The print loop in action

An early in-engine prototype of the printing system I designed and built: picking a model, the timed print on the bed, and the finished part, with the in-game clock and money counter running. The level and room were designed by Nitish Kumar Panda.

Design pillars

Four rules every feature had to pass. Inspired by Schedule I, PowerWash Simulator, Euro Truck Simulator 2, House Flipper and the Cura slicer.

Core loop

Every order feeds the next. Money buys better equipment, reputation brings more and better orders, and XP unlocks new materials, models and staff.

One order, step by step

Thirteen steps, about 5 to 7 minutes per order. Each one is a physical action in the workshop, and each one can later be handed to staff.

How an order is scored

Final reward = base reward × quality score × deadline multiplier. Mistakes reduce the payout instead of failing the order, so players learn from every job.

Printer progression

Each level unlocks a better printer, and each printer opens new materials, which open new models to sell.

Product catalogue

Beyond the 13 demo models, I specified a catalogue of 26 products, each with a model size, nozzle and bed temperature, filament and complexity. Filament ties the catalogue to the printers: new materials mean new things to sell.

Balancing the economy

I modelled the economy in a spreadsheet before any playtest: order time from model size and complexity, material cost per filament, and profit per minute for every product on every printer, all inside the GDD's rule that orders pay £8 to £100. The first run showed one product winning everywhere. After one balancing pass, every printer has a healthy spread.

Is crime worth it?

I ran the expected value of each shady stranger offer: what it pays on average once the chance of getting caught is counted.

How I built it

Built entirely in Unreal Engine 5 Blueprints. Each order is a record that moves through a status pipeline, and the job queue drives all the work in the workshop.

Scoping the demo

To hit a playable demo, I split every system into a demo version and a full version, so each feature shipped small first instead of being cut.

Full-version systems

Designed in the GDD and planned for after the demo.

Printer model

Modelled in Blender for a game engine: a low-poly mesh with a packed UV layout, then a clean clay pass to check forms.

Credits

The roster template

I designed the roster template the team worked from: weapons sorted into seven classes and four rarity tiers (Basic, Prime, Legendary and Extra), with magazine, fire rate and damage for each. The weapons we built in-house are under NDA, so this version is filled with 144 free-licensed weapons to show the same structure. Each class is built for a different situation, from close-range spray to one-shot precision.

Running the pipeline

The team was split between artists who modelled weapons and developers who made them work in game. I sat between the two.

A DLC weapon pack

I pitched a themed weapon pack and balanced it for a single-player game. DLC weapons hit harder, but with scarce ammo and close range, so they work as a panic button for tough fights rather than replacing the base arsenal. The Venom skin set below was designed for that pack and never shipped.

What I learned