Orbliterate! 3 Weeks Into Writing my First Game (C#)

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At the end of 3 weeks of using Godot for the first time, this is what my game is looking like. I am running Linux and with a 3rd gen i5 CPU and an old low profile Radeon 550 video card, which is what this was captured on, so you know it can run on old systems.

The game is based on designing levels in parametric CAD programs as a series of parts, and I’ve written tools to arrange those parts into a scene. It also generates a level in Typescript using those CAD parts and then you, or me, the user, adds logic in typescript after the fact to layout the logic of how the parts interact.

In the script game floors, walls, enemies, doodads, powerups, sounds, input, and a robust animation system available to define how a level operates. I will be adding more rules, doodads, enemies, and of course working on lots of intricate levels.

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Looks slick, though the camera needs some work, you probably know that level by heart but most of the time the camera doesn’t give you a good look at what’s ahead.

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Thank you for the feedback. The camera zoom can be adjusted in game with the mouse of controller. In that video I left it zoomed in because as you said I know the level, but also I wanted to show the acid pools, switches, and powerups i a bit more detail. The default zoom is much further out.

Also, I have been adding doodads and other things, so thank you for the encouragement. Here is a set of climbable stairs:

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Looking great!

A couple of visual suggestions to polish the look even further, although it already feels quite good.

I’d think about lowering the grid contrast. Pure white vs black is very aggressive. It tends to cause unpleasant moire patterns, especially when it scrolls or rotates.

Making the main ground color darker would allow for better articulation of specular highlights and reflections, increasing the readability of hills and valleys and let you vary the perception of surface roughness across the levels or zones.

A subtle atmospheric fog (or just a depth fade of the grid) would improve the depth perception and add a bit of mystery to the mood.

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Thank you for the feedback. The colors, spacing, and line width of the grid are fully user customizable in the settings, along with the lighting, and some limited atmospheric effects. I ave had other people tell me the same thing about the contrast of the grid, and with your advice I wll make some adjustments.

Here is how options work currently.

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Very nice. You just need some more pleasant defaults then.

Any chance of releasing a demo?

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Yes, a demo will be coming very soon. I am working on fleshing out the website. Adding materials and what not. It is mostly stubs, but it does have a users section that is restricted to invitation only. That section will have user specific downloads links once they are available.

I should be clear what this project is about:

I teach kids programming, digital electronics, and engineering. I was working on getting my Solidworks certified expert credentials a few weeks ago, and was going through modeling training exercises where I need to fill out the mass or center of gravity. My goal in being a certified expert is to teach kids with more professional credentials.

I had the idea to turn the CAD exercises that I was doing into a game. This is due to the fact that this is how people learn to use Solidworks or other parametric CAD systems like OnShape or Fusion 360. They learn by creating 3D models as exercises.

This game is based on reading parametric CAD data to build the game level meshes, and then my game adds a scripting system so that anyone could then add bring logic to any CAD models they are practicing with, turning them into a game that can be played. I have tooling that conncts to CAD systems for this game that helps arrange CAD parts into a hierarchy, and of course I have a scripting system based on game objects that can do all kinds of stuff with their parts.

There is still a lot I need to add to the game, such as more doodads, more enemies, more features like rolling the ball up walls, inverting gravity, destructible terrain, and more.

Also, the website might be coming up and down, as I just am putting it together today. If you want to sign up, send me a message using the contact form. Users can send and receive messages and when downloads are available, you’ll get a message from me.

I have family events planned for the rest of the week, but by next week some time I ought to have a build available. Slots for tester will be VERY limited. I will have a form and the user system does support promoting users to moderators.

If anyone is interested, here is the more information about the animation system, scripting system, and some other bits and piece that I will publish soon. There is a contact form at the bottom were anyone can request user membership. Send me your preferred username and password, and a note about what interests you about this project, and I will create accounts as I have time.

Contact me at:

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I had to spend some time with family this past week in n observance of the Labor Day weekend but am back to making improvements.

I now have a game development blog on the website for this game and posted and update. In summary I have added the ability to use splines to generate pathways, and optionally animate sections of ground that the player can ride upon. I am not happy with how it works currently, but part of the process of creating is making things that work, and sometimes things that aren’t quite correct. Sharing that process with you is hopefully a thing some people will find interesting.

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That’s a very nice Marble Madness inspired / cloned game. Really good choice for a scope, it’s challenging and varied enough and the art direction is something you can easily verify.

Those who are prone to overscoping, we salute you!

Qui ad nimiam rerum ambitum inclinant, te salutant!

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Thanks for noticing, I am working on materials right now, such as brick, lava, wood, metal, porcelain, and so on. Here is a thumbnail video of the lava material:

A live version where anyone can create settings for materials is on this page:

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I have always asked myself how to make such heat effect. I have tried it years ago in a Blender render for a jet engine. I have always had the problem at the edges of the effect with the environment. Is the heat shader somewhere available where it’s based on?

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@conz3d I will write up some materials tutorials soon, but I am a bit under a crunch to put together a demo for a partner in the coming weeks. But just so you understand the workflow, some materials require a bit more work than others. I have created a test level where I can plg in new materials while I work out their kinks.

Today I added bricks, porcelain, and stained glass materials. I am having too much trouble trying to get the stained glass to cast colored shadows based on the pane of color the light is passing through, so I will likely move on to other things I need to implement.

If you visit the link at discover on my website in my prior reply, you can test out material settings for wood, ice, metal, lava, and rock.

And finally, I need to add physics to the different materials. For example, ice should be slippery, the ball would roll over wood more easily than brick. Rusty areas of metal with interfere with the path the ball takes with it runs over them. And so on.

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Well, this was not easy, but now that it is done, getting stained glass to cast colored shadows, i think I am going to remove it. Let me know what you think.