DevLog Team DevLog MikeHart - Update 2022/03/28

[MikeHart]

Hi folks,

here is a short update of what I am doing right now.

1. A new editor
   Besides Paul59 pointing us to some quirks that need to be adressed, Dawlane warned me that our current C++ based code will run into problems with later releases of QT. We would need to fix all that with great efforts. So the thoughts came up to rewrite the whole thing from scratch.
   I am no stranger to editor/IDE development, as I have done so in the past (IndeED). But I am not a big fan of C++. So i was looking for a different route/tools. Some internal talks let to my conclusion, that QT is still one of the best cross platform dev tools out there. And you can use Python to create a QT based app. So that is what I will do in the next weeks/months. Code a new editor for CX, using Python and QT. If you have a cool name for this new editor, be my guest and raise your voice.
   
   
2. Move the whole page unter Xenforo
   I had planned to move the whole site to a new server and away from Xenforo and Wordpress. But Xenforo is one of the best forum software out there. Well supported and stable. Martin has agreed to support it further and so we are staying where we are. But I want to get rid of the Wordpress part and integrate everything here. I will add a home/portal page were the visitor can see promoted threads and more informations about Cerberus X.
   Adding to this, I hope that the new sub forum for DevLogs will see some usage from our user base.
   Also the next version of Xenforo is out of beta and I will have to see if we can move over to it without much problems. Definitely the styles will take some work. And that is why I did not look into the current ones much more.
   
   
3. Write some tutorials for game-dev related topics
   CX has a lot of power, but it needs more tutorials. For beginners and even for the veterans, some features are not know or hard to understand.
   So I have written a tutorial about abstract methods this week and will do more in the near future. It will help me also to understand some things of CX better.
   
   If you think you can write some nice tutorials, I am sure that we all would love to read them. Please join in the efforts to make it easier for all of us to use and understand our favorite game dev tool better!
   
   
4. Write a full game
   This one came onto my plate this weekend. Let me tell you a bit about the motivation for it. Well, besides game development can be a lot of fun, my son was what triggered this project. In my house we are always short of cash, but who isn't. I had my hopes up when my son started to work a regular job this year. You know, that I don't have to sponsor him regulary. But as it turns out, he is not made for something like this. He can't do a regular job in an office or sales. He becomes angry and depressed. But as he is very creative on his own, I think his future lays in artwork and media stuff. Something where he can work as a freelancer, on his own.
   
   So I approached him about creating a game together. If it works out, maybe more. He does the art work, I code. Right now he is all up for it and I hope that he can keep that motivation and drive. It will be some kind of platformer/RPG/action type of game in 2D. As he likes pixel art a lot, we will utilize that.
   Me I have to code an engine for it with buildin tools, so he can build levels, create game objects, control their behaviour, etc.
   Some parts will make their way back into CX for sure. For a short moment I was going to use a different tool but then I decided to do the whole thing in CX. This way I can even better identifier and work on some short commings of CX.

That is all for now. I will write separate devlogs about all this above. And I hope I can read some of your too.

Cya
Michael

 

[dawlane]

If you have a cool name for this new editor, be my guest and raise your voice.

Well as Cerberus is the three headed dog guarding the underworld, may as well call it Hades the god was the master of Cerberus.

 

[MikeHart]

I like that dawlane. That would fit very nicely.

 

[Phil7]

Yes, that fits definitely!
The edgy crown and the two ended scepter could be used as a icon. A bearded gui with a crown would allways remind of jesus I think ;-)

 

[dawlane]

Any build/setup tool to build Cerberus should be called Charon after the ferryman who carries the dead to the underworld.

 

[Phil7]

And any Add/InAppPurchase modules will be called Persephone , cause that is how he got what he wanted from the upper world.
Just joking...
@dawlane I'm with you, if only big parts that are used by the end user are called like that, but not for the internal stuff like modules and tools/plugins that are merely called by the IDE alias Hades.

 

[MikeHart]

Great suggestions guys. Love it!

 

[MikeHart]

Hi folks. Time for another update. Man i am all over everything at the moment. Testing this, playing with that. You know how it goes.
Hades slowly comes together but I will take my time. The last days I was working on stuff for our next version of CX. With the help from @Holzchopf and some hints by Dawlane, I think it is a nice list so far what we have for the next version.

MOD: [ANDROID] Changed MIN_SDK back to 16 like it was before.
MOD: [DOCS] Added A-Z shortcuts on top of indexes.
MOD: [Trans/ANDROID] Release builds are installed automatically now.
FIX: [AGK] Fixed docs creation to be compatible with the latest MakeDocs.
FIX: [MAKEDOCS] Fixed brl.markdown bug.
FIX: [TED] Fixed fixed displaying an iframe element in the docs.    (Author: Dawlane)
FIX: [TED] Fixed scaling issues when displaying images.
NEW: [MOJO2] Added Image.LoadFrames:Image[]( path:String,cellWidth:Int,cellHeight:Int,padded:Bool=False,xhandle:Float=.5,yhandle:Float=.5,flags:Int=Image.Filter|Image.Mipmap,shader:Shader=Null ).
NEW: [MOJO.APP] Added SetDeviceWindowIcon( _path:String ).
NEW: [MOJO.APP] Added SetDeviceWindowTitle( _title:String ).
NEW: [MOJO.APP] Added SetDeviceWindowSize( _width:Int, _height:Int ).
NEW: [MOJO.APP] Added SetDeviceWindowPosition( _x:Int, _y:Int ).
NEW: [MOJO.APP] Added SetDeviceWindowSizeLimits:Void( _minWidth:Int, _minHeight:Int, _maxWidth:Int, _maxHeight:Int )
NEW: [MOJO.INPUT] Added SetMousePos:Void( _x:Int, _y:Int ).
NEW: [MOJO.INPUT] Added SetClipboard:Void( _text:String ).
NEW: [MOJO.INPUT] Added GetClipboard:String().
NEW: [CERBERUS.INTERPOLATE] New module.
NEW: [MOJO.COLOR] New module.

So it is up to you guys. Would you rather have these changes now in an official build, or can you wait more?

 

[Phil7]

I can wait. The current official build is working fine so far.

 

[Paul59]

Despite the other thread, I can wait The current version is pretty much rock steady and has no major issues for me. Do your own stuff and have some fun rather than being pressured into a new release.

 

[MikeHart]

Update: I finally got TED to compile on Linux mint. That is a the good news. But sorry, you Linux users have a different mindset. Coming from Windows and used OSX exclusively, I am pampered by things just working when you install something. On Linux you have to type in books to get things running. Type this, type that. Wait for the moon to be in a certain position, light 12 candles in a circle around you and sacrifice your first born. That is how it feels on Linux. I am not surprised anymore that this OS is not gaining market with casual users. It is for nerds, for system admins. But not for the normal person.

Anyway, I got TED compiling, so I am closer to create a release. Just transfer all the changes from GitHub and see how these work.

Regarding the game... sadly my son doesn't want to do it anymore. So I put that away on the back. Other things are more important.

Our home here runs now fully under Xenforo so that part is done for now.

Regarding Hades..., I will continue when I have a new release out. I takes longer than I hoped for but I will get it done.

 

[Holzchopf]

Coming from Windows and used OSX exclusively, I am pampered by things just working when you install something. On Linux you have to type in books to get things running. Type this, type that. Wait for the moon to be in a certain position, light 12 candles in a circle around you and sacrifice your first born.

God that sounds so... relatable. People who developed under Linux and then switch over to Windows bring this kind of mindset along and it drives me crazy.

 

[Deleted member 163]

I used Linux some years too....without developing anything.But i agree with Mike.Linux is in most cases no OS just to use.It need almost any terminal typing ever ....
There are always situations in which you have to use the terminal. If any problems arise then you have to deal first with Linux and the terminal. User-friendly is not.
In my personal honest opinion, targeting Windows and the Web would be quite sufficient if you want to create and maintain a language or a developer set alone or in a small team. Most of them use Windows and platform independence can be reached with Web. That's just my 2 cents on Sunday

@Mike: i´m very curious about Hades

 

[Paul59]

I used Linux some years too....without developing anything.But i agree with Mike.Linux is in most cases no OS just to use.It need almost any terminal typing ever ....
There are always situations in which you have to use the terminal. If any problems arise then you have to deal first with Linux and the terminal. User-friendly is not.

I disagree. When Windows 10 arrived I decided I'd had enough and switched completely to Linux (I'd been dabbling with Linux on and off for some years). I run Mint with Mate desktop so it's very similar in use to XP/Windows 7. I run Steam and use Gog and have about 20 games installed which run without issue. About the only time I use the terminal these days is to start up XAMMP and that's just a 'one liner' (sudo /opt/lampp/lampp start).

The clincher for me is that I have two brothers who know absolutely nothing about using the command line and yet both use Mint. They're not gamers but are into photo and video editing and do everything without issue. The only time I've had to help out over the last 3-4 years is when one of them couldn't connect one of his household security cameras (and that was a network rather than Linux problem per se).

Yes, Linux only accounts for 2-3% of desktop users (let's ignore Android!) but that's simply because Windows or OSX are pre-installed and the vast majority of users do nothing more than use the net, edit photos or use 'Office' so why bother to change OS?

On the few times I've tried compiling programs from source I have run into issues but I could just as easily have had similar problems on Windows - I am not an expert user on either OS.

TLDR; each to his own, I'm perfectly happy with Linux and very rarely use the command line. I'd like to see Cerberus continue to support Linux.

@MikeHart I am not a nerd or system admin but I may not be normal either

 

[MikeHart]

Don't get me wrong Paul, when you set everything up, and no problems arise, Linux is usable. But to get there, to run most programs, you might need to install dependecies first. Linux imho still needs more automation.

 

[dawlane]

But sorry, you Linux users have a different mindset. Coming from Windows and used OSX exclusively, I am pampered by things just working when you install something. On Linux you have to type in books to get things running. Type this, type that. Wait for the moon to be in a certain position, light 12 candles in a circle around you and sacrifice your first born.

Try build something from scratch via the command line on Windows or OS X when there's no Visual Studio or XCode projects file.

There are always situations in which you have to use the terminal. If any problems arise then you have to deal first with Linux and the terminal. User-friendly is not.

Neither is Window or OS X when people don't know what they are doing or things go wrong. The number of times I've had to fix some else computer when such a situation arises.

when you set everything up, and no problems arise, Linux is usable. But to get there, to run most programs, you might need to install dependecies first. Linux imho still needs more automation.

When you have everything set up, it's quite surprising how little maintenance you actually need to keep a Linux system running smoothly. In the event that you need to reinstall, it's best to have a few bash scripts ready to save time.
Note: Make sure that you have installed a firewall application; Gufw (ufw's gui) is the simplest to use. Use the software manager to install it, open it up and make sure that it's turned on. And it's best to install clamav for scanning any file you download.

 

[rickychus]

Hello people,
I've been reading this thread about Linux, and decided to share my little experience.
I started using Linux because of the school equipment we have available (I work in a school, as I mentioned in another thread), these computers stayed in time (they were purchased in 2007-2010), and there are no funds available to make replacements or updates (and you already know the policies of the coorporacion with M). It is so that only one solution remained, Linux.
One of the many virtues of Linux is that it supports old equipment and is very fast in its performance (we have web browsers again). There is no need to pay for licenses.
In summary, Linux in schools and other similar educational organizations is the answer to everything.
I am currently experimenting with my very very old Netbook. "Eee Pc 900" for those who like to look at it by google, is older than those at school. Go decently with Linux Lubuntu 32bits, and I must tell you that CerberusX runs very well, maybe not for large developments, but yes for small/medium projects and especially learning, I think it will be more than good.
I'm not an expert in linux (I have a file "txt" with all the commands and special orders, how to install packages, etc.) but I think it will soon end using it as the main OS for everything I mention.
Many say that the mother of creativity is the necessity... Linux covers this and many other needs.
I hope the expressed will be useful to you.
Best regards.
R.-

 

[Paul59]

@rickychus I had one of the earlies eepc's which ran a linux OS called Alexandros - neat little computer.

Man, we're way off topic! LOL

 

[dawlane]

@rickychus : Make sure that you read and fully understand Linux Networking and security with your intention of using it in school.
Ubuntu and it's derivatives.

 

[rickychus]

Huu, sorry I thought there was talk about the importance of using linux and the compatibility or support for this platform. Maybe I misunderstood, my English is not very good.
The idea of commenting on everything I said was to highlight the great educational value that CerberusX has together with OS Linux. The mension of the netbook was merely an indication that any old "PC" can run it.
And yes, Firewall active to avoid any network problems, is not something that creates a problem in this case (I hope so) and our network is very simple.
"sudo ufw enable".
Regards.-

PD: Thanks again dawlane for your help with the installation of CerberusX under Linux. I really appreciate that detail.