Project Werkflow

[macklebee]

- the editor replacing all other SDK applications would be fantastic... would vote that we bring back some of the other LE tools that have quietly disappeared over the updates... like the TextureTool, and genmats.exe (not GenMat.exe) and incorporate them into the editor to truly make it standalone

 

- windows gui is slow? hmmm... i havent really noticed this... but i am not using win7

 

- make any entity have a script... are you talking about removing the need for a gmf file for things like lights and emitters?

 

- prefabs... anything to help with that would be fantastic... at this point i have resorted to cutting and pasting from other sbx's the models' properties i want as my "prefab"

 

Well, if I were to rewrite the editor...

 

that is the key word though...

[Josh]

- make any entity have a script... are you talking about removing the need for a gmf file for things like lights and emitters?

Yep.

[macklebee]

cool... and you see a way to make it still be pickable from the editor screen without a gmf? or we would just resort to clicking on it in the asset list to pick it?

[Josh]

I probably would just make you use the scene tree, because otherwise I will create unforeseen problems later on. It actually makes sense to have a separate scene tree if you are able to drag entities in it to adjust the hierarchy.

[macklebee]

I probably would just make you use the scene tree, because otherwise I will create unforeseen problems later on. It actually makes sense to have a separate scene tree if you are able to drag entities in it to adjust the hierarchy.

 

i assume you are referring to the ability for Grouping like what was available in sandbox?

[Josh]

Sort of, but an actual hierarchy, instead of "groups".

 

The groups feature was removed a couple months ago. I finally learned the optimal way to store and render entities in an engine like this. I don't want to say anything because it is pretty valuable knowledge.

[macklebee]

fair enuff

 

--Edit- So none of the group commands are currently available? nevermind... i see they still work, you are referring to being removed from the editor/sandbox...

[Josh]

No, they do not work, and have not for some time.

[macklebee]

er... huh? i havent tried in bmax yet but they appear to work just fine in lua... or you just referring to the visibility testing aspect?

 

require("scripts/constants/keycodes")
RegisterAbstractPath("")
Graphics(1024,768)

fw=CreateFramework()
SetGlobalObject("framewerk",fw)

fw.main.camera:SetPositionf(0,0,-2)

light=CreateSpotLight(10)
light:SetRotationf(45,55,0)
light:SetPositionf(5,5,-5)

group1=CreateGroup()
mesh=LoadMesh("abstract::oildrum.gmf")
material = GetSurfaceMaterial(GetSurface(mesh,1))
SetEntityGroup(mesh, group1)

ground=CreateCube()
ground:SetScalef(10.0,1.0,10.0)
ground:SetPositionf(0.0,-2.0,0.0)
ground:Paint(material)
SetEntityGroup(ground, group1)

light=CreateDirectionalLight()
light:SetRotationf(45,45,45)

hidden = 0
while AppTerminate()==0 do
mesh:Turnf(AppSpeed()*0.5,AppSpeed()*0.5,AppSpeed()*0.5)
if KeyHit(KEY_H)==1 then
	if hidden==0 then
		hidden = 1
		HideGroup(group1)
	else
		hidden = 0
		ShowGroup(group1)
	end
end
fw:Update()
fw:Render()
DrawText("Press H to hide/show",0,20)
Flip(0)
end

[Josh]

Whoops, it's still in there. Will be replaced soon with an octree.

[macklebee]

thought maybe i somehow had screwed up and had some older files mixed in with my 2.31 sync...

 

so what you are saying, dont use group commands unless you want problems with later updates... okey dokey...

[Josh]

I don't think the whole editor needs to be rewritten. I was just looking through, and a lot of the design is very logical for how things work. There are a few ideas I would like to take from Unity, and combine them with the cool features in the existing editor.

[Delerna]

This is a feature. You can easily see all the available objects, edit a class script, and see all instances of an object in a single view. I thought a separate scene tree and a list of available objects was redundant and more complicated.

Josh I didn't mean to imply that is was dissatisfied with the assets pannel the way it is.There is nothing wrong with it and I think I agree with you.

I was actually referring to objects that I will never use in the project I am working on.

For example, I am working on a medieval game..I don't want my fighter jet models cluttering up the list when working on that project.

Macklebee showed the solution for that and having played with that for a couple of days I have decided that, at this stage, I prefer my original idea over that.

Each project folder containing ALL files for that project (including the editor/engine files) and ONLY the files required for that project.

Why?

I can quickly change from one project to another by simply going to the project folder and running the editor.

I can easily have two editors open on different projects for comparison purposes

I am a beginner with leadwerks so I can see myself doing that a lot for some time to come.

 

 

I do like the current system for naming assets and for the same reasons that those who also like it mention.

I didn't at first but it has grown on me

However

For one project I might decide that the assets used by that project are best organised by asset type

all my boxes organised under boxes

all my trees organised under trees

etc

But for another project I might decide that those very same assets are best organised by function or by location or some other system of organisation.

For example

I might have a level that has 10 houses and each of those 10 houses have one or more couches, fridges lamps etc

If my assets were organised by asset type then

all instances of couch are under couch

all instances of lamp are under lamp

all instances of fridge are under fridge

 

With that sort of setup if I asked myself what does house 1 have in it I would have to open everything to see, does it have a couch, does it have a lamp, does it have...

 

I think in that project I would rather have my assets organised by location

for example

House 1 might be a top level of organisation and under "House 1" I would have all the instances of assets that are located in "house 1". How could I achieve that without a whole lot of file renaming.

That way all I need to do is open House 6 and I can instantly see everything in it.

 

That's why I thought of writing myself an HTA split vertically.

On the left side all my assets are listed

On the right side I can create a folder structure in my projects assets folder and then drag the assets I want over to the right side and drop it into the folder I want it to go into. As the file gets copied across then the files will get renamed (by script on the HTA) according to the folder I droped it into.

Then when I open the editor they will appear where I want them.

 

I realise that I will need to give all of this careful consideration.

I don't think I want to have the same couch stored multiple times in various locations just so they will appear in the correct place in the assets panel......but then again, maybe I do. I don't know yet.

 

If I could drag the instance of my model in the leadwerks editors assets panel from its current location and drop it under a different node , then I wouldn't have to do that. The fact is though...I can't so if I want to re-organise my models according to project needs then I have to do something like that

[Marleys Ghost]

That makes perfect sense. It means you could just have called it box01 and place it in the Props/Boxes directory. Instead you are putting what should be a path (the hidden meaning because it means something to the editor ONLY) into the filename itself. If this system used directories instead no one would name their file Props_Boxes_box01.gmf. They would just name it box01 and place it in the correct directory.

 

 

You don't use any other labels in the name of the object? I also like to keep models in thier own seperate directories it helps when moving them. I can see all the points being made, but I still have no problems with the current system and kinda like it, I wasn't sure I would at first but .. you obviously dont, therefore we will just have to agree to disagree.

[Marleys Ghost]

-The previous point makes prefabs more useful, because you can attach a light directly to another entity and save it as a prefab.

 

 

Yep, I like that idea.

[Delerna]

What bothers me about the Unity is approach is you can only play around with the presets they hard code into the editor. What if you want your own flare entity? You can't code it with custom properties like our system allows.

 

Do you mean the interface to an object that is added in lua

 

from the directional light script

 

function class:InitDialog(grid)

self.super:InitDialog(grid)

group=grid:AddGroup("Light")

group:AddProperty("Resolution",PROPERTY_CHOICE,"256,512,1024,2048")

group:AddProperty("linearoffset",PROPERTY_VEC3,"0,1,2","Linear offset" )

group:AddProperty("shadowdistance",PROPERTY_VEC3,"","Shadow distance" )

group:AddProperty("Range",PROPERTY_FLOAT)

group:Expand(1)

end

 

 

If so then that's not correct.

Your way is nicer and possibly more powerful but Unity can do that sort of thing too

[Marleys Ghost]

-Make the asset pipeline pretty much like Unity's, using my own judgement to improve it.

 

 

Would that be like the same way it sets up new projects where you import them?

[Delerna]

All this is good to see

Unity certainly is not the be all and end all for asset management, not all of it is great.

But they did do a reasonably good job of it and you could do worse for inspiration.

 

What I am trying to say is that your editor is quite new I believe, having only recently being released.

As such it is quite impressive, some things missing, some improvements need to be made but overall very logical and user friendly.

Having extensively read many forum posts I know most of your users agree.