Moving forward with Leadwerks Engine 2.4 and Leadwerks 3.0
Entry posted by Josh ·
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I feel like you guys are owed an explanation of our long-term strategy, and now that I have definite plans I am happy to reveal them to you.
I've been spending a lot of time in the Silicon Valley area, and have learned a lot about business. We've been investigating external investment. I believe we could raise pretty much any amount of money we want, based on the fact we already have an existing business that is self-sustaining, and we have a great strategy. However, money does not necessarily equal success, and funding brings more restrictions. If we raised $10 million, our investors would expect a $100 million return, and everything we did would have to be geared towards that. If you recall the Blade3D story, you know what can happen when these deals go bad. I believe the wisest strategy for the development of Leadwerks 3.0 is for me to buckle down and write the majority of the C++ code, then add additional programmers once the foundation is in place. This allows me to carefully design the core functionality without external pressures. It ensures I don’t trust the engine core to some programmer that may not understand our design objectives. Finally, it forces me to tame that beast that is C++. Even if my future is more of a management role than programming, I still need to be able to evaluate future employees’ work. Once I feel the project is ready for more programmers, we may seek funding, but we’ll be in a less risky position at that point.
Another thing I have learned is how great networking is. It’s fun, and it can lead to valuable contacts. I live two hours from San Jose, so there is no excuse for me not to be more involved in the game industry. From now on, I am going to attend more IGDA and other events. I may find some good programmers to hire later on, or it may lead to new partnerships like the one I will be announcing with version 2.4. For many developers, Leadwerks is your portal into the game industry. If I am more in involved with what is going on, then by extension you will be, too.
Leadwerks 3.0 will be written in C++, but will still support all the languages we do now. Every part of the code that interfaces with the hardware will be abstracted out as a “driver”. This includes graphics, sound, the file system, and networking. To add support for a new platform, we will just write a new set of drivers for that hardware. The editor will continue to be written in BlitzMax because development time will be shorter and the end result will be fast and cross-platform compatible. To begin with, I am most interested in Windows and Android, but eventually plan on supporting everything. The abstracted driver design we are using makes it possible for separate teams to work on porting the code independently.
I’ve received a lot of great feedback from the community, especially on the tools and workflow. The design of version 3.0 makes it easier for users to just click and drag some items around to make a game, but you can still drill down to the script and programming level, when you need more control. The most intriguing aspect is how it lets advanced programmers work together with designers, and they all can make valuable contributions to a project.
Leadwerks Engine 2.4 will be out soon, and will include a brand new lighting feature that has never been done before, by any engine. The bug tracker is presently clear of reports, but if anything comes up in the future, it will be fixed and patched. After 2.4 is released, I will be going on a short vacation, and when I return work on Leadwerks 3.0 will begin in earnest. We will begin offering the 3.0 beta for sale at a generous discount only to existing Leadwerks Engine 2 developers. When will it be done? I don't know, but I will have a better idea after working with the C++ code for a while.
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