Omega Core 3D Particle Editor Released
by Thomas Scott · in General Discussion · 10/09/2004 (5:15 pm) · 19 replies
The Omega Core 3D Particle Editor has been released for Alpha testing. Go to the downloads page at www.omegacore3d.com to get the file.
You can also get the file directly if you don't cannot load the flash page: http://www.omegacore3d.com/files/particleeditor01a.zip
Post feedback at the official forums:
http://p214.ezboard.com/bomegacore3d
You can also get the file directly if you don't cannot load the flash page: http://www.omegacore3d.com/files/particleeditor01a.zip
Post feedback at the official forums:
http://p214.ezboard.com/bomegacore3d
About the author
#2
10/09/2004 (6:16 pm)
I am not personally fond of making web pages of any sort and making it flash gave it a nicer look so I went with that. However, it will likely be changed in the future.
#3
Personally, I avoid Flash sites like the plague (I hate it even more than frames), and in my experience many others have similar views.
10/10/2004 (1:45 am)
Quote:... making it flash gave it a nicer look ...Assuming that the visitor has the Flash plugin, otherwise each item just looks like a white rectangle.
Personally, I avoid Flash sites like the plague (I hate it even more than frames), and in my experience many others have similar views.
#4
10/10/2004 (2:36 am)
NO PAGE AT ALL!!
#5
I assume you are talking about bad constructed flash sites. You know, the ones made by absolute beginners who think you need 20 minute intros, flashing buttons, menus you have to search for etc.... Because a good constructed flash site can be soooo much more infomative and user friendly then a html site. Or are you talking about size? That's again a "noob" sign... you can build sites in flash wich are smaller then HTML versions of it. Or about some browsers not supporting it? You might as well stop using javascript (turned of on lots and lots of browsers), or images.... lets go back to the text only pages! My point? Saying flash sites are bad becuase they are flash.... kind of cheap. I know 95% of the flash sites out there are complete crap, but the same goes for 95% of the html sites.
And yeh, the page doesn't even show up...
10/10/2004 (3:06 am)
Quote:Personally, I avoid Flash sites like the plague (I hate it even more than frames), and in my experience many others have similar views.
I assume you are talking about bad constructed flash sites. You know, the ones made by absolute beginners who think you need 20 minute intros, flashing buttons, menus you have to search for etc.... Because a good constructed flash site can be soooo much more infomative and user friendly then a html site. Or are you talking about size? That's again a "noob" sign... you can build sites in flash wich are smaller then HTML versions of it. Or about some browsers not supporting it? You might as well stop using javascript (turned of on lots and lots of browsers), or images.... lets go back to the text only pages! My point? Saying flash sites are bad becuase they are flash.... kind of cheap. I know 95% of the flash sites out there are complete crap, but the same goes for 95% of the html sites.
And yeh, the page doesn't even show up...
#6
goto http://www.omegacore3d.com/files/particleeditor01a.zip to get the file if you'd like to try it.
I didn't think this thread would turn into a discussion on whether the site should be flash or html.
10/10/2004 (6:00 am)
The page obviously has to be redone if its having that much of a problem.goto http://www.omegacore3d.com/files/particleeditor01a.zip to get the file if you'd like to try it.
I didn't think this thread would turn into a discussion on whether the site should be flash or html.
#7
10/10/2004 (6:06 am)
What did you expect when you post it in the open :) If it had flaws, people will find them.
#8
10/10/2004 (6:09 am)
I knew the page had flaws. I didn't post an announcement to test my flash site though. I posted an announcement to test the Particle Editor. You would think people would stick to a discussion on that issue. I'll be sure next time to just post the link to the file so that people will stay on topic.
#9
Back to the original topic. The particle engine seems to ease the editing of such... I did not spend much time with it, but why don't you post some of the tricks that you like doing with your application so that we can all see what kind of features are useful to the creator of the application? Maybe this will help us see why we want your editor.
Regards,
Miguel
10/10/2004 (6:27 am)
I agree with Thomas... For all we care the page could have been php because what he is really trying to present here is the content. However, our other fellows have a point that if they do not have a flash plug-in they won't get to the content. You ought to keep that in mind when promoting a product because you want people to see what you are offering, even if the html alternative is a single link to the product with some background information and screenshots; nothing fancy is ever required. Hummm, maybe another thread for the flash vs other options would have been for a forum with designers and such... Who does not have a flash plug-in anyways?Back to the original topic. The particle engine seems to ease the editing of such... I did not spend much time with it, but why don't you post some of the tricks that you like doing with your application so that we can all see what kind of features are useful to the creator of the application? Maybe this will help us see why we want your editor.
Regards,
Miguel
#10
http://www.caeron3000.com/vitron1.htm
http://www.caeron3000.com/vitron2.htm
Also, the download actually comes with several sample particle effects. The only issue is that you will have to select a new texture when you load them because the original paths are different than the install path. This issue will be eased in a future release.
And please take into consideration that this is Alpha testing. Of course there will be issues. And I would appreciate that people post in the official forums for feedback. They are as follows:
http://p214.ezboard.com/bomegacore3d
I forgot to post the link in my original e-mail so I apologize.
10/10/2004 (6:38 am)
I did have several shots of particle effects in action on the site's screenshots section. However, because I think that the screenshots were bogging down the load process I just took them off until I can get a simple html site up. But if you want to see 2 effects, you can check out the following screens that are available. They show off a laser effect and an engine thruster effect.http://www.caeron3000.com/vitron1.htm
http://www.caeron3000.com/vitron2.htm
Also, the download actually comes with several sample particle effects. The only issue is that you will have to select a new texture when you load them because the original paths are different than the install path. This issue will be eased in a future release.
And please take into consideration that this is Alpha testing. Of course there will be issues. And I would appreciate that people post in the official forums for feedback. They are as follows:
http://p214.ezboard.com/bomegacore3d
I forgot to post the link in my original e-mail so I apologize.
#11
A certain number of them/us are not going to be able to get any further into your existing site than the home page (due to not having flash installed or enabled).
Linking directly to the file doesn't help much, as most people still prefer to know something about a file before they download it and use it on their system.
10/10/2004 (6:39 am)
There is such a thing as constructive criticism. Try and look at it from a visitor's or prospective customer's point of view.A certain number of them/us are not going to be able to get any further into your existing site than the home page (due to not having flash installed or enabled).
Linking directly to the file doesn't help much, as most people still prefer to know something about a file before they download it and use it on their system.
#12
10/10/2004 (6:47 am)
I apologize for any inconvenience and I fully understand if you prefer not to download the file and try it out. The site will be changed in the near future and perhaps you'll come back and take a look then.
#13
What does the editor do? Does it have to be used with a particular engine? What are the features, specs and system requirements?
Even copying and pasting from the readme file would help.
10/10/2004 (7:21 am)
Well, you can always address the second problem by telling everyone a little more about the file here. At the moment, I don't know much more than the name.What does the editor do? Does it have to be used with a particular engine? What are the features, specs and system requirements?
Even copying and pasting from the readme file would help.
#14
-----------------
Welcome to the first release of the Omega Core 3D Particle Editor. This is a fully functional Particle
Editor in which you can create stunning particle effects and save and reload them. However, since the
full Omega Core 3D game engine has not yet been released, you can only view the effects in the editor's
viewer and have no means by which to use them eleswhere.
10/10/2004 (7:26 am)
0. Introduction-----------------
Welcome to the first release of the Omega Core 3D Particle Editor. This is a fully functional Particle
Editor in which you can create stunning particle effects and save and reload them. However, since the
full Omega Core 3D game engine has not yet been released, you can only view the effects in the editor's
viewer and have no means by which to use them eleswhere.
#15
It is the Particle Editor for the Omega Core 3D Game Engine. If you don't know about this engine, you can find it listed here:
http://www.gdse.com/servlet/gdse.links?s=1
The following are the minimum requirements for running this version of the Particle Editor:
500Mhz PIII or AMD Processor
128MB RAM
3D Accelerated Video Card
7MB Free Hard Disk Space
DirectX 8.1 or Higher
Windows 98/ME/2K/XP
Some of these specs are rough guesses since it has only been tested on 2 systems so far. Specs may change as we do more testing.
What is it?
An easy and powerful way to edit stunning particle effects for use in the Omega Core 3D game engine. It includes individual particle control, ability to change texture, color, velocity, acceleration, heading, fade, shrink, gravity, etc. And you can do quad-based or point based particle effects.
10/10/2004 (7:28 am)
I am working right now on a quick HTML version of the site and it will be working within an hour. However, to answer your questions here:It is the Particle Editor for the Omega Core 3D Game Engine. If you don't know about this engine, you can find it listed here:
http://www.gdse.com/servlet/gdse.links?s=1
The following are the minimum requirements for running this version of the Particle Editor:
500Mhz PIII or AMD Processor
128MB RAM
3D Accelerated Video Card
7MB Free Hard Disk Space
DirectX 8.1 or Higher
Windows 98/ME/2K/XP
Some of these specs are rough guesses since it has only been tested on 2 systems so far. Specs may change as we do more testing.
What is it?
An easy and powerful way to edit stunning particle effects for use in the Omega Core 3D game engine. It includes individual particle control, ability to change texture, color, velocity, acceleration, heading, fade, shrink, gravity, etc. And you can do quad-based or point based particle effects.
#16
www.omegacore3d.com
10/10/2004 (8:04 am)
I've replaced the flash site with a quick and dirty html version. Lots more information will be added in the future and the screenshots are not up yet, but it should help those of you who could not view the flash site.www.omegacore3d.com
#17
10/10/2004 (12:11 pm)
I've refined the html site a bit and added some screens from the Particle Editor and upcoming Resource Master tool. More information and refinements to come soon.
#18
I know it's still alpha and I don't know what you have planned for it, but here are my suggestions:
- Frame of Reference: The user needs to see the particles with some kind of a frame of reference. Currently, the particles are in a black void which is fine, but it helps to have something stationary in the scene so you can more accuratley see the movement of the particles in relation to it. This also gives the user a better sense of what the particles will look like in a game world. So what I suggest is to either have a floor, with an optional user-defined texture, or simply a coordinate system-like grid. That would be the most simple. Other options are to make a skybox or simply a cube room, like in the DX9SDK samples. Of course, this can be taken out of the scene optionally with a checkbox, if the user chooses not to see it.
- View Manipulation: Currently, the view can be changed with arrow and zoom buttons. I like this format, but it's missing rotate buttons. Also, it would be alot easier if the user could click inside the render window and have fps-like controls, i.e. use the mouse to look around and use the standard W, A, S, and D keys for camera translation.
- Select All: Currently, you can right-click-->Select All, but I would like to see a small select all button. This is really a minor point, but I think it would be helpful. Also, more importantly, I think all particles should be selected by default, because I think, normally, you would want to change all particles at once... and once you have a nice overall effect, then you can selecte individual particles to edit.
- Icon: this is very minor, but the omega icon appears a little garbled... there is a black halo around it. Also, the omega symbol on your webpage has similar problems; it looks a little garbled. I suggest using a clean, flat-shaded vector version of the symbol. Either that or make a nicer looking one using bevel effects in photoshop. Let me know (email) and I can make one for you.
- Window Position: When it starts up the editor window is on the left and the render window is partially off the screen to the right. My resolution is 1024x768.
- Paths: I don't know what you have planned for this, but maybe to fix the texture problem you can use relative paths instead of ablsolute paths to the C: drive.
Like I say, overall, it's on the right track. I really like the idea of it too, especially for it to be used together with a game engine.
On a separate note, re website, I had no problems with the Flash version and I completely agree with what Ward Langhe said about Flash sites.
10/10/2004 (12:56 pm)
Well done, Thomas. The editor is definitely on the right track.I know it's still alpha and I don't know what you have planned for it, but here are my suggestions:
- Frame of Reference: The user needs to see the particles with some kind of a frame of reference. Currently, the particles are in a black void which is fine, but it helps to have something stationary in the scene so you can more accuratley see the movement of the particles in relation to it. This also gives the user a better sense of what the particles will look like in a game world. So what I suggest is to either have a floor, with an optional user-defined texture, or simply a coordinate system-like grid. That would be the most simple. Other options are to make a skybox or simply a cube room, like in the DX9SDK samples. Of course, this can be taken out of the scene optionally with a checkbox, if the user chooses not to see it.
- View Manipulation: Currently, the view can be changed with arrow and zoom buttons. I like this format, but it's missing rotate buttons. Also, it would be alot easier if the user could click inside the render window and have fps-like controls, i.e. use the mouse to look around and use the standard W, A, S, and D keys for camera translation.
- Select All: Currently, you can right-click-->Select All, but I would like to see a small select all button. This is really a minor point, but I think it would be helpful. Also, more importantly, I think all particles should be selected by default, because I think, normally, you would want to change all particles at once... and once you have a nice overall effect, then you can selecte individual particles to edit.
- Icon: this is very minor, but the omega icon appears a little garbled... there is a black halo around it. Also, the omega symbol on your webpage has similar problems; it looks a little garbled. I suggest using a clean, flat-shaded vector version of the symbol. Either that or make a nicer looking one using bevel effects in photoshop. Let me know (email) and I can make one for you.
- Window Position: When it starts up the editor window is on the left and the render window is partially off the screen to the right. My resolution is 1024x768.
- Paths: I don't know what you have planned for this, but maybe to fix the texture problem you can use relative paths instead of ablsolute paths to the C: drive.
Like I say, overall, it's on the right track. I really like the idea of it too, especially for it to be used together with a game engine.
On a separate note, re website, I had no problems with the Flash version and I completely agree with what Ward Langhe said about Flash sites.
#19
10/10/2004 (1:11 pm)
Thanks, Will. I think your suggestion are well-founded and I'll definitely use them in a future version. I especially like the frame of reference concept so everything isn't in a black void. 
Torque Owner AndrewOsborne
You really should get an HTML based site and pretty it up a little especially if your aiming for commercial liscences