IRC Hour Discussion Thread
by Michael Perry · in General Discussion · 09/08/2008 (4:10 pm) · 45 replies
IRC Hour Discussion Thread
What It Is: IRC Hour is a chance for the community to have real-time talks with myself and our site admin, David Montgomery-Blake. The subject of these talks is to discuss official docs, tutorials, and possible community contribution. We will be using the GarageGames IRC channel hosted by MaxGaming OnLine.
What It Isn't: Debugging other people's code, marathon one-on-one help sessions, discussing the future of GG or Torque Engines, soap-box rants, etc.
Organization: Each session will focus on specific technology: TGB and TX will share one session, TGE and TGEA will share another. To maintain order, David and I will come up with leading questions that will determine the topics for each session. Due to the nature of IRC, patience and civility will be required to maintain order and convey everyone's thoughts.
When: Each session will happen on Thursday, at 3:00 pm (PST). To avoid complete chaos and lacking time for all the possible issues, we are going to have 2 IRC Hours a month.
- TGB/TX - 2nd week of the month.
- TGE/A - 3rd week of the month.
If the concept proves popular and attendance increases, we may split TGB and TX up into their own times. The first TGB/TX IRC Hour will happen on Sept. 11, and the first TGE/A will be on Sept. 18.
Purpose: Primarily, this will be another great source of feedback that can be used to improve documentation. Bonus benefits include: getting help with an official tutorial, venting directly to an employee about the state of the docs and tutorials, become a part of an official process in GG, and so on.
We look forward to seeing everyone in the GarageGames Channel (hosted by MaxGaming OnLine)
IRC Hour Logs
9/11/2008 TGB/TX-
9/18/2008 TGE/TGEA(TGEA on Mac announcement)
About the author
Programmer.
#22
09/17/2008 (11:51 am)
Thanks Scott...
#23
As I mentioned in my previous blog, there was a major announcement to be made. For this event, we were joined by GarageGames employees Deborah Marshall, Matt Fairfax, and Alex Scarborough. So, what was the major announcement? After an innumerable amount of hours, you have Alex and Matt to thank for the following:
- TGEA 1.8 will feature OpenGL Shader Support via GFX2. This means TGEA will finally have Mac support
("...put your Torque on a Mac")
(larger image click here)
During the IRC Hour, Matt and Alex took questions about the new tech and 1.8 release. You can read the log for full details, but I will post some of the more important questions here.
1. What can we expect from the TGEA 1.8 release:
- A port of the latest and most cutting edge version of GFX, developed by the GG Studios engine team. We are calling this tech GFX2
- Fully functional OpenGL shader layer
- GLSL version of ShaderGen
- Introduction of StateBlocks and ConstantBuffers, which are DirectX10 and high-end GL shader concepts
- Simpler and easier to use ResourceManager
- A new String class, which is on par with STL string and has some unicode helpers.
- Atlas updates which will increase rendering speed
2. Does this mean OpenGL shaders can be placed directly into the game engine without any modifications? Yes, although you will need the DirectX equivalents if you want to remain cross-platform compatible.
3. What will remain platform specific? In general, each system will have its own platform layer. Simply put:Windows - DirectX Layer
Mac - OpenGL
4. So, what about Linux? We currently do not have plans to support Linux.
5. What are the plans for TGE? TGE will remain our low cost solution for developers looking to target older/lower end hardware.
6. What kind of documentation update can we expect? Each major system announced for 1.8 will be documented: The new string class, new ResourceManager, GFX2 and its sub-systems, updated shader information, rendering system flow/progression, and an extensive porting doc listing changes, gotchas and how-tos for updating your current project to TGEA 1.8.
7. Anything else? More details about 1.8 and AGDC will be released in blogs by Matt and Deborah.
The Green-Ear SDK is offering a full Torque integrated solution, supporting the following features:
- Voice Chat
- Text-to-Voice
- Friends list
- Mailboxes
- Text chat
- and more!
Be sure to check the website for more information.
That's our recap, folks! I want to thank all those that participated. Matt and Alex deserve a big congratulations and round of applause for their work in TGEA. Big thanks to Deborah and Matt who took the time to hang out with us in the channel, even though they just flew back from Austin that same day.
Feel free to discuss this past session, ask questions, and provide feedback on how we can improve IRC Hour.
09/18/2008 (6:14 pm)
IRC Hour 9/18/08 RECAP
As I mentioned in my previous blog, there was a major announcement to be made. For this event, we were joined by GarageGames employees Deborah Marshall, Matt Fairfax, and Alex Scarborough. So, what was the major announcement? After an innumerable amount of hours, you have Alex and Matt to thank for the following:
- TGEA 1.8 will feature OpenGL Shader Support via GFX2. This means TGEA will finally have Mac support
("...put your Torque on a Mac")
(larger image click here)
During the IRC Hour, Matt and Alex took questions about the new tech and 1.8 release. You can read the log for full details, but I will post some of the more important questions here.
1. What can we expect from the TGEA 1.8 release:
- A port of the latest and most cutting edge version of GFX, developed by the GG Studios engine team. We are calling this tech GFX2
- Fully functional OpenGL shader layer
- GLSL version of ShaderGen
- Introduction of StateBlocks and ConstantBuffers, which are DirectX10 and high-end GL shader concepts
- Simpler and easier to use ResourceManager
- A new String class, which is on par with STL string and has some unicode helpers.
- Atlas updates which will increase rendering speed
2. Does this mean OpenGL shaders can be placed directly into the game engine without any modifications? Yes, although you will need the DirectX equivalents if you want to remain cross-platform compatible.
3. What will remain platform specific? In general, each system will have its own platform layer. Simply put:Windows - DirectX Layer
Mac - OpenGL
4. So, what about Linux? We currently do not have plans to support Linux.
5. What are the plans for TGE? TGE will remain our low cost solution for developers looking to target older/lower end hardware.
6. What kind of documentation update can we expect? Each major system announced for 1.8 will be documented: The new string class, new ResourceManager, GFX2 and its sub-systems, updated shader information, rendering system flow/progression, and an extensive porting doc listing changes, gotchas and how-tos for updating your current project to TGEA 1.8.
7. Anything else? More details about 1.8 and AGDC will be released in blogs by Matt and Deborah.
New Tech Announcement:
Green-Ear SDK Is Going TorqueThe Green-Ear SDK is offering a full Torque integrated solution, supporting the following features:
- Voice Chat
- Text-to-Voice
- Friends list
- Mailboxes
- Text chat
- and more!
Be sure to check the website for more information.
That's our recap, folks! I want to thank all those that participated. Matt and Alex deserve a big congratulations and round of applause for their work in TGEA. Big thanks to Deborah and Matt who took the time to hang out with us in the channel, even though they just flew back from Austin that same day.
Feel free to discuss this past session, ask questions, and provide feedback on how we can improve IRC Hour.
#24
09/18/2008 (6:18 pm)
Total and complete awesomeness. 
#25
09/19/2008 (1:20 am)
I know this was a big annoucement, but I felt like TGE got left out in the discussion. Also, will there be more detailed docs on the Lighting in both TGE/TGEA? The current docs are a good starting point, but need to be expanded upon. Thanks 
#26
09/19/2008 (7:59 am)
Really, really cool! Well done guys, your hard work is really appreciated! 
#27
Marked my calendar for next month, looking forward to it!
09/19/2008 (11:08 am)
Just found out about this and think it's a great idea! Log from last night was very informative.Marked my calendar for next month, looking forward to it!
#28
I'm glad everyone is happy with IRC Hour so far =)
09/19/2008 (11:16 am)
@Britt - TGEA definitely dominated IRC Hour last night, but there was nothing stopping a TGE discussion. There are plans to write docs for every aspect of the engines, but not for the TGEA 1.8 release unless it directly relates to the OpenGL tech.I'm glad everyone is happy with IRC Hour so far =)
#29
All I can say to that, is I'm 115% sure I could take you wussy programmer types on in a death match, any day, any time.
Seriously, though, thanks to all who participated. We're still experimenting with the format of IRC hour in terms of time and content, but we want to provide a regular time where people can talk to us about Torque and other game development related issues so we can get better upfront feedback.
09/19/2008 (12:48 pm)
Quote:Before you ask: Her most commonly used phrase against me is "Nobody likes you..."
Which I bet is her way of saying "I surrender".
I surrender!
All I can say to that, is I'm 115% sure I could take you wussy programmer types on in a death match, any day, any time.
Seriously, though, thanks to all who participated. We're still experimenting with the format of IRC hour in terms of time and content, but we want to provide a regular time where people can talk to us about Torque and other game development related issues so we can get better upfront feedback.
#30
09/19/2008 (4:03 pm)
Does Green-Ear support speech-to-text? If it does, I'd be really interested in getting that.
#31
09/19/2008 (4:14 pm)
I just asked our 3rd Party Manager (Derek), and he said Green-Ear does support speech-to-text. So let your interest run wild! 
#32
09/19/2008 (4:38 pm)
Exciting stuff!
#34
Topics Covered:
- iTGB's release, pricing, optimization, and suggestions for future upgrades
- TGEA 1.8 Update and how it affects AFX
- Potential TGB game play content packs (such as a RPG kit)
- TDN
Announcements:
- Matt Fairfax announced TGEA's 1.8 beta should be dropping very soon
- Apparatus's New Environment Content Pack
- Steven Peteron announced his new company: Dragonfly Software. He will be releasing his Sky System Update soon, and is still working with Enviro Torque 2.0.
- iTorque TDN section going up this weekend.
All in all, it was a great IRC Hour. We had an excellent employee turn out, and some very cool topics were covered. I'll announce the next IRC Hour in my October Documentation Wrap Up blog.
Thanks everyone!
10/17/2008 (10:20 am)
IRC Hour 10/16/08 RECAP
Topics Covered:
- iTGB's release, pricing, optimization, and suggestions for future upgrades
- TGEA 1.8 Update and how it affects AFX
- Potential TGB game play content packs (such as a RPG kit)
- TDN
Announcements:
- Matt Fairfax announced TGEA's 1.8 beta should be dropping very soon
- Apparatus's New Environment Content Pack
- Steven Peteron announced his new company: Dragonfly Software. He will be releasing his Sky System Update soon, and is still working with Enviro Torque 2.0.
- iTorque TDN section going up this weekend.
All in all, it was a great IRC Hour. We had an excellent employee turn out, and some very cool topics were covered. I'll announce the next IRC Hour in my October Documentation Wrap Up blog.
Thanks everyone!
#35
10/17/2008 (10:45 am)
Damn I wish I could have been there! My appendix had other thoughts, unfortunately. Damn thing! 
#36
10/17/2008 (10:51 am)
Nutbunnies! Now I know why I had that unshakable feeling all night last night that there was something I didn't do.
#37
10/17/2008 (5:26 pm)
Always...good things announced whilst I am out of town.
#38
11/07/2008 (8:59 am)
Here's a topic worth discussing at the next IRC hour: Torque DTS exporters. I have seen a lot of comments wondering why GG doesn't maintain DTS exporters. Would a Collada to DTS exporter be the best way to go?
#39
11/07/2008 (10:01 am)
@Britt - Much thanks for a topic suggestion. I will put it on our agenda. Will you be able to make it to the next Hour to help discuss?
#40
11/07/2008 (10:01 am)
Hope so 
Associate Scott Burns
GG Alumni
That was the most relevant one I could find quickly.