TorqueDev / Codeweaver returns with a fury!
by Sam Bacsa · 05/24/2009 (1:51 am) · 26 comments
I am pleased to announce my return to the GG community, as well as resuming support and development of the Codeweaver / TorqueDev IDE. I've gotten a lot of emails, bug reports, and feedback over the years that really made me realize that a lot of you use it, and since it's being used, it's gotta work!
A new build was released today that includes one major change, and a couple of minor bug fixes. First off, Codeweaver has been officially renamed back to TorqueDev. Codeweaver was a great name, but it lacked that extra something that really told people what it was about. It's about Torque, after all. So, that's the major change we're introducing.
Second, a few bug fixes were made, such as a multi-threading race condition issue which some of you have no doubt experienced, and a number of other fixes.
I need your input! And badly, too. In the next week or so, I will be setting up a bug report / feedback site, as well as changing up the the forums to another board software. Also, I'll be reading any comments posted here... so please, if you use TorqueDev and want to give me some feedback about something in it, please do!
In the next couple of months I expect to be making some major changes to the codebase that will not only increase its speed and efficiency, but also knock out some of the major bugs that have been plaguing the IDE for years. New features will be added as well, so I'm always up for ideas!
Also, the website will be due for some major changes too. Part of it's already been re-titled, but there are several pages that still need work. Probably going to see a layout upgrade too!
Once everything gets solid, I'll be introducing a professional version of the IDE that people can purchase, which will also include high-quality support with impressive turn-around. Additionally, I'll be introducing an edition for schools and students, as TorqueDev is currently being used in a number of educational institutions and settings.
Please make your opinions known! If you've used the IDE before, or if you've been actively using it for years, I want to know what you have to say about it and how I can improve it. If you're not using it, or if you're no longer using it, I'd like to know why, and how I can change your mind.
Best wishes to everyone!
Sincerely,
Sam Bacsa
Starting Out - What's New
A new build was released today that includes one major change, and a couple of minor bug fixes. First off, Codeweaver has been officially renamed back to TorqueDev. Codeweaver was a great name, but it lacked that extra something that really told people what it was about. It's about Torque, after all. So, that's the major change we're introducing.
Second, a few bug fixes were made, such as a multi-threading race condition issue which some of you have no doubt experienced, and a number of other fixes.
On the horizon
I need your input! And badly, too. In the next week or so, I will be setting up a bug report / feedback site, as well as changing up the the forums to another board software. Also, I'll be reading any comments posted here... so please, if you use TorqueDev and want to give me some feedback about something in it, please do!
In the next couple of months I expect to be making some major changes to the codebase that will not only increase its speed and efficiency, but also knock out some of the major bugs that have been plaguing the IDE for years. New features will be added as well, so I'm always up for ideas!
Also, the website will be due for some major changes too. Part of it's already been re-titled, but there are several pages that still need work. Probably going to see a layout upgrade too!
Out in the future
Once everything gets solid, I'll be introducing a professional version of the IDE that people can purchase, which will also include high-quality support with impressive turn-around. Additionally, I'll be introducing an edition for schools and students, as TorqueDev is currently being used in a number of educational institutions and settings.
Closing thoughts
Please make your opinions known! If you've used the IDE before, or if you've been actively using it for years, I want to know what you have to say about it and how I can improve it. If you're not using it, or if you're no longer using it, I'd like to know why, and how I can change your mind.
Best wishes to everyone!
Sincerely,
Sam Bacsa
About the author
#2
05/24/2009 (4:47 am)
Wow great, I really like TorqueDev :-D 
#3
05/24/2009 (5:08 am)
Personally I'd only move away from Torsion for something that ran on Mac. Food for thought if you want to bring this project back? I know for sure a lot of people are in desperate need of a Mac TorqueScript editor... 
#4
Of course, these are situations where I'm mostly working in engine code rather than script logic - those times when I've been doing hardcore scripting, I wasn't bothered by the things I mentioned.
05/24/2009 (6:41 am)
I did use Codeweaver for a while, but I got annoyed with its long loading time when I just wanted to tweak something little in a script. That, and the way it seemed to always want to create a new project even when I'd only opened one file for editing.Of course, these are situations where I'm mostly working in engine code rather than script logic - those times when I've been doing hardcore scripting, I wasn't bothered by the things I mentioned.
#5
05/24/2009 (8:17 am)
Welcome back! A few AFX new syntax errors just need your help.
#6
05/24/2009 (10:18 am)
awesome to see codeweaver/torqueDev being updated again. it is my main script editor for Torque. 
#7
glad to hear it will be supported again
05/24/2009 (10:38 am)
I really liked codeweaver, the load time was a bit long though, and alot of time I had difficulty getting some of my script files to load, but other days they would load fine....I hope these are some of the things you are looking into.....when it worked it was very helpfulglad to hear it will be supported again
#8
05/24/2009 (1:22 pm)
Hey, I remember CodeWeaver, and did like it for use with Torque, but like several people have already mentioned it's loading time was atrociously long, which compelled me to move away from it. But I'm glad to hear it's under development again -- much luck with that.
#9
@Daniel, @wiseman2, @Michael: The long loading time has been cut down significantly since the new version has been compiled in .Net 3.5. Additionally, I'm going to be changing up the updater/install engine a bit and running the ngen utility on it, which should speed up the loading even more.
I've got some big plans for the IDE, including a complete re-write which will focus more on speed and performance, since this version wasn't built to be what it had become. It started out as a script parser/object browser and features were kind of tacked on. Nothing like feature creep, right? O.o
Thanks for all your feedback :)
05/24/2009 (2:07 pm)
@Craig: Unfortunately, Mac programming is significantly different enough from Windows programming that it's not something I'm willing to jump into, especially since the .Net framework is not supported on OS X.@Daniel, @wiseman2, @Michael: The long loading time has been cut down significantly since the new version has been compiled in .Net 3.5. Additionally, I'm going to be changing up the updater/install engine a bit and running the ngen utility on it, which should speed up the loading even more.
I've got some big plans for the IDE, including a complete re-write which will focus more on speed and performance, since this version wasn't built to be what it had become. It started out as a script parser/object browser and features were kind of tacked on. Nothing like feature creep, right? O.o
Thanks for all your feedback :)
#10
05/24/2009 (2:53 pm)
@Same: Have you had a look at Mono?
#11
For the MAC dudes, you might wanna check out JEdit/TIDE, which I am currently updating and extending...
05/24/2009 (3:37 pm)
Great to see TorqueDev coming back alive! :)For the MAC dudes, you might wanna check out JEdit/TIDE, which I am currently updating and extending...
#12
Lots of Mac people out there with cash burning their pockets. ;)
Melv.
05/25/2009 (6:16 am)
@Sam: Phillip speaks sense. You can even develop using Visual Studio (if you wish) and periodically run a checker tool that ensures you can run on Mono without problems.Lots of Mac people out there with cash burning their pockets. ;)
Melv.
#13
05/25/2009 (6:46 am)
Glad to see you're back! Yeah the loading time was a bit too much for me but other than that I really liked Code Weaver. 
#14
05/25/2009 (8:04 am)
TorqueDev.......Torsion.......to me they are both great programs. The fact that GG or these other developers haven't ported their work over to the Mac is driving me crazy. I believe that which ever IDE comes out with a version for the Mac and PC is going to take the cake.
#15
I've looked at using the syntax highlighter from SharpEdit. It looks fairly simple to implement, actually, but I'd still have to figure out a way to get the tool windows and what-not implemented.
When I mentioned I'd be doing a complete re-write of TorqueDev to make it significantly better, I did also mean delving into the idea of writing a Mac OS and Linux port of it.
So, I'm working on the feasibility of the idea before I commit to it. SharpEdit does have a few IME P/Invoke stuff that can be taken out (for the most part), but there are a few caret control P/Invoke calls that would need to be ported to Mac OS for it to work properly. So, we'll see.
I'll keep you guys updated :)
05/25/2009 (8:34 am)
@Pillip and Melv: Yeah, Mac. I've ran the MoMA analysis tool over the IDE and, whereas my EXE passes most of the tests (the web browser control being the issue, and it can be taken out because it's not a big deal), the syntax editor control that does all the highlighting, and the toolbar controls that do all the docking and what-not are the biggest concern. They call a lot of PInvoke methods and they'd have to be taken out of the equation.I've looked at using the syntax highlighter from SharpEdit. It looks fairly simple to implement, actually, but I'd still have to figure out a way to get the tool windows and what-not implemented.
When I mentioned I'd be doing a complete re-write of TorqueDev to make it significantly better, I did also mean delving into the idea of writing a Mac OS and Linux port of it.
So, I'm working on the feasibility of the idea before I commit to it. SharpEdit does have a few IME P/Invoke stuff that can be taken out (for the most part), but there are a few caret control P/Invoke calls that would need to be ported to Mac OS for it to work properly. So, we'll see.
I'll keep you guys updated :)
#17
05/25/2009 (12:20 pm)
Just tried TorqueDev and I must say that there is a remarkable improvement in loading time compared against the CodeWeaver days. Good job on that! On a side note you even fixed a bug that you probably never even knew about. When I had tried CodeWeaver before I was unable to scroll with the touchpad on a laptop but now I can. Good job all around from what I've seen so far. 
#18
05/25/2009 (2:46 pm)
Awesome news bro. Glad to hear you're back. 
#19
Having some competition for Torsion is also not bad.
Glad to see you back Sam, I'm looking forward to the upcoming releases.
05/26/2009 (2:42 pm)
Nice. Seeing that there are plans to look into the feasibility of mono along with .NET is a good thing imho.Having some competition for Torsion is also not bad.
Glad to see you back Sam, I'm looking forward to the upcoming releases.
#20
Bind F3 to Find Next. When I hit Ctrl+F to search for something, I'm used to hitting enter to get the first result, then escape to get the big window off my code so I can see where the result is. Then I hit F3 repeatedly to cycle through the next results.
Another suggestion is a more recognizable way to tell which line is selected on either the regular find or the Find in Project. If you could highlight the line that has the find result, that'd greatly speed up my use.
Thanks, and good luck on the project!
07/05/2009 (1:25 pm)
Hey, I like TorqueDev, it's a rather useful IDE. But there is one feature that I would greatly appreciate.Bind F3 to Find Next. When I hit Ctrl+F to search for something, I'm used to hitting enter to get the first result, then escape to get the big window off my code so I can see where the result is. Then I hit F3 repeatedly to cycle through the next results.
Another suggestion is a more recognizable way to tell which line is selected on either the regular find or the Find in Project. If you could highlight the line that has the find result, that'd greatly speed up my use.
Thanks, and good luck on the project!
Torque 3D Owner Marcus Daw