atg_engine_simulator

Steam Engine Simulator Released; Work on Engine Simulator Resuming

Hi everyone!

After a lot of hard work, Steam Engine Simulator along with its new DLC are complete and released on Steam. It was a long journey - much longer than I anticipated - but I believe it was worth it in the end. The sales that the DLC generated mean that I am no longer reliant on YouTube ads/sponsorships and I can 100% dedicate myself to working on Engine Simulator. I learned a lot from this project and I feel very confident about my place in the game industry now and managing game projects in the future.

How to get your key for the Steam Engine Simulator DLC

I have distributed nearly 3000 keys for the DLC to all eligible past and current Patreon members. You need to have a lifetime contribution of 5 USD or more to be eligible. To access your key, you will need to join the Engine Simulator Official Discord server (https://discord.gg/engine-sim-official) where you can use the /my-patreon slash command.

Due to a Patreon limitation, past members who want a key will need to send me a message on Patreon with their Discord username and/or ID so that I can link that information with your Patreon ID. In the past it was possible to retrieve this information for former members but due to a Patreon API change, it is no longer possible.

What's next? (Engine Simulator)

A lot of very useful infrastructure was built through my work on Steam Engine Simulator. We now have very robust multithreading and real-time audio systems. The interface/UI work on Steam Engine Simulator will also be directly transferable. The first order of business is to start putting together the 3D editor. I laid the groundwork for the 3D editor quite a while ago and a lot of the basics are complete already. Things like 3D manipulation, the rendering engine, etc. The new Vulkan game engine was also completed in August and is ready for use in Engine Simulator. Once we have a 3D editor, we can start bringing in the advanced fluid simulation that I built in 2024. I don't have a timeline for all this yet but I will be releasing frequent updates on the Discord, which I highly recommend that you join to stay updated.

Thanks Everyone

Once again I just want to thank everyone for supporting me and making all of this possible. I know this has been a controversial project. Many of you would have preferred to see that time go into Engine Simulator. I do understand the frustration but there was method to my madness and I believe this project was ultimately necessary and useful to my journey as a game/simulation developer. Thanks everyone and I'm excited to finally get back to work on ICE simulation!

-- Ange

Mechanical Noise Simulation

A lot of people have requested adding mechanical sound simulation to Engine Simulator. After a lot of research, I believe I have some pretty decent approaches to do this and in this video, I demonstrate those effects in Steam Engine Simulator. Everything in this video is 100% applicable to Engine Simulator. I believe a lot of what I show will dramatically improve the ICE sound simulation but also open doors to many more types of engine creations in Engine Simulator. Hopefully you guys enjoy the video and I really appreciate your continued support of my projects!

https://youtu.be/qj5F_s3veiU

New AngeTheGreat Video for Patreon Early Access!

Hey guys, I just uploaded a new video which will be released to the general public tomorrow but you guys can watch and comment before everyone else!

https://youtu.be/3aFYEyCoC4A

I know a lot of you are probably waiting for Engine Simulator updates and I completely understand that. I will return to the main project as soon as I possibly can. In the meantime, you can use the prototype version which was released a few weeks ago on Discord. It's also completely understandable if you'd like to cancel your membership and come back later when I resume work on Engine Simulator. Your lifetime contribution is still tracked and won't be lost.

Thanks for the support everyone! 

Rescheduled May Livestream Today!

Hey guys, come join us either on YouTube or Discord for today's livestream (rescheduled from May). See you there!

https://youtu.be/rgF5syHc9lM

How to Access Your Benefits

New AngeTheGreat Video for Patreon Early Access!

Hey everyone, a new video will be releasing today about multicylinder engines! I'm a bit behind schedule on this release so unfortunately it will only be unlisted for Patreon early-access for a few hours. Sorry about that! Hope you enjoy the video, let me know what you guys think.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J11c8mMN1PA

ES3D Update Livestream Today

Hey guys, come join us today on Discord (https://discord.gg/engine-sim-official) or YouTube at 11 AM EST for our monthly Patreon livestream! https://youtu.be/t0sPpbAMgA8

We'll be looking at all the progress made on ES3D's new fluid simulation (which can now simulate inline-4 engines) and all the other projects I'm working on. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and see what I'm working on behind the scenes.

Hope to see you guys there!

Patreon Livestream Starting Now!

Hi everyone, come join the livestream here on YouTube or join on Discord for lower latency!

https://youtu.be/kdTxciNqGPY

Your Custom Building in Steam Engine Simulator

Hey guys! The Steam Engine Simulator Power Generation DLC project is coming to an end and the finishing touches are now being put on before release. In last week's stream, I designed some buildings that were requested by members in the audience. If you'd like your own unique building in the game, make sure to join the livestream tomorrow on Discord at 10 AM EST and I'll do as many as I can in a single session.

See you guys there!

New AngeTheGreat Video for Patreon Early Access!

Hey guys, I just uploaded a new video which will be released to the general public tomorrow but you guys can watch and comment before everyone else!

This DLC project has definitely taken up more of my time than I would have liked but I've made the best of the situation and we're in the final stretch before release now. As I've said before, all Patrons will get a Steam key for free, so expect that very soon. I'm going to return to Engine Simulator development as soon as humanly possible. Thanks everyone and I hope you're all enjoying the journey!

https://youtu.be/w8a9B2BgYSA

All-Tier Livestream Tomorrow

Hey, everyone! Tomorrow (February 25th) at 11 a.m. EST, we'll be having the second livestream for all Patreon tiers on Discord. For those who missed the first one, these livestreams give you an opportunity to learn about the progress on Engine Simulator or ask any questions you may have. 

Here's the link: https://discord.gg/engine-sim-official?event=1211076190459138050 

See you all there!

Livestream today at 10 AM EST

The weekly livestream begins in 15 minutes! Come join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/7KCMVFBp. This is a great opportunity to ask questions, get updates on Engine Simulator progress and near the end of the stream, enjoy a relaxing gaming session with AngeTheGreat!

New Video: Watch it before everyone else!

Hey everyone, a new video will be releasing tomorrow on my main channel. The user interface library (buttons, text, etc.) that will be used in ES3D is complete and I demonstrate it working within Steam Engine Simulator in this video. Quite a lot of improvements to Engine Simulator technology have been made in the past few months and they'll be demonstrated in ES3D very soon! Hope you guys like the video.

https://youtu.be/ndUyNJEk4ng

New Video on Second Channel

Hey guys, I just released a new weekly video on my second channel: https://youtu.be/X5eWuZ2sjik. The previous video will be going live to the public today. A video will be coming out on the main channel in a few days.

Let me know if you guys have any suggestions or topics you want me to cover. Have a good weekend everyone!

New Video on Second Channel!

Hey guys, a lot of people have asked me to release videos more frequently on YouTube. While I'd love to do this, videos take a lot of time to make and it just isn't realistic to upload more than once a month, so I've made a second channel with more casual (ie lower effort) videos that won't take too much time away from developing Engine Simulator. Patrons get exclusive access to these videos 1 week before they release to the general public. Check it out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxI8OmJPhUI

All-Tiers Livestream This Week

Hey guys, I'll be holding the first ever livestream for all Patreon tiers this week. This is a great opportunity to ask questions directly and see how Engine Simulator is progressing.

I know we have members all around the world so it's a bit difficult to choose a time that works for everyone. 11 AM EST Saturday, January 20, 2024 should allow for most people to join. Hope to see you guys there!

Today's Livestream: Building the SES/ES3D User Interface

Hey guys, come join us on Discord for a livestream today at 10 AM EST. The livestream is a great opportunity to directly ask me any questions you have in an open format. If you just want to join and listen, today we'll be building the user interface for SES and ES3D. See you there!

The Plan for 2024

Hi everyone, 2024 is almost here (and for some people, it already is). I hope everyone had a great 2023! So where's Engine Simulator currently at and what's the plan for 2024?

The Prototype

The Engine Simulator prototype which most of you have downloaded already, has achieved its goal. The new fluid simulation runs on modern computing hardware and it works well. Next, we'll take this simulation and put it into a 3D interface that allows graphical engine editing, but first...

Steam Engine Simulator: what's going on with that and what does it have to do with ES3D?

A Steam Engine Simulator DLC has been in development for some time. The original intention was to have this developed by a third-party developer so that I could focus my time on Engine Simulator. Unfortunately, this didn't work out as expected and it's clear that to deliver the best possible product, I will need to complete the project myself.

The effort that goes into this DLC is all directly transferable to ES3D since all my projects share a common codebase. The multithreading and performance improvements made to SES as well as the interface controls (text, buttons, etc) will be directly transferable to the ES3D interface.

The ES3D Interface

The 3D interface which forms the core of Engine Simulator will begin to take shape in January. The basic framework of this application exists already which I've demonstrated on my YouTube channel. All it needs is the simulation elements from the prototype and the interface components I've been working on in Steam Engine Simulator.

ES2D

As much as humanly possible, I'm trying to release things incrementally so you guys can directly observe and experience progress on the project. I've thought about bridging the gap between ES2D and ES3D by backporting some of the improvements to ES2D. This will take some development effort though so you guys can decide.

Thanks for the continued support everyone!

Q&A/AMA Livestream on Discord - 10 AM EST

Hey guys, I'll be streaming over on Discord today at 10 AM EST, come join us!

If you're not sure what happens in this livestream, it's a very informal gathering  where you guys can ask questions and see some behind-the-scenes of what I'm currently working on. Hope to see you guys there!

Livestream Today: Come join us!

Hey guys, I am streaming over on Discord, come join us!

Livestream Today (starting at 10:15 EST)

Hey guys! Feel free to join the elite-tier Discord livestream today starting at 10:15. We need to start a bit later since I'm having some streaming setup issues. Hope to see you guys there!

Livestream Today (10 AM EST)

Hey guys, we'll be holding an elite-tier livestream today at 10 AM in the Discord livestream channel. Hope to see you there!

Chainsaw Simulator Video! Watch it before everyone else

Hey guys, my new video is now live on YouTube and you guys get the unlisted link so you can watch it a few hours before everyone else. The demo shown in the video is available on the Patreon Discord channel in the ES official server: https://discord.gg/engine-sim-official

Here's the video: https://youtu.be/oUrYlZQVHvo

Hope you guys like the video and thanks for the support everyone 🙏

Next Video Topic: 2-Stroke Engines

2-stroke engines have been heavily requested since the Engine Simulator prototype was first revealed last year. Well, they have finally become a reality. Using ES3D's advanced fluid simulation, I've implemented a functional 2-stroke engine simulation in the ES3D demo program. I'm keeping the sound secret for now but I will say this: it works well and the 2-stroke idle is very accurately replicated by the simulation. A demo will be made available to all Patrons when my next video releases in a week or so.

Thanks for the continued support everyone 🙏

New video; watch it before everyone else!

Hey everyone, sorry for the late release, this week has been a little chaotic. My video about real-time engine editing will be going live to the public at 8 AM EST. You guys have exclusive access to the unlisted video before it releases: https://youtu.be/-XHnDPCgIWk

The demo program shown in the video has already been released on Discord so if you haven't joined there, please consider doing so to try it out! discord.gg/engine-sim-official

Real-time Engine Editing - Next Video Topic

Hey everyone! I lost a few work days this month but I've put in some overtime to get things back on track. The engine model is approaching completion and the audio generation is getting better. I've made a demo application which demonstrates ES3D's real-time engine editing capabilities. It uses the same scripting interface used in ES2D which many of you will be familiar with. Every time the file is saved, the engine updates immediately while it's running! In the real program, all of these modifications will be done directly in-game.

This program will be released exclusively to Patreon members sometime in the next 2 days (edit: demo is ready to be released but I'm waiting to get closer to the release date of my next video). I know you guys are excited for ES3D to release and I appreciate your patience. This program will give you an opportunity to experience the final game's simulation features before the user interface is complete.

Thanks everyone, hope you're having a great week.

October Video Delayed (Medical Situation)

Hi everyone, for the past week I've been dealing with two separate medical emergencies involving immediate family members. One of these situations was life-threatening and required emergency surgery. To help my family with hospital visits, recovery and transportation I've been away from home for the past week and unfortunately couldn't do much work on Engine Simulator. My video for this month (originally scheduled for October 22) also had to be pushed back by a few days but thankfully the sponsor for that video has been very understanding.

I appreciate everyone's patience and I think you'll really like what's in the next update video which will be releasing closer to the end of the month. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know. Thanks for the support everyone!

Livestream Today

Hey guys, the livestream today will be starting in 10 minutes on the Engine Simulator Official Discord server. Come join us!

Weekly Livestream Date/Time

Thanks everyone for responding to the poll I posted last week. Most of you chose the weekly work livestream, so that's exactly what we'll be doing. I'm planning to host the first one this week on Friday at 10 AM EST. However, I'd like to know what time works best for you guys since I know we have members from all around the world in different timezones.

The streams will take place on Discord. If you have any preferences for streaming platform, please let me know. I don't know much about streaming but I'm going to do my best for you guys.

New video; watch it before everyone else!

Hey guys, this video will be released tomorrow at 8 AM EST but you can watch it before the general public. The first tests of ES3D's audio generation are looking promising. In this video I explored some basic audio generation. Once I start adding more detail to the model like camshaft lift profiles, the cylinder combustion model and everything else, I think the audio generation will get much better. A lot of the heavy lifting in this project was in the fluid simulation and since that's done, progress should get much faster now.

Thanks for the support guys and I appreciate your patience as I work on the first alpha release 🙏

https://youtu.be/FJatcAkC8XI