IPS Ressurection
by Lukas Joergensen · 06/17/2013 (5:08 am) · 9 comments
What the hell happened to IPS?
Long story... Very long story... Actually it's about a year long, given I first announced IPS release back in September 2012.So what happened? A series of delays! I won't list them all here, I'll spare you of the personal ones so here is the technical ones.
I was a noob back in 2012, totally.. When I announced it back then I only thought about creating some fancy emitters that looked good... And they did... But the code was crap! Really horrible code that expanded on the code design of T3D, so back then I decided to completely refactor the ParticleEmitters so that the code was cleaner and was easier to expand.
Alright, took me 1-2 months. Which might not sound like a lot but it totally broke my schedule and then I had to fit in 45 weekly hours of studying so I lost a lot of the time for developing on IPS. Then, December I was ready for release again, but then I joined up with WLE and we decided to expand IPS with some more features, so by January 2013 we had added in a SpellCastingSystem dubbed the IPS SpellSystem (abbr. IPS/S).
And yet again I was closing in on a release. Then came some debugging, MIT 3.0, over 1 month spend on documentation and proof reading the documentation, the delays went on and on.
I decided to stop writing blogs a long time ago because I was just hyping something that should have been released a gazillion years ago and I didn't want to throw fancy words around when I was simply dragging out the time.
Whats the state of IPS Pro?
The IPS Pro is now called the IPS Bundle, it consists of 3 products:IPS Pro (The improved spellsystem as you know and love it)
IPS-AT (An authoring tool for ParticleEffects in the IPS Pro)
IPS/S (A fullblown SpellSystem)
You can read more about the bundle on the product page.
Whats new in IPS Pro?
The IPS Pro now features advanced LOD options for optimizing your game, all emission fields on the ParticleEmitters have been exposed to the WorldInspector by creating ghost fields on the ParticleEmitterNodes (to remedy the lack of a ParticleEditor).In-depth documentation teaches you not only how to use the IPS, but also how to expand it with your own Emitters and features.
Whats new in the IPS-AT?
The IPS-AT have been re-designed for better usability and it have been branded with the WLE brand.New features such as loading in models in your scene so you can preview the ParticleEffects next to a model (e.g. to time it with animations)
So what about the release?
The IPS Bundle will be priced at 49$ I assure you, thats pretty cheap for all those features and improvements. Left alone the amount of documentation you get.It will be sold through the WLE store and we hope to release it by the end of the week.
But this is such a big product, and I am but a single guy (granted a single guy with the help of a bunch of WLE developers but bear with me for the sake of the dramatic tone) and with the MIT 3.0 release a bunch of stuff had to be fixed, and it's a HUGE product. I can't possibly claim that the IPS Bundle will come without bugs on it's release, quite possibly a bunch of annoying bugs.
So both to facilitate that, and as a public apology for the long delays you have experienced on this product, the first month after release you will be able to pick up the IPS Bundle for a mere 35$!
The fine print
Due to the direction WLE is heading, support beyond T3D 3.0 will not be promised. You will have full life-time support for T3D 3.0 and below, and I will keep support for future versions of T3D if possible, but I can't make any promises.The apology
I know a lot of you expected this to be released ages ago, and I am sincerely sorry about the delays! I do hope you understand the decisions I made.Many times along the way I wanted to just release and say "here it is!" but it wouldn't have been the best idea.
I am sorry for the lack of transparency on my end and it is not something I will practice in the future.
I hope IPS lives up to your expectations.
What was IPS again?
To refuel some interest, here is the official media page for IPS:IPS Media Page
And I have created this playlist on Youtube which is a timeline over the development of IPS, from concept to the latest revisions.
And again here is the product page for the IPS Bundle.
Tl;dr just give me images and stuff
The IPS Bundle will be released this week or next week and will be priced at 49$ with a discount price of 35$ the first month.Product page
Media page
Video timeline on YouTube
About the author
IPS Bundle available at: https://www.winterleafentertainment.com/Products/IPS.aspx
#2
That said, if continued support is trivial (just merging changes with new files or small changes) then we will keep it up-to-date with T3D releases. But if something major changes, we just can't guarantee we have the resources to keep up to speed with T3D.
06/17/2013 (7:33 am)
WLE will be focusing more on proprietary software, our end-goal is creating DoA all these products (OneWorld, IPS etc) is just steps on the way to that goal. We want to push forward with development and create new and improved software rather than try to "catch up" with all the changes that might come in future versions in T3D.That said, if continued support is trivial (just merging changes with new files or small changes) then we will keep it up-to-date with T3D releases. But if something major changes, we just can't guarantee we have the resources to keep up to speed with T3D.
#3
06/17/2013 (8:23 am)
Do you happen to have a list of the spells included in the IPS/S? And a description?
#4
Keep in mind this is not a spell pack, but a framework for creating new spells. If you are afraid that you might encounter trouble creating new spells, I'm gonna be online most of the day, everyday, checking out the WLE IPS forums and I will be happy to help you out in even small matters such as creating a new spell.
As for the future, I can see adding some spells post-early-release but for now we just want to get the product that matters out there, and not the product that glitters.
So at launch there wont be any spells included but in the time after launch we might add some examples.
But can't you just add something?
I'm not an artist, and I don't have access to any models and animations I can use for the spells, and I don't have access to nice particle textures or anything like that. Creating new spells takes a lot of work, especially artistic work, and thats not my table. Ofc WLE have a bunch of characters under development I could use but to include that with the bundle would add the price of those characters to the bundle and that wouldn't be cool.
Ofc I could make some programmer art spells but it would take a long time, so again first the product that matters then the product that glitters! :)
On that note, is there any examples in particular you would like to see?
Or just some spells you want assurance that is possible to create in this spellsystem?
06/17/2013 (8:46 am)
Currently the only spells that is included in the IPS/S is a simple fireball (and an AoE fireball) spell thats created through a tutorial.Keep in mind this is not a spell pack, but a framework for creating new spells. If you are afraid that you might encounter trouble creating new spells, I'm gonna be online most of the day, everyday, checking out the WLE IPS forums and I will be happy to help you out in even small matters such as creating a new spell.
As for the future, I can see adding some spells post-early-release but for now we just want to get the product that matters out there, and not the product that glitters.
So at launch there wont be any spells included but in the time after launch we might add some examples.
But can't you just add something?
I'm not an artist, and I don't have access to any models and animations I can use for the spells, and I don't have access to nice particle textures or anything like that. Creating new spells takes a lot of work, especially artistic work, and thats not my table. Ofc WLE have a bunch of characters under development I could use but to include that with the bundle would add the price of those characters to the bundle and that wouldn't be cool.
Ofc I could make some programmer art spells but it would take a long time, so again first the product that matters then the product that glitters! :)
On that note, is there any examples in particular you would like to see?
Or just some spells you want assurance that is possible to create in this spellsystem?
#5
06/17/2013 (2:50 pm)
Well, I'm considering replacing AFX since we have the opportunity to start with a clean slate 'kind of' at the moment. The nice thing about AFX is the large number of built in spells and effects, the not so nice thing is the amount of resources it demands. So I was just wondering what would be involved to replace it if we went that route. For me, 10-20 slick spells would do it. Maybe they're easy to create and it sounds like I could add this pack and see, then if I can't get to where I want to be we could add AFX back in. I'm a little short on time I guess is the biggest issue. Sounds like a cottage industry could be created designing spells for this pack.
#6
(Trying to determine what quality of spells you are seeking)
A cottage industry designing spells for this pack is very much possible and we embrace anyone who would do it.
06/17/2013 (3:00 pm)
So it's because you want a few prototype spells before you roll your own? Or would you rather just buy some spells and use them for your game?(Trying to determine what quality of spells you are seeking)
A cottage industry designing spells for this pack is very much possible and we embrace anyone who would do it.
#7
06/17/2013 (3:09 pm)
I've got so much to do that I'd love to be able to buy a pack of cool spells without a lot of effort, then expand on it later. It sounds like this system will be easy enough to merge in and use. I'm just looking for someone with the time and imagination to dream up and create all kinds of crazy spells.
#8
I will think about it and see what I come up with, but I can't make any promises.
If you decide to buy IPS Bundle I will be happy to help you in your effort to create some spells on the WLE forums.
06/17/2013 (3:23 pm)
Haha I don't know if I've got the time nor the imagination for creating crazy spells.I will think about it and see what I come up with, but I can't make any promises.
If you decide to buy IPS Bundle I will be happy to help you in your effort to create some spells on the WLE forums.
#9
06/17/2013 (3:33 pm)
It seems like the way to go so I'm sure you can count on a sale, just need someone who has some time to help me/us out in creating some eye-popping effects. I'm trying to recruit a guy as we speak so we'll see what happens. Anyone reading this that would like to spend a few days on it let me know. Another thing that's time consuming is creating icons for each spell. I'd want icons for the toolbar to make it easier to cast a given spell. And lastly, animations for the caster and the victim can take some time. I have a few but not a bunch. 
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