Apologies in advance for forgetting to complete this post. April ended up being a “user request” month (and I’m still in the process of trying to finish today’s update), where I focused almost 100% on what members have asked for, rather than anything I had planned. Some things coincided with each other (I was able to raise our completion % towards 1.0 by about 15% — so I think we’re hovering around 20% now, unless I added something else).

April Updates

This month was a complete whirlwind. Rather than try to list everything in detail (and so I can get back to trying to get Variable/Switch pointers in), here is a (non-exhaustive) list of what was added this month, in addition to bug-fixes:

  • Models translate in world units, rather than pixels.
  • Loading screens are now incorporated and can be used.
  • Cut/Copy/Paste/Delete local data in entities.
  • Asynchronous commands (Adjust Camera, Show/Hide Screen, Tint Screen, etc).
  • Ongoing Scripts added to Maps.
  • Objects with 3D models can now be rotated via command (also Asynchronous).
  • Variable Manipulation command (think running Math/String functions/formulas).
  • Several new movement elements.
  • Object Grid Locking (no longer limited to Doodads, but Entities as well).
  • Better usability for drag/drop/copy/cut/paste/delete in Vehicles for Map Editor.
  • Prompt feature inside Message Boxes.
  • Diagonal “scaling” for more “realistic” movement.
  • Tag parsing to support global variables, text escape codes, etc.
  • Hide/Show all map layers.
  • Subcategory support for Commands (under Category) — can be enabled or disabled under Editor Settings.
  • Transitions between scenes/screens have been improved.
  • Improvement in 2D rendering of walls.
  • Variable/Switch references (hopefully by end of day).

That’s a lot, but not quite as much as I was hoping to get knocked out. The 2D Template is getting really close, but I think it needs a little bit more polish. Our team got a little burnt out and is taking a short breather. There was also the big announcement that we’ll be at a booth and hosting a panel at Comicpalooza:

It’s a bit of a big deal.

May will be focused on getting some more requests knocked out, but there will be a priority focused on finally getting tile-based movement working nicely/cleanly, and weather effects. I might finally also get the Scripts working on Equip/Unequip too as a few folks have asked for (and I’ve continued to neglect).

We also managed to get our forum up and running and are working on v2 of our website…

That’s it for April!

As always:

Thank you so much for your support so far. I’m looking forward to building this community further and giving you the engine you may not have known you always wanted!