Requested Features and Improvements

[NobbyVedania]

i7-4770 processor 3.4 GHz, Windows 8.1, 16GB Memory Type: DDR3 1600 MHz, NVIDIA ® GeForce ® GTX 760 graphics card with 1.5GB of GDDR5 video memory), but yet the framerate drops to around 30 fps (ingame) when running the 'AI and Events' -map on a screen resolution of 1920*1080

 

This seams to be the debug mode (F5) which is quite slower than the run mode (F6).

 

In run mode I have ~70 fps on same resolution on a slower machine (i7-2600 3.4 GHz, Windows 7, 16GB DDR3, GTX 560 Ti with 1 GB GDDR5 memory *). In debug mode fps drops to ~15 fps.

 

* Nvidea driver version 9.18.13.4052 - July, 2nd 2014

[YouGroove]

Even a simple scene (1 directionnal light, 1 terrain, 10 low poly models (1K each), the crawler and three postscreen fx (bloom, dof and vignette) makes the framerate drop to +55 fps.

This has been discussed a lot and many times, LE3 is a slow engine today , but Josh said he will make something.

 

I can also notice lag or stuttering when moving the character (it's even more noticeable when looking down to the ground).

 

I deeply tested characters using character controller and physics box to move characters in LE3, there is some physic problem with Newton 3. You have to do like FPS demo and have visible character model and camera separated and not part of the physic model that you put to invisible material

http://www.leadwerks.com/werkspace/page/tutorials/_/artwork/third-person-template-r114

 

 

Another request i would ask in the wish list :

- Physics in a parallel thread

Actually it don't seems to be the case as when rendering is super slow like 10 - 5 FPS , character and solid bullets physics just go crazy instead of behaving slow but stable.

[ChrisV]

This seams to be the debug mode (F5) which is quite slower than the run mode (F6).

Actually, it's not in debug mode. I rarely run my games in debug mode.

The 30 fps i get (in run mode), is not constantly, i get around 45 to 60 fps in less populated areas, and around 30 fps when i'm standing in front of the panel to activate the crawlers to come out (AI and Events -map).

[NobbyVedania]

cross posted from this thead ...

 

folders in the scene tab ... Rectangle selection ...

+1 for making this high priority

 

Instead of folders layers would also be a great help for organizing the scene. There could be a layer for lights for example or for characters, scripted objects, brushes, collision objects, trigger, sound objects ... Layers can also be hidden so it's easier to work on specific parts of the scene. I loved that layer technique in cryengine (as documented here).

 

 

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I'm sorry that my posts currently are mostly related on requests for improvements. I'm just checking out if Leadwerks could be the right tool for me on a long term and therefore my attention also covers the criticical aspects. There are lots of features in Leadwerks I really aprreciate. The community is very helpful and friendly as well. Thanks for every help I already got here especially from aggror, rick, shadmar, ...

 

 

btw ... I'm german and my written english is not perfect. I can read much better than write. So please don't pull me in any discussion. I can't defend my arguments because of my language lags.

[YouGroove]

The 30 fps i get (in run mode), is not constantly, i get around 45 to 60 fps in less populated areas, and around 30 fps when i'm standing in front of the panel to activate the crawlers to come out (AI and Events -map).

In such powerfull PC, your level should run as a breeze.

[Guppy]

A very big one - and properly one that needs to be outsourced;

 

Rewrite the editor using standard elements from a stable crossplatform ui toolkit (GTK,Qt or wxWidgets ), this will get rid of many bugs and fustrations ( oh yeah that particular scroll pane cannot be mouse scrolled, scene tab will sometime stop drawing and just display the last tab, etc, etc, etc )

 

Many of those toolkits comes with a visual designer - GTK for instance has glade/gtkbuilder which abstracts the design down to an xml file, this file can then be edited independently of the functionality which in my book is pure win.

 

With the rewrite there really needs to be support for custom plugins and widgets (w. the glade approach you could even make custom panels ), as well as support for scripting editor actions in lua.

 

Oh and do consider using scintilla for the editor, no point in reinventing the wheel when a perfectly round one already exists and is ready to use.

[Vulcan]

A complete referance manual (pdf version?). For instance Sound class has some features undocumented, and the Shader class is missing examples. Having a complete referance manual would make my life a lot easier.

Please make it so!

[macklebee]

Now that this post has completely devolved into fantasy land like these topics always do, I want Josh to implement the command 'MakeGame(gametype)' that automatically creates a complete fps/rpg/etc with all the bells and whistles so I don't have to program anything.

[AggrorJorn]

Don't forget the extra parameter to support multiplayer: MakeGame(gametype, multiplayerSupport)

[macklebee]

ha yes i always forget that option

[YouGroove]

Rewrite the editor using standard elements from a stable crossplatform ui toolkit (GTK,Qt or wxWidgets ), this will get rid of many bugs and fustrations ( oh yeah that particular scroll pane cannot be mouse scrolled, scene tab will sometime stop drawing and just display the last tab, etc, etc, etc )

 

I agree to some point, this is not incoherent request, and this could lead to real plugins plugged in the interface of the editor.

But unfortunatelly it would take too a year to make that happens, and it would just slow down a lot more any new faetures to come.

I also would have loved modern interface , but i don't think this will happen.

 

A complete referance manual

It was a generated pdf some time ago Josh posted if i'm not wrong. Perhaps ask where it is ?

 

that automatically creates a complete fps/rpg/etc

We just need templates, that is usefull for beginners to start and learn from

Unity via plugin on asset store proposes many complete project template types, perhaps a direction for LE3 in the future. It will be to the community actually to make game templates other then FPS.

[Guppy]

I agree to some point, this is not incoherent request, and this could lead to real plugins plugged in the interface of the editor.

But unfortunatelly it would take too a year to make that happens, and it would just slow down a lot more any new faetures to come.

I also would have loved modern interface , but i don't think this will happen.

 

Unless the editor is written in some weird language that does not have GTK/QT wrappers, it would actually be a fairly minor change - only the view code changes the model & control layers would remain largely untouched by it.

It shouldn't take a year to write that, having to learn GTK on top of rewriting the view layer might, hence I think it should be outsourced to somebody with experience.

 

It's an annoying extra cost, but honestly the current UI ( under linux atleast - I've yet to try it on windows ) feel a bit like trying to do calligraphy with both hands tied behind your back and with somebody randomly coming by to give you a shove.

[YouGroove]

Outsourced to somebody with experience.

Not ideal today , as it will cost too much money to pay that person during a year : dev + bug fixes after release.

 

Perhaps , why not some future kickstarter plan after Linux release officialy finished and some finished other features :

In my dreams only some kickstarter named "Upgraded LE3" lol :

- New UI for the editor

- Plugin system

- Physic based shaders

- Global illumination system

- Bullet or PhysX integration

- Network high level layer for Lua and C++

- Official GUI integrated in LE3

Many LE3 users and new people could be interested in some big features and perhaps would make a second kickstarte successfull, this would bring the money to pay specialists in these areas to bring these features.

[Marleys Ghost]

1. The return of being able to use Blitzmax with Leadwerks.

2. External lua editor.

3. Rename model meshes in the model editor.

4. Passworded Zip file functionality.

5. Free beer every month.

7. What happened to 6?

6. Ah there it is

 

 

EDIT 8. A Window::GetLayout() so a windows position on the desktop can be returned and other window attributes like its HWND, ID etc.

[shadmar]

1. Fix the bugs.

2. Performance

3. CSG tools like carve extrude and so on.

4. Vegetation paint, terrain holes.

[Marleys Ghost]

Actually that one would be most useful! so it deserves it's own entry.

 

A Window::GetLayout() command or bet still a Window::GetAtribs() which would return the information about the Leadwerks window especially its x and y position on the desktop HWND, ID etc.. we already have SetLayout() and like so many other commands that can set, we have no get.

[Guppy]

Not very cross platform and Notting you cant do with raw wapi32 ( GetActiveWindow(); )

[macklebee]

Not very cross platform and Notting you cant do with raw wapi32

Sure if you are using something besides the lua edition, but this information would be extremely useful for those using lua.

[Josh]

Linux, OSX, and Windows all use integer or pointer for the HWND / NSWindow / XWindow, so the command Window:GetHandle() is cross-platform, in that sense.

[Marleys Ghost]

Not very cross platform

 

 

Oh well, as long as it works on Windows I can put up with that

[AggrorJorn]

I think it is time for step 2. The amount of suggestions is getting quite big and is full of suggestion that are simply out of reach (for now). Lets see what the community together prioritizes.

[josk]

Could we have a community vote and 1 item out of the top 3 gets worked on.

As one item is finished the community can vote for another.

 

Let Josh pick the items from the community list for the vote.

[gamecreator]

I think it is time for step 2. The amount of suggestions is getting quite big and is full of suggestion that are simply out of reach (for now). Lets see what the community together prioritizes.

A week of suggestions should be good enough for everone to have weighed in. Since the Leadwerks forums limit choices to 20 options, I'm thinking of using an outside poll site to have people choose their top 3. Though then again, I'd love the actual final vote be on Leadwerks. Should I do both: present the entire list of choices on an outside site and have people vote for their top 5 there, then their favorite 3 here from the top 20 after?

[AggrorJorn]

I would go for an internal one. With an outside one, you need to make sure everyone can only vote once. Here you already have that solution. Try grouping some stuff together so save some options.

[tjheldna]

Things that I want to see are...

 

- OSX Build

 

- Performance

 

- Some sort of editor plugin system.

 

- Visual Shader Editor. Realistically we are limited to about 4 users here that can actually use the current method to its potential.

 

- Improved Scene Graph as discussed in other threads

 

- Substance Designer integration.

 

- GUI Editor.