latest ardor3d - L4D screens

No new movie yet, sorry... (I am still such a slow video editor that it takes almost a full day to put one together!) But I do have some tasty screenshots of ardor3d running flythroughs of L4D levels. You'll see that we've come a long way since the last video, getting in models, displacement maps, improved lightmaps and so forth. There's still a long way to go (such as applying the compressed lightcubes to dynamic models, bumpmapping, collision, better tone mapping, etc.) but we're still very proud of the progress made so far. :)

(click for larger versions)

New UI backdrop type added

I added a new backdrop type to Ardor3d's UI system yesterday that allows you to specify multiple images, each with their own placement, scaling, pivot points, rotations, etc. Combining this with a SpatialController allows for some interesting animation effects in the UI.

As a simple example of how this new backdrop can be used, you can check out the 3rd tab of the "SimpleUIExample" in ardor3d's example module. In there, I've used the following image to create a simple clock:



The UI system lets you dissect this image into smaller image portions and then act on each as an independent entity. Here it is in action, all contained within the backdrop of a simple UIPanel.



Nothing super fancy, but hopefully a good base for many interesting and useful custom UI widgets.

Ardor3D - L4D: episode 2

Here's the next episode, following hot on the heels of the first. I actually made the first a few days ago, but did not post it as it felt kind of anticlimactic to post an introduction to something that didn't exist. :) I have footage for episode 3 already, but since this one took several hours to put together I think I'll have to wait until this weekend to get to it.

Anyhow, enjoy!

Ardor3D - L4D: episode 1

After some months of quietly tinkering on a little Ardor3D/L4D importer project, we've decided to turn it into a video blog of sorts. Hopefully its interesting enough to watch. :) Even if not, it will help keep us motivated to push forward and continue working on it.