XAGE Development thread

Started by Clarvalon, Fri 09/08/2019 22:49:37

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Mehrdad

Thanks, Clavaron. well done!!!
My official site: http://www.pershaland.com/

Clarvalon

Still working on the UWP build, should have something concrete to show soon.

One item that came up was the ability to integrate with Xbox Live services via the game script in such a way that it doesn't impact other non-UWP platforms.  To this end I wrote a very basic PlatformService interface that can currently be used to initiate an asynchronous SignIn and pull out your Gamertag.  The idea is that the same code can be used when running under different platforms (e.g. SteamWorks) - the implementation for the relevant platform is just injected in by the calling executable. 

This may end up being a bad idea if the core services differ too much to be able to abstract them easily.  But I'm hoping it will be sufficient for the basics - e.g. achievements, leaderboards et al.
XAGE - Cross-Platform Adventure Game Engine (alpha)

Clarvalon

Here's the thing I've been working on - Last 'n Furious is now playable for free on Xbox One.  Details here:  http://clarvalon.blogspot.com/2020/04/official-console-support.html

Microsoft App Store link:  https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/p/last-n-furious/9p3c8dq7qfsh

I've got lots to keep me busy but I need a new project   :)
XAGE - Cross-Platform Adventure Game Engine (alpha)

Cassiebsg

Is there some other way to get the game for Xbox other than MS Store?
I would love to test it, but if it's Store only, then I'm unable.
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Clarvalon

If you search within the Xbox itself you can find it there (listed under 'Creators Collection'), though it is not in the newest releases yet.

The MS store link allows you to install to your xbox remotely assuming you're using the same credentials on both.
XAGE - Cross-Platform Adventure Game Engine (alpha)

Cassiebsg

I don't understand, how I'll find on my Xbox. my Xbox isn't online.
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Clarvalon

Oh, I assumed you had access to Xbox Live.  While it's possible to sideload it, you'd still need Internet access (as well as a Dev account).  If your Xbox is permanently offline then we're out of luck.
XAGE - Cross-Platform Adventure Game Engine (alpha)

Cassiebsg

Okay then, thanks anyway  :)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Clarvalon

Not having a long commute at the moment is really helping me put some extra time into XAGE at the moment.  This week I've added support for Cameras and Viewports which were originally introduced in AGS v3.5.  It became a good opportunity to rethink and restructure how some of the rendering was being performed under the hood and it's working pretty nicely.  Quick update here:  https://clarvalon.blogspot.com/2020/04/viewports-cameras.html.
XAGE - Cross-Platform Adventure Game Engine (alpha)

Clarvalon

A new version has been released - XAGE alpha users can finally now deploy to Xbox One.  Read more here:  https://clarvalon.blogspot.com/2020/05/big-fat-update-fna3d-uwp-new.html

There's also a bunch of new functionality in place, as well as restructuring to allow for forthcoming rendering backends to be plugged in - Vulkan, Metal, Directx11 etc.  This is all coming sooner rather than later due to all the good work being done by the clever folk in the FNA Discord.
XAGE - Cross-Platform Adventure Game Engine (alpha)

Joseph DiPerla

Have you determined yet if you are looking to make XAGE commercial, license based or free yet? Visual Studio is a requirement? If so, free, ent or pro?
Joseph DiPerla--- http://www.adventurestockpile.com
Play my Star Wars MMORPG: http://sw-bfs.com
See my Fiverr page for translation and other services: https://www.fiverr.com/josephdiperla
Google Plus Adventure Community: https://plus.google.com/communities/116504865864458899575

Clarvalon

#31
The license is here: https://clarvalon.com/documentation/license

I should probably flesh the wording out a bit, but the gist of it is XAGE is free for non-commercial use, with a license applicable to the engine for commercial use.  After mulling over lots of options this felt like the fairest option while still keeping XAGE as a commercial concern.  License will be percentage based.  The idea is that nobody who chooses to use XAGE should be out of pocket for doing so, which is why there's no up front cost.  It also gives me a bit more leeway in terms of providing support, as I'm doing so in my free time which is sometimes limited for reasons outside of my control.

XAGE requires Visual Studio 2019, but you can use the Community Edition which is free for independent users or small teams.  You can also use the lighter weight Visual Studio Code, though without the editor hooks so you'd have to do a bit more by hand (and also lose some things like being able to edit the code while debugging).
XAGE - Cross-Platform Adventure Game Engine (alpha)

Joseph DiPerla

Very cool. That seems very reasonable. I always thought Visionaire had a decent piece of software, but their licensing options were insane especially considering that AGS and adventure creator are far better. I downloaded Awakener for Android. Works smooth and 100%. Keep it up!
Joseph DiPerla--- http://www.adventurestockpile.com
Play my Star Wars MMORPG: http://sw-bfs.com
See my Fiverr page for translation and other services: https://www.fiverr.com/josephdiperla
Google Plus Adventure Community: https://plus.google.com/communities/116504865864458899575

Clarvalon

Thanks!  That's running on a very old version of the engine, when it was still built on top of MonoGame.  Things have gotten considerably better since (it's just taken much too long), although I'll probably focus on iOS next ahead of Android as there are so many systemic problems with it.
XAGE - Cross-Platform Adventure Game Engine (alpha)

Joseph DiPerla

I suppose all good things take time. My Star Wars MMORPG sim has been in progress for 7 years and counting. Looking back at what I originally had and seeing how far it has come is like night and day. The same with XAGE, AGS, etc.. all good things take time.
Joseph DiPerla--- http://www.adventurestockpile.com
Play my Star Wars MMORPG: http://sw-bfs.com
See my Fiverr page for translation and other services: https://www.fiverr.com/josephdiperla
Google Plus Adventure Community: https://plus.google.com/communities/116504865864458899575

Clarvalon

That sort of longevity means it's a labour of love (or indicative of a masochistic streak).
XAGE - Cross-Platform Adventure Game Engine (alpha)

Kweepa

If I ever get around to writing another adventure game I'll probably try using this instead of AGS, because C# and proper debugging.
Looking forward to a public release!
Still waiting for Purity of the Surf II

Clarvalon

Locals and Edit & Continue are two things I really miss whenever I go from Visual Studio to debugging in AGS. 

I've updated the list of items that need to be addressed before going public with v1:  https://github.com/clarvalon/XAGE-Public/projects/1

Most of these should be fairly straightforward, though the big ones are:

  • Being able to automate serialization testing (in order to have confidence in loading old save games with each release, or at least knowing about breaking changes).
  • Finish off GUI editing, along with implementing some missing GUI Controls in-engine.
My dayjob is going through a busy spell, so it's hard to put an ETA on it, but at least there is some visibility of current progress.
XAGE - Cross-Platform Adventure Game Engine (alpha)

Joseph DiPerla

I have to say that what i have tried is very impressive and very reminiscent of AGS. I havent tried the conversion yet. But if it wasnt for the fact that it has a commercial license(Not complaining about it, but the current AGS project license wouldnt really allow for commercial charge i dont believe) attached, i feel XAGE would make the ultimate successor to AGS.
Joseph DiPerla--- http://www.adventurestockpile.com
Play my Star Wars MMORPG: http://sw-bfs.com
See my Fiverr page for translation and other services: https://www.fiverr.com/josephdiperla
Google Plus Adventure Community: https://plus.google.com/communities/116504865864458899575

Clarvalon

Glad it's going ok so far.  Let me know if anything goes wrong with the conversion - it's reasonably stable as a fair few games have gone through it, though sometimes the process falls over when something unexpected comes up.  There is usually also scripting issues to fix - for the most part these are simple things like typing issues (where AGS allows bools to be used as ints and vice versa, where C# is much stricter), but sometimes more complicated modules take a bit of rework to get running.

After playing around with the AGS template games yesterday I'm wondering whether caching a known good C# version of common AGS modules might be a good idea, to limit the amount of rework developers may need to do.  The only downside with this is that they'd need to be kept up to date with any of the AGS equivalents.  XAGE has zero telemetry in it, but this is one area where I could see it being useful.  On the whole I think I'd rather stay clear of any data privacy issues though.

To clarify, I don't see XAGE as a successor to AGS.  The model AGS uses - an all-in-one program that handles everything for you - is compelling, and both the engine and editor tools are very mature.  XAGE is aimed at people who want a comfortable AGS-esque experience but also want the benefits of using Visual Studio and C#, and the platform publishing mechanisms it offers.
XAGE - Cross-Platform Adventure Game Engine (alpha)

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