Hey guys.
This will be our first attempt at a weekly devlog, so bear with us. It will be split up in 2 parts with news for the VOXLAP (0.xx) and OpenGL (1.0) branches. bcoolface will make a devlog adjacent to this one with the updates for the VOXLAP branch.
OpenGL updates
The OpenGL branch is progressing nicely. We have been in close contact with some of the key developers in the community, so chances are you will see some familiar faces on the development team quite soon. Personally, this is something I'm very excited about, so I'll make sure to update you on this for the next devlog.
UI/theme redesign
As you may have seen with the miniature devlog from a few days ago, we have been at work on adding a completely new UI that actually has a defined style and looks pretty. Let me emphasize that these 2 screenshots are very much work in progress, and Jamie (our graphics guy who made all the pretty art) is still tweaking the look. Especially the last screenshot is unfinished and doesn't have all the elements from our mockups implemented yet, but again, it should give you an idea of what we are going for.
Names over head in spectator mode
As a nice addition to the spectator mode, we have added names over the head of players, so now you can properly tape those epic matches with the names indicated. The names scale properly with distance so you neither miss the names of people close by or far away. We still have to tweak the font/color to fit the new UI redesign (which goes for the whole game, really).
Chat buffer
Earlier, it was fairly easy to miss chat messages from other players, so we added a chat buffer to the message list that you can scroll through using your mousewheel. I'm not quite sure how to show you this, but you'll get a hands-on at some point anyway.
Aspect awareness
Does your monitor have a very exotic aspect ratio? Well, I don't know what the aspect ratio in the above screenshot is, but 1.0 will handle it properly in any case.
New RPG model
Well, it's a new RPG model. And it actually looks like a RPG! Hey ho.
Particle engine
This is an extension of the debris billboard renderer so it now supports textures and rotation. The smoke texture is a placeholder, but we can now render pretty particles in a fast manner.
System requirements
Some people were wondering what system requirements 1.0 will have, and to clarify, you only need a GPU with OpenGL that has the following extensions:
GL_ARB_vertex_program
GL_ARB_fragment_program
GL_ARB_vertex_buffer_object
Pretty much all GPUs meet these requirements (close to 100%), so the chances of your GPU being incompatible are very slim.
Up next
The theme redesign is going to consume a large part of our time next week, so the next devlog will most likely have a small montage of that. We also have some game features in the pipeline, so maybe those will make it in the next update.
This wraps it up for the first OpenGL devlog! Let the speculation begin :-)
[img]http://bit.ly/w398zE
