First, I apologize if this is listed elsewhere, but I could not find it.
-Anyway I would really like to see the world editor get a make over in the D3D department...as we are able to use more 3D geometry and less level blocks, it becoms more and more difficult to visually place an object, when they become degraded to a bounding box while translating them in the 3D viewport. I would like to see a special version of WED that uses a special version of the engine where all objects could automatically be set to passable, so they could be manipulated, and of course the addition of a 3D widget for translation.

On the forcast page

New WED / MED user interface (in development)
A modern, drag-and-drop based user interface with restructuring of the menu and toolbar system for making features easier to find. Moving, rotating, or scaling objects with frames. Editing terrain directly in WED. Group-wise setting of properties. Skins for customizing WED, MED, and SED buttons.

And on the beta page under "V6.40.5 release candidate - in development"

A new GXL2Bas32.DLL render library contains a non-DirectX renderer WED and MED. It is fully compatible to the GXL2DX8A.DLL, but does not support textured or solid polygons. The source code for the library is available.

Plus, as far as I know, you can disable the "bounding box while translating" feature. Simply go to File->Preferences and have a look at the "Advanced" tab.

The "3D widget" has been in place for months(you have to use the correct video DLL), and what The Matrix said.

WOW, what an amazing amount of all of your time I've wasted....thank you, I always appreciate the help here. I guess I should have posted elsewhere and asked for help on this subject, or maybe I should've tinkered a little more.

Hiya.

I've noticed a few questions like this..."features" that someone wants implemented that are already (or kinda already) here. To me, this *screams* that 3DGS NEEDS a well-written, fully illustrated, .PDF manual (with the option of buying one from Conitec as well). The .chm may be all fine and dandy for updating stuff, but they are virtually impossible to print easily. I used to print out the manuals (from version 4 on) that were PDF and put it in a binder or get it spiral bound. As a human, it is easier for me to flip through a book a few times to find something because my brain will start to remember where in the book I saw stuff...you just can't do this with a digital version only.

Tutorial Manual
C-Script Manual
Engine Manual

All PDF and/or physical books to order...now THAT is worth something to me.

Hey, Paul. I will let the cat out of the bag now and let you (and everyone else reading this) know that I am in the process of writing a book on GameStudio. The section on WED (which covers EVERY menu and function in detail) is already written. I am at the stage where I am adding all sorts of screen shots to it. I was thinking of releasing the WED portion for free and all the rest of the book, which is very large, being for sale.

wow, fantastic news. I always missed a good book about Gamestudio. Do you intent to cover c-script basics as well?

Will this book be in english only, or are there also plans for translations?

old_bill

We probably should not hi-jack this thread. However, I will answer the two questions asked so far.

Quote:

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Do you intent to cover c-script basics as well?

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No. The reason is, I am not a programmer and this project is a solo project. The book is being titled (at the moment) 3AM (like the magazine) but, in this case, it means "3D GameStudio Artist's Manual".

Quote:

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Will this book be in english only, or are there also plans for translations?

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There are no plans for translation. When I was creating the 3AM magazine very few people requested it in German. When I hired someone to translate an issue into German I think it generated one additional sale. At this point I cannot see making it in another language as most people here are speaking English. That can change if there is demand enough, though.

So far the typed text on WED (only covering the menus, toolbars and the Project Panel) is well over 30+ pages. This is with no images and no spacing between lines. I try to cover everything in an easy to read format (not "technical") like I did in 3AM.

When I have more information I will create a topic for this and, as indicated, probably release the WED portion for free. It would help the 3DGS community and, frankly, it will help to promote the book (as well as provide me with feedback).