Torque X 3.1.4 Released

Torque X is becoming the easiest way to create games for Windows and Xbox 360. Since it's based on the C# programming language, there's no tricky pointers or memory management to worry about. And since it relies upon a solid component framework, you don't need to sift through large class libraries to add game functionality. Simply add game objects to a scene and then attach game-specific components to them. And, as shown in the images below, Torque X works well with model content packs that are sold here at GarageGames.

Torque X has a well planned development roadmap that outlines quarterly releases for the next couple of years. Another blog will go into details about what will appear within those upcoming releases. This release of Torque X (3.1.4) focuses on performance and bug fixes.

FPS Environment Kit in a Torque X 3D scene with fog and scatter-dropped bushes.

Engine Changes

Here are some of the changes made to the Torque X 2D and 3D engines.

New Starter Resources
New starter materials to make the new Torque X experience as easy as possible

* New 3D tutorial bundled with install
* Existing 2D tutorials bundled with install
* New Project Template – An additional template for creating a new starter game with full GUI
* New Item Templates – Additional Visual Studio templates for creating GUI screens

Engine Performance Improvements
Scene rendering performance has improved significantly

* Journaling and Profiling has been enabled for Debugs build only
* Most foreach loops have been converted into for loops to improve speed and eliminate sudden garbage collection
* Object initialization has been moved outside of Update and Render loops
* Objects are passed into methods by reference, not by value
* Vertex and Index Buffer management has been improved for faster performance

Enabled optional hardware anti-aliasing

Games can choose to enable hardware anti-aliasing for smoother edges on Xbox 360. Control is toggled with the engine properties. It is off by default due to the performance hit that comes with it.

Video Support
WMV9 videos can be played within any Torque X game

* Video material – New material lets you render a video to any object within a scene, even a model or a 2DQuad.
* GuiVideoControl – A new GUI control that lets you position a video region within a game’s GUI

Components
New game related components for easier game development

* MovementComponent3D – Provides an easy way for moving an object around a default 3D scene
* T3DFixedAngleCameraComponent – Provides a fixed angle free moving camera for RTS-style overhead games
* T3DTargetFollowCameraComponent – Provides a pixed-point camera that tracks an object within the scene

Fog rendering fixed
3D scenes are softened with distance fog

FPS demo input fixed
Some examples in FPS Demo did not have input maps initialized properly

Adam Pack model inside a bunker with lighting.

2D Editor Changes

Little changes have gone into the Torque X 2D Editor. The most prominent fix is the elimination of the ContentNodeGenerator.exe error message that occasionally appears.

3D Editor Changes

Several changes have gone into the 3D editor to improve stability and ease of use. This includes:

* New memory protection that keeps the editor running longer without crash interruptions.
* Improved Asset Importer that detects missing textures for selected DTS shapes
* Improved XML generation to keep generated XML as small as possible by not setting default values.
* Improved XML generation that preserves lighting and camera settings.
* New scatter drop function that lets you select a model, a radius, and a count, then spread out instances across the terrain
Great for plants and trees.
* Hot keys to cycle through Move, Rotate, and Scale by pressing 1,2,3
* Using the Xbox controller to move around the scene
* Material editor improved to create and edit material definitions for lighting

Ruins & Bunkers Kit by Dexsoft in a Torque X 3D scene
A number of games created with Torque X are already being sold and are making money on the Microsoft Xbox LIVE Indie Games marketplace and many more are in the works. Torque X is already the easiest solution to create an Xbox 360 game and it's only getting faster and easier with each new release. Stay tuned for more updates.

Existing Torque X customers can freely download this update from the Accounts page.
Download Torque X 3D
Download Torque X 2D

John K.