Particle FX Editor WIP - T2D MIT 3.0
by Simon Love · 06/01/2014 (9:30 pm) · 5 comments
Ludum Dare
Last Time I tried, I failed. Lack of discipline, wayyyy too much coffee and T2D was a bit shaky as well.This time, the competition was a bit more informal and already in line with something I was working on so I figured : What better way to crystallize my work than to enter it in an informal competition?
This month's challenge was to build a game-making tool, so I chose to work on a Particle Effects editor for T2D.
Bear in mind that this is very WIP and coded at the speed of thought so, LOTS of optimization could/should be made.
You can Load Asset files from disk and save them, you can modify Data Keys (even multiple ones!) and change the range on all sliders to fine-tune the FX. Not all fields have been exposed, Data Key addition and removal doesn't work (yet) and the image chooser has not been implemented (soon!). By the end of the week, it should be serviceable. Clunky, but hey, better that than no editors, am I right?!
You can see the entry here, with a savvy link to the download. (Windows only for now!)
I suggest waiting for me to push the branch to github near the end of the week; might make it easier to compile!
The Mich Factor
I started this editor because I was playing around with Mich's Editor Branch just to see how far he had taken it.While it's not finalized yet, it really has tons of potential, entirely done in TorqueScript.
A more complete framework will be uploaded eventually and that's when we can hit the ground running.
I strongly suggest that YOU get familiar with it, figure it out even in this early state and start thinking of what editors you guys want and how best to implement them.
3.0 is out; the editors are next. But as you know, it's nobody's job...so it's everybody's job.
Bugs, Bugs and that damn UI system
Edit => Particle FX taml read bug fix
I must admit that I've spent most of the 48 hours of the competition doing UI work. I've got a much better handle on it now and I think a few explanatory tutorial videos would help people understand the logic behind this very very confusing system.
I've also noticed lots of bugs, legacy issues (from the Torque Game Builder days) and inconsistencies that have got to be addressed. It's really powerful but it really needs to be nuked from orbit at this point.
Until next time!
About the author
I am here to help. I've worked at every imaginable position in game development, having entered the field originally as an audio guy.
#2
One of the many personal projects I'd like to do (but filed under the "wish I had time for this" folder), would be to totally gut the existing GUI code from T2D and rebuild it from scratch. My idea would be to merge the GuiControl/GuiCanvas code into one base level Canvas object. SceneWindow would be more or less left untouched, so you can still have multiple SceneWindows on a Canvas. Then derive a basic GuiWidget class from SpriteBase and create tons of behaviors in TorqueScript to cover the functionality of the typical GUI elements one needs. Figured recreating the Sandbox using a SceneObject-based GUI would be a neat trial.
There's probably tons of gotchas I haven't thought of with my idea but I really want a GUI system that has batching and animation/tweening possibilities and I think it can be done more easily if it's part of the scene.
06/02/2014 (12:47 am)
Awesome work Simon, really impressed at what you've accomplished. Looking forward to giving this a spin when you push the branch to Github.One of the many personal projects I'd like to do (but filed under the "wish I had time for this" folder), would be to totally gut the existing GUI code from T2D and rebuild it from scratch. My idea would be to merge the GuiControl/GuiCanvas code into one base level Canvas object. SceneWindow would be more or less left untouched, so you can still have multiple SceneWindows on a Canvas. Then derive a basic GuiWidget class from SpriteBase and create tons of behaviors in TorqueScript to cover the functionality of the typical GUI elements one needs. Figured recreating the Sandbox using a SceneObject-based GUI would be a neat trial.
There's probably tons of gotchas I haven't thought of with my idea but I really want a GUI system that has batching and animation/tweening possibilities and I think it can be done more easily if it's part of the scene.
#3
06/02/2014 (4:32 am)
Looks useful, good work. If remaking the gui system turns out that it's better than the box2d/sceneobject system then I'm all for it.
#4
The gui system is just too bloated; it's not a bad system in and of itself but it desperately screams for a gui editor (as in TGB).
I wouldn't rewrite it per se but make it more consistent. Some controls won't accept Assets for images, some controls are hardcoded to look for specific files in specific folders, Some profile options do nothing depending on the type of control, etc.
06/02/2014 (10:38 am)
Thanks guys!The gui system is just too bloated; it's not a bad system in and of itself but it desperately screams for a gui editor (as in TGB).
I wouldn't rewrite it per se but make it more consistent. Some controls won't accept Assets for images, some controls are hardcoded to look for specific files in specific folders, Some profile options do nothing depending on the type of control, etc.
#5
While there are still a few bugs, it's fully functional, just make sure to manually edit the Asset name in the resulting asset.taml file if you want to use them in your own T2D projects!
For instructions....READ THE WIKI!
Expect a tutorial video and a complete post-mortem shortly!
06/06/2014 (4:17 pm)
Update : Done!While there are still a few bugs, it's fully functional, just make sure to manually edit the Asset name in the resulting asset.taml file if you want to use them in your own T2D projects!
For instructions....READ THE WIKI!
Expect a tutorial video and a complete post-mortem shortly!
Torque Owner Richard Ranft
Roostertail Games
Very cool work on the particle editor - very cool indeed!