Torque 2D 1.1 Beta1 is live
by Justin DuJardin · in Torque Game Builder · 02/03/2006 (1:27 pm) · 23 replies
Hey guys, Josh is out of the office on his way to europe for a few weeks so he asked me to post this for him.
Yo Torque 2D'ers!
Yet another build for you all to check out and hopefully enjoy very much is now live on the site. This one represents a big step forward, even from our last Alpha (which went over exceedingly well). So, it's time to move past the Alpha stage. Say hello to T2D 1.1 Beta 1!
We expect there were probably some minor-ish oversights on this build, but overall it should be in *great* shape. If the build has as few problems as we expect, then this Beta1 build will be the last update we do for a little while, as we work hard internally to get out of alpha / beta.
Here's a quick rundown of the updates since Alpha4:
-First, we've created a boatload of new tools and added a ton of polish to the Level Builder. Justin and Adam L have been going nuts on this thing, and it's pretty amazing what they've done. Get ready for:
-Primitive shape tool support (again, in its infancy)
-Trigger support and tool (in its infancy... more enhancements and features coming soon!)
-3D Shape tool!
-SceneObject creation tool support
-Camera control tool
-Group and layer management controls (simple for now)
-Lots of GUI polish and clean-up work
-Integrated help files (press F1 and see how things work!)
-Tooltips
-And a heck of a lot more... don't want to spoil all the surprises. :)
-Next, we've added a new demo: multiplayer checkers! This is Matt Langley's creation, with the beautiful art of Nauris Krauze and Craig Fortune. Nice job guys.
-New docs! We've got a new doc for the Level Builder. We've also got a complete walkthrough of creating the checkers demo. All the other engine docs have been updated, including that many now reference and show you how to use the Level Builder to help speed up your game's development
-There's lots more, and we've done yet another round of good bug fixes. Thanks to all who've helped us find and smash bugs!
Pretty sweet. Anyway, we plan on this build being out and stable for a while, barring any emergency fixes that we need to push out. So, don't feel afraid to sit down with 1.1 Beta1 and get comfortable with it. This is the direction T2D is headed in, and getting a headstart on how it all works now is one of the best advantages for everyone here in these forums who's in on T2D early.
So, enjoy!
And once again, please note... when you report bugs, please mark them as Beta 1! And if you feel really helpful, in your bug reports, please help us indentify where in the code, script or assets the bug lies... and if you feel extra, extra helpful, go ahead and provide a nice fix! Thanks. The whole idea with these alphas is to give everyone a preview of what's to come, give you early updates, and hopefully have everyone help out making the engine better.
And another note: I'd love it if someone would convert the new tutorials on over to TDN for us (if they haven't made their way over there already... I'm actually typing this message up to be sent off tomorrow while I'm away from my desk).
Okay guys, have fun with T2D! Let us know if you hit any snags. :)
-Josh
Yo Torque 2D'ers!
Yet another build for you all to check out and hopefully enjoy very much is now live on the site. This one represents a big step forward, even from our last Alpha (which went over exceedingly well). So, it's time to move past the Alpha stage. Say hello to T2D 1.1 Beta 1!
We expect there were probably some minor-ish oversights on this build, but overall it should be in *great* shape. If the build has as few problems as we expect, then this Beta1 build will be the last update we do for a little while, as we work hard internally to get out of alpha / beta.
Here's a quick rundown of the updates since Alpha4:
-First, we've created a boatload of new tools and added a ton of polish to the Level Builder. Justin and Adam L have been going nuts on this thing, and it's pretty amazing what they've done. Get ready for:
-Primitive shape tool support (again, in its infancy)
-Trigger support and tool (in its infancy... more enhancements and features coming soon!)
-3D Shape tool!
-SceneObject creation tool support
-Camera control tool
-Group and layer management controls (simple for now)
-Lots of GUI polish and clean-up work
-Integrated help files (press F1 and see how things work!)
-Tooltips
-And a heck of a lot more... don't want to spoil all the surprises. :)
-Next, we've added a new demo: multiplayer checkers! This is Matt Langley's creation, with the beautiful art of Nauris Krauze and Craig Fortune. Nice job guys.
-New docs! We've got a new doc for the Level Builder. We've also got a complete walkthrough of creating the checkers demo. All the other engine docs have been updated, including that many now reference and show you how to use the Level Builder to help speed up your game's development
-There's lots more, and we've done yet another round of good bug fixes. Thanks to all who've helped us find and smash bugs!
Pretty sweet. Anyway, we plan on this build being out and stable for a while, barring any emergency fixes that we need to push out. So, don't feel afraid to sit down with 1.1 Beta1 and get comfortable with it. This is the direction T2D is headed in, and getting a headstart on how it all works now is one of the best advantages for everyone here in these forums who's in on T2D early.
So, enjoy!
And once again, please note... when you report bugs, please mark them as Beta 1! And if you feel really helpful, in your bug reports, please help us indentify where in the code, script or assets the bug lies... and if you feel extra, extra helpful, go ahead and provide a nice fix! Thanks. The whole idea with these alphas is to give everyone a preview of what's to come, give you early updates, and hopefully have everyone help out making the engine better.
And another note: I'd love it if someone would convert the new tutorials on over to TDN for us (if they haven't made their way over there already... I'm actually typing this message up to be sent off tomorrow while I'm away from my desk).
Okay guys, have fun with T2D! Let us know if you hit any snags. :)
-Josh
#3
02/03/2006 (2:00 pm)
Cool Thanks Guys!
#4
Thanks a whole lot Melv, Justin and gang!:)
02/03/2006 (2:13 pm)
It even comes with the return of D3D! Wow, now its time to dive right back in !:)Thanks a whole lot Melv, Justin and gang!:)
#5
02/03/2006 (2:52 pm)
Wow, we've had alpha 4 for what, a whole 4 days? Seriously, you guys rock. Thanks for the update and all the hard work! 
#6
02/03/2006 (2:57 pm)
Just a note for the Checker's Demo... you'll either need to run it on two different PC's and use Query LAN or Connect To IP to connect, or compile a Debug build of the engine and run two instances on the same pc :) 
#7
hehehe
well let me see if I can sucker, i mean talk someone into joining me for checkers.. :)
02/03/2006 (3:14 pm)
You mean no computer ai mode?hehehe
well let me see if I can sucker, i mean talk someone into joining me for checkers.. :)
#8
02/03/2006 (3:43 pm)
My head is spinning.... Mike is right, only four days of alpha 4 and now beta1?? HOT DAMN!! lol. I'm glad I decided to skip over downloading alpha 4, would have been a waste of time for me haha. Can't wait to get my mitts on beta 1, I'll download it later tonight. w00t!
#9
Oh yea and can't wait to read through the checkers doc since that directly applies to my turn-based game. Thanks Matt you rock!!
02/03/2006 (3:44 pm)
My head is spinning.... Mike is right, only four days of alpha 4 and now beta1?? HOT DAMN!! lol. I'm glad I decided to skip over downloading alpha 4, would have been a waste of time for me haha. Can't wait to get my mitts on beta 1, I'll download it later tonight. w00t! Thx guys!Oh yea and can't wait to read through the checkers doc since that directly applies to my turn-based game. Thanks Matt you rock!!
#10
If you take a look at the level builder and T2D in general from Alpha4 to Beta1 you will notice we've been doing ALOT of work, and we're going to continue to get as much done as possible over the next few months to get you all the best tools so that you can continue to make these amazingly cool 2D games.
Without you guys T2D wouldn't be where it is today, and we don't forget that for a second over here, so keep that feedback coming and we'll keep listening and adapting to what you all want!
Cheers and happy T2D'in
-Justin
02/03/2006 (3:48 pm)
Thanks for all the kind words guys, we all worked really hard over here to get this done and out to you because, well, we love you guys and want to provide you with the best of what we've got going on!If you take a look at the level builder and T2D in general from Alpha4 to Beta1 you will notice we've been doing ALOT of work, and we're going to continue to get as much done as possible over the next few months to get you all the best tools so that you can continue to make these amazingly cool 2D games.
Without you guys T2D wouldn't be where it is today, and we don't forget that for a second over here, so keep that feedback coming and we'll keep listening and adapting to what you all want!
Cheers and happy T2D'in
-Justin
#11
Way to go guys!:)
02/03/2006 (3:49 pm)
For some awesome reason, the performance of the shooter demo has increased exponentially on my little p3. You're not going to believe it, but I'm getting at least 250 fps!!! It's smooth and blazingly, dizzingly fast while still being extremely fun to play with! I really think Beta 1 is ready for commercial purposes! Way to go guys!:)
#12
Guess I'll just have to fire up the ol' XP box. Can't wait to check out the new features!
02/03/2006 (7:45 pm)
GAH! No love for OSX?Guess I'll just have to fire up the ol' XP box. Can't wait to check out the new features!
#13
Exactly what does GG consider the difference between Alpha and Beta to be?
Some nomenclatures consider pre-Alpha to be primary development of features, Alpha (pre-Beta) to be bug-fixing and polish, and post-Beta to be release candidates and (eventually) the final release.
What has prompted GG to start calling this release Beta rather than Alpha?
02/03/2006 (9:19 pm)
So, we were on Alpha 4, now we're on Beta 1.Exactly what does GG consider the difference between Alpha and Beta to be?
Some nomenclatures consider pre-Alpha to be primary development of features, Alpha (pre-Beta) to be bug-fixing and polish, and post-Beta to be release candidates and (eventually) the final release.
What has prompted GG to start calling this release Beta rather than Alpha?
#14
02/03/2006 (10:19 pm)
Download link is not active on commercial accounts..
#15
Hope you all enjoy the release, I know Justin (lead programmer) and Adam worked their arses off on the Level Builder, they got some of those tools to a stable point in record breaking time lol... Josh managed us as well as more thing at GG than I can count, the last night before release Josh was falling asleep while testing things, hes a robot or something I swear lol... and Paul is amazing on the mac side, he has been battling ailments the past couple days too, though he still seems to do some amazing mac magic, it's awesome to be working on Torque 2D with such amazing co-workers :)
Also wanted to add an extended thanks to everyone who is hammering this release, is going to hammer it, and has hammered the previous releases, we really couldn't fix and tweak things as much as we do without all the amazing feedback everyone gives... even the feedback since the last release, we debated whether it was going to be worth it, but the feedback from those few days alone was invaluable.
02/03/2006 (11:34 pm)
@Tom: Lol, yup, sorry no AI mode :) I spent about 2 days on the core of the game and about 1-2 extra days polishing it up some more (not including the roughly 44 page tutorial), have some pretty fun aspects in it, theres a surprise display of particle effects for the winner of the match :) Hope you all enjoy the release, I know Justin (lead programmer) and Adam worked their arses off on the Level Builder, they got some of those tools to a stable point in record breaking time lol... Josh managed us as well as more thing at GG than I can count, the last night before release Josh was falling asleep while testing things, hes a robot or something I swear lol... and Paul is amazing on the mac side, he has been battling ailments the past couple days too, though he still seems to do some amazing mac magic, it's awesome to be working on Torque 2D with such amazing co-workers :)
Also wanted to add an extended thanks to everyone who is hammering this release, is going to hammer it, and has hammered the previous releases, we really couldn't fix and tweak things as much as we do without all the amazing feedback everyone gives... even the feedback since the last release, we debated whether it was going to be worth it, but the feedback from those few days alone was invaluable.
#16
Smaug, to be perfectly honest, we don't have a formal policy for labeling this stuff. The work done for this build put a checkmark next to everything we had listed for ourselves in our "beta" milestone. We do still have some features we'd like to add, and a ton of tweaking and polish we'd like to do before we release, as well as bug hunting and smashing. So, we won't fit everyone's definition of beta, but many other companies (gamedev companies in particular, and google too) do not define beta as feature complete, bug killing time.
Overall, I am intimately familiar with where T2D stands at any given moment vis a vis what we would like to have in the next full release. When compared to how far along we are, "alpha" would have the wrong connotation for many people, and "beta" should seem just about right. I know that this presents a challenge in understanding the status and overall progress of things for some users, as all they have to go on is the fact that we basically say "we have reached a level of progress we determine to be very significant, and are now upgrading the project status label." So, I appreciate that that will seem rather ambiguous to lots of people. However, we've been putting out builds with regular progress updates for people like crazy lately, in an effort to bring everyone in on where we're at. And as we get further along, we'll do our best to let people know when we are feature-complete, at nearly bug free release candidate, etc.
02/04/2006 (9:42 am)
David, thanks for the catch. Ack. Please also see my email to you re: Linux... I'm sorry that we (yet again) couldn't get the Linux update ready in time. If you'd be so kind as to merge in your previous fixes again and update for the new stuff we've added, we will actuallly have time to breath and get the Linux changes in now. Smaug, to be perfectly honest, we don't have a formal policy for labeling this stuff. The work done for this build put a checkmark next to everything we had listed for ourselves in our "beta" milestone. We do still have some features we'd like to add, and a ton of tweaking and polish we'd like to do before we release, as well as bug hunting and smashing. So, we won't fit everyone's definition of beta, but many other companies (gamedev companies in particular, and google too) do not define beta as feature complete, bug killing time.
Overall, I am intimately familiar with where T2D stands at any given moment vis a vis what we would like to have in the next full release. When compared to how far along we are, "alpha" would have the wrong connotation for many people, and "beta" should seem just about right. I know that this presents a challenge in understanding the status and overall progress of things for some users, as all they have to go on is the fact that we basically say "we have reached a level of progress we determine to be very significant, and are now upgrading the project status label." So, I appreciate that that will seem rather ambiguous to lots of people. However, we've been putting out builds with regular progress updates for people like crazy lately, in an effort to bring everyone in on where we're at. And as we get further along, we'll do our best to let people know when we are feature-complete, at nearly bug free release candidate, etc.
#17
02/04/2006 (11:39 am)
Wow, I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition.. er, I mean beta already! Thanks mucho.....
#18
Having this visual toolset is going to speed up production and shorten the learning curve of the engine enourmously.
Great work guys.
-Unk
02/04/2006 (11:43 am)
I just had the opportunity to fire this build up for the first time.Having this visual toolset is going to speed up production and shorten the learning curve of the engine enourmously.
Great work guys.
-Unk
#19
02/04/2006 (11:43 am)
Nobody ever expects the Spanish Inquisition. Or T2D beta on such a short schedule!
#20
02/04/2006 (11:46 am)
Just hope the Mac version is coming soon, too. :)
Torque Owner Jason Swearingen