Pancakes

Hi, so I'm working out how I'm going to push the Flowgraph system the last 5% it needs in order to become a fully fledged visual scripting language . Leadwerks is already so close that I think a novice such as myself can hack the functionality in with just Lua primarily. But I need a little cooperation from the devs. Mainly the first thing I need to know about is entity IDs and how I can most effeciently push them around and store them inside of Flowgraphs. Is there a command for this already? What I want to be able to do is to have a special generic entity ID node which has direct access to the properties of whichever ID it is referencing without actually being connected by any of its own inputs. The main purpose of the node would be to instruct other generic nodes upon which entity they should operate WITHOUT requiring those nodes to be connected directly to one another. The result would be flowgraph islands that can interact with one another without having to be connected directly. This is important for creating logic loops inside of flowgraphs where a single entity ID node can iterate through a list and have a single generic node perform several actions upon several different entities.

On second thought I don't even personally need a tutorial. If someone could just quickly jot down a "cheat sheet" that I could use to help me embark upon making my own nodes then I can get on that.

Well just ask yourself these questions: Could Super Mario Bros. be coded with visual scripting? Could Legend of Zelda? Could Metroid? Could Megaman? Could Final Fantasy VI? Could Angry Birds? I'd answer "yes" to all those questions. At what point do you start to say, "no"?

I understand that creating an arbitrary visual scripting language might not pay off in terms of marketing and time you'd have to put into documentation. But for me to fashion one for myself that I don't have to explain to others or market and support is efficient. As long as the flowgraphs can handle high amount of use.

As long as it is able to treat abstract processes as connectable actions, it can become a visual scripting language in the right hands. If I make an empty node with a bunch of inputs and outputs whose purpose is to compare conditions and transmit instructions between entities, I will have my visual scripting language! First node I'm going to make is an IF - THEN nodes with a bunch of inputs and outputs on it whose purpose is to act as a switch board for transmitting information. Then I will make a variation of that IF - THEN which transmits only the greatest of all connected inputs. Then another variatnt that only transiits the least. Then I'll have another node that converts all inputs into an average number. Then I will make a rounding up and rounding down node. Once I do that you won't be able to say there is no visual scripting language in Leadwerks 3. You would be amazed at the logic one can make with just those few nodes I listed above. That is, unless performance of Leadwerks 3 flowgraphs is the issue. If by saying, "it's for connecting actions, not making a visual scripting language" you are saying that it isn't optimized for heavy use, then you might be right and I might be wrong after all.

If it's not too late I would prefer it if wasn't a FPS because such a tutorial wouldn't be able to introduce any camera controlling concepts, particularly with the flowgraphs. But anything's fine, I"m just stating my preference.

I'm just going to get to the point. Leadwerks 2 is perfect for me in some ways, I didn't need networking. I only wanted to make a single player PC game. I love the lighting SO MUCH in Leadwerks 2 especially when combined with the Crysis SSAO shader that a user submitted. The visual fidelity blows my mind whenever I look at it. Some people say that the graphics of a game don't matter so much. And those people would be right. However it's undeniable that humans experience reality through the senses, and one of those senses depends soley upon light. Experiencing Leadwerks 2 lighting is an experience like no other game engine I've ever seen. Much like paintings and sculputures, the lighting isn't 100% realstic, instead it's stylized, so that leadwerks lighting allows for scenes that are beautiful in their own right, in a way that extends beyond reality. Leadwerks 2 renderering allows for visual expression like no other game engine. ANd that's meaningful!!This is why I feel almost hurt by opening my leadwerks 3 editor and not seeing that same rendering technology as in Leadwerks 2. I just feel confused like a dog who is waiting on their master to walk through the door even though the master has gone off on a business trip. I understand that the render will eventually come into Leadwerks 3 but for the time being it's just a genuine first world problem if you know what I mean. I will say this: I would have gladly paid $999 for Leadwerks 2 + Kismet + no more need for UU3d. That would have been the perfect Leadwerks package for my personal needs. I didn't need anything else out of this game engine. I'm not trying to express disappointment in Leadwerks 3 I'm just trying to say that I loved Leadwerks 2 so much that the change is rather jolting!! And I can't just automatically jump when the change was such a fundamental one to that which I loved in Leadwerks 2 I'm still conflicted. I love the new importing and editor. LIke I said I know that eventually Leadwerks 3 will have the improved renderer I know. Just had to say this. I'm gonna have to think for a while about this. I might wait until the end of April.

I was really surprised not to see the Leadwerks 2 amazing lighting and vegetation at the forefront in the demo of Leadwerks 3. I would really like to stick with Leadwerks in spite of my overall "meh" experience with support but my two favorite features aren't being shown in the Beta of Leadwerks 3 at all. I was a bit surprised to have to "Build Lighting" in Leadwerks. Not having to build lighting was my favorite thing about Leadwerks considering that I put up with how much I hated using UU3d just so I could experience the Leadwerks technology. The lighting is the reason I came to Leadwerks. And the flowgraphs are the thing that would keep me with Leadwerks. I would ask when these would be made available in the new release but I can't remember the last time Josh has given me a straight answer to any of my questions. So I will cross my fingers that someone he does like to answer will ask these two questions in my place. So if Josh ignores me again would someone he doesn't usually ignore please ask him these 3 questions and then perhaps PM me the answer: 1. When will the advanced lighting of Leadwerks 2 return or are they already in there and I don't know how to get to them? 2. When will we get more info on the Flowgraph workflow and how they are going to be used in the long run? 3. Just want to hear directly that Ultimate Unwrap3d is no longer needed ever ever ever ever ever. I will say that I was willing to pay $499 or even $999 for a Leadwerks 3 that had all the positives of Leadwerks 2 plus completed and fleshed out flowgraphs and liberation from Ultimate Unwrap. But at this time I'm looking for clarification on the lighting and the flowgraphs and the liberation from UU3d.

Josh has a point in that, on my GTX 275 Leadwerks was pretty slow. I was grateful to receive a 20fps once I added a few models and lights. But ever since I upgraded to GTX670 the dam thing refuses to slow down. I think Leadwerks is highly scaleable. Manipulating the editor feels much more like a "sandbox" because u just say I want a light here and u put it there. It takes power to simulate the physical world in that way. Everything in Unreal is faked and that's why it runs so fast and that's why AAA companies continue to use it. If you haven't seen Leadwerks run on a GTX670 or above, I recommend u try it. You will want to slap yourself depending on how far of an upgrade you are making from what you had before. The GTX670 is literally 3x more powerful than my old GTX275, which in its own right was never a slouch to begin with. I get triple the performance in Leadwerks now. Where it would once sit at 20fps and refuses to drop below 60.

I could use this right now actually. Give me a good price and a list of features

take my money now don't fight it Btw, is there going to be a beta for this? And can I sign up for it please? I ain't too proud to beg.

Is it not being released on Steam as well? I'd rather support Valve than EA if possible.

Wow Flexman you are very impressive!

Nice I like all the models and textures a lot. I also really love the design for the girl character.

At the end of the day it all comes down to user skill. I'm still not convinced about CSG. Trust me, if it I thought it were more effiecient/easier for me I would embrace it. For starters every student of game design is learning 3dsMax anyway or blender. I also don't think CSG is faster because I find that actually designing the environment is what takes the most mental effort, pressing the keys to actually model it is generally much simpler even without CSG. There are tools within the modeling apps these days that make CSG seem redundant too. For example, there is no need to wrestle with geometric volumes when modeling a basic floor plan, instead u use only planes to define and then you press a button to add thickness to everything at the very end. But I'm sure you'll do a dynamite job of it

With a beard like that on our side, failure is simply no longer an option.

lol I don't think you understand what I'm saying

This project is really cutting into my game development research

Yeah I got confused too. I was referring to the poll where he asked whether their should be a new forum just for the community game. But when I read his comment I couldn't tell if he was referring to a preexisting one of not. And to think of it, it's impossible to know which I was referring to either.

Hello, anyone know which settings to push in order to bake a normal map in blender so that it reads properly in LE? I usually bake in 3dCoat, but I want to start using blender for normal maps. Right now my settings are : Best Quality, Tangent Space, Automatic thanks

Would the forum be closed to only members? I think it should be, but that would require some work from the admin I think.

But then you still have the problem of $7/800 overflow in your bank account! Back to the drawing board.

I'm leaving this here, because the comment section of that otherwise pretty awesome google doc thing confuses the **** out of me. Whoever it is that wants to be the Art Lead, should probably be gathering some reference materials for the other artists to follow. Even if you don't end up as the art lead the reference would be useful for whoever actually does become it.

Um, I think it's for animation enthusiasts. But it looks impractical especially if you have any sort of IK solvers, then the doll and the rig won't match up. The doll takes up two of your hands and a bunch of deskspace so I'm not sure if this is an improvement over keyboard and mouse. It's a fun toy for enthusiasts. But what do I know?

It's hard for me to choose who I want as a project lead if I can't see any examples of their work. Or should I flip a coin? Take bribes?