Requested Features and Improvements

[HeadClot88]

Things that I want to see are...

 

- OSX Build

 

- Performance

 

- Some sort of editor plugin system.

 

- Visual Shader Editor. Realistically we are limited to about 4 users here that can actually use the current method to its potential.

 

- Improved Scene Graph as discussed in other threads

 

- Substance Designer integration.

 

- GUI Editor.

 

I like this list.

 

We need the ability to make large worlds in one shape or form.

 

I have posted about that here. also multiplayer is another big one that I would like to see.

[josk]

Any poll needs to be on this site.

 

Also some of these are going to be big jobs, maybe Josh could choose one to work on long term and another smaller job that can be worked on now like having folders in the Scene Tab. Though that might be a big job.

[gamecreator]

Remember that this thread in no way obligates Josh to work on any of these. While it would be nice if he ended up prioritizing the top choices, they may not be part of his plans in the immediate future.

[Azure_Zero]

When Networking is done,

I would like it, so that when we publish a game (not workshop) that it can have a simple level editor that only uses in-game assets/entitites, ... etc to increase that game's community as well as the leadwerks community.

 

I would also like if Leadwerks is able to use/intergrate Daz genesis (1 and 2) characters natively or in a separate model/render path as the Daz genesis bases are powerful and well made. (though folks would need to buy the $500 indie dev license to use them in leadwerks)

[Azure_Zero]

Delete this accidental post

[YouGroove]

- Visual Shader Editor. Realistically we are limited to about 4 users here that can actually use the current method to its potential.

Too much work, it could cost months to a year to debug and be production ready.

 

- Substance Designer integration.

Already discussed with Allegorithmic guys, not possible for LE3 today.

 

- GUI Editor.

Too much work it won't arrive in LE3 , you have to pay for NeosisGUI if you want some editor.

 

 

LE3 needs a too big PC for small game, i think performance should be among the first places

[whiterabbit]

One thing I would like to see is a better stack trace for Lua errors.

 

So when there is an error it doesn't just tell say which file/function, but also shows the chain of function calls leading up to that.

[Josh]

This is exactly what it does when an error occurs. The call stack is shown in the Lua debugger.

[Guppy]

This is exactly what it does when an error occurs. The call stack is shown in the Lua debugger.

 

It this a windows feature? - because on linux it just crashes when for instance calling a function that doesn't exist

[Josh]

It really depends on that type of crash.

[whiterabbit]

This is exactly what it does when an error occurs. The call stack is shown in the Lua debugger.

 

Does it have to be run in debug mode for that?

 

EDIT: I just tried it and I understand now.

[Gengivas]

Here is my list :

 

-Start menu (GUI) creation

-Water creation

-decal brush or placeholder

-encryption in packaging and removal of unused assets in packaging process

-performance fixes

-vegetation painter

-text painter (paint text, example: in walls etc)

-some more assets.there aren't many in steam workshop

 

But please, put at least the features of other leadwerks versions water need water im thirsty,Give me water creation

[Thirsty Panther]

Shadmar has water for you to drink here http://www.leadwerks.com/werkspace/topic/10794-needing-help/#entry79138

[randomkeyhits]

Since I've been here a short time its been all learn learn learn, the things I ran into quickly were (lua only)

• Gui - menus /options (understand how, not had time to invest)
  
• Cutscene Player - use in game resources to help progress the story (running away from this right now)
  
• Enhanced NavMesh control - want multiple layers and the ability to manually edit/lock individual layers. NavMesh selection would have to be added to existing navigation commands
  
• Simple Templates - Create a lot more templates for doing various things, what there is, is useful but I've had to go back to first principle to achieve a number of functions, the more mature the engine, the less true this should be.
  
• Documentation/Content Consolidation - This kind of thing is always time consuming but it can quickly become a strong selling point for a good engine. More tutorials and keeping it all in one place. I'm never quite sure where something will be or should go. Do I post a tutorial here or on Steam? Do I go here or Steam for my primary source of tutorials. I also notice that the files section of this website does not have a direct link and there is a lot of good stuff there, I kept running across it via Google. Do I post everything to Steam Workshop, or in the files section or under tutorials here or on Steam or both?
  

As I get deeper into my first projects I've no doubt I'll start putting out some of the suggestions above but as a new user these were the ones that I immediately faced.

[Olby]

Documentation/Content Consolidation - This kind of thing is always time consuming but it can quickly become a strong selling point for a good engine. More tutorials and keeping it all in one place. I'm never quite sure where something will be or should go. Do I post a tutorial here or on Steam? Do I go here or Steam for my primary source of tutorials. I also notice that the files section of this website does not have a direct link and there is a lot of good stuff there, I kept running across it via Google. Do I post everything to Steam Workshop, or in the files section or under tutorials here or on Steam or both?

 

Totally agree on that point, I also face the dilemma when looking for content/tutorials and the rest. Currently the website is really fragmented. My take would be to totally hide the old content and push it all to Steam. Majority of it does not work with LE3.1+ anyway.

[Josh]

There's a link in the website header for tutorials, and it only shows Leadwerks 3 tutorials. I'm not sure how much simpler it can be.

[randomkeyhits]

I'm still not sure I was explaining myself well enough.

 

The core site is fine, the documentation is what it is, dry but functional (this is a good thing)

 

As a newcomer to LeadWerks, usable examples, references and guides are still pretty limited. To get as far as I have I've mostly being going from first principle to "prototype version 1". No game polish, no roundness of feature just the most basic "does the job" functionality. Where possible I've dissected examples pretty thoroughly. This is definitely not a complaint but an observation, As I learn I will contribute back what I can as well, heck, I've already started though my first attempts are pretty basic.

 

What does happen is we exhaust the website content very quickly and start expanding our searches which usually includes Google. That ends up including references to 2.x which there is litte you can do anything about and I've already learned to avoid most 2.x files, forum posts and such.

 

I usually end up rotating between this site, Steam and Google looking for clues as to how I can progress whatever my current issue is.

 

In the end the more reference material, the more examples we have, the better the "seed" material then the quicker we are able to digest it and get past the discovery stage into the productive stage of development.

 

Hmm, I'm still not sure I've done a good job of explaining this.

[Josh]

It sounds like you want a bunch of different example games with code, assets, and a written walkthrough of how it was all made.

 

In other words it's like "here's the game we made, and how we made it" rather than "this is how this tool works". Start with the result and then work back to the implementation.

[Gengivas]

For me only a few assets are needed. like some common house furniture, lamps,closets. 1 or 2 models of a plane (for example for making a hangar for instance)some more things to work with. i definitively buy that dlc if it comes available.You could make some dlc packs with items of the same genre.For exemaple the household pack (house furnitures), disco pack (disco models, mirror balls), military pack (military models, planes, boats, ships, etc)monster pack ( some rigged monsters that are animated or to be animated),some animation editor, that we could make an inanimated model to be animated).a texture editor pack dlc.The engine is very good and awesome as is.This sugestions are to make it powerfull and super awesome.And this suggestions are some of the things i'd like to see in the future .

[randomkeyhits]

That isn't what I was asking for.

 

The best way I can describe it would be functional templates. These are NOT drop in code blocks you just use, they just provide the framework to say "your stuff, your detail, it goes in here like this"

 

A good example of this was the first task I had in LeadWerks was to have a menu and to be able to enter a new characters name. As a new user it was not obvious from the documentation on how to do this. It took a while to put all the pieces together and make them into something intelligible. Typing in a characters name should not be a problem you have to solve from first principles.

 

You want us, your users, to be able to focus on building our games and publishing them. I agree, we should be focussed on that. So far though I have not gotten that far. I'm still constructing the basics which lead to me making a game, not the game itself.

 

On that note is there any way we can contribute back into the "My Game" project or at least submit offerings for you to consider? I understand that we'd have to relinquish any rights to the offerings but if they help provide richer starting content then everyone wins.

[damvcoool]

I would love to see some Terrain making improvements, like:

- Vegetation Painting

- River Making tool

- Road Making tool

[gamecreator]

Those were the most popular requests in the vote.

[Bytecroc]

My first suggestion is a LOD System, for Terrain and also for other Objects.

 

It should not be set too sensitive, so not every small unit should be calculated when the camera moves. This saves computing time.

Also, the LOD from lowpoly to highpoly mesh and vice versa should not sit on the same distance point.

In a related line like so: camera moves in the X direction 10 units on the object and reaches the point at which an object is used more detailed (now high poly).

Now it should not be swapped between the lowpoly-mesh and highpoly-mesh back and forth (this happens when you have the objects more on the left or right side and you walk not exactly strait forward).

The distance to calculate from the high to the low poly mesh should be higher than the distance from the low poly mesh to the high poly mesh.

 

I have such a rendering function with one point in an other engine and then the objects swappes allways from high to lowpoly on the side if you walk on that line and that is not very nice to see.

I can write such a function for myself for objects but not for the terrain system.

[Josh]

Terrain LOD is used right now.

[Bytecroc]

That's good to hear.

I will start my project next year, then I will have surely more suggestions.