Quoted directly from Mark's worklog:
The way things were going, Max3D would have ended up as 'yet another 3D API', along the lines of B3D, Ogre, DB, etc. Not necessarily a bad thing, but something that just doesn't hold enough interest for me anymore.
The fact is, Blitz3D and its peers only solve a bit of the game creation problem, and I really want to aim for something that solves more - something significantly higher level.
I have many thoughts on how to achieve this, but key amongst them is:
* Custom tools/editors. I have tried many times to somehow 'extract' portal information, shader-friendly material properties and the like from 3rd party app files like 3DS etc, but to no avail. Enough! I'll do my own editors that will be able to produce exactly the data I need. This also means being able to add whizzy stuff like sound effects to surfaces etc etc.
* It will include a 'game editor', however...
* It will remain fundamentally code driven. If you own a Mac and haven't played with 'interface builder' yet, I encourage you do so now to see what I mean. Interface builder takes quite a radically different approach to RAD design - instead of generating code, it really just connects up existing code. This gives you huge flexibility to customize absolutely everything without the headache of maintaining sync with generated code.
This is of course quite a departure from what I've done in the past, but it's something I've always wanted to have a go at and, if not now, when?!?
More on all this as it develops...
The fact is, Blitz3D and its peers only solve a bit of the game creation problem, and I really want to aim for something that solves more - something significantly higher level.
I have many thoughts on how to achieve this, but key amongst them is:
* Custom tools/editors. I have tried many times to somehow 'extract' portal information, shader-friendly material properties and the like from 3rd party app files like 3DS etc, but to no avail. Enough! I'll do my own editors that will be able to produce exactly the data I need. This also means being able to add whizzy stuff like sound effects to surfaces etc etc.
* It will include a 'game editor', however...
* It will remain fundamentally code driven. If you own a Mac and haven't played with 'interface builder' yet, I encourage you do so now to see what I mean. Interface builder takes quite a radically different approach to RAD design - instead of generating code, it really just connects up existing code. This gives you huge flexibility to customize absolutely everything without the headache of maintaining sync with generated code.
This is of course quite a departure from what I've done in the past, but it's something I've always wanted to have a go at and, if not now, when?!?
More on all this as it develops...