Regarding the 3d effect - I think I didn't quite explain myself properly.
What I'm looking to do in that aspect is very similar to the following link (the relevant gameplay starts around 2:15 minutes):
Generally speaking, I'd like to make a platformer with 3d depth (while the gameplay is 2d, the look is 3d).
Can this currently be done using ORX? How?
Thanks again for the quick response. This engine really feels right for me. If my 2.5d platformer is doable I think I'll do it here regardless the lack of directx.
Ogga
Trying my best but luckily I was on my computer when you posted. Generally I try to reply at least within a day.
Regarding the 3d effect - I think I didn't quite explain myself properly.
What I'm looking to do in that aspect is very similar to the following link (the relevant gameplay starts around 2:15 minutes):
Generally speaking, I'd like to make a platformer with 3d depth (while the gameplay is 2d, the look is 3d).
Can this currently be done using ORX? How?
I totally see what you're after. There's no problem for the gameplay but for the look you can simulate 3D effect with a depth impression such as seen in this game:
This is easily done in orx by adding simple attributes in the object's config (AutoScroll/DepthScale). There's a tutorial about it here.
However you can only simulate 3D environment, you can't create real 3D objects. If you want to render real 3D objects (like the crates in the game you posted about), you need to do it with shader code. It's feasible but requires some code on your side, whereas differential scrolling require no code at all.
Thanks again for the quick response. This engine really feels right for me. If my 2.5d platformer is doable I think I'll do it here regardless the lack of directx.
Ogga
No problem, I'm happy when I can help.
If you haven't looked at the tutorials (on the wiki) yet you'll see that the engine has a lot of interesting features that will help you develop your game faster than usual.
Also, some features/bug fixes are available on the svn repository which are not included in orx 1.0. Orx 1.1 will be released as soon as someone can compile the msvs2005 version for me.
If you plan on doing a level-based game and you want an editor, Scroll will be what you're looking for as it's written in C++, is based on orx and provide easy level editing/testing.
OK. Got it. I suppose the 3d effect should be good enough for the game.
Some other questions (I apologize for the "nagging", it's all a bit new to me):
1. Does the engine have screen management? (or: how do I manage different screens? (menu, game, highscores etc.)
2. Is there an easy way to implement menus?
3. What do you mean when you say shader code? (I'm not familiar with the term).
No need to apologize, all the questions answered here today will be of some help to newcomers in the future, so it's a good thing to do!
However, do you mind opening a new thread for your futures questions? This will make it more easy for newcomers to find answers to questions they might have and will keep this thread more focused to people introduction.
But for now, here are the answers:
1- No "screen" management in orx. However it's very easy to load/unload a whole scene using the ChildList property (1 line of code) or iterating on a list of objects (3 lines of code). You can find some examples in the tutorials as well as in the Drops prototype. Scroll adds a level-management to orx, basically done with the iterating method mentioned above.
2- Depending on which kind of menus. If you want dropdowns, textboxes, windows, not really. A plugin based on CeGUI was begun my MrGreen but is still WIP and there's no ETA.
If you need buttons, displaying localized texts, etc... that's very easy to do. Buttons are plain objects that you declare as children of a camera (they'll move along with the camera and behave in a nice way when changing resolution/aspect ratio). Texts are also objects with a Text graphic property instead of a texture. Localization is done via config files and all the displayed texts are updated on-the-fly when switching to another language, without having to write a single line of code (cf. tutorial #10).
Again there's a very basic UI example in Drops and you'll see a more advanced one in ScrollEd (the editor embedded in Scroll engine) that will be released in a couple of days.
3- Fragment (aka Pixel) shaders as seen here. They allow you to execute code directly on the GPU and basically add effects or even render anything in place of sprites for an object (like 3D rendering). A good place to begin is here.
Hey there everyone! My alias is smchronos (you guys can call me sm for short, if you want)! I'm a first-year college student double majoring in computer engineering and computer science. I play around with game programming as a hobby and have started to pick up C++ as a new language (I've used langauges like Java, Python, and Visual Studio stuff in the past). So, yeah, I'm what you guys would consider a "noobie" when in comes to C++!
I hope to be able to use the Orx framework for some lighter projects later this coming year! I think this is a really neat idea and I hope that I can contribute to it in the future once I understand C++ in more depth!
Thanks for providing something that is so awesome, iarwain! I've added several of your site's links to my favorites, so you had better keep this going!
[EDIT]
Oh yeah, just a little information. I use Macintosh (just updated to Snow Leopard) and Windows (using Vista/XP for now) as my two main machines with my Vista tablet capable of booting into Ubuntu. I love cross-platform programming!
Hey there everyone! My alias is smchronos (you guys can call me sm for short, if you want)! I'm a first-year college student double majoring in computer engineering and computer science. I play around with game programming as a hobby and have started to pick up C++ as a new language (I've used langauges like Java, Python, and Visual Studio stuff in the past). So, yeah, I'm what you guys would consider a "noobie" when in comes to C++!
Hi sm and welcome amongst us!
If you're familiar with Java, no doubt you'll get comfortable with C++ pretty fast!
I hope to be able to use the Orx framework for some lighter projects later this coming year! I think this is a really neat idea and I hope that I can contribute to it in the future once I understand C++ in more depth!
Contributors are always welcomed! :P I'm also happy you chose to give orx a try. How did you hear about it, btw?
Thanks for providing something that is so awesome, iarwain! I've added several of your site's links to my favorites, so you had better keep this going!
Orx/Scroll are still one of my top priorities so it shouldn't die any time soon! Actually, as soon as the TIGSource compo is over, I'm back on the iPhone version of orx.
[EDIT]
Oh yeah, just a little information. I use Macintosh (just updated to Snow Leopard) and Windows (using Vista/XP for now) as my two main machines with my Vista tablet capable of booting into Ubuntu. I love cross-platform programming!
Oh good to know! I don't have Snow Leopard nor Vista, so if you don't mind I might ask you to be a guinea pig from time to time!
From what I can tell with my personnal experience, I think you'll have a lot of fun learning c/c++ along with orx : )
The engine is actually pretty solid in its current state. Not that you've said otherwise, I'm just meaning to comfort you in this idea =P
It's nice to see you around here. I'm sure I'm not the only one awaiting the next iteration of DragonCube!
Also, if you liked orx, you might appreciate Scroll. I haven't exactly released it, but it's part of the ProjectX archive and it has been improved lately.
If you're familiar with Java, no doubt you'll get comfortable with C++ pretty fast!
That sounds wonderful! I had read a little on C++ several years ago, but was discouraged by the learning curve; so, I never got into any language structured like it until I was required to take a Java class (part of my CS major). I've grown to desire the capabilities of pointers, so I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do in C++!
iarwain wrote:
Contributors are always welcomed! I'm also happy you chose to give orx a try. How did you hear about it, btw?
Glad to hear it! Like I said, once I feel that I understand C++ and have some experience, I'll definitely look at what I can do to help! As for how I found this place... I'm not really sure myself. It was one of those "Wikipedia" moments where you've searched for something and clicked the related links so many times that you end up someplace odd. I'm not saying that Orx is odd, but I definitely wasn't expecting to find something like this today!
iarwain wrote:
Oh good to know! I don't have Snow Leopard nor Vista, so if you don't mind I might ask you to be a guinea pig from time to time!
That sounds fine to me! I'm not sure how much longer I will have Vista (whenever my university decides to allow Windows 7 for engineers, I'll probably make the switch). I'll be happy to help you with something that you would like to test. My email is [email protected] and, if you use any of these, my AIM is smChrono, MSN is [email protected], and G-Talk is [email protected]!
[EDIT]
I also just remembered that I have an iPhone 3GS (got one for college) as well as a Zune (I don't think you planned to have support for it), in case those add any variety to what you have available in regards to testing.
iarwain wrote:
Also, if you liked orx, you might appreciate Scroll. I haven't exactly released it, but it's part of the ProjectX archive and it has been improved lately.
Because I arrived here from some odd means, I hadn't heard of any of your other projects. Could you explain what Scroll is or point me to an already-written description? I enjoy learning about these things and thinking about how I can be involved!
[EDIT]
I just noticed that you had a news article about Scroll. So, it's an editor using Orx? I'd be happy to help try it out and write an article or two on the wiki for you once I understand it.
Blarg wrote:
From what I can tell with my personnal experience, I think you'll have a lot of fun learning c/c++ along with orx : )
The engine is actually pretty solid in its current state. Not that you've said otherwise, I'm just meaning to comfort you in this idea =P
I think you're right in that I'll have fun learning C/C++! I'm looking at setting up Orx with CodeLite on my Mac to play with for tomorrow (or, today, I suppose! Happy New Year for those in the Central time zone! It was two hours ago!). I'm also glad to hear that you have found the engine to be stable. It's good to know that a stable release has already made it. I've usually found that to indicate that the developer(s) is/are professional enough to maintain good quality code with their work! That makes it easier and more relaxing for people like me to break into the scene of using it!
Glad to hear it! Like I said, once I feel that I understand C++ and have some experience, I'll definitely look at what I can do to help! As for how I found this place... I'm not really sure myself. It was one of those "Wikipedia" moments where you've searched for something and clicked the related links so many times that you end up someplace odd. I'm not saying that Orx is odd, but I definitely wasn't expecting to find something like this today!
Actually orx itself is written in C with the exception of some plugins (SFML & Box2D) written in C++. I'm glad you found orx through wikipedia, when I added the page I was sure no one would ever see it but apparently it's exactly the opposite.
That sounds fine to me! I'm not sure how much longer I will have Vista (whenever my university decides to allow Windows 7 for engineers, I'll probably make the switch). I'll be happy to help you with something that you would like to test. My email is [email protected] and, if you use any of these, my AIM is smChrono, MSN is [email protected], and G-Talk is [email protected]!
Thanks for the offer. Win7 is also another OS I don't have at home, all my PCs are either under Ubuntu or XP 32b.
By any chance, you wouldn't have visual studio 2005 installed on one of your computer? I'm asking as I've been delaying the 1.1 release of orx for months as I can't build the msvs2005 version myself anymore. And I'd really like to release a new version as the list of fixes and new features begins to be long now.
[EDIT]
I also just remembered that I have an iPhone 3GS (got one for college) as well as a Zune (I don't think you planned to have support for it), in case those add any variety to what you have available in regards to testing.
Thanks for the precisions. I have no plan for supporting Zune myself, but maybe someone will be tempted to do it!
Because I arrived here from some odd means, I hadn't heard of any of your other projects. Could you explain what Scroll is or point me to an already-written description? I enjoy learning about these things and thinking about how I can be involved!
[EDIT]
I just noticed that you had a news article about Scroll. So, it's an editor using Orx? I'd be happy to help try it out and write an article or two on the wiki for you once I understand it.
Yes, actually it's a higher level game engine based on orx, for level-oriented games. A lightweight and simple editor is embedded in the engine and you can test your levels on-the-fly, directly from the editor. It's still in alpha version but it has been improving a lot lately, mostly due to the fact I'm using it for my entry for the latest TIGSource compo. More info here.
You're more than welcome to give it a try and you can contact me if you can't figure out what the controls are (a glimpse at ScrollEd.ini will probably reveal most of them though). Any comment/feedback is appreciated.
I think you're right in that I'll have fun learning C/C++! I'm looking at setting up Orx with CodeLite on my Mac to play with for tomorrow (or, today, I suppose! Happy New Year for those in the Central time zone! It was two hours ago!). I'm also glad to hear that you have found the engine to be stable. It's good to know that a stable release has already made it. I've usually found that to indicate that the developer(s) is/are professional enough to maintain good quality code with their work! That makes it easier and more relaxing for people like me to break into the scene of using it!
If it's not already the case, I'd advise you to use the svn version of orx instead of the 1.0 release as this one begins to be seriously outdated. If you sync the trunk, you'll have everything: orx should compile out of the box as the external dependencies will be there too and the tutorials are included. You might want to recompile them with the latest compiled version of orx as I haven't updated them on the svn for a long while: I usually do so when I'm about to release a new version as it's a bit time intensive to build all the flavours.
As for the stability, even on the svn I try to keep it as stable as possible so it shouldn't be any less stable than the releases.
If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them! Have fun in your discovery of both orx and C++ and happy new year to you too! (7 am here! ^^).
By any chance, you wouldn't have visual studio 2005 installed on one of your computer? I'm asking as I've been delaying the 1.1 release of orx for months as I can't build the msvs2005 version myself anymore. And I'd really like to release a new version as the list of fixes and new features begins to be long now.
As of right now, I do not have it installed. I did for a short period of time before I switched to VS 2008. I don't mind installing it on my Mac's VMWare Fusion if you want me to compile something with it.
iarwain wrote:
f it's not already the case, I'd advise you to use the svn version of orx instead of the 1.0 release as this one begins to be seriously outdated. If you sync the trunk, you'll have everything: orx should compile out of the box as the external dependencies will be there too and the tutorials are included. You might want to recompile them with the latest compiled version of orx as I haven't updated them on the svn for a long while: I usually do so when I'm about to release a new version as it's a bit time intensive to build all the flavours.
Interesting. I did not realize that there was such a gap in the svn and the last release. I'll have to check that out soon.
wow it sound like if there is such a gap between versions that the next one should be orx 1.7! Still learning how to use with current features. and man is it kinda hard especially when trying to make a tetris look alike just to learn with no one knowing about this.
iarwain wrote:
As of right now, I do not have it installed. I did for a short period of time before I switched to VS 2008. I don't mind installing it on my Mac's VMWare Fusion if you want me to compile something with it.
That'd be great actually as it's the only thing I need to release a new version. Let me know if you could do this, it'll be greatly appreciated!
Interesting. I did not realize that there was such a gap in the svn and the last release. I'll have to check that out soon.
Actually, here's the raw change list since the latest release:
none
Added orxCrypt command line tool for merging/encrypting/decrypting config files
Added owner to spawner structure + all missing accessors for runtime handling
Added associated clock to objects so as to allow localized time stretching (including sound pitch alteration)
Clocks can now be created from config files and directly from objects. There can be only one clock with a given name (like cameras)
IMPORTANT: Renamed spawner's WaveNumber property to WaveSize
IMPORTANT: World gravity now use the physics dimension ratio -> update your config files accordingly
Added custom events for animations
Integrated current Box2D version from its svn repository
Added Raycast feature when physics is enabled (+wrappers in body & object modules)
Dynamic objects can now have parents and get the cumulated result move from parents + physics simulation!
Added a custom gravity as Body's property
Physics simulation is back on main clock to provide a more robust game loop
Fixed FixedRotation property to use Box2D feature instead of orx's hacked one
Added names of both involved parts in contact events
Fixed orxFRAME child calculation when using anisotropic scale on parent
Fixed home render plugin camera rotation when the camera has a parent object
Removed AutoDelete property for spawners
Added possibility for spawner to transmit or not parent's rotation & scale (by default it transmit them as before)
Added orxObject_GetChild() / orxObject_GetSibling() for querying dependencies (for objects created through config's ChildList property only)
Fixed config block value incorrectly saved by orxConfig_Save()
Added the possibility to use empty config values either by using an empty line or a ;
IMPORTANT: Due to the above change, block values must have the opening " on the same line as the key attribution: Key = "
Config section inheritance can now easily be modified on-the-fly, at runtime (orxConfig_SetParent())
Added 'screen' keyword for ShaderList properties
Optimized shader lists processing when rendering objects & viewports
That'd be great actually as it's the only thing I need to release a new version. Let me know if you could do this, it'll be greatly appreciated!
My question is whether you need just the express version or the full edition. I can only download the full edition (for free) when I'm on campus (it's one of their security measures); however, I can download and install the express version if that's all that you need for the release.
If you go to the sourceforge page (link on the left of the page), you'll fin the svn repo and all the instructions on how to sync it. Only sync the /trunk, not the branches.
That'd be great actually as it's the only thing I need to release a new version. Let me know if you could do this, it'll be greatly appreciated!
My question is whether you need just the express version or the full edition. I can only download the full edition (for free) when I'm on campus (it's one of their security measures); however, I can download and install the express version if that's all that you need for the release.
I'm using the express version of 2008 so I presume the express of 2005 will work just fine. So far I had access to the full edition of 2005 but not anymore since october and the express one refuses to work on my computer at home. :S
I wonder if the reason it isn't working is beacause microsoft no longer supports it. I remember they did away with 2005 and made 2008 the version farthest in the past that they support.
I wonder if the reason it isn't working is beacause microsoft no longer supports it. I remember they did away with 2005 and made 2008 the version farthest in the past that they support.
Well, they no longer support it because it is now officially five years old. They're about to introduce the 2010 Visual Studio. The biggest reason is that the 2008 edition supports the 2.0 and 3.5 frameworks; so, there isn't much need for Visual Studio 2005.
Anyway, I just installed Visual C++ Express 2005 (I believe it installed correctly, even though the exe was only 68 MB). Should I just download the latest source to compile? Or should I let you send me something to try?
I've also got Visual Studio 2008 express installed on the same computer, so I'm not sure if that will also cause a conflict.
On a side note, do you have CodeLite installed on one of your machines, iarwain? If so, write a tutorial for setting up Orx with it. I love CodeLite (even though I've just started to use it). It's cross platform and lightweight compared to Eclipse and Netbeans using C/C++ plugins. If you don't jump on it soon, I'm going to write a tutorial about setting it up first with screenshots.
Anyway, I just installed Visual C++ Express 2005 (I believe it installed correctly, even though the exe was only 68 MB). Should I just download the latest source to compile? Or should I let you send me something to try?
Actually everything is available from the svn repository. If you could sync the /trunk from it, you'll find orx's source in the /code folder and the build files in /code/build. Thanks again for your help!
I've also got Visual Studio 2008 express installed on the same computer, so I'm not sure if that will also cause a conflict.
Maybe it's the issue I have, we'll see how it'll work for you.
On a side note, do you have CodeLite installed on one of your machines, iarwain? If so, write a tutorial for setting up Orx with it. I love CodeLite (even though I've just started to use it). It's cross platform and lightweight compared to Eclipse and Netbeans using C/C++ plugins. If you don't jump on it soon, I'm going to write a tutorial about setting it up first with screenshots.
Yep, I've been promoting the use of CodeLite for a long time, and was the first to open a lot of tickets for Eran to work on (both bug and feature requests).
I switched from Code::Blocks to CodeLite a long time ago and you'll find CodeLite project files for orx and its tutorials for mingw, linux and GP2X. I didn't do the mac version though.
As for the tutorials with screenshots, I'll probably get to it at some point, in the same way Grey did the visual studio one, but right now it's lower on my priority list than my TIGSource entry and the iPhone port so it might be in a while. If you feel like doing it, don't hesitate!
Okay, a little update. I just attempted to compile the code directory's MVS2005 project. I got 16 errors, all about windows.h not being found. It turns out that this is because the express edition doesn't include native UI capabilities unless I install the SDK (found that from here). I'm going to attempt and install the SDK and retry the build.
Apparently, VS 2008 is seamlessly integrated with the Windows SDK whereas VS 2005 is not. I'm not sure if that's what has been causing your problems.
Actually I knew that and completely forgot to mention it, sorry.
No my problem with vs2005, after having installed the SDK, is that cl.exe actually crashes on my computer. :S
[EDIT] We should probably try to move to another thread instead of staying in the new people one. I'll see if I can move part of the thread somewhere else.
[EDIT] We should probably try to move to another thread instead of staying in the new people one. I'll see if I can move part of the thread somewhere else.
That sounds like a good idea. I'll just use private messages to talk to you about this. I've got other things I'd like to talk with you about as well, but I'd prefer to do that with something a little more... speedy. Anyway, I'll keep working at this.
We're a small community here, but if you've any questions, please feel free to ask. I'll try, and it's almost certain Iarwain will have answers for anything you might like to know, so don't hesitate to ask.
Hello, I haven't notice this message until now .
I just graduate from university, and now working in a small company working on mobile game. Recently, no many projects are assigned to me, I have some time to write my own 2d game in android or iphone.I am gradually conquered by orx's simple and powerfulness. Thanks for iarwain's fantastic work.
Actually I am from China. My English is not as well as other Chinese in this forum. So it is very kind of you to direct my mistake I made in the post, and forgive me for my poor expression.Thanks .
you metion you are not a native English speaker. so now I am so interested in where you are from. .
And your email or msn. :laugh: you know, twitter and facebook in China is forbidden, thanks to our kind govern-ment.
if this request involve your privacy, forgive for my rude, and you can reply nothing.
I didn't want to clutter up the forum with an "I'm back" topic; so, I'm just going to announce that I've returned. Or rather, I've been here the entire time.
In fact, I sent you several emails (two in reply to the last one that you sent me), iarwain. I'm not sure if my messages or your replies got lost in the way, but I never got anything in response.
Anyway, I've been mentioning Orx around my university and several students have shown some interest. I'm hoping I can get some of them to use it in the future.
Actually I only got one email from you and I thought I had replied to it. And after checking, I really did but apparently emails is a technology beyond my grasp and I replied to myself after forwarding your email to my work address. Epic fail. -_-
Well, I'll write you another one this week end with fresher news.
I'm glad to see more people getting interested in orx. I hope to hear from them at some point.
Hello all,I'm a student from Chinese university same as laschweinski's, my English is so poor,if what I say make you confuse, please apologize for my mistake. Thanks.
I'm a new game developer lack of experience. but I am interested in it and exert myself to developing fantastic game.
and good good study, day day up, that is our great Party teach us.
'Elleu. I'm planning a 2d space rts, much like flashtrek, if any of you ever heard of it, and orx looks to me like a good candidate engine. there are a couple of issues though, as it seems there's no good way yet to get it on 64 bit 'nix.
EDIT: At time of posting i hadn't seen This thread yet. it would be nice if the packages could be updated to the current version, but i'll take a look at this first.
Never heard of flashtrek, I had a quick look at it and it looked interesting (although the framerate was a bit choppy here).
I'll look more into it tonight after work. Do you know if there's a way to turn off the sound?
As for orx on linux64, it's just a matter of recompiling it and its dependencies as far as I know (or by adding -m32 in the compile options if you still want a 32b binary). Eyecreate and Grey might have deeper insights and you should probably PM them about it.
I still want to install a linux64 box to propose a compiled myself version myself but I've been running out of time lately (having a baby anytime before the end of next week won't help either!).
As for choppy frames, that's flash for ya. :P
Not sure bout the volume, I don't think that was included in BM1.
Anyway, that's the kind of gameplay I’m intending to do, though I’ll have to add some way of difficulty management, as in those games it's very hard to get around in the beginning, but as soon as you get a planet or more it rapidly grows too easy since owned planets make money, but do not provide any difficulties past an occasional, almost negligible enemy attack.
Comments
Wow! You really answered quickly!
Regarding the 3d effect - I think I didn't quite explain myself properly.
What I'm looking to do in that aspect is very similar to the following link (the relevant gameplay starts around 2:15 minutes):
Generally speaking, I'd like to make a platformer with 3d depth (while the gameplay is 2d, the look is 3d).
Can this currently be done using ORX? How?
Thanks again for the quick response. This engine really feels right for me. If my 2.5d platformer is doable I think I'll do it here regardless the lack of directx.
Ogga
Trying my best but luckily I was on my computer when you posted. Generally I try to reply at least within a day.
I totally see what you're after. There's no problem for the gameplay but for the look you can simulate 3D effect with a depth impression such as seen in this game:
This is easily done in orx by adding simple attributes in the object's config (AutoScroll/DepthScale). There's a tutorial about it here.
However you can only simulate 3D environment, you can't create real 3D objects. If you want to render real 3D objects (like the crates in the game you posted about), you need to do it with shader code. It's feasible but requires some code on your side, whereas differential scrolling require no code at all.
No problem, I'm happy when I can help.
If you haven't looked at the tutorials (on the wiki) yet you'll see that the engine has a lot of interesting features that will help you develop your game faster than usual.
Also, some features/bug fixes are available on the svn repository which are not included in orx 1.0. Orx 1.1 will be released as soon as someone can compile the msvs2005 version for me.
If you plan on doing a level-based game and you want an editor, Scroll will be what you're looking for as it's written in C++, is based on orx and provide easy level editing/testing.
The alpha should be out in a couple of days.
Some other questions (I apologize for the "nagging", it's all a bit new to me):
1. Does the engine have screen management? (or: how do I manage different screens? (menu, game, highscores etc.)
2. Is there an easy way to implement menus?
3. What do you mean when you say shader code? (I'm not familiar with the term).
Thanks,
Ogga
No need to apologize, all the questions answered here today will be of some help to newcomers in the future, so it's a good thing to do!
However, do you mind opening a new thread for your futures questions? This will make it more easy for newcomers to find answers to questions they might have and will keep this thread more focused to people introduction.
But for now, here are the answers:
1- No "screen" management in orx. However it's very easy to load/unload a whole scene using the ChildList property (1 line of code) or iterating on a list of objects (3 lines of code). You can find some examples in the tutorials as well as in the Drops prototype. Scroll adds a level-management to orx, basically done with the iterating method mentioned above.
2- Depending on which kind of menus. If you want dropdowns, textboxes, windows, not really. A plugin based on CeGUI was begun my MrGreen but is still WIP and there's no ETA.
If you need buttons, displaying localized texts, etc... that's very easy to do. Buttons are plain objects that you declare as children of a camera (they'll move along with the camera and behave in a nice way when changing resolution/aspect ratio). Texts are also objects with a Text graphic property instead of a texture. Localization is done via config files and all the displayed texts are updated on-the-fly when switching to another language, without having to write a single line of code (cf. tutorial #10).
Again there's a very basic UI example in Drops and you'll see a more advanced one in ScrollEd (the editor embedded in Scroll engine) that will be released in a couple of days.
3- Fragment (aka Pixel) shaders as seen here. They allow you to execute code directly on the GPU and basically add effects or even render anything in place of sprites for an object (like 3D rendering). A good place to begin is here.
I figure I better register before orx blows up and you forget about me! Catch you later!
Nice to see you here!
There's no java binding for orx yet, but who knows, maybe you can make them yourself in the future!
Good luck with your learning. If you have any question, I'm sure you'll find answers through the forum.
I hope to be able to use the Orx framework for some lighter projects later this coming year! I think this is a really neat idea and I hope that I can contribute to it in the future once I understand C++ in more depth!
Thanks for providing something that is so awesome, iarwain! I've added several of your site's links to my favorites, so you had better keep this going!
[EDIT]
Oh yeah, just a little information. I use Macintosh (just updated to Snow Leopard) and Windows (using Vista/XP for now) as my two main machines with my Vista tablet capable of booting into Ubuntu. I love cross-platform programming!
From what I can tell with my personnal experience, I think you'll have a lot of fun learning c/c++ along with orx : )
The engine is actually pretty solid in its current state. Not that you've said otherwise, I'm just meaning to comfort you in this idea =P
Hi sm and welcome amongst us!
If you're familiar with Java, no doubt you'll get comfortable with C++ pretty fast!
Contributors are always welcomed! :P I'm also happy you chose to give orx a try. How did you hear about it, btw?
Orx/Scroll are still one of my top priorities so it shouldn't die any time soon! Actually, as soon as the TIGSource compo is over, I'm back on the iPhone version of orx.
Oh good to know! I don't have Snow Leopard nor Vista, so if you don't mind I might ask you to be a guinea pig from time to time!
It's nice to see you around here. I'm sure I'm not the only one awaiting the next iteration of DragonCube!
Also, if you liked orx, you might appreciate Scroll. I haven't exactly released it, but it's part of the ProjectX archive and it has been improved lately.
iarwain wrote: That sounds wonderful! I had read a little on C++ several years ago, but was discouraged by the learning curve; so, I never got into any language structured like it until I was required to take a Java class (part of my CS major). I've grown to desire the capabilities of pointers, so I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do in C++!
iarwain wrote: Glad to hear it! Like I said, once I feel that I understand C++ and have some experience, I'll definitely look at what I can do to help! As for how I found this place... I'm not really sure myself. It was one of those "Wikipedia" moments where you've searched for something and clicked the related links so many times that you end up someplace odd. I'm not saying that Orx is odd, but I definitely wasn't expecting to find something like this today!
iarwain wrote: That sounds fine to me! I'm not sure how much longer I will have Vista (whenever my university decides to allow Windows 7 for engineers, I'll probably make the switch). I'll be happy to help you with something that you would like to test. My email is [email protected] and, if you use any of these, my AIM is smChrono, MSN is [email protected], and G-Talk is [email protected]!
[EDIT]
I also just remembered that I have an iPhone 3GS (got one for college) as well as a Zune (I don't think you planned to have support for it), in case those add any variety to what you have available in regards to testing.
iarwain wrote: Because I arrived here from some odd means, I hadn't heard of any of your other projects. Could you explain what Scroll is or point me to an already-written description? I enjoy learning about these things and thinking about how I can be involved!
[EDIT]
I just noticed that you had a news article about Scroll. So, it's an editor using Orx? I'd be happy to help try it out and write an article or two on the wiki for you once I understand it.
Blarg wrote: I think you're right in that I'll have fun learning C/C++! I'm looking at setting up Orx with CodeLite on my Mac to play with for tomorrow (or, today, I suppose! Happy New Year for those in the Central time zone! It was two hours ago!). I'm also glad to hear that you have found the engine to be stable. It's good to know that a stable release has already made it. I've usually found that to indicate that the developer(s) is/are professional enough to maintain good quality code with their work! That makes it easier and more relaxing for people like me to break into the scene of using it!
Actually orx itself is written in C with the exception of some plugins (SFML & Box2D) written in C++. I'm glad you found orx through wikipedia, when I added the page I was sure no one would ever see it but apparently it's exactly the opposite.
Thanks for the offer. Win7 is also another OS I don't have at home, all my PCs are either under Ubuntu or XP 32b.
By any chance, you wouldn't have visual studio 2005 installed on one of your computer? I'm asking as I've been delaying the 1.1 release of orx for months as I can't build the msvs2005 version myself anymore. And I'd really like to release a new version as the list of fixes and new features begins to be long now.
Thanks for the precisions. I have no plan for supporting Zune myself, but maybe someone will be tempted to do it!
Yes, actually it's a higher level game engine based on orx, for level-oriented games. A lightweight and simple editor is embedded in the engine and you can test your levels on-the-fly, directly from the editor. It's still in alpha version but it has been improving a lot lately, mostly due to the fact I'm using it for my entry for the latest TIGSource compo. More info here.
You're more than welcome to give it a try and you can contact me if you can't figure out what the controls are (a glimpse at ScrollEd.ini will probably reveal most of them though). Any comment/feedback is appreciated.
If it's not already the case, I'd advise you to use the svn version of orx instead of the 1.0 release as this one begins to be seriously outdated. If you sync the trunk, you'll have everything: orx should compile out of the box as the external dependencies will be there too and the tutorials are included. You might want to recompile them with the latest compiled version of orx as I haven't updated them on the svn for a long while: I usually do so when I'm about to release a new version as it's a bit time intensive to build all the flavours.
As for the stability, even on the svn I try to keep it as stable as possible so it shouldn't be any less stable than the releases.
If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them! Have fun in your discovery of both orx and C++ and happy new year to you too! (7 am here! ^^).
iarwain wrote: Interesting. I did not realize that there was such a gap in the svn and the last release. I'll have to check that out soon.
That'd be great actually as it's the only thing I need to release a new version. Let me know if you could do this, it'll be greatly appreciated!
Actually, here's the raw change list since the latest release:
none- Added orxCrypt command line tool for merging/encrypting/decrypting config files
- Added owner to spawner structure + all missing accessors for runtime handling
- Added associated clock to objects so as to allow localized time stretching (including sound pitch alteration)
- Clocks can now be created from config files and directly from objects. There can be only one clock with a given name (like cameras)
- IMPORTANT: Renamed spawner's WaveNumber property to WaveSize
- IMPORTANT: World gravity now use the physics dimension ratio -> update your config files accordingly
- Added custom events for animations
- Integrated current Box2D version from its svn repository
- Added Raycast feature when physics is enabled (+wrappers in body & object modules)
- Dynamic objects can now have parents and get the cumulated result move from parents + physics simulation!
- Added a custom gravity as Body's property
- Physics simulation is back on main clock to provide a more robust game loop
- Fixed FixedRotation property to use Box2D feature instead of orx's hacked one
- Added names of both involved parts in contact events
- Fixed orxFRAME child calculation when using anisotropic scale on parent
- Fixed home render plugin camera rotation when the camera has a parent object
- Removed AutoDelete property for spawners
- Added possibility for spawner to transmit or not parent's rotation & scale (by default it transmit them as before)
- Added orxObject_GetChild() / orxObject_GetSibling() for querying dependencies (for objects created through config's ChildList property only)
- Fixed config block value incorrectly saved by orxConfig_Save()
- Added the possibility to use empty config values either by using an empty line or a ;
- IMPORTANT: Due to the above change, block values must have the opening " on the same line as the key attribution: Key = "
- Config section inheritance can now easily be modified on-the-fly, at runtime (orxConfig_SetParent())
- Added 'screen' keyword for ShaderList properties
- Optimized shader lists processing when rendering objects & viewports
- Fixed tutorial #5 (viewport) jerkyness
- Sets default gravity to none in Box2D physics plugin
- Fixed use of AutoScroll/DepthScale with objects using bodies
- Changed tutorial #11 (spawner/shader) shader code
- Added orxDisplay_GetVideoModeCounter() / orxDisplay_GetVideoMode() / orxDisplay_SetVideoMode() & orxDisplay_IsVideoModeAvailable() (+SFML implementations)
- Renamed orxInput_GetBoundInputNumber() to orxInput_GetBoundInputCounter()
- Renamed orxStructure_GetNumber() to orxStructure_GetCounter()
- orxSystem module is now part of core (external library independent) and not a plugin anymore (+updated all configurations)
- When querying screen texture size, the latest display size will always be used
- Updated bounce demo to be able to change resolution on the fly (F1/F2) + ToggleFullScreen on F3
- Added orx_WinExecute() helper for console-less windows application
- Added __orxWII__ platform define for future work
- Misc updates & fixesnone
That's why I'd really like to release a new version.
If you go to the sourceforge page (link on the left of the page), you'll fin the svn repo and all the instructions on how to sync it. Only sync the /trunk, not the branches.
I'm using the express version of 2008 so I presume the express of 2005 will work just fine. So far I had access to the full edition of 2005 but not anymore since october and the express one refuses to work on my computer at home. :S
Anyway, I just installed Visual C++ Express 2005 (I believe it installed correctly, even though the exe was only 68 MB). Should I just download the latest source to compile? Or should I let you send me something to try?
I've also got Visual Studio 2008 express installed on the same computer, so I'm not sure if that will also cause a conflict.
On a side note, do you have CodeLite installed on one of your machines, iarwain? If so, write a tutorial for setting up Orx with it. I love CodeLite (even though I've just started to use it). It's cross platform and lightweight compared to Eclipse and Netbeans using C/C++ plugins. If you don't jump on it soon, I'm going to write a tutorial about setting it up first with screenshots.
Actually everything is available from the svn repository. If you could sync the /trunk from it, you'll find orx's source in the /code folder and the build files in /code/build. Thanks again for your help!
Maybe it's the issue I have, we'll see how it'll work for you.
Yep, I've been promoting the use of CodeLite for a long time, and was the first to open a lot of tickets for Eran to work on (both bug and feature requests).
I switched from Code::Blocks to CodeLite a long time ago and you'll find CodeLite project files for orx and its tutorials for mingw, linux and GP2X. I didn't do the mac version though.
As for the tutorials with screenshots, I'll probably get to it at some point, in the same way Grey did the visual studio one, but right now it's lower on my priority list than my TIGSource entry and the iPhone port so it might be in a while. If you feel like doing it, don't hesitate!
Apparently, VS 2008 is seamlessly integrated with the Windows SDK whereas VS 2005 is not. I'm not sure if that's what has been causing your problems.
No my problem with vs2005, after having installed the SDK, is that cl.exe actually crashes on my computer. :S
[EDIT] We should probably try to move to another thread instead of staying in the new people one. I'll see if I can move part of the thread somewhere else.
Greetings from Croatia.
Nice to see you here and welcome among us!
If you have any questions about orx, don't hesitate to ask.
So anyways, sayin hi.
So... welcome here, Aliens!
I'm evaluating some engines & orx looks really good so far. Crossing fingers hoping it scales well & gets along with network code.
We're a small community here, but if you've any questions, please feel free to ask. I'll try, and it's almost certain Iarwain will have answers for anything you might like to know, so don't hesitate to ask.
^_^
I just graduate from university, and now working in a small company working on mobile game. Recently, no many projects are assigned to me, I have some time to write my own 2d game in android or iphone.I am gradually conquered by orx's simple and powerfulness. Thanks for iarwain's fantastic work.
Actually I am from China. My English is not as well as other Chinese in this forum. So it is very kind of you to direct my mistake I made in the post, and forgive me for my poor expression.Thanks .
As a non-native English speaker myself, I find your English totally understandable.
I'm glad you like orx so far and I hope it'll continue to grow on you!
Any comment/suggestion about it is welcome!
And your email or msn. :laugh: you know, twitter and facebook in China is forbidden, thanks to our kind govern-ment.
if this request involve your privacy, forgive for my rude, and you can reply nothing.
I'm originally from France but right now I'm living in Northern California.
In fact, I sent you several emails (two in reply to the last one that you sent me), iarwain. I'm not sure if my messages or your replies got lost in the way, but I never got anything in response.
Anyway, I've been mentioning Orx around my university and several students have shown some interest. I'm hoping I can get some of them to use it in the future.
Well, I'll write you another one this week end with fresher news.
I'm glad to see more people getting interested in orx. I hope to hear from them at some point.
An email with some news would be great! It'd also help me when I talk to the students I had mentioned earlier.
Just a basic description, I'm from France and I use orx for a personnal project.
Iarwain, really great work for this engine and a special thanks for your help.
I'm a new game developer lack of experience. but I am interested in it and exert myself to developing fantastic game.
and good good study, day day up, that is our great Party teach us.
EDIT: At time of posting i hadn't seen This thread yet. it would be nice if the packages could be updated to the current version, but i'll take a look at this first.
Never heard of flashtrek, I had a quick look at it and it looked interesting (although the framerate was a bit choppy here).
I'll look more into it tonight after work. Do you know if there's a way to turn off the sound?
As for orx on linux64, it's just a matter of recompiling it and its dependencies as far as I know (or by adding -m32 in the compile options if you still want a 32b binary). Eyecreate and Grey might have deeper insights and you should probably PM them about it.
I still want to install a linux64 box to propose a compiled myself version myself but I've been running out of time lately (having a baby anytime before the end of next week won't help either!).
As for choppy frames, that's flash for ya. :P
Not sure bout the volume, I don't think that was included in BM1.
Anyway, that's the kind of gameplay I’m intending to do, though I’ll have to add some way of difficulty management, as in those games it's very hard to get around in the beginning, but as soon as you get a planet or more it rapidly grows too easy since owned planets make money, but do not provide any difficulties past an occasional, almost negligible enemy attack.