Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Almost...almost!

20 days after, what's left?
Well, I'm having some problems with 2D system. While in earlier versions the 2D system was quite simple, this time it's much more complex. Changes involve a new node-based structure, dinamic layer updates, multiple coordinates systems, memory "pools" (they're actually more like queues), etc...and such a complex system requieres a lot of work and debugging, so it's dalaying me.
And there are good news also: 2D is the biggest problem but the ONLY problem.
Everything else is ready inside the engine.
I still have to finish the extra tools like model viewer and 3ds max plugin, but the engine itself is almost finished!
So keep an eye on this blog!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Status Report

Well, so... What's the current state of the engine? is it almost fnished? is it starting? can it render anything? That's why I'm writing today, to say what the engine can do right now, and what remains to be made for the first alfa of v5.0 to be released.

Let's start with what it does right now:
-Rendering System:
Multiple viewports
Multiple cameras
Basic Skybox rendering
Static model loading (RMD format)
-Lighting system
Software lighting
-Materials
Diffuse Color/Map
Specular Color/Map
Gloss
Specularity
Based on Phong lighting ecuation

Now, What can we expect from 0.5 alfa one?
Ok, I will add basic 2D support, correct transparency, fix some bugs and...that's all.
So that means the first alfa release will be very soon.

But..is that all there is? No, but you guys have alredy waited for long for this version, so I will release it with basic features and will update it quite often to add new features (i.e. Shadows, animated models, terrains, more material types, more skyboxes, etc...)

Moreover, the engine won't come alone, three useful tools will be in the packet: Model Viewer (to visualice your RMD models on wii), obj2Rmd converter and a 3ds max script to export your own models natively.

And even more, there will be some basic examples on comon tasks like loading models, working with 2D, cameras, lights, etc...

comming soon