Full GLSL shading that supported most of BI’s material options and also node-based shading
A heavily optimized scenegraph (so the engine could support having thousands of objects in a single scene with the bottleneck moved to logic)
Occlusion Culling
Other features late in 2.4x was a revamped Python API, Mathutils support, new functions like RayCast, a way to move objects without SCA, Object states, and new bricks like Servo Motion, Parenting, and Normal Alignment. When taking all of that into account, it’s not like the BF didn’t try.
This is a valid point…I guess for me the problem was after that it felt like it all went down hill…that was around the time some shadows got some attention as well…
I’ll just take my medicine now and apologize for my statement
Armory will be released in a few days. We’ll all try it and, if it’s lacking, the coders can move off to godot and the rest will probably start donating to upbge (if they choose to take donations). The Amory forum is full of people asking for logic brick like functionality (e.g using node groups). Interesting times where people have to lay their bona fides on the table and be judged. My hope is that both upbge and Armory will be developed as competing games addons.
Pfft, BGE and UPBGE are not dead and will not be for a long time. Just look at the educational/STEAM movement using it that have programs founded on it. They could care less about feature parity with bigger and newer GEs. They are not interested one bit in 2.8 interactive mode that I can tell…as a matter of fact, nobody that I know of professionally or the educational space that uses GEs in general is interested in 2.8 interactive mode at all, even for in the future.
I am making these statements based on countless questions I have asked from people who have stake in the matter. If someone wants to make a concern troll comment, hopefully it’s based on questions they asked from those effected by it rather than conclusions they enjoy jumping to. We’ll see how this plays out over time. Looks to me like 2.79x/BGE/UPBGE are going to be around for quite a while.
In general, the needs of academia and the needs of game creators tend to be different. An engine that schools like to use may not attract that many studios (whether it be indie or AAA).
Besides that, Godot, Armory, and the future Interactive Engine are all choices for STEAM programs that want to remain in an open source environment and not have any obligations, dependencies, or ties to a corporation or a for-profit company in general. I know Godot 3 at least allows you to restrict a project’s shading to shadeless or vertex-based lighting if it needs to be as lightweight as possible (kind of like the BGE’s old multitexture mode but with more options).
For anyone not interested in the Interactive Engine, come back on that once we see actual development in that area (if the lack of interest still applies).
I’m from the United States (Kansas), my country has a history of dumb lawsuits (such as one where Taco Bell was sued for getting an order wrong).
I know you’re upset that the GE has been removed, but please note the other FOSS options that will allow you to construct bigger projects than the BGE was capable of. For instance, if you want a BGE-style workflow, then a free build of Armory is just around the corner and will allow a BGE-style workflow that can publish games to mobile devices and to internet browsers. For those who want a standalone engine that plays well with Blender there’s Godot. Two good engines for two workflow preferences.
It sounds like hanzo has some much needed skills. A wise person once said that the best form of revenge is to live happy and successful life. So, as this is a new GE, I’d recommend jumping on board and contributing positively.
