Ben Hickling // MNKY @BenHickling Twitter profile

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

2 years

The time has come! #ExZodiac is now available in early access on Steam! (there's currently a 10% launch discount too!) Huge thanks to all the backers and supporters who helped us reach this point! Looking forward to working on the rest😄

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

6 years

behold

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

⚠️WARNING⚠️ A HUGE KICKSTARTER IS APPROACHING FAST The Ex-Zodiac Kickstarter is now live! - Likes, retweets and shares are very much appreciated 🙏

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

5 years

And saving the best for last, the boss! I had a LOT of fun working on this guy. I was dreading it at first, but now I can't wait to make more bosses! #exzodiac

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

5 years

Sorry for lack of updates, I'm still chipping away though! Here's a clip testing out some stuff for an ocean-based level (no audio because Peek doesn't capture it..) #gamedev #godotengine #exzodiac

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

3 years

Please don't shoot the big flappy things Wishlist on Steam:

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

Modified the engine to allow gradient fog, I think it makes things a lot more colourful! Also, a cave full of hot stuff 🔥 #gamedev #screenshotsaturday Steam Wishlist:

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

Wow, we hit our goal in under 24h?? Daaamn, I seriously can't thank you guys enough, I'm floored! 🙇‍♂️Gonna try my best to give you the best damn rail-shooter experience I can manage 😄 Here's the KS in case you missed it! -

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

2 years

#ExZodiac is finally going into early access next month! ⚠️ July 21st, 2022⚠️ While you're waiting, here's an updated sneak peek! If you haven't already, please consider adding the game to your wish list over on Steam:

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

Welp, I'm very happy to finally reveal that I'll be partnering with @pixeljamgames to help publish Ex-Zodiac! Please feel free to wishlist it here: ...and catch a glimpse of the latest level in the trailer below!

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

6 years

Still tweaking the effect, but finally added the smart bombs #gamedev #exzodiac #GodotEngine

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

2 years

The Steam Christmas sale has begun, and #ExZodiac is 15% off for the next two weeks! Here's a clip of one of the new levels I've been working on, something a bit different! (it'll be available just after Christmas)

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

The Steam demo for Ex-Zodiac has been updated! Now you can fire big explosive thingies! (other things have been fixed/updated, but you know, probably less exciting?) Feel free to grab the demo below, where you can also wishlist the game 😘

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

7 years

Kinda lost interest towards the end, so gonna post this as is #Splatoon2 #marina

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

⚠️Just 48 hours remain!⚠️ We've had such an amazing response so far, and if you haven't gotten around to backing the project and you're still interested, now's the time! Ex-Zodiac Kickstarter - Retweets and shares are also appreciated! Thank you!❤️

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

Simple textures on the buildings Yes or no? (this was mostly to help describe scale, and what they actually are) #screenshotsaturday #exzodiac

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

3 years

How it started How it's going

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

I re-added the mega missiles, but they might be a bit too powerful? 🤔 #screenshotsaturday The kickstarter is still going if you'd like to pledge! -

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

Sorry for the lack of updates, been chipping away at one of the space levels. Music is just a placeholder from level 2. #screenshotsaturday #exzodiac Steam wishlist -

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

The Steam Games Festival has begun! You can grab the latest version of the Ex-Zodiac demo featuring the first level from the link below!

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

3 years

The Steam Next Fest has started! Here's a new trailer, featuring a sneak peak at stage 6! The two level Ex-Zodiac demo has also been updated to include new level/boss dialogue, plus some new faces! 🐵🐀🐍 Check out the demo and wishlist the game here:

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

Obviously I had to add tripods with heat rays in there somewhere?? Kickstarter coming soon page -> Steam Wishlist ->

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

3 years

Don't worry, I'm still working away!

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

5 years

Some quick painting practice I did on an old sketch

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

2 months

It's been a while, but the next update will finally be launching on June 11th! Final version of the level will look a bit different, but better. (It's REFININ' TIME!)

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

A bit more stuff I've been working on. Those pipes are quite satisfying to shoot! We've also got a Kickstarter coming soon! If you're interested, you can follow it here to be notified when it goes live:

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

10 months

Ex-Zodiac is currently on sale (30% off!) as part of the SHMUP fest over on Steam: I've also just posted a news update regarding the porting progress: Looking forward to getting back to making levels now 😬

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

2 months

Happy to announce that the latest update for #ExZodiac is here! Lots of bug fixes and a brand new level to beat. To celebrate, the game is currently 40% off on both Steam and Itch!

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

5 months

Don't talk to me about quaternions

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

5 months

Still a bit more to do, but there's an update coming soon(ish) In the mean time, you can still grab #ExZodiac in the Steam spring sale and get 35% off! (16 hours left) (VHS filter not included)

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

1 year

The #ExZodiac 0.7.9 early access update is now live on Steam! - 2 new all-range levels - A new optional arranged soundtrack by Rumya - Bunch of bug fixes and usability tweaks To celebrate, the game & the OST are currently 25% off

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

5 years

Some gameplay of Misson 1 #exzodiac

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

The latest Ex-Zodiac demo will be available* from June 9th as part of the Steam Festival of Games! *Spinning pink cubes not included (((( WIDESCREEN WHERE AVAILABLE ))))

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

1 year

⚠️INCOMING UPDATE⚠️ #ExZodiac will officially update on 8th May with two new all-range levels, a new arranged soundtrack option provided by Rumya and lots of bug fixes! You can preview the update now on Steam by switching to the beta branch🐵

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

Just in case you missed it, Ex-Zodiac now has a Steam page: We've also added Linux support (it always had it, but now it's listed!) and please feel free to come join us on the offical Discord server:

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

8 years

i want to be a wikihow artist when i grow up

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

6 years

I don't think I've ever coloured her eyebrows before.. 🤔

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

6 years

Creator of literally the best version of Dr.Robotnik could do with some help!

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

45 minutes to go! The kickstarter ends at 4:33pm GMT, if you want to pledge, now is the time! 🐵

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

2 years

Just want to say a huge thanks to all the backers and purchasers of #ExZodiac so far! The latest update adds support for traditional and simplified Chinese and Latin American Spanish. Cloud saves & other QoL improvements coming soon, & then more levels!

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

6 years

@Seamus_Donohue @schezar They're the icons for the various programs in the Adobe creative suite

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

8 years

okay I'm done

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

⚠️ANNOUNCEMENT⚠️ Kickstarter will launch on June 23rd! - ▶️◀️ And tonight we're hosting a developer chat as part of the Steam Festival, come join and ask me things! It begins at 1PM EST/ 6PM GMT - in channel 'steam-festival-chat'

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

I was trying to come up with a nice effect for when barrel/aileron roll, but instead I ended up with something that just looked cool when boosting 🤔 figured I'd post it for #screenshotsaturday Check out the Kickstarter here! -

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

5 years

Okay, I've finally figured out my Blender 2.8 to #GodotEngine export and animation woes. Now we can move on to the good stuff 💥 #ExZodiac #gamedev

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

5 years

I'll post a video clip once the levels a bit more coherent #exzodiac

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

6 years

@floatvoid reluctant likes are the best kind of like

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

⚠️Less than 24 hours to go!⚠️ If you still haven't pledged but you'd like to, here's the link - Remember, Kyuu needs your help to defeat the bad anthropomorphic space terrorists!

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

A small but much requested feature - Groups of enemies like this will now drop an item when all of them are destroyed. Next up, multipliers & proper scoring to add to the re-playablity of levels! #screenshotsaturday Ex-Zodiac Kickstarter -

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

First Access will be coming soon to those who backed at that level or higher on our Kickstarter, just need to finish off the boss! Speaking of which, here's a sneak peek (still WIP) Steam Wishlist:

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

1 year

I want to start looking for voice actors for #ExZodiac Please feel free to fill out the form below if you're interested. Male and female voices welcome. This will be a paid gig. Not sure how soon this will happen, just seeing who's out there for now 🙂

Ex-Zodiac Voice Actor Scouting

At some point I'd like to add some voice acting to Ex-Zodiac, as the amount of written dialogue can be quite hard to read during the action. Please feel free to fill in this form if you'd be intere...

docs.google.com

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

6 years

Made the camera more dynamic, it might not seem much, but I think it feels a lot better now. The feeling of being a part of the action is much greater (sorry if twitter destroys the quality)

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

If there are any streamers or youtubers who'd like to get their hands on the next demo before we release it publicly, please contact @pixeljamgames or leave a reply to this tweet indicating your interest, and we'll be in touch! Kickstarter coming soon! ->

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

Hope this is widescreen enough

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

5 years

Title, controls and map screen (wip) for #exzodiac Pretty happy with how the controller thing came out, considering it was done purely for this demo at the last minute 😂

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

6 years

It's finally done! and now I need some much needed rest... Oh, you can check it out here: #gamedev #godotengine #indiedev

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

6 years

@TheDCmatrix @Doctor_Crafty it wouldn't be shitposting if I put effort into it

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

6 years

Testing out some more enemy types, I'll actually finish the level soon I promise 🤔 (music is still placeholder - Gradius Gaiden level 1) #exzodiac #GodotEngine #gamedev

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

3 months

@godotengine Been using it for 3D since 2.1 👴

Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

2 years

The time has come! #ExZodiac is now available in early access on Steam! (there's currently a 10% launch discount too!) Huge thanks to all the backers and supporters who helped us reach this point! Looking forward to working on the rest😄

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

5 years

@tyronerodriguez Currently working on Ex-Zodiac

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

Just a heads up that I'll be streaming some Ex-Zodiac dev work tomorrow at 9PM GMT/4PM EST/1PM PST Follow my Twitch channel to be notified - Also checkout the Kickstarter and demo if you haven't yet! -

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

7 years

Can we get a new CTR please 🏎️🏎️🏎️

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

2 years

It's my fantasy zone, and I'll get ready if I want to

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

2 years

My attempt at converting #ExZodiac to Godot 4.0 is going well

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

7 years

@CrashBandicoot guys, you don't have to trace the original art 1:1, use the opportunity to improve things

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

A rough WIP of the results screen for Ex-Zodiac. I'm sure it will change a fair bit before I consider it 'done' but it's functional at least! #screenshotsaturday If you haven't checked it out already, there's still 4 days before the Kickstarter ends! -

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

The new 1 level demo of Ex-Zodiac will now be released on the 16th of June as the Steam Games Festival was postponed by a week. After, a demo featuring the 2nd level will be available as part of the Kickstarter, which will be coming soon! Steam Wishlist:

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

7 years

Worked on the player death sequence today (hence trying to get hit in the vid) still needs tweaking, but getting there #gamedev #GodotEngine

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

3 years

I really hope the PS1/Saturn crunchy graphics phase isn't over by the time I'm done with Ex-Zodiac, I HAVE MORE LOW-POLY GOODNESS TO GIVE TO THE WORLD

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

15 MINUTES LEFT ahhhhhhhhhhhh 👀

Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

⚠️WARNING⚠️ A HUGE KICKSTARTER IS APPROACHING FAST The Ex-Zodiac Kickstarter is now live! - Likes, retweets and shares are very much appreciated 🙏

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

7 years

@Ursso_ @Kamunt

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

6 years

Tumblr: CONTENT IS BANNED

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

7 years

RAWKIT LAWNCHAIR

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

3 years

I reach into the past and slap 2017 Ben for thinking a Star Fox style game would be "pretty easy to make"

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

ALSO THE NEW 2-LEVEL DEMO WITH NEW MUSIC IS AVAILABLE ON THAT PAGE 👀👀👀

Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

⚠️WARNING⚠️ A HUGE KICKSTARTER IS APPROACHING FAST The Ex-Zodiac Kickstarter is now live! - Likes, retweets and shares are very much appreciated 🙏

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

6 months

Ｗ 𝗜 𝗦 𝗘 𝗖 𝗢 𝗡 𝗡 𝗘 𝗖 𝗧 𝗢 𝗥 ™ 💬

@wiseconnector

6 months

What would you do with this space?

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

6 years

Had to draw the 'good boy' as everyone is calling him #Aggretsuko #haida

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

8 years

It's been a while 👌 #inktober2016 #inktober #CrashBandicoot

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

You feel compelled to collect it #gamedev #exzodiac

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

3 years

It makes me sad/frustrated that so many people have been duped into believing this tech can somehow ✨magically✨ make things universally compatible across all platforms/games/etc

Xavier

@xavierck3d

3 years

I know a lot of press people and gamers follow me, so let me explain why this is deeply, unbelievably, intensely incorrect and near-impossible. 1/

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

6 years

Been working on something lately

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

6 years

If anyone would like to keep up to date with the development of Ex-Zodiac, I've put up a project page for it over at I'm hoping to release a test demo of the first level soon(ish) to get feedback and that's where I'll be posting it

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

9 years

Important game dev stuff

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

3 years

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

7 years

Plenty of munchies for everyone, right? Right! Not only munchies but a little babe, all dressed up for us, ain't that right?? Right!!

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

I think I've settled on this one (unless I change my mind again lol)

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

4 years

My favourite comment on the Ex-Zodiac trailer so far

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

8 years

This is all I could muster tonight I'm afraid. G'night

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

1 month

I had to completely rebuild the first boss in my game when porting to 4.x because the gltf importer did something funky and ruined the instanced version of the scene. Tricky to pin down and report as a bug though as I've no idea what even caused it

passivestar

@passivestar_

1 month

GLTF scene import is by far the buggiest thing in godot 🫠 Parts of the scene not reimporting, meshes getting overwritten by inherited scene for no reason, objects using wrong meshes, added nodes randomly changing parents, added signals randomly getting uneditable, inherited

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

5 years

A huge thanks to everyone who left a nice comment on my latest Ex-Zodiac clips (which was all of them I think??) It's very encouraging to know that so many people have been looking for something like this. I hope I'm able to do it justice!

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

5 years

Some low poly practice, it'll have Mega Man Legends style texturing once it's done

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Ben Hickling // MNKY

@BenHickling

3 years

It was exciting that Sonic Colors Ultimate used Godot, finally a big IP from a big company is using it! > Game turns out to be full of glitches Now I see threads saying: "What do you expect from using Godot LOL" "Is this the end of Godot? No one will want to use it now!"

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