Status of the roadmap

[Rastar]

Now with the GDC being over, is there a rough schedule for the next releases, especially the feature-complete 3.0 including terrain? And is the approximate road map that was presented here a few weeks ago still valid?

[Josh]

Projected shadows and terrain are in the works. I do not have a release date for those features.

 

I want to stay agile as we learn what kind of users Leadwerks 3 attracts, and am not committing to a rigid schedule beyond that. I have enough experience that the technical challenges aren't so difficult. It's more a matter of what makes sense for us to focus on for the needs of the Leadwerks 3 users, and for the success of the business.

 

We're watching how developers use Leadwerks 3, and I read all the requests in the "Suggestion Box" forum. The big-picture ideas are especially useful. There's also other things that have become more important, because we've never had this polished or complete of a product in the past. Tutorials are a high priority and we can take these a lot further now because the Leadwerks 3 API will not change. We also have the capability of supporting new platforms, when the time is right for each one.

[Guest Red Ocktober]

those sound like good first improvements to me...

 

anything to improve the lighting, a skybox, and maybe some fog, (similar to what has already been worked on) as part of the engine would be my suggestion for further graphical improvements... after you get the stuff you're working on done...

 

oh yeah... and of course some sorta water

 

--Mike

[Josh]

It helps to think in terms of cost and benefits. For each improvement:

• How much time will it take to implement?
  
• Does it make the end user's life any more difficult?
  
• Does it make the engine more difficult to maintain in the future? Is it future-proof?
  

 

And then for the benefit, ask:

• Does it make the end user's life easier?
  
• Does it improve the quality of the games they can produce?
  
• Does it give them anything new and fun to use?
  
• Does it attract new customers?
  

 

So the enhancements you listed above are a good example of things with a fairly low cost to implement and a high benefit for users.