2D....Friday?
by Michael Perry · 08/24/2012 (12:31 pm) · 35 comments
2D Friday: Because Tuesday Was Boring
Kickoff
Greetings everyone. I've missed the past few 2D Tuesdays due to time constraints. Everyone at GG has been hard at work and unable to spare even a few minutes to write up a blog. I was hoping we could get one of these up each week, but reality caught up to us pretty quick. Since it's been so quiet, I decided to check the blogs while I was compiling. I found this gem:Quote:Listen up GG, because I'm only going to say this once: We want frequent communication! We don't care if it is just to say "GG didn't make much progress on T2D this week, but here is what our goal is for next week". Get it?
Got it! So not a lot to report, aside from what I already said earlier. We are all working EXTREMELY hard right now. The programming team has gone into crunch mode on a deliverable, which ended up being more of a challenge than we anticipated. Back in January, we designed a product. This product would utilize our 2D technology, both T2D and iT2D combined. The project was extremely ambitious, but I felt T2D was up to the task if it was chosen as the core tech.
Well, turns out it wasn't completely ready to handle all the feature requests for the product. The following is a list of high level demands from the team:
1. Editor stability
2. Runtime stability
3. Better frame rate
4. Faster load times
5. Proper physics
6. More control over assets
7. Leaner game structure
8. Many, many behaviors
9. Capable of being updated frequently, as quickly as every two weeks
Details included creating a new game and genre kit every 3-4 months, completely with 4-5 new tools for each kit. A patcher. A true asset management system. A module system. And more. And more. And more. T2D users can probably already guess what new systems are needed, what old systems are in our way, and what flat out has to be gutted to make room for "the good stuff."
Since I'm still pressed for time, I'll end this blog here. Nothing fancy, not a lot of content, but plenty of room for discussion in the comments section. Honestly, how would you solve one or all of the above 9 requests. Pretend you were going to work at GG and implement something. Or, if you want to know if we resolved any or all of the above, pick a specific one and ask about it.
So here's your communication via a not so well-written blog. Enjoy and I'll talk to you all in the comments section.
About the author
Programmer.
#2
dose that mean Its a totaly new product?
or do both T2D owners and iT2D owners get it as an upgrade?
or do we have to own both engines to get the upgrade?
or is it a paid upgrade?
or will I stop asking questions anytime soon?
08/24/2012 (3:06 pm)
both T2D and iT2D combined?dose that mean Its a totaly new product?
or do both T2D owners and iT2D owners get it as an upgrade?
or do we have to own both engines to get the upgrade?
or is it a paid upgrade?
or will I stop asking questions anytime soon?
#3
08/24/2012 (3:15 pm)
Licensees of both will get it as a free upgrade. 
#4
I guess, I'm wondering if I will qualify for this upgrade? lol Thanks!
08/24/2012 (4:40 pm)
I came in on the Early Adopters in 2005. I was confused by the many name changes and movement happening with T2D. I think it was originally T2d, and I got it with a TGE license, as well. Then I think it changed to TGB? Is it now back to T2D, or was T2D another separate release again?I guess, I'm wondering if I will qualify for this upgrade? lol Thanks!
#5
I'd settle for basic physics and less behaviors in the first release if Box2D came as an addon later down the line.
08/24/2012 (5:27 pm)
Is Box2D going to be the default physics engine or is it going to be a module which could be chosen over a more basic physics engine?I'd settle for basic physics and less behaviors in the first release if Box2D came as an addon later down the line.
#6
As far as the features, you mentioned a patcher. Basically you would need to have an update server that has the master copy of the most up to date software as well as a manifest listing every path/file and its MD5 checksum (or similarly unique hash). The client side would query the update server to get the manifest, compare its own files' MD5 with the one listed in the manifest and if they were different it would pull down the file. If the file was in the manifest and not on the client system, the file would be downloaded regardless of MD5. For added security you may want to encrypt the manifest with a public/private key so that no one can compromise the update server.
08/25/2012 (5:29 am)
@Mich - thanks for the quote and I truly hope that you guys keep up with the weekly communication around T2D. That would be awesome.As far as the features, you mentioned a patcher. Basically you would need to have an update server that has the master copy of the most up to date software as well as a manifest listing every path/file and its MD5 checksum (or similarly unique hash). The client side would query the update server to get the manifest, compare its own files' MD5 with the one listed in the manifest and if they were different it would pull down the file. If the file was in the manifest and not on the client system, the file would be downloaded regardless of MD5. For added security you may want to encrypt the manifest with a public/private key so that no one can compromise the update server.
#7
@Simon - Box2D is now the default physics in our repository. The old physics system has been completely removed. What we have modularized are the script systems for the game and editor projects. Just say the word and I can go into more detail about that.
@Bruno - Excellent evaluation of a patcher system. We have pretty much done just that with our products (3SS). The only difference is that it is directly tied to a login system. When you log in, you will get notified of updates you can pull down. The manifest works hand-in-hand with the module system I mentioned early, which controls the versioning.
08/25/2012 (7:19 am)
@Netjera - Hmm, not sure. I think David or Eric would have to decide that.@Simon - Box2D is now the default physics in our repository. The old physics system has been completely removed. What we have modularized are the script systems for the game and editor projects. Just say the word and I can go into more detail about that.
@Bruno - Excellent evaluation of a patcher system. We have pretty much done just that with our products (3SS). The only difference is that it is directly tied to a login system. When you log in, you will get notified of updates you can pull down. The manifest works hand-in-hand with the module system I mentioned early, which controls the versioning.
#8
08/25/2012 (8:51 am)
@Mich - some additional thoughts to your question, for #1 and #2, what helped our products (at my day job) is having a formal code review process where all code changes need to go through a code review before they go to the QA team. The code changes for a given feature/bug fix are associated with a single task in our source control system and when the reviewer reviews the task they do a comparison (we use Beyond Compare) of the changes and then make recommendations to the original coder. Another key to this process is having the reviewer be someone that is intimately familiar with the code in question. This sounds like it would add a lot of overhead, but it actually cuts down on maintenance time if you consider support calls and bug fixes.
#9
@Michael Perry - As for the modularized script systems, are you speaking of script modules which would be customized for each project or different scripting languages which could be plugged into T2d (torquescript, LUA, python, etc.)?
08/25/2012 (12:19 pm)
This Q&A type of post reminds me of the good old days of GG; much appreciated.@Michael Perry - As for the modularized script systems, are you speaking of script modules which would be customized for each project or different scripting languages which could be plugged into T2d (torquescript, LUA, python, etc.)?
#10
08/25/2012 (1:52 pm)
@Michael Perry - Thanks! Guess I'll just be patient, and continue to hover around. I'm finding the Q&A fascinating. I've always loved 2d Torque (no matter the name) and thought it deserved far more attention than it was getting. :)
#11
@Simon - What I'm referring to is how we have broken down all our scripts into modules. Each one has a specific function. Here are a few examples:
{EditorBoot}
{EditorCore}
{AnimationEditor}
{CollisionEditor}
{EditorAssets}
{GameBoot}
{GameCore}
{UserAssets}
Every module uses the same standard, which means anyone can create modules for the new editor/game systems without disrupting anything else. The basic idea is that the folder is structure as such:
{ModuleName}
- 1
-- scripts
-- data
-- gui
-- main.cs
-- ModuleName.module.taml
We use a module database to keep scan, register, load, and unload all modules. The database is exposed as a name registered object called "ModuleDatabase". It will scan for .modul.taml files and read the following definition:
It is essentially a XAML file, but for Torque. Each field has a specific purpose, but the point is that we can now isolate systems and use them when we need them. We can load one explicitly or load an entire group of modules, depending on the users' actions.
08/25/2012 (8:31 pm)
@Netjera - Glad you are finding the posts useful. I'm sure more details will be revealed later.@Simon - What I'm referring to is how we have broken down all our scripts into modules. Each one has a specific function. Here are a few examples:
{EditorBoot}
{EditorCore}
{AnimationEditor}
{CollisionEditor}
{EditorAssets}
{GameBoot}
{GameCore}
{UserAssets}
Every module uses the same standard, which means anyone can create modules for the new editor/game systems without disrupting anything else. The basic idea is that the folder is structure as such:
{ModuleName}
- 1
-- scripts
-- data
-- gui
-- main.cs
-- ModuleName.module.taml
We use a module database to keep scan, register, load, and unload all modules. The database is exposed as a name registered object called "ModuleDatabase". It will scan for .modul.taml files and read the following definition:
<ModuleDefinition
ModuleId="{3SSCore}"
VersionId="1"
Description="3 Step Studio Core"
Group="baseTools"
Dependencies=""
ScriptFile="main.cs"
CreateFunction="initialize3SSCore"
DestroyFunction="destroy3SSCore"
/>It is essentially a XAML file, but for Torque. Each field has a specific purpose, but the point is that we can now isolate systems and use them when we need them. We can load one explicitly or load an entire group of modules, depending on the users' actions.
#12
As for Box2D being the default (and only) physics engine in place, I have been poking around in the guts of the engine and asking some questions of people who know better to find out how difficult it would be to add a plug-in system to go hand-in-hand with the new module system. Its a personal quest for more flexibility, not on the official feature list at the moment.
There are some serious considerations to tackle, though - for one, Dave Wyand pointed out that all Console objects are registered once at program start-up, so adding plug-ins that need to register for scripting support are not possible with the current way things are done. For another, there are probably large swaths of classes that need to be "fixed" to allow plug-ins to contain classes that inherit from base game classes like SimObject, etc.
I'll probably be spending some time experimenting with this on the weekends - if I get it working it'll be awesome! Well, at least fairly cool....
08/25/2012 (8:35 pm)
@Bruno- Actually, we're working in 2 week sprints with a review and reaction week between.As for Box2D being the default (and only) physics engine in place, I have been poking around in the guts of the engine and asking some questions of people who know better to find out how difficult it would be to add a plug-in system to go hand-in-hand with the new module system. Its a personal quest for more flexibility, not on the official feature list at the moment.
There are some serious considerations to tackle, though - for one, Dave Wyand pointed out that all Console objects are registered once at program start-up, so adding plug-ins that need to register for scripting support are not possible with the current way things are done. For another, there are probably large swaths of classes that need to be "fixed" to allow plug-ins to contain classes that inherit from base game classes like SimObject, etc.
I'll probably be spending some time experimenting with this on the weekends - if I get it working it'll be awesome! Well, at least fairly cool....
#13
1 and 2 -- Editor stability and Runtime stability -- were actually OK for me until I was forced to take 4,6,7, and 10+ into my own hands and modified the engine all over the place. Now I've got problems, but they are of my own creation. :)
3. Better frame rate
- Agreed. See 7 and 10+
4. Faster load times
- Oh my yes. This was the bulk of my most recent problem. For a 2D engine on the PC/Mac, we need to be able to stream-load PNG files in the background. This non-threaded single-core nonsense from 1998 has to be put out to pasture. Same goes for OGG sound files. If we can stream them playing, awesome... if we can stream-load them fully into memory and then play them, that's good too.
6. More control over assets
Drag n' drop into the editor would be grand. I currently hand roll my sound asset DB files and load them in in code, and after making a level in the editor I hand cut/paste all the datablocks out of datablocks.cs into the level's _db.cs file.
7. Leaner game structure
The "common" folder has to go. Why do I have a crazy folder with things like a "banlist" and macintosh 1997 graphics in it in every project? That's weird. Also, if your game has no physics in it, you should be able to disable it and get a build without it. Same with anything else you may NOT use.
8. Many, many behaviors
From the product you guys are making, I fully understand this request from them... but I personally would rather not have you wasting time making my game for me. I know you want people to be able to make games without code. That's a good goal for a new audience. But fix the core first for the audience that has allowed the company to live this long.
After 8, I'll just throw a few on the stack to see what sticks. Mich, don't worry about commenting on all of them if you don't have time... You do your work. I know you have plenty of it (and much to do besides!). These are for posterity.
10. Cohesive Modern Rendering
- 10a - The call in the early startup code that checks the vendor and device ID's of the user's video card has been broken since near the beginning. It's an easy fix, and there's really no reason to not put it in the official build... unless you can manage:
- 10b - Make it render efficiently on the system it's on. Our QA process went like this:
cards a,b,c,d,e,f,g, and h... have bad framerate - fix it.
cards i,j,k,l, and m crash when switching to X resolution. -fix it.
cards n,o, and p crash on this other resolution - fix it.
cards q and r don't like toggling to fullscreen - fix it.
You get the idea...
The bulk of these were either bugs or just D3D or OpenGL not liking certain cards. In the end it turned out that Intel integrated chipsets liked D3D rendering a lot more (which is weird, given 10c) but there were a handful of Intel chipsets that really REALLY needed to be set to OpenGL rendering. [ part I ]
08/25/2012 (9:25 pm)
As a long time user of T2D, I can comment / question on a few:1 and 2 -- Editor stability and Runtime stability -- were actually OK for me until I was forced to take 4,6,7, and 10+ into my own hands and modified the engine all over the place. Now I've got problems, but they are of my own creation. :)
3. Better frame rate
- Agreed. See 7 and 10+
4. Faster load times
- Oh my yes. This was the bulk of my most recent problem. For a 2D engine on the PC/Mac, we need to be able to stream-load PNG files in the background. This non-threaded single-core nonsense from 1998 has to be put out to pasture. Same goes for OGG sound files. If we can stream them playing, awesome... if we can stream-load them fully into memory and then play them, that's good too.
6. More control over assets
Drag n' drop into the editor would be grand. I currently hand roll my sound asset DB files and load them in in code, and after making a level in the editor I hand cut/paste all the datablocks out of datablocks.cs into the level's _db.cs file.
7. Leaner game structure
The "common" folder has to go. Why do I have a crazy folder with things like a "banlist" and macintosh 1997 graphics in it in every project? That's weird. Also, if your game has no physics in it, you should be able to disable it and get a build without it. Same with anything else you may NOT use.
8. Many, many behaviors
From the product you guys are making, I fully understand this request from them... but I personally would rather not have you wasting time making my game for me. I know you want people to be able to make games without code. That's a good goal for a new audience. But fix the core first for the audience that has allowed the company to live this long.
After 8, I'll just throw a few on the stack to see what sticks. Mich, don't worry about commenting on all of them if you don't have time... You do your work. I know you have plenty of it (and much to do besides!). These are for posterity.
10. Cohesive Modern Rendering
- 10a - The call in the early startup code that checks the vendor and device ID's of the user's video card has been broken since near the beginning. It's an easy fix, and there's really no reason to not put it in the official build... unless you can manage:
- 10b - Make it render efficiently on the system it's on. Our QA process went like this:
cards a,b,c,d,e,f,g, and h... have bad framerate - fix it.
cards i,j,k,l, and m crash when switching to X resolution. -fix it.
cards n,o, and p crash on this other resolution - fix it.
cards q and r don't like toggling to fullscreen - fix it.
You get the idea...
The bulk of these were either bugs or just D3D or OpenGL not liking certain cards. In the end it turned out that Intel integrated chipsets liked D3D rendering a lot more (which is weird, given 10c) but there were a handful of Intel chipsets that really REALLY needed to be set to OpenGL rendering. [ part I ]
#14
D3D rendering in this engine is garbage. DGL is really ancient (at least the version in use) and not really cutting it on post-1999 Windows builds. If T2D is going to build to Windows, it needs a D3D renderer. Make it DirectX8 (or 7 if you really want crazy compatibility), but make it anew (from scratch or use someone else's) and make it work properly on Windows. The current incarnation runs like molasses on almost every machine (except the Intel integrated boards wherein it runs 50% faster than OpenGL)... and it just needs a rewrite.
See here for a description of the archaeology... or whatever what this is:
http://docs.garagegames.com/tge/official/content/documentation/Engine/Reference/Graphics.html
- 10c 2. - Can we PLEASE fix the half-texel offset between D3D rendering and OpenGL rendering? If I remember correctly, D3D treats (0.5, 0.5) as the texel zero, and OpenGL treats (0, 0) as such. What this means for all of us:
If you make a level at 1024 x 768, and you postion a thing with odd dimensions (101 x 93, say) at an integer postion... it will be blurry. Blurry all over the place. It's horrific and sad, and I've dealt with this since maybe 2005 or so. Graphical distortions and oddness due to not being able to handle texel coordinates are a sad thing. Yes it's relatively easy to fix in-house, per-developer... but for crying out loud we're dealing with a problem that is well documented. Get it in the engine already so that the non-programmers can see their games clearly...
11. Start over from scratch on the particle editor, within the T2D editor.
Just about everything about this system is wrong. It's about the same as it was in the Tribes 2 era, and it needs help.
12. Aim For QA.
If people (ESPECIALLY non-programmers) are anticipating or thinking about releasing the games they make with this engine (or the new product built upon it), you really need to be able to get past a publisher's QA. On every (applicable) platform, and for every system, can you:
Change resolutions to all resolutions supported by said operating system (looking at you, netbooks)
Toggle between fullscreen and windowed, and support both
Go into sleep / hibernate mode, and recover from such
Lose focus and regain focus gracefully
Look OK -- (10c, revisited)
Handle multiple monitors / vertically aligned monitors
(I can't even comment on the iOS app store because I haven't dealt with it directly... but all of their problems too)
13. Video
If we're going to make a new 2D game right now, we need a reliable and fast video playback option, in whatever codec is appropriate for the platform. Preferrably with alpha support. (I know... I ask too much) Even cruddy iOS games made by tiny teams have a video intro these days. Win/Mac is full of it everywhere.
14. (completely unrelated to 2D Friday, but while I'm ranting, I gotta get it out)
Can we please... get THIS thread, along with things like the "open letter" thread that got so much response... posted to the front page in place of what is there? That contest thread literally had me wondering if this whole company was dead and gone. Here's why:
6/8 - Geoff Beckstrom posts a thread asking what kind of contests the community would like to see. Mind you, this is following months of contests and little else from GG. Some of us were worried already at that point.
6/15 - Geoff brings in all the suggestions and the enthusiasm and posts a new contest based PRECISELY on those... Asking for a video.
6/19 - First entry. A good showcase, but 2:16 long where Geoff had said 60 seconds...
7/12(!) - David Montgomery-Blake extends the contest through the 27th of July. Only one entry (and too long for the suggested rules).
8/25 - That's today, wherein I describe how depressing and sad it has been for the last two months to see that thread on the front page. This community isn't dead... the company isn't dead (that I know of)... but visiting this website (given what's put out front) is like walking up daily to a dead cow and poking it... "You alright bud? You gonna like... give milk or anything anytime soon?"
The man asked what kind of contests the community wanted, and then requested videos based on that feedback, and got CRICKETS... for two and a half months.
The front page is and has been depressing for some time... and no, "Tower Wars" doesn't help (by itself... it'd be a good addition to a good front page though. Nice to see success stories (more of that!)).
OK I've clearly gone off-topic (for 2D Friday somewhat at least)... Sorry about that.
Lots to discuss.
Ignore anything you feel like and just answer to the stuff you can. I know you've got better stuff to do for sure(!).
-Tim
08/25/2012 (9:30 pm)
- 10c - DirectX Rendering, for real this time.D3D rendering in this engine is garbage. DGL is really ancient (at least the version in use) and not really cutting it on post-1999 Windows builds. If T2D is going to build to Windows, it needs a D3D renderer. Make it DirectX8 (or 7 if you really want crazy compatibility), but make it anew (from scratch or use someone else's) and make it work properly on Windows. The current incarnation runs like molasses on almost every machine (except the Intel integrated boards wherein it runs 50% faster than OpenGL)... and it just needs a rewrite.
See here for a description of the archaeology... or whatever what this is:
http://docs.garagegames.com/tge/official/content/documentation/Engine/Reference/Graphics.html
- 10c 2. - Can we PLEASE fix the half-texel offset between D3D rendering and OpenGL rendering? If I remember correctly, D3D treats (0.5, 0.5) as the texel zero, and OpenGL treats (0, 0) as such. What this means for all of us:
If you make a level at 1024 x 768, and you postion a thing with odd dimensions (101 x 93, say) at an integer postion... it will be blurry. Blurry all over the place. It's horrific and sad, and I've dealt with this since maybe 2005 or so. Graphical distortions and oddness due to not being able to handle texel coordinates are a sad thing. Yes it's relatively easy to fix in-house, per-developer... but for crying out loud we're dealing with a problem that is well documented. Get it in the engine already so that the non-programmers can see their games clearly...
11. Start over from scratch on the particle editor, within the T2D editor.
Just about everything about this system is wrong. It's about the same as it was in the Tribes 2 era, and it needs help.
12. Aim For QA.
If people (ESPECIALLY non-programmers) are anticipating or thinking about releasing the games they make with this engine (or the new product built upon it), you really need to be able to get past a publisher's QA. On every (applicable) platform, and for every system, can you:
Change resolutions to all resolutions supported by said operating system (looking at you, netbooks)
Toggle between fullscreen and windowed, and support both
Go into sleep / hibernate mode, and recover from such
Lose focus and regain focus gracefully
Look OK -- (10c, revisited)
Handle multiple monitors / vertically aligned monitors
(I can't even comment on the iOS app store because I haven't dealt with it directly... but all of their problems too)
13. Video
If we're going to make a new 2D game right now, we need a reliable and fast video playback option, in whatever codec is appropriate for the platform. Preferrably with alpha support. (I know... I ask too much) Even cruddy iOS games made by tiny teams have a video intro these days. Win/Mac is full of it everywhere.
14. (completely unrelated to 2D Friday, but while I'm ranting, I gotta get it out)
Can we please... get THIS thread, along with things like the "open letter" thread that got so much response... posted to the front page in place of what is there? That contest thread literally had me wondering if this whole company was dead and gone. Here's why:
6/8 - Geoff Beckstrom posts a thread asking what kind of contests the community would like to see. Mind you, this is following months of contests and little else from GG. Some of us were worried already at that point.
6/15 - Geoff brings in all the suggestions and the enthusiasm and posts a new contest based PRECISELY on those... Asking for a video.
6/19 - First entry. A good showcase, but 2:16 long where Geoff had said 60 seconds...
7/12(!) - David Montgomery-Blake extends the contest through the 27th of July. Only one entry (and too long for the suggested rules).
8/25 - That's today, wherein I describe how depressing and sad it has been for the last two months to see that thread on the front page. This community isn't dead... the company isn't dead (that I know of)... but visiting this website (given what's put out front) is like walking up daily to a dead cow and poking it... "You alright bud? You gonna like... give milk or anything anytime soon?"
The man asked what kind of contests the community wanted, and then requested videos based on that feedback, and got CRICKETS... for two and a half months.
The front page is and has been depressing for some time... and no, "Tower Wars" doesn't help (by itself... it'd be a good addition to a good front page though. Nice to see success stories (more of that!)).
OK I've clearly gone off-topic (for 2D Friday somewhat at least)... Sorry about that.
Lots to discuss.
Ignore anything you feel like and just answer to the stuff you can. I know you've got better stuff to do for sure(!).
-Tim
#15
Sorry OK done ranting for real now.
No lost love. I've got a purple GG shirt on, even. It's cool.
08/25/2012 (9:47 pm)
I should add that this is my favorite 2D Tuesday/Friday post so far... Let's get into the meat of what's actually happening, and stop talking about Box2D (which we know already is happening), etc. This post was the highlight of my day after moving house...Sorry OK done ranting for real now.
No lost love. I've got a purple GG shirt on, even. It's cool.
#16
@Mich/Eric... see guys, keep listening to my advice and you'll have your original community back (and then some) and itching for more!
More on topic, I agree with Tim about the Behaviors. Rather than spending alot of time developing behaviors, could you have a behavior submission process that goes to a central repository that all T2D devs can contribute to and everyone would have access to the repository to drag and drop in community developed behaviors? Also having a few behavior development contests should increase the supplies a bit.
08/26/2012 (6:11 pm)
Tim said: "I should add that this is my favorite 2D Tuesday/Friday post so far... Let's get into the meat of what's actually happening, and stop talking about Box2D (which we know already is happening), etc.".@Mich/Eric... see guys, keep listening to my advice and you'll have your original community back (and then some) and itching for more!
More on topic, I agree with Tim about the Behaviors. Rather than spending alot of time developing behaviors, could you have a behavior submission process that goes to a central repository that all T2D devs can contribute to and everyone would have access to the repository to drag and drop in community developed behaviors? Also having a few behavior development contests should increase the supplies a bit.
#17
Edit: A better audio manager would be great too! Incorporate it into the GUI system with some file management options with folders or something and an event handler that we can easily assign the sound to and then manipulate it in code buy calling the handler and sound file name. The handler should be able to sync all the audio, play, stop, control volume, a bool for loops or one time play, maybe some pre-coded methods for fading, or maybe some effects.
I'm sure you guys thought of quite a bit but I just needed to rant out part of my Christmas list.
08/27/2012 (12:57 am)
The biggest thing for me is being able to easily release games for multiple online portals which are browser read like Google play, Facebook, Kongregate, etc. Android would also be nice in addition to iPhone support. I've went back to ActionScript because it has so many release options but I still prototype in torque for it's ease of use or at least my familiarity. Bottom-line give me the option to make competitive games, release said games to multiple markets, and a great design pipeline that allows to control assets and scripts in a manageable and cohesive format.Edit: A better audio manager would be great too! Incorporate it into the GUI system with some file management options with folders or something and an event handler that we can easily assign the sound to and then manipulate it in code buy calling the handler and sound file name. The handler should be able to sync all the audio, play, stop, control volume, a bool for loops or one time play, maybe some pre-coded methods for fading, or maybe some effects.
I'm sure you guys thought of quite a bit but I just needed to rant out part of my Christmas list.
#18
08/27/2012 (1:00 am)
One more thing... Unity is for suckers... Torque is better. Can't wait to see what you guys release! 
#19
I've said it many times, on IRC, here, and while stalking Mich: The core Mac stuff is broken - F-U-C-K-E-D - broken. They know it. Everybody knows it. It should be a priority thing alongside doing the equivalent for Windows. The only difference between the two platforms is that the old, outdated, wrong way actually works fine (VSync and all) on Windows.
I know what needs replacement. I have a very long list of platform-specific issues I want to implement (and make generic T2D-side elements for, so a Windows implementation can be dropped in easily) covering much of what Tim mentioned. I could start doing it now, one little item at a time, but the engine is currently very much a moving target, and the amount of changes I know will happen to the engine makes it a daunting task to start prematurely.
iT2D got rid of the common folder and all that crap, even RedBook support and…FOLIAGE SUPPORT?! With the merge that's happening now (3SS is basically iT2D, if I remember correctly) TGB will get all the improvements, and become a true T2D. I'm still calling it TGB until it stops sucking ;)
I'm pulling punches here. Imagine what my rants about software I dislike would be!
08/27/2012 (9:03 am)
@Tim: Take all your ranting about DGL and DX, then replace a few letters to get the equivalent (the most wrong) version of the same for OS X. That's about the state of the Mac port :)I've said it many times, on IRC, here, and while stalking Mich: The core Mac stuff is broken - F-U-C-K-E-D - broken. They know it. Everybody knows it. It should be a priority thing alongside doing the equivalent for Windows. The only difference between the two platforms is that the old, outdated, wrong way actually works fine (VSync and all) on Windows.
I know what needs replacement. I have a very long list of platform-specific issues I want to implement (and make generic T2D-side elements for, so a Windows implementation can be dropped in easily) covering much of what Tim mentioned. I could start doing it now, one little item at a time, but the engine is currently very much a moving target, and the amount of changes I know will happen to the engine makes it a daunting task to start prematurely.
iT2D got rid of the common folder and all that crap, even RedBook support and…FOLIAGE SUPPORT?! With the merge that's happening now (3SS is basically iT2D, if I remember correctly) TGB will get all the improvements, and become a true T2D. I'm still calling it TGB until it stops sucking ;)
I'm pulling punches here. Imagine what my rants about software I dislike would be!
#20
what an odd name for a module
08/27/2012 (10:19 am)
Quote: The database is exposed as a name registered object called &amp;amp;quot;ModuleDatabase&amp;amp;quot;.
what an odd name for a module
Torque 3D Owner Ronny Bangsund
Torque Cheerleaders
(You could make the 3SS license require selling any templates desirable to be sold only through your store, but for our own projects a custom template for a game type in 3SS mode would be very nice.)