I confess that progress on 2.0 is slow. This is partly because I have other projects going on and partly because I am doing other things (like
playing games) in much of my free time. But I do occasionally get a few hours to work on the kit, usually on weekends. It's also partly because I am fixing and redesigning some aspects because I want to get it absolutely right. In my most recent set of changes, I spent a week or two puzzling over how to get the XML to come out better (because XML is the main file format for SGDK 2.0 -- there is no more binary file format). It was bothering me when I saw something like this (this is just an example, and doesn't represent the full XML format)
<Tileset name="main" />
<Tileset name="other" />
<Tile Tileset = "main" value="1" />
<Tile Tileset = "main" value="2" />
<Tile Tileset = "main" value="3" />
<Tile Tileset = "other" value="1" />
<TileFrame Tileset = "main" TileValue="1" FrameValue="2" />
<TileFrame Tileset = "main" TileValue="2" FrameValue="7" />
<TileFrame Tileset = "main" TileValue="2" FrameValue="5" />
<TileFrame Tileset = "main" TileValue="3" FrameValue="6" />
<TileFrame Tileset = "other" TileValue="1" FrameValue="3" />
I wished to see something like this instead:
<Tileset name="main">
<Tile value="1">
<TileFrame FrameValue="2" />
</Tile>
<Tile value="2">
<TileFrame FrameValue="7" />
<TileFrame FrameValue="5" />
</Tile>
<Tile value="3">
<TileFrame FrameValue="6" />
</Tile>
</Tileset>
<Tileset name="other">
<Tile Tileset = "other" value="1">
<TileFrame FrameValue="3" />
</Tile>
</Tileset>
So I struggled with Microsoft's tools a bit (because they have some built-in features that generate XML, and I didn't know how to control it), but finally I was able to get it just right. But it took more than a week to figure it out at the slow pace I have been working.
At least I am still making progress, though. The pieces that are now done include:
- Graphics editor -- woohoo windowed editor with alpha translucency and all! (This replaces the GameDev 1 tileset editor and introduces many new features)
- Frameset editor -- allows you to merge graphics from multiple graphics sheets into a single set, and allows you to rotate and transform graphics in real time without storing copies of rotated graphics in your graphics sheet. (There is nothing similar in GameDev 1) This also allows you to define how tiles could overlap, drawing outside their normal rectangle.
- Tileset Editor -- allows you to animate and re-map tiles. I think I will also allow you to make tiles that show multiple frames at once (tiles composed of multiple frames) by setting the frame delay to 0 for frames that should be merged with the next frame. (This is like GameDev 1 tile animation with extra features)
- Counters -- This defines integer variables which will be used for various purposes including linking to tilesets to determine which frame of a tile is being displayed. (This is like a simplified inventory management from GameDev 1. I think the rest of the inventory features will be handled separately, but probably linked to counters.)
- Maps and layers -- I have started work on maps and layers, but almost nothing is done yet. It was at this point that I realized that the XML was coming out messy so I went back to fix it.
It's good to hear that people are looking forward to SGDK2 , and I look foreward to making significant progress on this project. I am very pleased with the interest that people have shown in GameDev 1.x, and I expect SGDK 2.0 to be a big step above this that will get even much more attention, if I can manage to finish it this decade :).
