Torque 2D: 3.0 and Editors (soon)

Torque 2D : 3.0 and Editors

In the last episode of Torque 2D, we had some major progress on the topic of 3.0 and the steering committee. As posted in the On The Road blog, Android support was on its way and we added Mike Lilligreen to the steering committee. After that, T2D progress went dark. The committee has dropped to just myself and Mike, with little progress until a couple of weeks ago. After the holiday break, Mike sent out some e-mails to kickoff the final run of a 3.0 release. All T2D users should take a minute to applaud Mike for keeping things going. So here's where we are at.

Android Available

The Android port is ready for testing. If you pull latest development branch, you can start using it. Developing and testing a new platform is no trivial task. What's most needed is testing, testing, testing. Seriously, if you have an Android device then you need to help out with this. Android support was the #1 feature for a 3.0 release, so any problems with it essentially block 3.0 from happening. At a very minimum, we simply need you to pull development, compile, and run on an Android device. Whether you are successful or you run into problems, please post results in this official thread.

New Input Controllers

I've managed to merge the Leap Motion code along with Simon Love's Xbox 360 controller support. Rather than pushing directly into development, I submitted a pull request. You can review the pull request via this link. Once again, what is most needed are testers. We need people to test the Leap Motion, the Xbox 360 controller for Windows, and making sure the platforms are compiling and stable. Even if you do not have the input devices, it would be a huge help if you could apply the pull request and let us know if everything else is working as expected.

Linux/Steam OS

An unexpected, yet HUGE pull request cropped up recently. If you take a look at this pull request, you will see Frogger has provided a base implementation for Linux and Steam OS support. Once again, we need help testing the pull request. Apply the patch, then check to see if all the other platforms are still functioning properly. Check Windows, OS X, and/or iOS for stability or compiling errors.

If you are feeling especially generous, add on to the code and help Frogger finish the implementation to bring Torque 2D to two new platforms.

Spine

The addition of Spine is a huge step forward for Torque 2D. Supporting Spine is not isolated to a single feature. The implementation adds support for "named cells", vets the SpriteBatch system, and further addresses asset pipeline shortcomings. Mike is currently debugging a few key problems with the Spine implementation:

* Sporadic crashes on OS X
* Particles occasionally use the wrong named cell or show a completely square particle
* More features from Simon's branch need to be added

If you can, we need help debugging Mike's development branch. We need to isolate the crash and figure out why some particle emissions are "bad." Once again, this is a blocker for 3.0. The sooner we can solve these problems, the sooner 3.0 can launch...which brings us to the next big point...

Editors

Not everyone can agree on features, platforms, and fixes. Priorities and requests will always vary between users. However, there is one feature request that EVERYONE has agreed to be the most important. I'm talking about editors. To survive, let alone become a highly competitive game engine, Torque 2D needs editors. We've written a few blogs about the topic, yet there hasn't been much movement. After a few months away from Torque 2D, I've decided to reevaluate the editors situation.

After receiving permission, I now have the green light to develop editors. In fact, I have already started. Actually, I have a working core editor, plugin system, ImageAsset editor, AnimationAsset editor, AudioEditor, AssetSelector, ParticleAsset viewer, and a few other nice spots.

Now, I'm sure everyone would love to have that. There's one problem. All of the editors rely on a 3.0 release. To be blunt, if 3.0 does not happen, then my editor work can't be released. Once 3.0 is available, I can push my editors to my own fork and we can all push T2D to the next level of user-friendliness. Kind of makes all of my above help requests for coders/testers seem a bit more important, huh? Not only will the engine improve immensely, but it paves the way for an editor suite.


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That's all I got for today folks. Torque 2D is a community project. To have stellar features and editors, the engine needs a driving community. So sound off in this blog and the links I've posted. 3.0 needs your help, otherwise it will be stalled and a great technology could decay. I'm excited to start adding my own features, but 3.0 is the first hurdle. Post your thoughts, testing results, and pull requests so we can move on to the next chapter of Torque 2D.

Regards,
Mich