Scorhed3d 42 and VDrift Refactor Release

Scorched 3D version 42 is out (full changelog). New features include:




Scorched3D


  • Optimized graphics rendering to take better advantage of hardware

  • Scripting language support for weapons and server scripts

  • Much larger landscapes supported

  • Added multi-lingual support for chatting and player names

  • Added localization support for dialogs and messages

  • Some gameplay adjustments

  • Better LAN/Internet communications for less timeouts

  • Some new maps


For those who don't know, it's a 3D artillery game with destructible terrain and sumptuous graphics. One thing I always think when I look at Scorched3D; why hasn't somebody re-used the engine in a different type of game? Nice effects, destructible terrain, there's plenty of possibilities there.



VDrift has emerged from the other side of a ground up refactor/rewrite with release 2-15-09. This is quite good news as projects as big as VDrift rarely survive a rewrite. Author Joe Venzon describes the highlights of the release:



I think it's a big improvement over the last release. Although there aren't any new features, there are so many bug fixes, stability enhancements, and performance improvements it's hard to make a complete list. Most of the code has been rewritten, including the car physics. Ackermann steering has been added. The in-game HUD has a new look. Font rendering has been vastly improved. More graphical options are available. The new physics numerical integrator is more stable.


I think there's also some more cars and improved tracks in this release, although don't quote me on that one.



Oolite (space rpg game) update; 1.72.2 was released a couple of weeks ago. It's a bugfix for the 1.72 test release. I couldn't play it as autopackage no longer works on my system with some obscure error and I don't fancy compiling it.



MetalChaser is a 3d mech-inspired shooter. It's a bit basic, but could grow into something good. The website isn't very clear about it, but it is open source, with a Google-code project.



Angel Engine:



This is Angel, a 2D game prototyping engine based on OpenGL and C++.



Angel was originally made by a group of employees at Electronic Arts Los Angeles for use in a GameJam they were planning for April of 2008. The source was opened in January 2009.


Curious!

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