A few days ago I finally finished the port of the Ca3DE core engine to the new
Ca3DE Material System. That essentially means that all client rendering is now
done merely with the MatSys; the client does not directly access OpenGL or
other graphics APIs any more (but the MatSys of course does).
So why is there still no new release?
Well, currently there is still a surprising amount of open issues and loose ends that must be accounted for before the release: For example, the server still needs a "null" renderer for its dedicated server mode, NV3X and ATI renderers are still missing, there are bugs in the OpenWatcom compiler that might force me to switch to another compiler before the release, and I still have to run several sample and profile sessions in order to resolve some performance issues.
None of these items is really severe or difficult, but each takes several days to be done properly.
Therefore, I'll proceed as follows: A "pre-release" will be made available to current Ca3DE forum members very soon. Probably even before Easter, the latest in the week thereafter.
As soon as the most important issues get resolved in the subsequent weeks, and as soon as the reports of the pre-testers are not entirely devastating any more, the official release will follow.
So why is there still no new release?
Well, currently there is still a surprising amount of open issues and loose ends that must be accounted for before the release: For example, the server still needs a "null" renderer for its dedicated server mode, NV3X and ATI renderers are still missing, there are bugs in the OpenWatcom compiler that might force me to switch to another compiler before the release, and I still have to run several sample and profile sessions in order to resolve some performance issues.
None of these items is really severe or difficult, but each takes several days to be done properly.
Therefore, I'll proceed as follows: A "pre-release" will be made available to current Ca3DE forum members very soon. Probably even before Easter, the latest in the week thereafter.
As soon as the most important issues get resolved in the subsequent weeks, and as soon as the reports of the pre-testers are not entirely devastating any more, the official release will follow.