Vortex2 beta released - 3D module

[JaviCervera]

Hello SyntaxBomb community.

I am proud to announce that Vortex2 has reached beta stage and has been officially published. It is a 3D module for Cerberus-X with a syntax inspired by Blitz3D (although being object oriented).

You can download a source snapshot or binary versions (with the tools precompiled) for Windows, macOS and Linux here:

https://github.com/JaviCervera/vortex/releases/tag/v2.0-beta

Or you can simply clone the repository to be up-to-date with future changes. Those who have been following the development of the module on the "vortex2" branch of the repository, please switch to the default "master" branch, which will be the active one from now on.

Checks the programs in the "demos" and "tests" directories. Demos showcase what can be achieved with the engine, while tests are simple programs that show how to use specific features of Vortex.

Please have in mind that this is pre-release software, so it may be buggy, and some features still need lots of work (specially shadows).

Thank you for your support!

[RonTek]

Looks interesting. Is Vortex2 limited to Cerberus-X or can I use it still with Monkey-X?

If I could suggest to just continue with plain Monkey-X support as I read somewhere in CX site that Monkey-X code is also compatible, not sure if it can be the other way around particularly with the namespace if these are part of vortex 2 changes.

I have only tested html5 and glfw targets on vortex and old vortex 2 versions, so I am curious if the android build now runs without crashing.

Edit: Perhaps add some shader support in future versions?

[Xaron]

You can use your monkey extension mixed with vortex in cerberus. In case you want to continue with the latest Monkey version it won't work, or you have to rename all extensions. But as Monkey isn't continued anymore I just guess you're using cerberus anyway and just want to keep your monkey extensions?

Congrats for the release BTW! It's a fantastic engine, I'm going to use it.

[RonTek]

You can use your monkey extension mixed with vortex in cerberus. In case you want to continue with the latest Monkey version it won't work, or you have to rename all extensions. But as Monkey isn't continued anymore I just guess you're using cerberus anyway and just want to keep your monkey extensions?

Hey Martin, I do appreciate all the efforts and everything with what's going on with Cerberus-X, but I'm actually happy with the last Monkey-X release and currently using MiniB3D. For me this is the better choice as it supports shaders and runs on android.

[Xaron]

Yes, use what works best for you. I'm sure vortex will work on Android as well as there's nothing special why it shouldn't.

Monkey works now but you probably run into problems at some point when newer SDKs come out which might break stuff (like gradle).

[MikeHart]

I always believe more in pictures!

[RonTek]

Yes, use what works best for you. I'm sure vortex will work on Android as well as there's nothing special why it shouldn't.

Have you tried it yet?

Monkey works now but you probably run into problems at some point when newer SDKs come out which might break stuff (like gradle).

Again, I'm still at this point where I only use Monkey-X to try out some stuff, so right now this is not yet an issue for me.

[RonTek]

I always believe more in pictures!

I always believe more in performance, documentation, support and usability.

[Xaron]

When you believe in support and performance (which is absolutely fine), I wonder why you still use Monkey + minib3d? I mean support has ended and performance was somehow weak on Android using minib3d the last time I used it. TBH I haven't tried vortex yet on my Android device.

Documentation is indeed a good and valid point. This has to become better. Usability is already given as you're used to use Monkey anyway.

Please don't get me wrong, use the tools you want to use. I don't want to offend you like I did with others in the past.

[RonTek]

I wonder why you still use Monkey + minib3d? I mean support has ended

I thought this site is now a replacement from the official community forum to gather existing members and at least get some support or exchange info from other MX users? You can say the same with vanilla and NG blitzmax btw, right?

and performance was somehow weak on Android using minib3d the last time I used it. TBH I haven't tried vortex yet on my Android device.

I need to quickly test out stuff and currently Minib3d works with Android. If I get some partial success with a simple game or project, I might be interested and go with another direction, probably forking MX without the namespace changes. I'm also not tied up with Monkey-X and using other frameworks/engines with different requirements, but so far I'm satisfied with minib3d. I wish I could get more in terms of creating custom shaders, apparently shader information/documentation is still lacking (already emailed Adam R. about this btw) but that's all good for now.

Please don't get me wrong, use the tools you want to use. I don't want to offend you like I did with others in the past.

Hey no worries, none taken of course. It is true that there are situations where we cannot agree 100% all the time, but I did learn a lot from your MX stuff, which I really appreciate and in the end we all have to decide or give a shout out for our best interests.

cheers.

[JaviCervera]

Android support do not seem to work right now. I don't have an Android device with me right now, but will check it & fix it ASAP. There is no way to use custom shaders currently, but more people have requested it so I will definitely add it at some point (it shouldn't be too hard, although it requires some reenginering of the engine architecture).

I am not on holydays anymore, so the time I can dedicate to Vortex is a bit more limited than in the past weeks, but I will try to fix any problems and support the library the best way I can.

Mike, thanks for the screenshots, I should have added them myself to the post...

There are some changes between Monkey-X and Cerberus-X that make them incompatible. For example, "cerberus://data/" paths (required to load assets when you don't use Mojo) are not recognized in Monkey, neither the "Import cerberus.blah" are supported, and other things. Good news is that Vortex includes a program "convert2monkey.monkey" that will make all the required changes and generate one .monkey file for each .cxs file. I am using this myself on one Win32 machine, where Monkey-X v85e is the last supported version.

[RonTek]

Android support do not seem to work right now. I don't have an Android device with me right now, but will check it & fix it ASAP. There is no way to use custom shaders currently, but more people have requested it so I will definitely add it at some point (it shouldn't be too hard, although it requires some reenginering of the engine architecture).

I thought so but still looking forward to it..

There are some changes between Monkey-X and Cerberus-X that make them incompatible. For example, "cerberus://data/" paths (required to load assets when you don't use Mojo) are not recognized in Monkey, neither the "Import cerberus.blah" are supported, and other things. Good news is that Vortex includes a program "convert2monkey.monkey" that will make all the required changes and generate one .monkey file for each .cxs file. I am using this myself on one Win32 machine, where Monkey-X v85e is the last supported version.

You guys are doing some great stuff and it's great, at least from the product/platform point of view. I think I'll make do with MiniB3D for now with android target working and I'm already familiar with it. Thanks for the update.

[JaviCervera]

Here's a screenshot of a WIP world editor for a game I am working on:

[JaviCervera]

I have made some changes to the interface to make it look more like a native application:

[Yue]