Monthly Archives: June 2015

DFTFU Developer Preview 1.3.29

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Edit: Release version 1.3.31 now available.

Daggerfall Tools for Unity 1.3.29 is now available to developers for testing. This is a close-to-final version that still has a few kinks to iron out. However it should be close enough for developers to start testing and migrating their work.

The key new features of this version are:

  • Full Unity 5 compatibility.
  • New material and texture system.
  • Using Standard shader everywhere possible.
  • Simplified custom shaders for tile maps and billboard batches.
  • Significantly improved batching and performance when using new Deferred path.
  • Improved billboard batching using geometry shader, now supporting animation.
  • Events at key locations.
  • Started using prefabs for layout of non-static items such as doors, lights, and enemies.
  • Many small bug fixes and improvements.

I did mention there were still a few kinks to iron out, so I value any feedback on this version prior to full release.

I am also working on a full documentation refresh and new tutorials for some of the new features (like events and prefabs). This will take a few weeks to complete. I am planning full online API documentation starting from release 1.3.

Happy testing! If you have any feedback, please use the following forum thread.

http://forums.dfworkshop.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=74

Enemy Prefab

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The below short video demonstrates using the new enemy prefab inside editor. The same prefab is instantiated when building scenes procedurally. There’s a lot more I want to do with this, including the ability to override classic billboard-based enemies with full 3D models.

Prefab Dubstep

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Starting with release 1.3 many dynamic scene objects will be instantiated from prefab. This video shows a bit of fun with extending the city lights prefab.

Physically Based Materials

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The new material system is finally humming away. Apart from improved batching and faster scenes, one of the best features has to be support for Physically Based Shading in Unity 5. Obviously Daggerfall can’t take full advantage just yet, those tiny textures are never going to cut it. But with the Standard shader now… well, standard, those of you with an artistic mind can start authoring high quality materials to take advantage of everything Unity has on offer. Combine physically based materials with some higher quality models and there might come a time when Daggerfall could be genuinely breathtaking.

In the meantime, here’s an Ultra HD screenshot taken from on top of Castle Daggerfall. There’s a little SSAO, bloom, and some global fog thrown in for good measure. Click for full size.

Almost There

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The 1.3.x preview release will be up in a few more days, over coming weekend at the latest. I’m stomping more bugs than expected and making some last-minute improvements. This is also my busy time of year (end of financial year here in Australia) so I’ve got some heavy work on from all sides.

In the meantime, keep an eye on the Github page as I’ll be checking in code frequently leading up to first 1.3.x preview build.

I also want to offer a partial retraction regarding my earlier statement about the number of batches being 10x improved over previous version. This turns out to be highly variable based on the number of lights affecting objects, shadows, time of day, etc. The real figure is closer to 5-10x less. It’s still a great improvement, but I don’t want to mislead anyone if possible.

1.3 Incoming

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Daggerfall Tools for Unity 1.3 is almost done. This version has a whole swag of improvements for developers to play with. Here’s the summary of new features.

Extending

  • Events have been added to key locations throughout the library. It should be easier than ever to write custom code to extend Daggerfall Tools for Unity without changing the core library.
  • I have started moving over to prefabs for non-static elements such as enemies, lights, hinged doors, etc. This will also help developers extend these elements more easily.

Materials

  • Overhauled material loading and caching system. The new material system now uses a pair of structures to request a material and receive results, rather than complex methods with a dozen in/out parameters.
  • Have moved to the Unity 5 Standard shader everywhere possible. A unified shader means simpler processes and better batching. It also means Physically Based Shading and real-time Global Illumination is possible. This could prove a huge boon for texture artists seeking to improve the quality of Daggerfall’s materials.
  • Normal maps can now be auto-generated for materials.
  • Emission maps are auto-generated for windows and bright materials such as fireplaces and lights.
  • Faster loading and processing of all materials.

Billboard System

  • Now using geometry shader with animation support for all surface billboards. Dungeons and interiors are still using standalone billboards for now.

Batching

  • The number of render batches and state changes required to draw a scene is now around 10x less. Therefore scenes which required approx. 5000 batches in 1.2 now require less than 500 in 1.3.

Image Processing

  • The texture loader can perform image processing using a matrix convolution filter.
  • Events allow you to setup your own image filtering when textures are loaded.

Builds

  • Softer coupling to Arena2 folder, allowing developers to release static scenes without contents of Arena2. An example would be a standalone dungeon game. Obviously procedural elements will require Arena2 folder.
  • Arena2 folder can now be stored in _Data folder for standalone Windows, Linux, and Mac builds. WebPlayer builds must continue using Resources method.
  • Added very early support for WebGL builds for static scenes only. Supporting procedural scenes in WebGL is in the pipeline for a future release.

Fixes

  • Fully compatible with Unity 5.1.
  • There are hundreds of small bug fixes and usability improvements. A huge thanks to all the brains at forums.dfworkshop.net for their help and advice.

I am in the process now of squashing bugs and testing. I should have an updated Developer Preview ready over the weekend some time (or mid next week at the latest). My plan is to hold the release version in Developer Preview status for about a month before promoting to full release. There are a few reasons for this (apart from the fact I really like lists (and parentheses)).

  • I need a full documentation and tutorial refresh. Some of the new features also need entirely new tutorials. This is a time-consuming process.
  • I would like time to get feedback from developers on the new features so I can make any last-minute bug fixes or changes.
  • I want to give developers time to finish up any mods/extensions they are working on to work with 1.3. it would be great to release an updated Mod Showcase Demo for 1.3.

That should about cover it for now. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.