Upcoming February 2007 release - RCs available!

Get help with installing and running the Cafu Engine here. This forum is also for general questions and discussion of all aspects regarding the Cafu Engine.
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Carsten
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Upcoming February 2007 release - RCs available!

Post by Carsten » 2007-01-16, 21:03

Hi all,

I'm happy to announce that the first release candidate (RC1) of the upcomding Ca3DE (Tech-)Demo is now available at http://carsten.ca3de-community.de/Ca3DE-Demo-RC1.zip (roughly 210 MB) :cheesy:
[EDIT: RC1 is no longer available as it has been replaced by a more current release. See the newer posts below for the latest link.]

Please test, and let me know what you think!

Very important notes about the RC1:
  • This is a Release Candidate, not the final demo. It has known problems and a few features are missing. See the other points in this list.
  • Minimum System Requirements: 1 GB main RAM, 256 MB video (GPU) RAM.
  • The initial dialog defaults to the BPRockB map, you have to change that to the TechDemo map manually. [is fixed for RC2]
  • The TechDemo map takes a far too long time to load - roughly 2 full minutes on my machine. [is fixed for RC3, down to less than 60 seconds]
  • This package contains only Windows, but no Linux binaries. Linux binaries will be included with one of the next RCs and of course with the final release. [is fixed for RC2]
  • By default, the number of simultaneously active dynamic light sources is limited to 3. Use the console command

    Code: Select all

    print(cv.cl_maxLights)
    to print the current limit, and

    Code: Select all

    cv.cl_maxLights=0;
    to set a new limit (0 in the example). [is fixed for RC3, set a new reasonable limit]
  • Some too bright pixels (mostly red) in otherwise dark places is a known bug. [is fixed for RC4]
  • The above link will only work as long as the RC1 is current, which however is to be expected short-lived and to be updated/replaced soon. If you find the link not working, check for more recent RCs or the final release of the Ca3D-Engine demo.
Have fun! I'm happy to work on the open issues in the meanwhile. :up:
Last edited by Carsten on 2007-02-06, 14:12, edited 4 times in total.
Best regards,
Carsten
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Post by scott » 2007-01-17, 08:19

Ahh excellent, cant wait to try this out. Carsten do you have a change log on the site?
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Post by Carsten » 2007-01-17, 10:11

Hi Scott,
scott wrote:Carsten do you have a change log on the site?
Not yet, but I will list all the important changes / feature enhancements when the release is final, probably as part of the news announcement, and optionally as a forum post for additional detail.

The current plan is to make at least two more RCs in weekly intervalls, and to promote the final Release Candidate to the public demo release on or near February 1st.
Best regards,
Carsten
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Post by Stephen » 2007-01-19, 14:54

I'm downloading it, and I'll give it a try... It's looking good!

-Stephen
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Post by Carsten » 2007-01-23, 21:25

Release Update:
I've just uploaded the second release candidate (RC2) to http://carsten.ca3de-community.de/Ca3DE-Demo-RC2.zip (roughly 215 MB) :cheesy:

Many things have improved since RC1 (many not mentioned in the above list), some are still open.
Again, please test, and let me know what you think!

For RC2, essentially the same notes as for RC1 above :arrowu: apply, please read them. :book:

I'll continue to work on the open issues in the meanwhile. ;)
Best regards,
Carsten
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Post by scott » 2007-01-24, 14:18

The lighting and the textures look excellent, great job guys. The framerate is a bit unstable for me on my gforce6600gt. It fluctuates quite a bit. (This is in the first release by the way) I reckon you need to swap out a lot of the detail work thats bsp geometry with models, that should help out the frame rate
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Post by Carsten » 2007-01-25, 12:04

scott wrote:The framerate is a bit unstable for me on my gforce6600gt. It fluctuates quite a bit.
Hi Scott, thanks for the feedback! :)
The FPS unstability is probably due to "old" dynamic lightsources that appear throughout the map and are turned on and off according to temporary rules set by the code.

The next release candidate (RC3) will not contain those "old" dynamic lightsources anymore, which in turn should fix the FPS unstability.

In the meanwhile, you may try the console command

Code: Select all

cv.cl_maxLights=0;
It switches off those lightsources all at once, too, which should therefore have the same effect on the FPS.
Best regards,
Carsten
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Post by n321 » 2007-01-26, 04:28

Well.....you remember the complaints I had about graphics......like the editor may be able to make doom 3 style maps but the texturing is not right (normal and spec sucked) and even tho its PPL code was written before Doom3 it looked wrong...welll......I can honestly say this RC2 Blew me away!!!!!

So Now Doom 3 maps and txturing and lighting in this release! Id say graphics are VERY GOOD! Oh and it ran on my X1400 laptop with 512 ram at a consistant 40 FPS....WOW Better then DooM3!

Well I can say I am very impressed with the new look....it is finaly up to my origional desires! Every Model Format I ever wanted....Good map support.....Geat Texture Abilities now........and if I can map without that ambiant lighting to make it look like true DooM 3......I am all out of wants!

Well congradts on the progress. Map is great! Graphics are amazing and fast!

So here is my input....

Make sure theambiant lighting can be disabled or not used except for outdoors.....

Maybe make the textures specular level a bit higher

maybe add some sort of HDR/Fake HDR/Bloom ability that can be turned on or off

Get the main menu up and going!!!!

and Id say it would be ready for some real game code (cough) and a Demo Game!

Your closer then you may think to being ready for Developers ....I mean guys to use the engine for games!

Gosh that was close to DooM 3 standards.......and you worked fast! Once the engine is more stable with the necesities you could be adding next gen effects very fast....

Your AMAZING! :shock: :D
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Post by scott » 2007-01-27, 03:55

That improved the stability, thanks Carsten. The only other performance issue I'm having is that it stutters as I move through the level as if its loading the next area. Once I'm actually in the area I can go back and forth from where I came and its no problem.
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Post by Carsten » 2007-01-30, 12:10

Hi n321!
n321 wrote:welll......I can honestly say this RC2 Blew me away!!!!!

So Now Doom 3 maps and txturing and lighting in this release! Id say graphics are VERY GOOD! Oh and it ran on my X1400 laptop with 512 ram at a consistant 40 FPS....WOW Better then DooM3!

Well I can say I am very impressed with the new look....it is finaly up to my origional desires! Every Model Format I ever wanted....Good map support.....Geat Texture Abilities now........
Wow, many thanks for that great feedback! :oops: :wohow:
Nice to hear you like it. There are still a few rough spots with the current RCs (next one is due early next week), but I hope to get them fixed soon so that the release can go final.
and if I can map without that ambiant lighting to make it look like true DooM 3......I am all out of wants!
Hehe, well... what do you mean by "ambient"? Ca3DE features Radiosity based lighting, recently enhanced by combining it with dynamic lighting techniques. This is what you see to 90% in the current RC2. It also features "stand-alone" dynamic lighting like Doom3, which is also in the current RC2. The company bot that follows you (Trinity model) currently has no lightsource in RC2, but will get one again in the final release, which is an example for pure dyn. lighting.
Oh, and about the "true Doom 3"... well, who says that Doom3 is the limit, or the best? ;)
Well congradts on the progress. Map is great! Graphics are amazing and fast!
Thx! Nice to hear that! :cheesy:
So here is my input....
Make sure theambiant lighting can be disabled or not used except for outdoors.....
Technically, still not sure what you mean by ambient lighting. The Radiosity-assisted dynamic lighting as presented in the current TD can individually be turned on and off, but it is the recommended method of lighting in Ca3DE, because as you said, it's both good quality and fast.
Maybe make the textures specular level a bit higher
That's very difficult or say at least impractical, because the specular shininess of a material is defined by its specular map.
maybe add some sort of HDR/Fake HDR/Bloom ability that can be turned on or off
Yep, but that's something for a later release.
Get the main menu up and going!!!!
Very true. This will not make it in the immediately upcoming release, but I agree that it is important to get done asap, i.e. the release after the upcoming one.
and Id say it would be ready for some real game code (cough) and a Demo Game!
Agreed, it would certainly be nice to have some team-based game available... this would not be too difficult to implement, but certainly takes quite some effort.
Gosh that was close to DooM 3 standards.......and you worked fast! Once the engine is more stable with the necesities you could be adding next gen effects very fast....
Hehe, again, many thanks, but please keep in mind that, from an engine developers point of view, many next gen effects are just eye candy. Besides that, they add nothing to an engine, no crucial features, no capabilities, no structural enhancements. Thus, while I certainly keep next gen effects always in mind, changes that remain relevent even when new next gen effects come up usually get priority implementation. ;)

Again, thanks for the great feedback - I'll get back to work now. :D
Best regards,
Carsten
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Post by Carsten » 2007-01-30, 12:18

scott wrote:The only other performance issue I'm having is that it stutters as I move through the level as if its loading the next area. Once I'm actually in the area I can go back and forth from where I came and its no problem.
That sounds like your graphics board has less than 256 MB of video RAM.
I've recently tested the RC2 on a system that has 128 MB GPU RAM and experienced the same "loading" effects than those you described.
The reason is that when not enough graphics memory is available, the 3D driver sometimes has to swap textures from main memory into graphics memory, which in turn causes the delay that you describe.

You could fix that by setting the Texture Detail in the initial Options dialog from high to medium, but that will also reduce texture quality significantly (most textures have 512*512 resolution, and using the medium setting will scale them down to 256*256). Ca3DE employs texture compression already at all times, so there is in fact nothing but the medium setting or adding more video RAM to fix this kind of stuttering.
Best regards,
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Post by Carsten » 2007-01-30, 19:55

:beta: A quick note about the upcoming RC3: I'll not quite be able to meet the planned schedule, i.e. there will be no release of the RC3 tonight. Everything is progressing very well though, and many issues have already been fixed since the release of RC2, and so I hope to be able to start the recompile process of the TechDemo map tomorrow night, so that the RC3 will be available at the weekend. :v:
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Carsten
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Post by scott » 2007-01-31, 05:05

Carsten, would it be possible for you to add a flashlight? It would be a good way to show off the dynamic light effects (Even though you already have some in the level already). Another idea would be to have the grenades emit a small light source. I read above that your going to add a lightsource back to trinity, and this is good, but currently she cant follow you through the entire level.
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Post by Carsten » 2007-01-31, 13:09

Scott, your suggestions are good ones. :up: The flashlight will certainly not make it into this release, there is too little time left for that. I like the idea about the grenades, and will see what I can do about them.
About Trinity, I'll probably add another one near the currently very dark area near the big pipe with the "A" and "B" markers, so that it appears as if she'd taken a secret route/abbreviation and is already waiting for you when you get there. ;)
Best regards,
Carsten
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Post by Stephen » 2007-02-03, 14:06

RC2 doesn't run for me. It says that no renderers are supported. I am using a nVidia 7800 GT, with the latest drivers.

-Stephen
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