Shiva 1.6 is finally there!
http://www.stonetrip.com/this is the next major point release, shipping with various improvements, bugfixes, and really cool new tools to play with.
Highlights :
New module : TerrainEditor
New Module : AnimClipEditor
High Level Development : Collection of prebuilt AIModels to create interactive contents without having to write any line of script
Wiimote support
New Editor features :
General : include Compiled HTML Help for module and API.
AIModel Editor : Designer view to customise the way the override of variables is presented in the Attributes Editor.
Ambience Editor : Skybox settings.
Ambience Editor : Monochrome post-render effect.
Ambience Editor : New parameters for static lighting : Sub sampling, Quantize geometry, Sky light.
Attributes Editor : Multi selection pane allows setting of general flags on all the selected objects.
Attributes Editor : New settings for reflections and refractions attributes : background color, fog color and density.
Attributes Editor : Occluder objects have been removed. Now visibility occluder is a flag of shape attribute.
Attributes Editor : Dynamic box shape now automatically fits to object.
Data Explorer : Library system to access to re-usable generic resources from any project.
Data Explorer : AIModel duplication now allowed.
Data Explorer : Projet notes.
Data Explorer : Shortcut to the last 10 files used.
Data Explorer : Folder options allow hiding folders in the tree view.
Data Explorer : Texture alpha is now shown in thumbnails.
Data Explorer : Set default settings for Standalone package.
Data Explorer : Texture export options : choose the runtime format and quality of textures between dds, tga, jpg, pvr. (Advanced only)
Data Explorer : Export report : generate a report of stk content after export. (Advanced only)
Data Explorer : Synchronization tool now works over FTP. (Advanced only)
Game Editor : Cache management for current game.
HUD Editor : List component parameters are now also exposed in the HUDEditor (and not only in script).
Material Editor : Open multiple materials at once.
Material Editor : General pane shows a thumbnail of the current material and allowss drag and drop from it.
Material Editor : Batch processing allows the application of modifications to all the opened materials. (Advanced only)
Scene Explorer : Attribute and controller filters are easier to use.
Scene Viewer : Gravity option for translation tools.
Scene Viewer : Objects tags are now displayed in the viewport.
Scene Viewer : Painting Editor is now a tool of Scene Viewer (no longer a module).
Script Editor : Pressing 'F1' over an API symbol opens the corresponding help.
New Engine features :
HUD : Antialiased text
HUD : Antialiased lines
HUD : Slider component
HUD : RenderMap component
HUD : Components can now have a custom origin (center, left, right, top, bottom, top-left, top-right, bottom-left or bottom-right)
AI : object.addAIModel, object.removeAIModel
AI : hashtable API package
AI : microphone API package
AI : string.reverse
AI : shape.setMeshSubsetMaterialEffectMap0AdditionalUVOffset
AI : shape.setMeshSubsetMaterialEffectMap0AdditionalUVScale
AI : shape.setMeshSubsetMaterialEffectMap1AdditionalUVOffset
AI : shape.setMeshSubsetMaterialEffectMap1AdditionalUVScale
AI : sensor.setBoxCenter, sensor.setBoxSize, sensor.setSphereCenter, sensor.setSphereRadius
AI : scene.getFirstSensorWithID
AI : scene.setPaused
AI : scene.getTerrainHeight, scene.getTerrainNormal, scene.getTerrainStatus
AI : scene.setBloomIntensity, scene.getBloomIntensity, scene.setBloomThreshold, scene.getBloomThreshold, scene.setBloomColoring, scene.getBloomColoring
AI : application.kOptionNetworkStreams, application.kOptionTerrainsQuality, application.kOptionShadersQuality
AI : math.log, math.log10, math.atan, math.atan2
AI : hud.getComponentTag et hud.getFocusedComponent
AI : input.setJoypadVibrationsMagnitude, input.getJoypadType, input.enableJoypadMotionSensors, input.enableJoypadIRMotionSensors
AI : onJoypadMove and onJoypadIRMove user handlers
AI : New functions to list the environment variables.
Physics : Added universal joint
Physics : Added script control on all joint types constraints
3D : specific background color an fog parameters for reflections and refractions
3D : built-in Skybox support
3D : Lightmapper now handles translucence
3D : Vertex color compiler now handles shadows
3D : New monochrome post rendering filter, making it possible to do Sepia or Grayscale effects.
Improvements & Bugfixes :
HUD : Fixed tracking and mouse enter/leave behavior
HUD : Fixed components aspect invariant flag behavior when using inside a container
HUD : Fixed Progress component rendering when using RoundRectangle shape
HUD : Fixed an infinite loop when restarting a game after trying to instanciate a HUDTemplate twice with the same name
AI : Fixed two 'scene.getFirstHitSensor' bugs
AI : Fixed the world space point passed to onMouseMove, onMouseButtonDown and onMouseButtonUp : it is now really on the near clip plane as expected
Sound : Fixed sound.getPlaybackProgress
Sound : Fixed a sound playback issue (some sounds not played)
Sound : Fixed a music playback issue (no more sound after some game restarts)
Cache : Fixed a case of a false error in editor mode when loading a model/resource from a cached pack
Import : Fixed shininess coef import
3D : RenderMaps are now using true Render-To-Texture when supported, resulting in better quality and speed improvements
3D : When rendering HUD into RenderMaps, clear color is now transparent by default instead of black
3D : Front light default lighting in the SceneViewer model mode
3D : Fixed sphere mesh generation
3D : More accurate dynamic shadows clipping
3D : More accurate bounding volumes calculation
3D : Corrected a point light attenuation problem when using per vertex static lighting.
3D : Lot of lightmapper improvements
3D : Fixed box sensor edition gizmo rendering when using scale and offset
3D : Removed a black frame when playing a looping movie
3D : Improved textures loading time
Physics : Lot of physics engine optimizations and improvements
Network : Native cookies/sessions support
Network : Multiple simultaneous download streams support
download your free PLE today! yes, you can try it out and develop your games for free! just if you want to publish your game, you have to get a license.
one of the biggest letdowns for ShiVa has been the bad documentation. well, we got a whole new developer website with tons of tutorials, the online documentation, the forum etc.
this is redefining a new standard in user friendlyness.
http://developer.stonetrip.com/don't forget to cgheck out the tech demos (the upper row are the latest ones). there is even a wiimote demo for all your wii-fans
http://www.stonetrip.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=52i truly recommend to check out this release. it's totally mind blowing.
