Welcome to another exciting edition of CfxWeb news. This issue is quite exciting, because I, sulphur! will be reading
this verbally to you all! Of course, thats if you didn't forget to tune in or you're reading this afterwards! But before
I tell you the highlights of this week's coding news I'd like to inform you that we've upgraded our Forums! So if you're
looking for like-minded people to discuss programming, game design, the demoscene or even general chit-chat, then go and
join in! Its fun!
|
Peter Dalton's Web Site Updated Yet Again |
|
Peter Dalton has just updated his website again with another BSP demo! This demo includes PVS information to limit the number of polygons that are rendered each frame. It is also possible to see the portals that are used to generate the PVS information in action. Support has also been added for sound effects. This demo builds upon a game library that he has been working on for the last couple of months that supports a wide range of features, so check out the web site to see a full feature list. All demos include precompiled binaries for Windows and full source code. Click here!
|
Sony Integrates Java into Playstation 2 |
|
For those game developers out there and hobbyists, Sun has posted a brief article/press release regarding Sony's announcement to integrate the Java platform into the Playstation 2.
Here is a quote from the article:
Integrating Java technologies into the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system further extends its ability to download new applications and services dynamically from the network in a highly secure manner. PlayStation 2 owners will now be able to access millions of Java technology-based applications that currently exist on the Internet.
For more information about Java, check out Sun's official Java site.
Thanks to Hasty for the news.
|
MilkShape 3D ASCII Model Loader / Renderer |
|
Scott R. Hilbert has posted a source code for a MilkShape 3D ASCII Model Loader / Renderer, he writes:
This is some raw, ready-to-use C++ code to load and render a MilkShape 3D ASCII model file with Direct3D 8. Simply call CreateModelFromFile(...) and you've got a pointer to the file to render all you want :) Currently animations are not supported, nor is opacity or secondary textures. However if you place a "@" symbol before the name of a texture, the texture will be reflectively mapped, giving the illusion of a smooth metallic surface. (OK, I know that sounded lame but I needed that for my use for this :P) It comes with a sample project and everything so you can see how it would be used in a normal application (well, normal aside from my unusual code hacking habits :-P)
So if that is any use to your current project, go check it out.
We have added 2 new sources of winning demos coded by Peon. The first one is Dream, a DOS demo using DJGPP released at Fiasko 1999 and Expiration released at Fiasko 2000.
Dream, Dream (Source) and Expiration (includes Source)
Worth checking out, Expiration is quite cool too!
Freestylas have released the full source code to their winning 4k entry at Dialogos 2000, it requires MASM 5 (or higher) if you wish to recompile it.
The Binary, and The Sources
As always, a nice healthy release of demo scene sources, but do you think sceners should do this? are sources bad? voice your opinion on our Voting System!
GameDev.net have launched a new design and layout. Here is a snip from the press release:
Dallas, Texas, June 20, 2001 - GameDev.net, the leading Internet resource for game development, has launched a redesign of its website with the goal of providing game developers fast access to its resources through an integrated system of books, articles, links, and message forums.
Surf on over to check out the full details and see the great new design!
|
nehe posted new game programming tutor |
|
A new tutorial, infact, the 2nd in the series of Game Programming tutorials has been posted. The author comments:
This tutorial is theory, math and more theory. In this tutorial you will create two very useful classes. These classes are for use with the wrapper from lesson 1. One class is for vectors, and the other is for 4x4 matrices. You will also learn about operator overloading to make your code a little bit easier to read when using the two classes! This tutorial is a must read for anyone interested in how matrices work!
For many many more tutorials on OpenGL and OpenGL news, surf on over to nehe.gamedev.net!
the GNU Project team have announced the release of GCC Version 3.0. According to the site, "GCC 3.0 has several new optimizations, new targets, new languages and many other new features. See the new features page for a more complete list.".
The Shader Content recently held by Nvidia and Discreet came to a close last week and the results are out! Well done to all the lucky winners who won various Geforce 3's and copies of 3DS Max 4.2. But not only that, Nvidia have made the entries available for download!
The NVIDIA/discreet shader contest winners have been announced and are available for download at www.nvidia.com/developer. Fur, hair and particle shaders were among the winning entries. A pack of 25 new shaders (with source) are available for the NVEffectsBrowser 5.0.
Other new stuff from Nvidia includes, NVLink version 2.1, NVLink is a powerful new tool which provides automatic vertex shader generation. You specify the number of lights, texgen modes, bones, etc. and it can automatically assemble an optimized vertex shader. This app is a demo of some of its functionality. *UPDATED* - this new version contains bug fixes and full documentation! Also, a new document entitled, "OpenGL Vertex Programming Cheat Sheet" has been posted. This is an updated version of the paper from the OpenGL SDK.
Nvidia is always busy! Get over there, plenty of goodies for any 3d developer!
There's a new feature tutorial on flipCode entitled A 2D Guide To DirectX 8 Graphics, written by Jay Watkins. In this article, Jay explains how to get basic 2D rendering up and running with the new DirectX 8 API, complete with example source code. Check it out!
|
DirectX Programming Tutorials |
|
Lots of beginner tutorials for DirectX here, from the very basics to using D3DX, all tutorials come with source code. Click here for the goodies.
|
Ask Midnight: Plotting A 3D Point On A 2D Screen |
|
Another interesting response from Midnight from over flipcode.com, Adam Ward asked how to plot a 3d point onto a 2d screen. A very common question for newbies to 3d, if this interests you, then surf on over and check it out.
Snok, a very addictive 3d snakes game developed by Torbjørn Vik went final recently, but not only that, he released the full game and engine sources for your learning pleasure! But before you delve into the sources I recommend you playing this game, its fun! If you have problems getting to the site, try this mirror.
BASS is a sound system for use in Windows, it's purpose is to provide developers with a set of powerful yet easy to use sample, stream (MP3, MP2, MP1, WAV, custom generated), MOD music (XM, IT, S3M, MOD, MTM), MO3 music (MP3 compressed MODs) and audio CD playback functions. BASS also allows 3D positioning of samples, streams and MOD musics, and supports A3D and EAX (Environmental Audio eXtensions).
|
