Newsletter #49 - Pumpkin Carving Contest

News

 We are hosting a pumpkin carving contest on the forums. One of the prizes is a beta invitation to the "Loradon 3.0" Preview, so be sure to check it out! For details, please read the forum thread here:
http://www.ifthensoftware.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=1646

From the Programmer
Written by Invisible

For the past week I have been cleaning up the rendering system. Because of this, I have needed to brush up on my Direct3D skills. If you are working with Direct3D9, I highly recommend this poster of the Direct3D9 graphics pipeline: http://www.geeks3d.com/20090714/direct3d-9-programming-graphics-pipeline-poster-and-free-pdf-book/ It also comes with a book, which may be of use to you. After painstakingly piecing together the many sheets of 8.5"x11" paper that the poster was printed across, it is now hanging on my wall in an easy to view location. It has really helped clear up some confusion with the order in which things are processed.

Renderables will be split into two categories: 2D and 3D. 2D renderables will be further categorized into graphic, line, rectangle, point, circle, curve, triangle, square and ellipse. It is the renderable's job to ensure that what it represents is rendered correctly. If the renderer is 3D based, and the renderable needs to render a circle, it will be rendered from many line segments. The rendering system may or may not support all of these features depending on the platform and available resources. If the platform is not well known before hand, the user should check the capabilities of the renderer before attempting to use it.

Artist's Easel
Written by GreyKnight

iScribble Sketches #7

(Click to enlarge)

(Click to enlarge)

Community Spotlight
Written by pifreak and Invisible

Jaythemage created a cool Community Spotlight Video.

This week in the Stick Adventures Online community, a player-held event has been announced by Miotatsu. The First Annual Crumpet Cup is going to be a PvP tournament, and the prize is a level 50 account!

Under the Mods section, we have a new one created by miotatsu titled "Remix Mod" and one by Jay titled "Invisibleman Mod". The remix mod is a combination of past mods of the game, and the Invisibleman mod features a floating hat and outlines for creatures. Jay made some other interesting mods, including the Zelda themed "A Stick to the Past" and the Final Fantasy themed "Final Fantasy VI Mod". SadisticusMaxim created a mod as well, titled "Pokemon Mod".

Over at the Loradon Online community, it appears Giygas is still working on the Loradon fangame "Loradon Legends". He has released a gameplay video to show what is done so far.