Hi, I wanted to see if today there is still the possibility of having a game made on Blitz3D on Steam.
I remember that there was some blitzmax, which I saw today in the old forum, but I can't find much info.
I would like to know if today it is possible to do it.
greetings and thanks!
I'm not aware of that possibility. Instead it might be worth you check out AGK which is similar to BB3D but more modern and supports the Steam SDK.
As far as I know Madjack's 'Tank Universal' is a Blitz3D project and it's on Steam. I think you can publish games made with Blitz3D because they only need your exe and supporting files/content and they embed the whole thing into their distribution system. What you cannot do is to take advantage any of the Steam SDK features such as leaderboards etc. Madjack or others who have hands on experience publishing Blitz3D projects on steam could tell you more.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/19200/Tank_Universal/
I also agree with Xaron that it's worth to check out AGK. The 3D engine itself supports many modern features, and it's incomparably faster on modern hardware than B3D, not to mention the many platforms it supports. And of course you can keep Blitz3D for your retro projects but having AGK at your disposal is a good thing I believe.
If you're not interested in anything else but desktop PC as your target platform you should check out PureBasic that has a built in Ogre3D that is approx 3x-5x times faster than Blitz3D when it comes to scenes with high polygon count. The built in Ogre is 1.8.2 I believe that is old enough to run on any capable DX9 hardware and new enough to be fairly fast on newer hardware. PureBasic also generates faster code than Blitz3D. Overall a very nice package.
Thanks for the answers, knowing that it is possible and that there is someone who has already done it is very good.
In my naval simulator project, a friend "who knows how to program in rare languages", I connect my blitz with weather APIs and Google maps, I suppose that when the time comes to go to Steam, I will ask this person who knows how to do these magical things mysterious, which I really don't understand! :)
As for changing the language, the engine, yes, it is something that I have VERY keen, but nowadays, I must be realistic.
My games can be beautiful, but they are far from being at a level that lives up to a user's expectations.
When I manage to have a good video game, which I hope will be Tora Tora Tora, having a good game, I will have the need to migrate everything to a better engine, which would be very good, but today, the mental work that would take me to change platform gives me panic.
I'm bad at learning, I don't know what an API is, I don't know what UI means, I have terrible reading speed and concentration, and I could only learn BASIC, my attempts at Unity, C ++, Learwerks, Javascript and other programs were a failure total.
So I try to limit myself to what I really am, a brute with some talent in a specific area that is 3D.
Now I am following the recommendations.
1. make Tora a good game, step by step I am aiming for that.
2. Publish the game everywhere, to progress on the community (little by little), Gamejolt - Itch.io - Facebook - instagram - discord - twich and when I have something more demonstrable, I will make new more professional videos for YouTube and I will publish in forums in this niche.
3. try not to get frustrated, try not to deviate from the original idea of the game (a simple, aesthetically cute, combat game that is user friendly, like the games of the comodore and those of the 90's. at the same time have some modernity.
And I'm still waiting to join forces to learn a new language, but I really feel like a dinosaur, one of those who were stubborn, gross and stubborn.
What I'm trying to say, A better tool would not improve the chances of success of my game.
If the game is good, it will merit change.
If I can't make a good game with what I have "Blitz3d", neither could I do it with Unity or any other language.
More resources = less use of creativity.
And thank God, today, people prefer creativity when it comes to non-AAA games.
And if I had better graphics, where would I want to go? Competing graphically in the realism race is a losing battle.
But if you do something graphically creative, that the user accepts as pleasing to their eyes, it is not necessary to enter the frantic competition of those who have more realism.
Quote from: Santiago on May 08, 2020, 18:23:11
What I'm trying to say, A better tool would not improve the chances of success of my game.
If I can't make a good game with what I have "Blitz3d", neither could I do it with Unity or any other language.
I completely agree.
I see no reason to move away from blitz other than
1: graphical quality(but I prefer pixelated)
2: future proofing which I don't see being a problem for a while.
3:Multi platform but I only really care about windows
it should be compatible with steam (as Tank Universal 1 apparently still is) but you will probably need to modify how you write/read your files (.cfg .ini .sav) so that they are in USER paths...
also fastext may be a problem to use, because it sometimes hacks files in ram, so it may be considered as a malware...
Quotealso fastext may be a problem to use, because it sometimes hacks files in ram, so it may be considered as a malware...
the most important, is fastimage for fast text, draw functions, i don't know how to replace that good functions without fastlibs.
i think i need to readjust many thing if i want to use steam... but first i need to find 100 dolares :) and for the moment, maibe is to much money for the low finish % of my tora game, at the moment.
will see, say master zen.
Quote from: Kris on May 06, 2020, 10:41:45
As far as I know Madjack's 'Tank Universal' is a Blitz3D project and it's on Steam. I think you can publish games made with Blitz3D because they only need your exe and supporting files/content and they embed the whole thing into their distribution system. What you cannot do is to take advantage any of the Steam SDK features such as leaderboards etc. Madjack or others who have hands on experience publishing Blitz3D projects on steam could tell you more.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/19200/Tank_Universal/
I also agree with Xaron that it's worth to check out AGK. The 3D engine itself supports many modern features, and it's incomparably faster on modern hardware than B3D, not to mention the many platforms it supports. And of course you can keep Blitz3D for your retro projects but having AGK at your disposal is a good thing I believe.
If you're not interested in anything else but desktop PC as your target platform you should check out PureBasic that has a built in Ogre3D that is approx 3x-5x times faster than Blitz3D when it comes to scenes with high polygon count. The built in Ogre is 1.8.2 I believe that is old enough to run on any capable DX9 hardware and new enough to be fairly fast on newer hardware. PureBasic also generates faster code than Blitz3D. Overall a very nice package.
Woah - Tank Universal - that was 12 years ago now (2008).
These days I wouldn't recommend using Blitz3d for an eventual Steam release - at least not vanilla B3d.
One of the main problems is that Blitz3d is DX7 which means it doesn't support resolutions higher than 2048x1536.
But my (admittedly ill-informed) precis of the current Blitz-like coding scene is that there's nothing that perfectly fills in the hole left by the ending of support for Blitz3d.
Hi Madjacks!
what means when you say Blitz3d vanilla?, i don't understand de expession
really, in the short term, it is a problem since it is only programmed in blitz3d, and I don't know how long it would take me to make my game in another language, I also don't know in which language it would be convenient for me to do it, since there are many options, but I don't know which one choose, which will be the most suitable for me.
Directx7 is a problem today.
I still have to resist everything I can to get to something, I really am at a critical moment.
Blitz3d allows me to have a product in the short term.
but I cannot place the product because it is almost technically obsolete.
temporarily, would it be possible to put it on steam, using b3d, paying the 100 dollars, and gradually migrate to the new version in a modern language?
what do you think?
Is the Tank Universal system to communicate with steam the same as the current one? Could you help me to make my b3d game compatible with steam? I really have no idea what to do.
Quote from: Santiago on May 11, 2020, 00:36:20
Hi Madjacks!
what means when you say Blitz3d vanilla?, i don't understand de expession
really, in the short term, it is a problem since it is only programmed in blitz3d, and I don't know how long it would take me to make my game in another language, I also don't know in which language it would be convenient for me to do it, since there are many options, but I don't know which one choose, which will be the most suitable for me.
Directx7 is a problem today.
I still have to resist everything I can to get to something, I really am at a critical moment.
Blitz3d allows me to have a product in the short term.
but I cannot place the product because it is almost technically obsolete.
temporarily, would it be possible to put it on steam, using b3d, paying the 100 dollars, and gradually migrate to the new version in a modern language?
what do you think?
Is the Tank Universal system to communicate with steam the same as the current one? Could you help me to make my b3d game compatible with steam? I really have no idea what to do.
By 'Blitz3d vanilla' I mean the original B3d rather than something like mini-B3d.
In terms of other similar platforms, I would probably check out AGK - although I guess the question is how fast your code needs to run?
From my tests (admittedly years ago), the graphics were much quicker but code execution for AGK lvl 1, was slower than B3d.
But that was years ago and things may have changed? (Can any AGK aficionados provide more info about this?)
Alternatively, look into BlitMax variants such as Cerberus.
The problem there though - from what I gathered - is that being opensource efforts, bugs may be an issue.
That was one of the great things about Blitz3d - it just worked and if something went wrong, 99.9% of the time it was your code.
This is another reason why I suggest AGK - it's still being actively supported.
Regards Steam, I think it was Simon who graciously wrapped some functions in a wrapper DLL.
However for TU2 I didn't bother with any of that and just uploaded the game.
Note that TU1 is still up on Steam and can still be played at 1920x1080 without problems.
I don't know if Valve would reject a DX7 game, but given how little of a sh*t they seem to give regards new releases I doubt it.
Quote from: Madjack on May 11, 2020, 12:37:02
Quote from: Santiago on May 11, 2020, 00:36:20
Hi Madjacks!
what means when you say Blitz3d vanilla?, i don't understand de expession
really, in the short term, it is a problem since it is only programmed in blitz3d, and I don't know how long it would take me to make my game in another language, I also don't know in which language it would be convenient for me to do it, since there are many options, but I don't know which one choose, which will be the most suitable for me.
Directx7 is a problem today.
I still have to resist everything I can to get to something, I really am at a critical moment.
Blitz3d allows me to have a product in the short term.
but I cannot place the product because it is almost technically obsolete.
temporarily, would it be possible to put it on steam, using b3d, paying the 100 dollars, and gradually migrate to the new version in a modern language?
what do you think?
Is the Tank Universal system to communicate with steam the same as the current one? Could you help me to make my b3d game compatible with steam? I really have no idea what to do.
By 'Blitz3d vanilla' I mean the original B3d rather than something like mini-B3d.
In terms of other similar platforms, I would probably check out AGK - although I guess the question is how fast your code needs to run?
From my tests (admittedly years ago), the graphics were much quicker but code execution for AGK lvl 1, was slower than B3d.
But that was years ago and things may have changed? (Can any AGK aficionados provide more info about this?)
Alternatively, look into BlitMax variants such as Cerberus.
The problem there though - from what I gathered - is that being opensource efforts, bugs may be an issue.
That was one of the great things about Blitz3d - it just worked and if something went wrong, 99.9% of the time it was your code.
This is another reason why I suggest AGK - it's still being actively supported.
Regards Steam, I think it was Simon who graciously wrapped some functions in a wrapper DLL.
However for TU2 I didn't bother with any of that and just uploaded the game.
Note that TU1 is still up on Steam and can still be played at 1920x1080 without problems.
I don't know if Valve would reject a DX7 game, but given how little of a sh*t they seem to give regards new releases I doubt it.
Just curious Madjack, what was TU2 written in? Has it done well for you on Steam?
Quote from: STEVIE G on May 11, 2020, 16:28:27
Just curious Madjack, what was TU2 written in? Has it done well for you on Steam?
It was done using NuclearBasic.
I persevered even after its author apparently went 'off grid' and disappeared, although I managed to get a final patch out of him before he did.
NB's 3d sound system wasn't finished so I used Fmod.
Reshade was included to pump up the visuals a bit with some extra post-processing.
In terms of of sales, it's only sold about 620 copies but it continues to sell 3-4 copies a week, triple that when on sale and it has a long tail.
The USD - NZD exchange rate also helps a lot, but it certainly hasn't made me rich.
I should also say I've never had any media interest in it - maybe it's not hipster retro enough.
But its been generally well received by those who've played it.
Quote from: Madjack on May 11, 2020, 17:06:56
Quote from: STEVIE G on May 11, 2020, 16:28:27
Just curious Madjack, what was TU2 written in? Has it done well for you on Steam?
It was done using NuclearBasic.
I persevered even after its author apparently went 'off grid' and disappeared, although I managed to get a final patch out of him before he did.
NB's 3d sound system wasn't finished so I used Fmod.
Reshade was included to pump up the visuals a bit with some extra post-processing.
In terms of of sales, it's only sold about 620 copies but it continues to sell 3-4 copies a week, triple that when on sale and it has a long tail.
The USD - NZD exchange rate also helps a lot, but it certainly hasn't made me rich.
I should also say I've never had any media interest in it - maybe it's not hipster retro enough.
But its been generally well received by those who've played it.
Cheers for sharing. Made some decent pocket money by the sounds of it. :o I remember you sharing the development on the old BB forums. Very impressive. Do you think it was too niche for media exposure?
Just thought I would drop this here
https://store.steampowered.com/app/368720/Sirius/
Its also a game made with Blitz3D
Quote from: grindalf on May 11, 2020, 18:29:06
Just thought I would drop this here
https://store.steampowered.com/app/368720/Sirius/
Its also a game made with Blitz3D
At least it was started but seems abandoned.
All in all I think that if you start today you really should use something that is at least still maintained. Coming from BB3D I think you won't regret to use AGK.
If you're not shy of learning a (really cool) language like C# you have much more possibilies (not only Unity).
i was searching for breakout games on steam, just by curiosity, and look what i have found :
https://store.steampowered.com/app/366700/Breakout_Invaders/
this is a blitz3d developper and a blitz3d game, if i remember correctly...
congrats to him :)
Have you tried this ?
https://github.com/Xaymar/BlitzSteam
Download the release at https://github.com/Xaymar/BlitzSteam/releases
Having put a few games on Steam myself though not blitz games I can tell you that any game that can be compiled into an exe can go onto Steam. You don't need to include their API in your game. It does mean you miss out on some Steam features. But - you only need to be able to launch the game as an exe and it can go on Steam. That basically means you can't upload browser or Java games - not unless they are somehow repackaged into a stand alone executable.
Pretty much to put a game on Steam all you have to do is the following:
1. Create an account with them.
2. Pay the fee.
3. Set up the store page and other prompts in their web site.
4. Download their SDK and install on your PC.
5. Create an upload script for your game in their tools\scripts folder in their SDK.
6. Upload your game with their build tool using command run_app_build {script.vdf}
7. Do some more changes in their web site forms and so on to ready your store page etc.
8. Get the game approved.
9. Release.
That's basically it.
Thanks for that info Matty. :)
Does this mean I cannot use my PureBasic games on Steam as there is the exe plus graphics files png + 3D folder.?
Quote from: Pfaber11 on November 28, 2022, 07:27:02
Does this mean I cannot use my PureBasic games on Steam as there is the exe plus graphics files png + 3D folder.?
Oh yes, of course they only allow single-file-applications ....
Quote from: Matty on November 26, 2022, 16:47:20
But - you only need to be able to launch the game as an exe and it can go on Steam.
Just think about what just asked. Do you by any chance have a steam game installed? Simply have a look how many files they have in their directories. What about DLLs they use which are by their licence not allowed to be "packed" into single file apps? What about "mods" for games? Today AV tools are not so uber cool with self-modifying .exe-files (the games would need to inject modules into the .exe then). Am not trying to sound rude - sorry if it did.
TLDR: Of course you can have more than a single .exe file in your steam-ified game/application.
bye
Ron
steam store seems quite tolerant because in the folder of 'Breakout Invaders' there is fastext.dll which is often considered as a hack / malware (fastext hacks values and pointers in the ram, to upgrade blitz3d capabilities, if i understand correctly)
Thanks for making that clear.
Quote. fastext hacks values and pointers in the ram, to upgrade blitz3d capabilities, if i understand correctly)
Thanks for the insight!
I'm recently releasing my first game on steam and my game is made in B3D so I guess I can somewhat answer this.
Dungeons of Mysteria on Steam (steampowered.com) (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2620610/Dungeons_of_Mysteria/)
The process is quite simple, apart from all the hoops you have to jump in with steam, and the sheer amount of buttons, tabs, pages ect on the steamworks pages where you get lost not knowing how to get to the part you need to change(But all that would have been identical whatever app your game was made with so its irrelevant)
The actual part about B3D was simple drop the game and contents into a folder that you will upload, go through the awkward steam process of uploading and done ;)
I've also added Partial controller support and Cloud saves(cloud saves were easy)
I wanted to add steam achievements but could not figure out how to get it to work with the two steam plugins for blitz(I think it was purely on my part)
The only issue I can see with using B3D is that you are limited to 2048x1536 as a max resolution and thats only until Kevin finishes NG(he already has it fully working on openGL at 5k, its just got texture/image masking problems at the moment)
I was going to jump to godot after my next project but depending on how the release goes for these 2 games I may stay with Blitz.
I was recently pointed in the direction of this DLL
GitHub - UCyborg/LegacyD3DResolutionHack: Simple proxy DLL which removes artificial resolution limit from Direct3D 7 and below. (https://github.com/UCyborg/LegacyD3DResolutionHack)
you just drop it in the folder with your exe and it removes the resolution restriction of DX7 games(including B3D)
Ive only tested it on one pc(because nothing I own goes beyond B3D limitations) and without it crashed on DirectDraw but with the Dll it runs fine.
If anybody has a pc that runs in higher res than blitz can run I would love to hear what you can get it up to and if it works ok.