Torque 3D Development - Beta is UP!

We're here! Beta! BETA!

We're definitely allowing ourselves a *little* celebrating here, but while I wish we could sit back, drink some cervezas, and take in some particularly nice Oregon weather, today is when the real work begins. In this job though, it's also when the fun really starts. All these disparate, complex pieces are starting to come together, and we need your help to get to the finish line. We need your feedback. First things first...

Download from your Account

If you've been holding out for today to upgrade or purchase Torque 3D, you can still get your $200 OFF pre-order discount right now. If you're already a Torque 3D owner, congrats! The next few months are going to be really fun. Working with Torque is now very different. We're going to conduct this beta testing process with fast cycles for iteration, and if pre-orders are any indication, with your full engagement =)

What's in this beta?

Web Deployment from the Torque Toolbox (Windows only) - You can now deploy any project you choose to be embedded in a web page.


Material Editor *** blog describing features and use is forthcoming


Decal Road Editor (see previous blog)


River Editor (see previous blog)



World Editor Documentation (offline docs are included)

Advanced Lighting


Basic Lighting - this is very similar to TGEA lighting, but we have some suprises here too. You'll see a first glimpse of what's possible with an unnanounced new static lighting option as well in the FPS Genre Kit. This *very* high-end baked lighting option is a 3rd party add-on to Torque 3D, and not included in the core, but Basic Lighting (similar to TGEA) is included.


PhysX Demo - See the physics from South Pacific in action here.


For PhysX, don't forget to...

1. Get the PhysX Software and install it in the default location.
2. Get the PhysX SDK and install it in its default location as well.


PostFX (SSAO, DoF, Edge AA)


New Cubemap Skybox *** more details coming on this

Live Asset Updating - Update your content in a 3rd party app, save, and watch it update in Torque 3D real-time. Definitely will see a blog on this soon, but it's all hooked up right now!

What's next?

You can post your feedback in the Torque 3D Private Forums, and submit bugs to the dedicated thread.

Our next Beta build is scheduled for roughly 2 weeks from now. The plan is to include:

Mesh Road Editor
Decal Editor
Datablock Editor
Performance Optimizations to Advanced Lighting, adding Spotlights and Mounting
Terrain Improvements, adding LOD and Normalmapping,
PostFX Improvements, adding Soft Particles
MANY Usability Improvements for the World Editor


Alright game developers...have at it!!!

Remember, this is a beta, and there are bound to be many rough edges. We're nowhere near satisfied with this yet, and we'll be working hard on usability, polish, and performance for many weeks to come. Your help is crucial to us identifying and prioritizing the most important issues. We have a roadmap, but we're not finished until we're happy and hopefully, you're happy too =)

More development blogs to come. This is post #18.

Torque 3D development blogs:

• Post #1 - Kickoff
• Post #2 - Apparatus and Warrior Camp
• Post #3 - Luma's racing kit
• Post #4 - Josh Engebretson and Web Publishing
• Post #5 - Pricing and Licensing
• Post #6 - Pricing and Licensing CONTINUED
• Post #7 - Wetness & Precipitation
• Post #8 - Screeen Space Ambient Occlusion (SSAO)
• Post #9 - Matt Langley and the Torque Launcher
• Post #10 - Chris Robertson and Collada
• Post #11 - Depth of Field
• Post #12 - Advanced Lighting
• Post #13 - Soft Particles
• Post #14 - World Editor
• Post #15 - Pricing and Licensing ANNOUNCED!
• Post #16 - GDC Live Edition
• Post #17 - River & Road Editors
• Post #18 - Beta is UP!
• Post #19 - Light Rays, Undercity, Material Editor
• Post #20 - Mass Market Hardware
• Post #21 - Beta: Part Deux
• Post #22 - Marching Towards Beta 3
• Post #23 - pureLIGHT
• Post #24 - Lighting, Terrain, and Cloth
• Post #25 - Beta 3!
• Post #26 - Coming Soon!