Torque 2D MIT Coming Soon
by Eric Preisz · 12/12/2012 (2:08 pm) · 72 comments
GarageGames is Proud to Announce Torque 2D MIT!
What is Torque 2D MIT?
Torque 2D MIT is an all new, open source, version of our 2D game development software. Following in the footsteps of Torque 3D, which went open source a few months ago, Torque 2D MIT will be available under the same (very permissible) MIT License very early next year.
It's more than just an open source version of Torque 2D!
Take Torque 2D, combine it with iTorque, add in Box 2D physics, several major enhancements and bug fixes, and make it open source. That is Torque 2D MIT.
So really, this isn't just the future for Torque 2D, it’s also the future of iTorque!
Box 2D | TAML | iOS | PC | OSX | MIT
By unifying Torque2D and iTorque into a single code base, GarageGames will be able to offer a single 2D game engine for iOS, Mac and PC.
The downside is that making such aggressive changes comes at the cost of backwards compatibility. Breaking backwards compatibility is a difficult, but sometimes unavoidable decision. Of course it will be possible to port iTorque and Torque 2D projects to the new Torque 2D MIT, but we aren't letting any constraints from previous versions prevent us from making significant improvements.
Finally, when we made our changes, it broke functionality in several editors. In order to work in an open source environment as soon as possible, we made a decision to publish our initial version of Torque 2D MIT without the editors; in other words, the initial version will be an API only engine with tool development to follow thereafter.
So what about current versions of iTorque and Torque 2D?
Before we release Torque 2D MIT, the current generation of iTorque and Torque 2D will each receive a free update. So if porting isn't in your time frame, we will integrate the latest bug fixes for the version you currently own.
- iTorque will receive bug fixes that resolve issues related to app store rejections and Mountain Lion and up to date iOS support.
- Torque 2D will receive bug fixes and Mountain Lion support.
These two updates will be the final updates for the current generation of iTorque and Torque 2D. All future development will occur on Torque 2D MIT. However, during the transition we will continue to sell Torque 2D and iTorque on our site (with clear notifications about Torque 2D MIT's impending release).
The crowd favorite, Michael Perry, will be following the lead set by Dave Wyand's great work on Torque 3D. Michael will be providing a more detailed technical update in coming days.
About the author
Manager, Programmer, Author, Professor, Small Business Owner, and Marketer.
#62
This, is where I think T2D MIT is heading.
Oh, the possibilities!
P.S. Han shot first.
12/14/2012 (6:47 am)
I feel like George Lucas when he redid the original Star Wars trilogy (Episodes 4-6). He stated (and I'm paraphrasing here) that the technology to do what he had envisioned when he first set out to do the films did not exist. Now that the technology had been birthed, he could complete his original concept.This, is where I think T2D MIT is heading.
Oh, the possibilities!
P.S. Han shot first.
#63
12/14/2012 (9:09 am)
This almost makes me want to make 2D games... keep up this kind of awesome and I just might actually give that a try! 
#64
I had dreamed of this day. May the success of Linux or MySQL or dozens of other open source projects come your way for this move.
12/14/2012 (9:01 pm)
Yeeeeeeee......<wait for it> hawwww!I had dreamed of this day. May the success of Linux or MySQL or dozens of other open source projects come your way for this move.
#65
Ron
12/19/2012 (4:00 pm)
Hmmm, I have T2D and have not even installed it yet, MOSTLY BECAUSE I AM ON THE STEERING COMMITTEE FOR T3D AND IT TAKES UP ALL MY TIME! However, for the community, this is great... For Mitch and Melv, I know EXACTLY the amount of work you are looking at :-) and I have two phrases: Make it Great!, and this could not be in better hands!Ron
#66
Is there anything I can do, build, or work on while I'm waiting for this to be released? (Apart from artwork, plans, etc.) I would like to be able to build some assets, some tile-maps or maybe code, that I will be able to plug into the engine when it is available.
12/19/2012 (10:33 pm)
I do not have a copy of any version of Torque 2D (except the demo) but this news pretty well cements my decision to switch to Torque 2D for the project I'm working on.Is there anything I can do, build, or work on while I'm waiting for this to be released? (Apart from artwork, plans, etc.) I would like to be able to build some assets, some tile-maps or maybe code, that I will be able to plug into the engine when it is available.
#67
12/20/2012 (4:23 am)
@Caleb - It is possible for you to start creating assets and maybe even some code if you know what objects you should be using. We have a very detailed document on the asset system, if you are interested in reading it. My next blog will cover the differences between the new version of the engine vs the old versions. In that blog, I will cover the sprite system differences.
#68
Notes:
Because we do not have any tools ready, you will have to create the assets by hand. The good news is you can use a decent XML editor to speed up the process. I actually use Visual Studio, since it recognizes the file format as if it were XAML. Additionally, the added feature of default fields drastically reduces the amount of clutter and time it takes to create an asset by hand. If your ImageAsset is not celled, you do not have to fill out fields like CellCountX.
12/20/2012 (5:19 am)
Asset System Documentation: Download LinkNotes:
- The formatting is messed up due to a bad exporter from Confluence to PDF. The final documentation formatting will be fixed.
- Fields that have not been modified are considered "default". Default fields do not persist to TAML.
- Examples are what you would see in a .asset.taml file, so they have unique field prefixes like # and @.
- New assets do not work with old T2D/iT2D.
- Old asset datablocks cannot be loaded into the new T2D.
Because we do not have any tools ready, you will have to create the assets by hand. The good news is you can use a decent XML editor to speed up the process. I actually use Visual Studio, since it recognizes the file format as if it were XAML. Additionally, the added feature of default fields drastically reduces the amount of clutter and time it takes to create an asset by hand. If your ImageAsset is not celled, you do not have to fill out fields like CellCountX.
#69
@Mich - I think it will be very important for the GG team to document the exact differences from old to new to ease our porting efforts. I'll definitely be porting over my current project (a T2D MMO) and I would hate to have to hack my way through it blindfolded.
12/21/2012 (6:40 pm)
Awwwwwwwwwessssome! I've been waiting for this since the T3D announcement!! This is the best thing that could have happened to this product. I can't wait for the Web Plugin to be ported over from T3D!@Mich - I think it will be very important for the GG team to document the exact differences from old to new to ease our porting efforts. I'll definitely be porting over my current project (a T2D MMO) and I would hate to have to hack my way through it blindfolded.
#71
01/03/2013 (6:58 am)
New T2D Blog. I almost titled it "Big Damn T2D Blog", because this is the most amount of consolidated information that's been released about the new MIT T2D codebase. Enjoy!
#72
Please leave a comment on his blog to show your interest. This will be a must have for any future T2D and T3D developers.
01/07/2013 (1:23 pm)
In case you have not seen it, Melv May has posted a new blog about his new project: Nucleus. Nucleus is a concept for a powerful code-editor that supports debugging of both the Torque 2D and Torque 3D MIT code-bases. It will be a cross-platform editor that will initially work on Windows and OSX platforms with a Linux release sometime later.Please leave a comment on his blog to show your interest. This will be a must have for any future T2D and T3D developers.
Employee Michael Perry
ZombieShortbus
The Future of Torque 2D is Open Source!