What is currently missing in TGEA?
by Keith "Kilo" Watt · in Torque Game Engine Advanced · 03/23/2007 (2:17 pm) · 5 replies
Hi all -
I am (obviously, since I'm posting here) a TGEA owner and I have TGE 1.4.2 as well. I was wondering if there is a comprehensive listing of what is currently missing or not currently working in TGEA 1.0, and if not, would it be possible to consolidate these features in one thread. In addition to the TGEA-specific things such as Atlas and shaders/materials, what does TGE 1.5 have that is currently missing from TGEA?
I've been going all over the forums reading about this feature and that, but I'm losing track. Of course, I know that there is no Atlas terrain editor and no OpenGL support (and hence no cross-platform support). What about the smaller things? Particles are very different, so I know Jeff Faust is anxiously working on that. I've read some reports that shadows aren't working on terrains in some cases, but I'm not sure what all was involved in that. In short, while the product page lists the features in TGEA that aren't in TGE (and it's quite a list!), what -isn't- in TGEA right now?
Many thanks,
Kilo
I am (obviously, since I'm posting here) a TGEA owner and I have TGE 1.4.2 as well. I was wondering if there is a comprehensive listing of what is currently missing or not currently working in TGEA 1.0, and if not, would it be possible to consolidate these features in one thread. In addition to the TGEA-specific things such as Atlas and shaders/materials, what does TGE 1.5 have that is currently missing from TGEA?
I've been going all over the forums reading about this feature and that, but I'm losing track. Of course, I know that there is no Atlas terrain editor and no OpenGL support (and hence no cross-platform support). What about the smaller things? Particles are very different, so I know Jeff Faust is anxiously working on that. I've read some reports that shadows aren't working on terrains in some cases, but I'm not sure what all was involved in that. In short, while the product page lists the features in TGEA that aren't in TGE (and it's quite a list!), what -isn't- in TGEA right now?
Many thanks,
Kilo
#2
Thanks for that explanation, that makes it a lot more clear on shadows. Wow, so basically all the fancy shaders and lighting that TGEA is (justifiably) famous for don't work on Atlas terrains. I assume they still work on legacy terrains, though, yes? I need Atlas for the big terrains, so I'll have to live with that until Atlas is finished, but I'm just trying to get my mind around what work still needs to be done.
So, the idiot's statement of the dynamic versus shadow issue is "the player casts a shadow, but his sword does not", yes? Just testing my understanding here...
Do you know of other missing features?
Thanks again,
Kilo
03/23/2007 (4:04 pm)
Hi Mark - Thanks for that explanation, that makes it a lot more clear on shadows. Wow, so basically all the fancy shaders and lighting that TGEA is (justifiably) famous for don't work on Atlas terrains. I assume they still work on legacy terrains, though, yes? I need Atlas for the big terrains, so I'll have to live with that until Atlas is finished, but I'm just trying to get my mind around what work still needs to be done.
So, the idiot's statement of the dynamic versus shadow issue is "the player casts a shadow, but his sword does not", yes? Just testing my understanding here...
Do you know of other missing features?
Thanks again,
Kilo
#3
Basically: only TSStatic objects don't cast shadows right now on Atlas. If you implement all your mission objects as ShapeBase derived (Player, StaticShape...) cast dynamic shadows, which can update as the object is animated... which is really cool.
03/23/2007 (6:30 pm)
I haven't played with props, but I imagine if dynamic shadows work for the player (which they do) then any props the player holds will cast a shadow. There are some light affects that do affect the Atlas terrain, like Bloom... but that's not really a direct affect.Basically: only TSStatic objects don't cast shadows right now on Atlas. If you implement all your mission objects as ShapeBase derived (Player, StaticShape...) cast dynamic shadows, which can update as the object is animated... which is really cool.
#4
03/27/2007 (6:44 am)
One thing I have noticed is that mounted objects dont shadow correctly either. By this I mean that they aren't blended together nicely like the player is with his mounted image weapon. Mounted objects shadow like completely separate entities. Annoying little artifact in R1. 
#5
03/27/2007 (3:29 pm)
I don't think Atlas is being affected by sunlight properly at the moment either.
Torque 3D Owner Mark Dynna