This article was originally published on GameDevDigest.com

It's a mixed bag this week, but all great content with hopefully something to help everyone. Enjoy!

Realistic smoke lighting with 6-way lighting in VFX Graph - The 2022.2 Tech Stream introduces a complete end-to-end workflow (from DCC to Unity) that allows you to realistically render smoke from baked simulations. This workflow scales on all platforms, under any lighting conditions. This solution also includes a library of ready-to-use, baked maps that are designed to make it easy for anyone to push smoke effects to a new level of visual fidelity.
Unity

Choosing the Right Load Type in Unity’s Audio Import Settings - Today we’ll be talking about the different Load Types in Unity’s Audio Import Settings and why selecting the right Load Type is important for your game.
Made Indrayana

Explaining how fighting games use delay-based and rollback netcode - How to design your game for optimal play over a network.
[Also the Hacker News discussion]
arstechnica.com

Basic Collision Avoidance Mechanic Set Up in Unity - This raycasts-based mechanic was created by Matheus Reis.
80.lv

Game Dev Resources - What follows is a list of the papers and articles that I have collected over the years on various topics relating to game development. This is by no means an exhaustive list but one that I hope will help you find an answer.
gamedevs.org

Videos

How to Program in Unity: Observer Pattern Explained - Learn the fundamentals of the Observer Pattern in this new video break down and create a dynamic narration system just like in the game "Bastion" by SuperGiant Games!
iHeartGameDev

Spice up your gameplay with Trails - Unity tutorial - In this video I will teach you how to create trails in Unity. Trail is a line that goes after objects in your game. It allows you to better present movement and speed of your player, enemies or any other moving objects in your game!
Coco Code

The hidden beauty of the A* algorithm - Why are map applications so fast?
polylog

Analysing the AI of The Last of Us Part II | AI and Games - With The Last of Us Part II, Naughty Dog set a new standard for high-fidelity single-player experiences on the #Playstation platform. But it requires a lot of additional support with the help of AI to make that a reality. Join us for this 70th episode of AI and Games as we dig into how AI is used not just to support new gameplay features, but also for the game to continue to reflect its high production values.
AI and Games

How to Climb Ladders (First Person, Third Person, Unity Tutorial) - Let's learn how to build an essential feature in so many games, learn How to Climb a Ladder I'm going to cover two methods, one just approaching and press forward to climb up, just like in Half-Life And another where you approach the Ladder and press a button to grab onto it, very much like in Elden Ring or Dark Souls. Doing this is pretty simple, just requires some Physics query and also some trickery so you don't fall off the Ladder.
Code Monkey

Creating Layered Explosions FX in Unity | Rollerdrome - Alina Sommer and Andrew Fray at Roll7 breakdown all the layers and details of the explosion particle effects in Rollerdrome.
Unity

Tool building for Maximus Jones ? Game Devlog 1 - In this video, I'll be explaining some pains I had with developing the rooms of the game and how and why I build a tool with Odin Inspector to help me streamline the process.
Christina Creates Games

Bloom is More Complicated Than You Think - Trying out some of the latest approaches to Bloom used in Unity/Unreal.
SimonDev

Assets

The Lunar New Year Mega Bundle - We’re racing into 2023 with the Lunar New Year Mega Bundle! You can save up to 95% off fantastic, curated sets of art and tool assets in the new mega bundle!

$29.99 Bundle - save up to 60%
This bundle contains: Sprite Shaders Ultimate, Wyrms, and Sci-Fi Turret Constructor.

$39.99 Bundle - save up to 79%
This bundle contains everything from the $29.99 bundle, plus Shiny URP Power-Ups, SciFi Space Base, and Exporter for Unreal to Unity 2023.

$44.99 Bundle - save up to 95%
This bundle contains everything from the $29.99 and $39.99 bundles, plus Warrior Pack Mega Bundle, Easy AR : Make Awesome AR Apps Without Coding, Sci-Fi Sound Pack, Ivy Studio - Procedural vine generation, Grabbit - Editor Physics Transforms, Flexalon 3D Layouts, Smooth Sync, Powerslide Kart Physics, ProTips - Tooltip System, SensorToolkit 2, Skill & Attack Indicators, and Pixelate.
Unity Affiliate

Unity 3D Game Development Super Book Bundle - By Packt - Learn the art & science of Unity game development. Build your skills in every facet of Unity 3D game development with this comprehensive bundle of books and video courses from Packt! Through a mix of hands-on projects and expert knowledge, you’ll learn how to code in C#, build 3D models and art using Blender, and get an understanding of making games for mobile platforms. Read, watch, and start creating, and choose how much of your purchase helps us support Starlight Children’s Foundation below!
Includes: Hands-On Unity 2022 Game Development, Learning C# by Developing Games with Unity, Learning C# by Developing Games with Unity and more!
Humble Bundle Affiliate

Life as a creative commons indie game developer - Most of the games I've made so far have made use of freely available art assets. They're either under a creative commons non-commercial license or public domain. I tend to digitally hoard a huge collection of resources I find which I occasionally tap into or use for inspiration. I thought it would be a good idea to share it with others (and to finally organize my massive list).
itch.io

Global Outline - Global Outline - Unity (3D/UI/Sprites) full-screen masked outline shader.
rickomax Open Source

StructureOfArraysGenerator - Structure of arrays source generator to make CPU Cache and SIMD friendly data structure for high-performance code in .NET and Unity.
Cysharp Open Source

GiLight2D - Unity Urp Render Feature for 2D Global Illumination.
NullTale Open Source

lir - Largest Interior Rectangle implementation in C# for Unity.
Evryway Open Source

Fluid Dialogue - A Unity dialogue system that features an easy to use drag and drop graph. ScriptableObject driven with the ability to write custom actions and conditions to create complex dialogue workflows.
ashblue Open Source

Unity GUID - Implementation of a persistent serializable GUID (Globally Unique Identifier) for Unity.
stonesheltergames Open Source

The Complete Unity Game Development Bundle - Build Games with Unity
Learn to create games with Unity! The world’s most popular game engine, Unity is behind hits like Pokémon GO, Genshin Impact, and Beat Saber. With this bundle of courses, you’ll build RPGs, FPS, racing, idle, survival, and strategy games, and master core skills like implementing procedural maps, multiplayer, VR, and cutscenes—no prior experience required.
Plus, you’ll support Lotus Outreach International with your purchase!
Humble Bundle Affiliate

Unity Runtime Debug Action - RuntimeDebugAction is a runtime debug menu system for Unity that lets you register and trigger debug actions with no extra setup.
BennyKok Open Source

Trimmer - An editor, build and player configuration framework for the Unity game engine.
sttz Open Source

Ether-Uprotector - An Integrated Encryption & Protection Scheme for Unity Project(Mono & IL2CPP)
Ether2023 Open Source

Unity's GameObject Paint Tool - This tool provides both a GameObject Palette Window and customizable Brushes in order to simplify the task of decorating 2d Games scenes using GameObjects.
acoppes Open Source

BGCurve - Bezier spline editor for Unity game engine
bansheeGz Open Source

ZeroAllocJobScheduler - A high-performance alloc free c# Jobscheduler. Schedules and executes jobs on a set of worker threads with automatic pooling of internal handles.
genaray Open Source

VFX-Lab - Shaders and VFX experimentation in URP and BIRP.
neon-age Open Source

Time Rewinder for Unity - Unity time rewind solution, that is easily customizable for any project.
SitronX Open Source

Anone Can Learn To Code - The Complete 2023 Online Course - Become a programming pro. Learn coding fundamentals and become a software development master with this massive bundle from the training experts at Mammoth Interactive! Through dozens of online courses, you’ll learn the essential tools, languages, and techniques you need to build websites, mobile apps, Unity and Unreal Engine games, and much more. Pay what you want and choose how much of your purchase helps us support Starlight Children’s Foundation below!
Humble Bundle Affiliate

Atlas - Atlas is a library of reusable classes and tools designed to jump-start your Unity project by providing solutions for common tasks, and extending/augmenting the features of Unity and C#.
david-knopp Open Source

Planar Reflections for Unity's Built-In Render Pipeline - Planar reflections probe component for Unity's Built-in Render Pipeline
eldskald Open Source

Native Heap - A Min/Max heap data structure for Unity. Compatible with the Unity Job system and Burst compiler.
Amarcolina Open Source

Unity-Theme - Create palettes of colors and components for change specific color on a specific visual element.
IvanMurzak Open Source

AkyuiUnity - AkyuiUnity is a Unity implementation of Akyui. With AkyuiUnity.Xd, you can easily generate Unity Prefab from Adobe XD files.
kyubuns Open Source

Machine Learning And Artificial Intelligence Book Bundle - Understand, build, and tap into AI. Curious about artificial intelligence? Need practical advice on working with machine learning? Pick up this library of ebooks and unlock a deeper understanding of today’s most talked-about technologies! Explore the realms of data science, neural networks, computer vision, and AI ethics, and find out how to use tools like Python and Spark to harness the power of machine learning for your own applications. Plus, your purchase helps support Prevent Cancer Foundation!
Humble Bundle Affiliate

Addler - Memory management system for Unity's Addressable Asset System. Provides lifetime management system for loaded resources, object pooling system, and preloading system.
Haruma-K Open Source

TweenRx - Reactive animation utility for Unity
fumobox Open Source

NormalsVisualizer.cs - Visualize mesh normals in Unity3D
mandarinx Open Source

Unity Markdown Viewer (UMV) - A markdown viewer for unity
gwaredd Open Source

Heap Explorer - Heap Explorer is a Memory Profiler, Debugger and Analyzer for Unity. This repository hosts Heap Explorer for Unity 2019.3 and newer.
pschraut Open Source

Simple Active-Ragdoll - Simple implimentation of Active-Ragdoll in Unity.
hyunwookimbob Open Source

Get Into Music Variety Pack Software Bundle - Start making music today. Got a song in your heart and want to share it with the world? Pick up this variety-packed bundle and start composing! Build an instant virtual studio with synthesizers, the award-winning Boom 3D audio enhancer and equalizer, instruments, and more essential tools. Get a library of loops, SFX, MIDI files, presets, and more sounds to help you unleash your creativity. Score $1,000+ worth of audio software, and help support Direct Relief with your purchase.
Humble Bundle Affiliate

Spotlight

Dark Light - Dark Light is a Sci-fi platformer, Metroidvania, souls-like game. As a Dark Hunter, you must explore the depths of a post-apocalyptic world and take down the supernatural forces that lurk in the shadows. Kill, gain, upgrade, build skills and emerge as the saviour of the Dark World.

[You can get it now on Steam, follow them on Twitter and visit their website]
Mirari&Co.

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