So you've given me the 'who' and the 'what', but.. 'how'?

"Many words make light work" - No one, ever. I think the real saying is "many hands make light work". Sometimes that's not quite true either. Let me propose a new one: "The right tool makes light work."

I know I've given many words and my wife often reminds me that actions are the real deal. I could give all the words in the world but with no work, you're never going to take up the helm of Potato Island and drive out the nasties in the sky. It's time I get to work. A word of warning though, this blog will slowly become more technical and possibly less entertaining. I'll see what I can do.

After much back and forth, I have finally settled on which engine Seagulls will be built in: Unreal Engine. (I can hear the collective groan from all the Unity fans, but trust me, it's much less thunderous than if I'd gone the other way.) I know many indie developers - especially new ones - labour over that decision - "Which engine is best? Which should I learn?" Wrong question.  

I know it can be a difficult choice, and asking people is not really helpful because they will likely just tell you to pick the one they picked. I know it's a contentious topic and one that some people think has one correct answer and one stupid answer, and others more reasonably understand that it depends on your project. But I also know how Apple-fanboy the debate can get, so let me justify my decision.

I've been using Unreal Engine for 8 years, Unity for even longer. I have a soft spot for Unity and I defended it with zeal back when I was studying animation because it received so much undue hate- but I still didn't pick it for this project. I have been using Unreal Engine since way back when it cost $19 / month, and I feel a similar loyalty.

But I picked it because over the last several years of trying out different ways to solve the hurdles I'm up against for Seagulls, using both engines to try various bits and pieces, I've always found a slight superiority when it comes to networking, and a slight ease when it comes to debugging raycasts. My two biggest technical challenges for Seagulls are: a) multiplayer, and b) NPCs with wings, i.e. AI-driven navigation in 3 dimensions. These birdies (did I just speak of them affectionately? Gross) need to be able to fly over palm trees, under branches, around buildings, avoid projectiles, sometimes fire, and they must be able to swoop down and eat a moving target. That's not an easy solve, plus they have to do it with bird-like manoeuvring - they're not helicopters. I picked Unreal Engine because it has given me my best shot at solving this, with the least amount of headaches.

Get ready, Seagulls. I'm coming.