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Torque Game Engine Advanced Open Beta 2

Name:	Matt Fairfax
Date Posted:	Mar 29, 2008
Rating:	4.7 out of 5
Public:	YES
Comments:	YES
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Profile Page:	View profile page for Matt Fairfax

Blog post

Full of Awesome!

What an amazing community! It has been just over a week since we released the TGEA 1.7 Open Beta 1 and it is hard to believe how much you guys have pitched in and helped!

We've been working hard to address your bugs and to roll further improvements into TGEA 1.7 and I am proud to share that with you as the TGEA 1.7 Open Beta 2!

You can go grab it from the TGEA download link on your My Account page. Quickly! Go get it!

What am I getting myself into to?

We've managed to pack in a ton of fixes into this release!

I could not have done it without the amazing help of Josh Engebretson, Tom Spilman, Michael Perry, John Kabus, Jeff Faust, and Stephen Zepp. These guys have really pitched in to help, going above and beyond the call of duty!

You can see a list of all of the changes we've rolled into the release here:

Sound files (.ogg) are now being properly included in the installer (www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=73290)
fxShapeReplicator should now clean up properly when applying changes (www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=73281)
The lighting system now correctly samples the lightmaps underneath the Player for its ambient lighting (www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=73224)
Changed to TGE message boxes to work correctly in fullscreen (www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=73287)
Fixed the mipmap wrapping related terrain edge seam (fixed function and shader) (www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=73224)
Added some code to GuiCanvas::setVideoMode() to handle 0 sizes for the resolution dimensions (www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=73259)
Fixed a typo in the configureCanvas() script code that was causing the resolution width to be blank when having to fallback from a resolution too large in windowed mode
Fixed a comparison in configureCanvas() that was causing it to falsely think fullscreen was windowed (www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=73289)
Applied fix for when Player SplashEmitter is not present (www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=73340)
Fixed some of the incompatibility issues with integrated Intel video cards (www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=73350)
Fixed problems with ganerating a new mission (www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=73304)
Fixed dynamic field rename and deletion in the Inspector (www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=73245)
Now validating TerrainBlock clipMapSizeLog2 and texelsPerMeter settings (www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=73473)
Terrain Texture Editor now properly handles multiple TerrainBlock's (www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=73465)
Made it so that you can't walk up walls on polysoup collision TSStatic's (www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=73244)
Fixed all of the references to #include "game/<file.h>" (www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=73510)
The WheeledVehicle wheels render again (with shadow) (www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=73352)
Removed the unused buildresults.html (www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=73226)
Fixed weapon push back and aim being affected by Trigger's (www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=73348)
Fixed multiple Atlas issues (www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=73515)
Shadows no longer project through polysoup TSStatic's (www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=73243)
- The TerrainBlock rendering code will skip the detail texture pass if no detail texture is specified (www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=73325)
Fonts now correctly generate themselves on non-US English versions of Windows (www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=73257)
PrimBuilder::end() now takes an optional argument which can be used to override its default behavior of calling setupGenericShaders(), (which calls disableShaders())
Fixed translucent material handling to work correctly when 'mMaterial->translucent' is set, but 'mMaterial->translucentBlendOp' is set to None. This enables pure alpha test materials without any blending.
Fixed mMaterial->alphaTest and mMaterial->alphaRef to be set on CustomMaterial.
Fixed an incorrect use of IF in the compile.bat files
Added game/shaders to include path for relative imports
Clean up InteriorSimpleMesh's on Interior deletion
Fix the incorrect network packing of mConeOutsideVolume
Added a fix for getting the client side SFXDescription
The Weapon Picker in T3D is now functional
Fixed the mounting code in GuiObjectView
Fixed off center text in the loading bar
Majorly sped up mission loading for singleplayer and hosting servers
Datablocks were not being sorted correctly before transmission
Debris was not rendering correctly
Fixed dynamic lighting attenuation for non-normal mapped materials
Added better Inspector fields validation
Fixed some uninitialized data on the TerrainBlock that could cause a crash on in the WheeledVehicle
Added the buggy data and scripts to T3D (have to add it in the Mission Editor or spawn as it)
Improved the Terrain Painter functionality: left-click to select active block for painting. This avoids the Terrain Painter from going crazy as you mouse over terrain.
Fixed dynamic lights bug with CustomMaterials
Beefed up the GFX device creation code to handle falling back from incompatible settings and attempt to find something that works
Added toggle to allow you to enable DRL as long as FSAA isn't turned on
Cleaned up the version numbers and versioning scheme in the engine and application
Fixed stack overflow in Mission Editor selection (deselection via script was disabled)
Container::castRay() was not properly filling in the distance parameter
Did a nice polish pass on the Documentation
The TerrainBlock's will now send position changes across the network (like when applied in the Inspector)
The Inspector datablock fields should properly filter according to datablock type
Applying a new datablock in the Inspector now works properly

A little goodie for you!

One of the most exciting things that this release brings, is a solid version of the Forge Demo that we are happy to be able to share with all of the people who have yet to purchase the TGEA SDK (shame on you ;).

Click here to download the Forge Demo

What's next?

One of the coolest things that Brett hit on in his recent blog about the whole IAC deal is that we finally have the resources to properly follow through on our releases and to continue development. We no longer have to immediately move on to something totally unrelated in order to keep the company afloat. This means that you are going to be seeing a lot more frequent updates to our products (measured in weeks and months rather than in years).

Our bug list for the TGEA 1.7 Release is getting pretty short and Beta 2 is very nearly a release candidate. Assuming no show stopping bugs pop up (*knocks on wood*) we will be launching TGEA 1.7.0 really soon! But don't worry if your particular issue hasn't been fully addressed. We are going to continue active development on TGEA and you will be seeing the fruits of that labor much sooner rather than later.

Final Stretch

With all of that in mind, I want to further encourage people to help us find bugs and to continue to offer feedback. You have our ear and our attention...now it is up to you to put it good use!

Recent Blog Posts

List:	09/20/08 - TGEA 1.8 on a Mac 06/20/08 - Barricade Demo 06/13/08 - Follow Through - TGEA 1.7.1 Released 04/05/08 - TGEA 1.7 is Officially Released! 03/29/08 - Torque Game Engine Advanced Open Beta 2 03/19/08 - Torque Game Engine Advanced Open Beta 01/18/08 - Big Update to TGEA on the way! 09/15/07 - A Week in Oregon

Submit your own resources!

David Montgomery-Blake (Mar 29, 2008 at 02:19 GMT) Resource Rating: 5

Like Godiva chocolates, TGEA 1.7 is super sweet!

James Spellman (Mar 29, 2008 at 02:34 GMT)

No obscure quotes this time. This is awesome! I just hope I have time to port my projects before the release...

Renato Mahmutagic (Mar 29, 2008 at 02:34 GMT)

Great stuff, looking forward to testing it!

Prairie Games (Mar 29, 2008 at 02:45 GMT) Resource Rating: 5

Sean T. Boyette (Mar 29, 2008 at 03:28 GMT)

Thanks again guys - that was lighting fast!

Andrew Brady (Mar 29, 2008 at 04:05 GMT)

very nice

Matt Huston (Mar 29, 2008 at 08:56 GMT)

Awesome, glad it had a quick turn around rate!

Julian R (Mar 29, 2008 at 09:14 GMT)

Great stuff - can't wait for final release :)

Michael Perry (Mar 29, 2008 at 13:17 GMT)

@Prairie - OMG YOU STOLE MY POST!!!!!!!! That is exactly what I was going to put up!!! =)

Fantastic release guys. The push to fix bugs and polish the code was an amazing effort. Also, Kudos to the community for that amazing response and organization of bug reports that flowed in the forums.

I'll post my next blog about documentation and post some important info in the TGEA 1.7.0 Documentation Feedback thread, soon. Ignore the version number of the thread, as it is now considered feedback for all 1.7+ docs.

Dan - (Mar 29, 2008 at 13:29 GMT)

Quote:

This means that you are going to be seeing a lot more frequent updates to our products (measured in weeks and months rather than in years).

Being an "action is louder than words" sort of guy, it great to to see these words come after the actions :-) One week since beta one and the whole list? Were you guys sitting on fixes ;-)

Keep up the good work.

Randy Hearn (Mar 29, 2008 at 16:01 GMT)

Being out of the loop for a whlie I had to have my account restored and started checking and before I can get a good look at the Beta I just downloaded, you already released an update. You guys are going to hsave to slow down:) Just kidding. Seeing the quick updates gives me a better feel for the future of the engine.

So. Any chance of getting another format for the 3D models (Characters) other than MAX?

Trenton Shaffer (Mar 29, 2008 at 16:44 GMT) Resource Rating: 5

ZOMG!

John E. Nelson (Mar 29, 2008 at 21:47 GMT)

This is super news! Can hardly wait for the final release.
Great work!

Ben Acord (Mar 29, 2008 at 23:11 GMT) Resource Rating: 3

Sweet!! I just became an official TGEAer the other day.

Ya know, my neighbor is a robot and he's got quite a few vehicles up on blocks in the front yard.

Anthony Abrams (Mar 30, 2008 at 00:01 GMT)

OMG ... I think I just wet myself.

Great Job.

Christian S (Mar 30, 2008 at 06:57 GMT)

I must say, Im really happy for GG -how this whole new way of thins are turning out!

Guys, your doing a totally great job. Bordering an insane effort ;)

Keep up the spirit, because this is just <<< AWESOME >>>

Trenton Shaffer (Mar 30, 2008 at 17:03 GMT) Resource Rating: 5

So is Faust considering updating AFX for this? IMHO it would be a great addition to TGEA and should be included as a standard feature. But even if it still is an extra add-on, it rocks and I will be adding it to my project.

Michael Perry (Mar 30, 2008 at 17:35 GMT)

@Trenton - Jeff has posted his plans for updating TGEA 1.7 HERE

James Laker (BurNinG) (Mar 31, 2008 at 10:21 GMT)

And the Awesomeness continues....

Jacque Perin (Mar 31, 2008 at 13:04 GMT)

you guys left your cs files in the forge demo. What is it one should do after looking at the player when you start that mission?

Matt Fairfax (Mar 31, 2008 at 17:47 GMT) Resource Rating: 5

You should only be able to rotate the camera around the player model as he runs through his animation. This demo is intended only to show off some nice effects. It is not intended to be "playable".

Gerard Prudhomme (Mar 31, 2008 at 19:16 GMT)

I am very impressed with the speed at which Garage Games is putting out new content for the TGEA....I was a bit worried when I moved from TGE to TGEA as I saw that there were a number of endemic problems with the engine...

GG is certainly getting my vote of appreciation for working to rectify the situation! Thanks a lot to Matt and all the other great people, both GG and non-GG, who have worked on bringing the quality of the TGEA up.

Scott Wilson (Apr 01, 2008 at 08:43 GMT)

WOW I Was super impressed to find out that there was already a beta 2, but could I suggest making it alittle more noticeible. I was reading a bug when i came across, it should be fixed in beta 2 with a link to it =P . BUT AGAIN WOW! THANKS GUYS FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK =)! GG rocks!

Randy Mlinarcik (Apr 01, 2008 at 18:58 GMT)

I'm glad to see that many issues have been fixed, and in such a short time. Keep it up guys. Thanks for all the hard work.

EddieRay (Apr 04, 2008 at 22:09 GMT)

Cool effects on the "Forge Demo". Are they "maxed out" by default? It runs pretty bad on my X600-based laptop... suprising considering it's such a small demo with very few assets in view.

Brett Seyler (Apr 04, 2008 at 22:17 GMT) Resource Rating: 5

The Forge demo has not been optimized *at all* yet, but despite being small, it is demanding on hardware. Pretty much all TGEA effects are demonstrated in there and most are turned on by default. We have a Core 2 Duo 6400 / 8800 GTS (640MB) machine that we used to capture HD video on it. On that machine and 1280 x 720 res, it runs about 90 FPS. With some optimization in the future, it should run at about double that or more.
Edited on Apr 04, 2008 22:18 GMT

Dunsany (Apr 05, 2008 at 14:09 GMT)

For what it's worth, the Forge Demo runs great on my 4 year-old ATI AIW 9600 Pro.

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