3DView2 Revision History

3DView2 Revision History

Revisions of 3dview2, starting with the latest. The most current revision is always available from our CVS (module org.micropsi.3dview2).

Note that CVS releases are not stable releases! They are work-in-progress versions and some features might not work properly. Also note that the CVS version of 3dview2 might only work with the CVS version of the microPSI framework.

Upcoming Version

'Upcoming version' means it is not yet in the CVS. Consider this a preview of what is soon to come. The source code in the CVS is not necessariliy more up to date than the release folder because I use yet a different CVS server for development.

nothing yet…

Version of 15/11/2005

3DViewer:

• Eclipse plugin now interpolates data over time, creating a smooth animation

Version of 15/11/2005

Engine / general:

• recompiled against latest engine version (cannot list all the changes here)
• uses October 2005 version of DirectX SDK
• moved project to new repository folders (see CVS)

• Bugfix: skinned objects did not have alpha transparency
• Shadow Map size setting is no longer affected by viewport size
• converted terrain texture maps to jpg for smaller download size

• added eclipse integration
• changed background color to black
• converted textures to jpg for smaller download size

Version of 21/6/2005

3DViewer:

• Bugfix: objects that could become invisible because of LOD remained invisible forever; this has been fixed (Bug was introduced with last version)
• Bugfix: changed communication code to deal with slow connections; this fixes issues when using 3DView2 as an editor for worlds on remote machines, for instance psitopia
• now uses Opcode, a very fast collision library (see 3DView2 Project Structure)
• object picking in World Editor is now pixel-accurate (for models without animation)
• server is now notified of a disconnect and is able to clean up the connection (this function was added to to the server just recently)
• tweaked terrain engine parameters; greatly improves performance
• terrain texture scaling is now defined in a more intuitive way
• for the first time allows you to impersonate an agent in the world simulation!

Version of 3/6/2005

3DViewer:

• fixed bug where skinned objects caused visual problems with the water shader
• fixed bug where shadows would not appear on terrain blocks with only one ground material
• fixed bug where objects would not play animations if lowest LOD level did not have animations
• fixed bug in configuration system that caused string parameters without a list of valid values to accept nothing but the default value. (They are supposed to accept any value in this case.) This caused, for instance, the bug that you could not change the server name to anything but "localhost in the config file.
• reduced ugly artifacts where shadow borders would stretch over the whole terrain

Version of 30/5/2005

Engine:

• fixed major performance issue in UI system
• fixed problem on UI texture borders
• upgraded to most current version of tinyxml library

• added XML over HTTP communication, 3dview can now act as a standard microPSI console
• added connection status indicators to the GUI
• 3dviewer now automatically switches terrain maps when the server does; terrain scaling and positioning is read from server
• editor works in both offline and online mode
• startup options can now be configured in configuration file or on the command line; allows automatic connect on startup or automatic load of a specified offline world file

• new skinning shader; this fixes some issues with the 3d face
• improved GUI
• better 3D model (thanks to Florian and Chris)

Version of 24/4/2005

3DViewer:

• fixed bug that support for 24bit Z-Buffers was not recognized, engine used only 16bit or 32bit. This resolves Z-Fighting issues for most machines. Two-pass rendering is now an option in the configuration file and disabled by default; this boosts performance on most machines.
• switched to April 2005 Update of the DirectX SDK
• Engine now supports fx-shader assignments in Maya or 3DS MAX
• Tooltips

• first working version - 3d model is still work-in-progress

Version of 30/1/2005

• fixed crash in world editor
• fixed fence-like artifacts in water reflection
• object shadows
• start position for spectator camera can now be specified in level xml file

Version of Sat, 1/6/2005

• fixed bug in view frustum culling for objects
• fixed bug in terrain texture calculation
• fixed bug in keyboard input
• new reflective water; even cooler if you have pixel shader support
• object lod (level of detail)
• visualization xml file can now define variations (~ different models) for each object class (and lod levels of course)
• new configuration file management with comments and effective error checking

Version of Sat, 11/27/2004

• fixed bug that caused the spectator to 'jump' to a different postion on the map
• fixed seams between map and surrounding 'flat' terrain
• fixed bug in user interface library (UILib) that caused visual artifacts in the interface on some machines
• fixed bug in user interface library (UILib) that caused images files to be upside-down; removed similar workarounds from the 3dview2 code.
• terrain system completely restructured
• first version with terrain geometry LOD (level of detail)
• first attempt to do animated water
• terrain chunks now share index buffers where possible
• terrain texture stretching can now be configured in the visualization xml files
• added 'random object rotation' button to world editor
• combo-boxes in world editor now open to the top - this is much more convenient
• some beautiful new models (thanks to Florian Busse)
• first animations

Version of Mon, 11/15/2004

• fixed crash in eclipse plugin
• fixed bug that caused mouse not to work correctly with the userinterface after window has been resized
• user controls completely rewritten - this resolves several issues
• gamepads and joysticks are supported now
• spectator mode now has three submodes: free camera, walk and helicopter (including cool helicopter sound)
• added messageboxes and clear button to leveleditor

Version of Thu, 11/04/2004

• fixed bug that would cause a crash when the material map used more materials than the visualization defined (3dview uses a very ugly pink material in that case now. hard to miss :))
• fixed bug in world server communication that would cause objects to appear multiply times in 3dview
• extended terrain to the horizon; either by adding enough flat landscape or by 'wrapping' the map around itself
• added a graphical user interface with allows to load maps and visualizations and connections to the server
• first version of the world editor; allows you to place and delete objects in offline-mode

Version of Mon, 10/18/2004

• fixed bug in view frustum culling
• eliminated z-fighting using multipass-rendering (expensive, but nice :))
• terrain textures now use DirectX texture management (this relaxes the memory situation somewhat for most cards)
• terrain has texture LOD (level of detail)
• terrain lighting
• basic fog effects
• maps and terrains textures are now configurable in the world xml-files and visualization-xml files, respectively
• HTTP connection support to agent service (but no UI yet, so this is not really usable)

Version of Mon, 10/04/2004

• fixed bug in terrain height calculation
• fixed bug that would cause "hardware acceleration needed" error message on graphics cards that do not support vertex shaders
• basic lighting
• view frustum now has a near and a far plane
• parsing of visualization.xml now does error checking and produces useful error messages
• objects can now specify reference points that need to have ground contact (useful for keeping agent's wheels on the ground)
• new command line parameters + configuration xml file
• terrain renderer now uses 16 bit blend maps or even alpha only textures if available - this saves 50% - 75% memory
• server now sends object rotation
• textures are available in different resolutions; you can choose a maximum resolution for your machine

Version of Mon, 09/27/2004

• seams between terrain tiles are finally gone
• terrain frustum culling