New Editor for TGEA
by Marc Schaerer · 10/03/2007 (2:15 pm) · 13 comments
It has been quite some time since my last blog post and quite a lot has happened.
The most important point is that I am now part of a team that uses TGEA for its games.
TGEA is quite interesting and powerfull technology but we soon struggled over the part that the editor does not meet the capabilities of TGEA with stuff beeing visible not working and things working not beeing doable through the editor.
For that reason, I've currently redesigning the editor from ground up to allow it to be more powerfull and more consistent than it currently is.
I plan to do this on a such modular base that it would be possible to give out the editor to others as well when it is finished.
Part of this rewrite is:
- Cleanup and Fix of broken and inexistant WE and TE features.
- Add more features to the TE like the possibility to access all 4x 4 textures usable on legacy for example.
- Integration of the light editor into a similar structure.
- Implementation of a full featured Particle
- Implementation of a Material Editor with realtime preview
- Redoing the UI editor. Got poisoned by the TGB one which lets the TGEA UI editor look like a stone age toy
The editor will be using a more context sensitive approach than the original one which just floods the menu etc with useless stuff.
If there are things you always thought that should be there and aren't or things that should perhaps work different, let me know here. Perhaps you have a point I haven't thought of yet.
The most important point is that I am now part of a team that uses TGEA for its games.
TGEA is quite interesting and powerfull technology but we soon struggled over the part that the editor does not meet the capabilities of TGEA with stuff beeing visible not working and things working not beeing doable through the editor.
For that reason, I've currently redesigning the editor from ground up to allow it to be more powerfull and more consistent than it currently is.
I plan to do this on a such modular base that it would be possible to give out the editor to others as well when it is finished.
Part of this rewrite is:
- Cleanup and Fix of broken and inexistant WE and TE features.
- Add more features to the TE like the possibility to access all 4x 4 textures usable on legacy for example.
- Integration of the light editor into a similar structure.
- Implementation of a full featured Particle
- Implementation of a Material Editor with realtime preview
- Redoing the UI editor. Got poisoned by the TGB one which lets the TGEA UI editor look like a stone age toy
The editor will be using a more context sensitive approach than the original one which just floods the menu etc with useless stuff.
If there are things you always thought that should be there and aren't or things that should perhaps work different, let me know here. Perhaps you have a point I haven't thought of yet.
About the author
#2
10/03/2007 (3:56 pm)
Screenshots might be useful :)
#4
10/03/2007 (4:41 pm)
I second the positive sentiment, this sounds like cool stuff. Showing off at IGC? :)
#5
One thing I'm currently not sure about is: Would common user prefer a redesigned editor or do they like how the "fixed right panel" works?
10/03/2007 (5:38 pm)
At the moment the only screenshots I could give are UMLS and concept sketches done on tablet as the visual look still is very similar to the original one.One thing I'm currently not sure about is: Would common user prefer a redesigned editor or do they like how the "fixed right panel" works?
#6
It would be cool to see it redesigned. Maybe as a floating panel or even as its own window.
Whenever I think of doing things like this for Torque I am always forced back to MacroMedia Director and Adobe Photoshop's interfaces. They are designed to work with multiple monitors without hindering the viewable area. TGB was a great step in the right direction but I think there is still more that can be done with it.
10/03/2007 (11:06 pm)
This sounds fantastic.It would be cool to see it redesigned. Maybe as a floating panel or even as its own window.
Whenever I think of doing things like this for Torque I am always forced back to MacroMedia Director and Adobe Photoshop's interfaces. They are designed to work with multiple monitors without hindering the viewable area. TGB was a great step in the right direction but I think there is still more that can be done with it.
#7
I will definitely investigate that.
As I plan to remain on the Torque GUI system to allow future crossplatform support (for the day when TGEA gets an OpenGL GFX driver) I will have to investigate the performance inpact.
My plan was to make it panel based, where panels can be shown optionally.
That and trying to get flyout menues into the GUI system for editor selection panels and tool selection.
I would really like to make it more mainstream like
10/04/2007 (9:53 am)
Its own window sounds like a good idea.I will definitely investigate that.
As I plan to remain on the Torque GUI system to allow future crossplatform support (for the day when TGEA gets an OpenGL GFX driver) I will have to investigate the performance inpact.
My plan was to make it panel based, where panels can be shown optionally.
That and trying to get flyout menues into the GUI system for editor selection panels and tool selection.
I would really like to make it more mainstream like
#8
10/04/2007 (10:55 am)
Just making the Particle Editor Work in TGEA sounds great to me.
#9
But it is missing points that are important to me, supporting things not available to TGEA and is codewise as visualy not structured clean and intuitive.
One important thing for example is a possibility to draw the polygons for the subareas on the image directly. This is a feature supported since TGEA 1.0.1 and I don't like doing it in an imaging application if I could do it with direct visual reaction.
10/04/2007 (11:08 am)
Having a working one in TGEA isn't that hard. That one is even easier when you use the particle editor resource available for TGE.But it is missing points that are important to me, supporting things not available to TGEA and is codewise as visualy not structured clean and intuitive.
One important thing for example is a possibility to draw the polygons for the subareas on the image directly. This is a feature supported since TGEA 1.0.1 and I don't like doing it in an imaging application if I could do it with direct visual reaction.
#10
10/04/2007 (11:32 am)
PlasticGames has a tool you might find interesting. . . find out more at IGC
#11
Thank you for the information
10/04/2007 (11:41 am)
I won't be able to visit the IGC but will keep an eye on their blogs and page.Thank you for the information
#12
10/04/2007 (8:03 pm)
This would be a very useful project. I wish you the best of luck.
#13
10/10/2007 (7:44 am)
Groovy.
Florian