AFX TGEA -> AFX T3D

#1 An AFX port to Torque 3D will probably eventually occur, but we are not aggressively pursuing it at the moment. We are first devoting resources to completing the AFX 2.0 release for TGEA and TGE which will be entering beta very soon. Any version of AFX 2.0 for Torque 3D will follow the TGEA and TGE releases and, at this time, there are no concrete details about the licensing or the timing of availability.

#2 Ah I see.
Didn't know an AFX 2.0 is on the way, only read in various places that an AFX for T3D is "on the way" but won't make it for the release.

Any "public information" about AFX 2.0 yet?

#3 You're right, there's not a whole lot of "public information" about AFX 2.0, I should write something up or blog on it soon. Meanwhile, here's a quick list of what's in the beta.

Some of the new features included in AFX 2.0:
* Launch-time Effect Parametrization
* Free Targeting Mode
* Triggered Effects
* Hierarchical Effect Grouping
* Explicit Client Targeted Effects
* Gui Effects
* Object and Camera Manipulation Effects
* and more...

New Spells and Effects:
* Bolt from the Blue
* Bron-Y-Orc Stomp
* Chill Kill
* Fire in the Sky
* Mark of Kork
* Soul Miner's Slaughter
* Ring of Fire
* Soul Sucking Jerk
* and more...

Also includes some new Selectrons.

Spell's listed here are part of SpellPack2, but we may rework the entire product structure for 2.0, possibly simplifying to a single product for each engine consisting of CoreTech, SpellPack1, and SpellPack2 combined. Pricing still undetermined.

#4

Quote:
* Hierarchical Effect Grouping
* Gui Effects
* Object and Camera Manipulation Effects

Those three points are great new things out of my view.
These have sold it to me :)

The SP2 spells sound as funny and "sick" as the original ones. Had a lot of fun watching the videos of those where a video exists ^^


two last questions, if you allow, then I'll crawl back to my tomb to ask my oracle bones if I shall buy it now or wait for a potential T3D version:

1. I assume that all effect initiations etc are correctly networked? (I guess thats a stupid question as the MMOKit uses AFX but want to be sure as they might have modifications in place)

2. Any price range estimate for an upgrade fee for AFX 1.x licensees to AFX 2.x? Is it realistic to assume that it will fall in the range of the TGE -> TGEA upgrade?

#5

Quote:1. I assume that all effect initiations etc are correctly networked?

AFX is network savvy and all effects work in a standard Torque multiplayer setup. Also new in 2.0 is the ability to have the client portion of Spells and Effectrons run on one or more specific clients (as opposed to all of them). That's what Explicit Client Targeted Effects means.

Quote:2. Any price range estimate for an upgrade fee for AFX 1.x licensees to AFX 2.x?

The upgrade cost will likely be roughly prorated according to amount of time since the purchase of an AFX 1.x license. This makes for a fairly complicated upgrade scheme so details are still not worked out. Basically, licenses purchased in 2009 will have a very small upgrade cost, those purchased in 2008 will have a moderate upgrade cost, and those purchased before 2008 will probably still be upgradable at a discount from the total price.

Since these items are important to you, I'll expand these descriptions.

* Hierarchical Effect Grouping
This may not be what you think. It allows AFX building-block effects to be wrapped with a grouping structure that can be used wherever a building-block effect is used. It's mostly an organizational structure, but when used in conjunction with Launch-time Effect Parametrization, you can spawn a group multiple times with slight variations, and this can be very useful and powerful.

* Gui Effects
You can use the AFX constraint system to grab control of an existing gui control and have it move around as a projection of a 3D position. You can, for instance, float a spellcast bar over the head of a character. There is also a special gui control that works a bit like the stock GuiShapeNameHud but the text labels are controlled by an AFX effect. It's useful for display of flying damage text.

* Object and Camera Manipulation Effects
These can be fairly hard to master in a client/server context, but they allow the AFX constraint system to grab hold of an existing object like a player or camera and manipulate it. For instance, you can constrain a player to a projectile and launch him somewhere. The tricky part is making sure that the server and client versions of the objects don't get too inconsistent, or unnatural things happen when the constraint is released.

#6 Thank you for the clarification on the explicit client target effects.
Thats actually a great expansion.

Fully understand the uprade price situation. Must be "a lot of fun" to balance that out once it comes to the cost detials.

I think I will buy AFX for TGE then as soon as the my CC bill payment has been processed. My dev funds are all on PayPal which sadly still isn't supported by GG. I always need to send it forth and back for GG shopping sessions.



Thank you for the detailed information on these specific features.
Hierarchical Effect Grouping and the Manipulation effects actually were what I assumed them to be.
My assumption was only wrong on the GUI end, but what it does actually is just as nice on its own as what I expected :) I assumed that it meant that it is possible to use GUI elements as part of an effect for example as a particle emission shape

#7 Jeff, sounds like you are working hard there!

Quote:AFX is network savvy and all effects work in a standard Torque multiplayer setup. Also new in 2.0 is the ability to have the client portion of Spells and Effectrons run on one or more specific clients (as opposed to all of them). That's what Explicit Client Targeted Effects means.

Im curious about example use cases for that feature?

#8 Explicit Client Targeted Effects are useful when you don't want identical effects across all clients. Usually this is a difference between the client initiating an effect (the spellcaster's client) versus every other client, but different arrangements are possible.

Here are some examples:

- For a particularly dramatic spell, you may want to take over camera control and present the spellcasting event like a cut-scene and move the camera in a more cinematic fashion. You would most likely want the camera control to only apply to the spellcaster's client and have all other players experience the effect from their natural viewpoints.

- If you're using effects to highlight the state of potential quest-givers, you'll want to present different states depending on the player. For some players the quest-giver appears to offer a new quest, others are shown a quest-in-progress status, while others see nothing because the quest is already completed or unavailable.

- Stealth effects often need to be presented differently. You may want a player to appear nearly invisible to enemy players, but only about half-way invisible to themselves or others in their party.

Having not tried them all, I'm not completely certain if AFX 2.0 can fully handle all these scenarios, but they all share a basic requirement that not all the clients see the same effects and this is what Explicit Client Targeted Effects offer.

#9 Ha! Very cool. Thank you Jeff.

#10 Some very nice usage possibilities. Will be great to have them under "1 hood"

#11 Any plans for a T3D version yet?

EDIT: Found a post...
http://www.garagegames.com/community/forums/viewthread/104293