
[_Unity_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTPkao2rzDY)

[**I made DOOM in Unity!**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEeqT2G1TSg)  - Play the Game and Download the Project Files [here](https://unitycodemonkey.com/game.php?g=doom).
[_Code Monkey_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEeqT2G1TSg)

[**C# Events in Unity**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUTURxgcoj4)  - In this video, you'll learn how to use C# Events in Unity through a practical example that you can download for free (link in description).
[_Infallible Code_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUTURxgcoj4)

[**Method Execution Order**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EV_h2GFjrg)  - Beginner's guide to Unity.
[_Mister Taft Creates_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EV_h2GFjrg)

[**2D Snow Cover Shader Graph in Unity (Easy Step By Step Tutorial)**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBxRFlMJI34)  - In this video we will show you how to create 2D Snow Cover Shader Graph in Unity engine.
[_Binary Lunar_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBxRFlMJI34)

[**Unity3d Oculus Quest Hand Tracking Setup With Physics**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RW9BdVXZio)  - Today I like to show you the results of my experimentation with Unity Oculus Integration hand tracking and what changes I had to make to ensure physics were more accurate when interacting with hands and rigid bodies.
[_Dilmer Valecillos_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RW9BdVXZio)

[**Unity Save System Tutorial**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYEI_vzobD4)  - How to make Singleton ScriptableObjects. _[also check out Jimmy Vegas' [How To Make An FPS WOLFENSTEIN 3D Game Unity Tutorial 031 - SAVING THE GAME](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-swTk_fsxA)]_
[_The Messy Coder_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYEI_vzobD4)

[**Blender to Unity : Moving Platforms Tutorial**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4NciRnH4tw)  - In this Blender 2.8 and Unity tutorial I show how I created a low poly platform withh Blender, the export it as fbx and import it into my Unity project, the Unity Low Poly game Kit.
[_Jayanam_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4NciRnH4tw)

## Assets

[![HUMBLE 7000 GAME DEV ICONS BUNDLE](https://gamedevdigest.com/assets/images/f3925da3-0818-4075-b9f0-c9d4e110b052.png)](https://www.humblebundle.com/software/7000-game-dev-icons-software?partner=unity3dreport)
[**HUMBLE 7000 GAME DEV ICONS BUNDLE**](https://www.humblebundle.com/software/7000-game-dev-icons-software?partner=unity3dreport)  - Create your own PC or mobile games, software, applications, websites, and more with this bundle of icons! Your purchase will support the following organizations responding to COVID-19, Partners In Health, Action Against Hunger, and Red Nose Day. In addition, you may also choose a charity of your choice! $449 WORTH OF AWESOME STUFF PAY $1 OR MORE
[_Humble Bundle_](https://www.humblebundle.com/software/7000-game-dev-icons-software?partner=unity3dreport) **Affiliate**

[**Easy Save - The Complete Save & Load Asset**](https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/input-management/easy-save-the-complete-save-load-asset-768?aid=1011l8NVc)  - Why use Easy Save? For Amateurs... It's easy to use and well documented For Experts... It's fast, feature-rich and extremely flexible.
Features includes: Compatible with most platforms. Fast and Lightweight Serialization. Fully Documented. PlayMaker Support. 5-star Customer Support. Secure Save Data with Encryption. Save & Load from Web. Cross-Platform Save Data. Save Almost Any Type. Save as Spreadsheet. File IO.
[_Moodkie_](https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/input-management/easy-save-the-complete-save-load-asset-768?aid=1011l8NVc) **Affiliate**

[**Game Assets And Resources**](https://github.com/HotpotDesign/Game-Assets-And-Resources)  - This page lists free and paid game assets and game resources for making 2D games, 3D games, Unity games, mobile games, and other games. While most of these assets are free, some may offer a freemium model with some free assets and resources and some paid.
[_Hotpot.ai_](https://github.com/HotpotDesign/Game-Assets-And-Resources) *Open Source*

[**Basic Unity Component Kit (BUCK) - A collection of Unity packages designed to allow for the quick implementation of common functionality.**](https://github.com/ellisspice/BUCK)  - A collection of Unity packages designed to allow for the quick implementation of common functionality. _[includes a Localization System, Loading UI, Save System, Extensions, and more.]_
[_Ellis Spice_](https://github.com/ellisspice/BUCK) *Open Source*

[**Teleport**](https://github.com/debox-dev/Teleport)  - A fast, lightweight, pure C# Unity realtime-game-networking framework
[_DeBOX Accelerated Game Production_](https://github.com/debox-dev/Teleport) *Open Source*

[**GradientWindow.cs**](https://gist.github.com/daniel-ilett/99992dfcb565324c76a655e16115aedf)  - A Unity editor script which lets you save a Gradient as a texture file (place the script inside a folder named Editor).
[_Daniel Ilett_](https://twitter.com/daniel_ilett/status/1247859463731716096) *Open Source*

[**DisableExitTime.cs**](https://github.com/JeffHarper926/Tools/blob/master/Tools/Assets/DisableExitTime.cs)  - Most of the time when I create an animation transition I want it to transition back immediately, instead of dealing with Exit Times. So I wrote an Editor Script that will set several at once.
[_Jeff Harper_](https://twitter.com/jeffdevsitall/status/1247571570496806913) *Open Source*

[**SimpleProfilerWindow.cs**](https://gist.github.com/joonjoonjoon/0c5a37dc692dbeb5cbea2a6264df8db6)  - I made a little memory graph window for debugging memory leaks that happen at seemingly random times, and to build up some familiarity with general memory usage (oh look it just grew by 1GB, fun!).
[_joon_](https://twitter.com/joonturbo/status/1247523140051161088) *Open Source*

[**MyBox**](https://unitylist.com/p/fwa/My-Box)  - MyBox is a set of tools, features and extensions for Unity. It is MyBox. Now it’s yours too. The package is available on the openupm registry. Includes custom Attributes, Types, Tools and Features.
[_Deadcows_](https://unitylist.com/p/fwa/My-Box) *Open Source*

[**Unity .abr Importer**](https://github.com/EndersWilliam/Unity-ABR-Importer)  - Ever wanted to use Photoshop brushes in Unity? Wait no more! This importer turns Photoshop brushes (*.abr files) into a series of alpha textures. These can easily be used to create terrain brushes.
[_William Enders_](https://twitter.com/willenders_/status/1246963828425986050) *Open Source*

[**Tilia - Trackers -> Pseudo Body for the Unity Software**](https://github.com/ExtendRealityLtd/Tilia.Trackers.PseudoBody.Unity)  - The Pseudo Body prefab provides a spatial virtual representation of a user in the physical world. It allows for the detection of collisions within the virtual world and to determine when the virtual representation location diverges from the physical location.
[_Extend Reality Ltd_](https://github.com/ExtendRealityLtd/Tilia.Trackers.PseudoBody.Unity) *Open Source*

[**sqlite**](com.pixelwizards.sqlite)  - Unity Package Manager compatible wrapper for SQLite databases. This package is a fork of the [source repo](https://github.com/rizasif/sqlite-unity-plugin), reorganized into Package Manager structure and published to OpenUPM.
[_rizasif, PixelWizards_](com.pixelwizards.sqlite) *Open Source*

[**Unity Symbolic Project Linker**](https://github.com/thsbrown/unity-symbolic-project-linker)  - I was sick and tired of manually creating the symbolic linked version of our #Unity3d project needed for multiplayer testing. Enter the Unity SymLink Creator! It's free and open source for anyone interested!
[_Thomas Brown_](https://twitter.com/meatloaf1024/status/1248278149244137472) *Open Source*

[**Free lowpoly packs**](http://quaternius.com/?i=1)  - Are you at home and don't know what to do? MAKE A GAME! I've made 70 COMPLETELY FREE lowpoly packs. You can go and download all of them on my website!
[_Quaternius_](https://twitter.com/quaternius/status/1248016193492905985)

[**HUMBLE BOOK BUNDLE: SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT BY O'REILLY**](https://www.humblebundle.com/books/software-development-oreilly-books?partner=unity3dreport)  - Expand your software development skills and transform your bad code to good code with our newest bundle! $670 WORTH OF AWESOME STUFF. PAY CA$1.50 OR MORE. DRM-FREE MULTI-FORMAT.
[_Humble Bundle_](https://www.humblebundle.com/books/software-development-oreilly-books?partner=unity3dreport) **Affiliate**

## Spotlight

[![N.E.S.T](https://gamedevdigest.com/assets/images/dc2591eb68bd7e86b0ef9788d7887b49.png)](http://daniellochner.com/#devlog)
[**N.E.S.T**](http://daniellochner.com/#devlog)  - N.E.S.T is an action-packed, looter-shooter mobile game that entrusts you to save Earth from an alien invasion after a rogue interstellar radio message leads them straight here. Unconventionally however, these aliens don't arrive via spaceships. Instead, large nests crash into Earth's surface, and it is up to you to destroy them all before the aliens regain their full strength, and take over our beloved planet.
[_Daniel Lochner_](http://daniellochner.com/#devlog)



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