We have launched a new Sceelix update, version 0.8.6.0!
This update introduces several novel features and fixes to all three supported platforms: Windows, Linux and Mac.
Major Introductions
The first major novelty in this release is the introduction of the Point entity, which represents a single location in 3D space. Although seemingly simple, it provides the base for many new generation possibilities, especially for building random or pattern-based distributions of objects. For instance, the new "Point Create" node can create random, non-colliding placeholders on a surface or mesh entity, which can then be turned into more complex objects. It works as a standard Actor, which means that it supports all previously existing operations such as translation, rotation, scaling and, more importantly, insertion.
The already existing surface entity has been target of some heavy redesign. Originally, all surfaces were original bound to one heightmap, one colormap and one normalmap. Now, it features a layer-based architecture, which means you can stick to the layers you want, and as many as you need. As a result, surface creation is now faster, lighter and more flexible. Instead of a single colormap, you can create "blend maps", and as many as you need. Many new operations are available, but the working process is the same: creating, loading, painting and saving remains very similar and as simple as before.
Another very striking introduction in this release is the support for geographic data! The newly created "GIS Load" node will load Esri Shape files, while the "OSM Load" will load Openstreetmap files. These nodes read commonly used features such as points, linestrings and polygons into Sceelix points, paths and meshes, respectively, while their associate data is loading into Sceelix attributes. These are only the first in a set of upcoming features toward procedural creation of real-world environments.
Finally, there were several interesting UI additions, too. The graph editors will now display the amount of passing entities at each port, making the flow of entities much easier to follow. Also, for once, you can now drag and drop your graph files into the graph canvas to use them as nodes (in addition to the standard node menu). We have also worked on a better connection between the Data Explorer and the 3D Viewer , so that the selection on one will affect the view on the other.
Minor Introductions
As usual, there have been several new (smaller) additions, changes and fixes.
Several nodes were improved, both on robustness, functionality and performance. Many error messages have improved for readability and clarity. Most of the old surface nodes were deprecated, due to the mentioned change in its design. Also, the Actor Transform node has been unfolded into 3 new nodes - actor translate, actor scale and actor rotate, due to their relevance on their own. The new Actor Insert node now features some interesting one-to-one, one-to-many and many-to-many matching options. Actor group transformations had some issues with scaling, but they have been addressed.
On the UI level, there were some additions to the project explorer, including the possibility to track the currently viewed item in the document area. Many issues on the graph editor were fixed, from documentation tooltips to node coloring and encapsulation. The 3D viewer had some performance upgrades, especially when viewing large complex paths.
We have updated our samples in both structure and content. The "Demos" folder will be the place for more elaborate showcases, while the "Examples" folder will stick to some simpler use cases of the many available Sceelix nodes. "Learning Concepts" (formerly "Tutorials") will provide some more conceptual topics of graph manipulation.
For the complete and detailed list of additions, changes and fixes, please check the Sceelix website.