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Shader Enhancements in Leadwerks 4.4

Leadwerks Game Engine 4.4, scheduled for release soon, features some updated and enhanced visual effects.  In this blog I will talk about some of the adjustments I made.  Having "The Zone" scene that Aggror recreated actually helped a lot to see how shaders could be improved. Bloom / Iris Adjustment / HDR The bloom and iris adjustment shaders have been updated to give bloom a wider and softer blur.  Iris adjustment is faster and more intense now, which will make the outdoors areas seem

Josh

Josh

Ultra Engine Beta Update

The Turbo Game Engine beta is updated! This will allow you to load your own maps in the new engine and see the speed difference the new renderer makes. LoadScene() has replaced the LoadMap() function, but it still loads your existing map files. To create a PBR material, insert a line into the material file that says "lightingmodel=1". Blinn-Phong is the default lighting model. The red and green channels on texture unit 2 represent metalness and roughness. You g

Josh

Josh

We integrated GameAnalytics.com into Leadwerks; You won't believe the shocking results

In Leadwerks 4.3 we integrated GameAnalytics.com into our software, both in the editor and in the engine, as a tool developers can use to track their player statistics.  A number of events were set up in the editor to fire when certain actions were performed, in order to gain better insight into how people were using Leadwerks.  Here are the results. The most popular primitives Unsurprisingly, boxes are by far the most popular primitive created in Leadwerks Editor.  The community has c

Josh

Josh

Creating Realistic Skyboxes with Vue

This tutorial demonstrates how to create a high-quality skybox for Leadwerks Game Engine using Vue. Download Cloudy Blue Skies.zip FixVueCubemap.zip Required Third-Party Programs Vue Esprit Exporter Module Loading the Example Run Vue and select the File > Open menu item.  Extract the zip file above and open the file "Cloudy Blue Skies.vue". Atmosphere and Clouds You can modify the appearance of the sky with the Atmosphere Edito

Josh

Josh

Leadwerks Game Engine 5 Alpha Zero Released

I'm happy to announce the very first alpha release of Leadwerks 5 is now available. What's New String commands now accept a unicode overload. Add "L" in front of a string to create a wide string in C++. Now using smart pointers. Simply set a variable to nullptr to delete an object. There is no Release() or AddRef() function. Exclusively 64-bit! Global states are gone. There is no "current" world or context. Instead, the object you want is passed into any function

Josh

Josh

Ultra Engine SDK Now Available

I'm pleased to announce that Ultra Engine SDK Early Access is now available. Four years ago, I set out to solve the performance problems I was seeing while working on virtual reality projects at NASA. Ultra Engine is the product of a lot of intense research and development during which I invented a new architecture designed for the way modern graphics hardware works. The results exceeded my wildest expectations, providing Ultra Engine with order-of-magnitude faster rendering performance than Lea

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Industrial Cargo Model Pack Released

The Industrial Cargo Model Pack is now available for only $9.95. This package includes three cargo containers and two wooden spools. All assets are certified game-ready for Leadwerks Engine. This is just some of Dave Lee's work, and there's lots more coming!  

Josh

Josh

Leadwerks Summer Games Tournament Results

The results of the Leadwerks Summer Games Tournament are in! I think you will agree, this tournament produced some very fun playable games. Each author will receive a Leadwerks sticker via mail if this is their first entry, and a T-shirt if it is their second!   So without further ado, let's look at the games, in no particular order:   Slafstraf 2 By Slafstraf An ominous industrial setting with plenty of interesting puzzles shows the progress the author has made since the original Slafst

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Leadwerks Game Engine 3.6 Now Available

Leadwerks Game Engine 3.6 is now available on Steam. This free update brings an array of new features along with the release of Leadwerks Game Launcher. New Features Deferred DecalsLeadwerks now supports decals using an advanced deferred rendering technique. Decals are useful both for bullet marks and character blood, and as a decoration tool for adding detail to maps. Leadwerks decals even work with animated characters, so you can show damage when enemies are hit.     Terrain Vertic

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Leadwerks Summer Games 2016 Roundup

With the Summer Games 2016 Tournament completed, it's time to review the entries. This tournament brought a new level of quality, with several small games that could be considered Greenlight-ready, made in just four weeks!     Sound Game http://www.leadwerks.com/werkspace/page/viewitem?fileid=732192584   Test your spatial reasoning skills in this unique and challenging game. Navigate with your map and lit up clues to get to the end of the maze.     Soundscape http://www.leadw

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Leadwerks Game Engine 4.4 Released

Leadwerks Software today announced the release of version 4.4 of their topselling game engine on Steam.  This version adds a new GUI system, support for inverse kinematics, and enhanced visuals.  The free update goes out today to over 20,000 paid users on Steam. Leadwerks Game Engine 4.4 sees the introduction of Leadwerks GUI, a system for creating resolution-independent in-game menus.  Custom GUI elements can be created with Lua script, or an item can be selected from a number of pre-built

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Say Hello to Leadwerks 5 Shared Objects

All classes in Leadwerks are derived from a base Object class.  In Leadwerks 5 we separate simple and complex objects with the new SharedObject class. Simple objects like a Vec3 ( a three-dimensional vector), an AABB (axis-aligned bounding box), and other items are all derived from the Object class.  Simple objects are created with constructors.  When we make one object equal to another the value is copied from one variable to another, but the two variables are still separate objects.  Belo

Josh

Josh

"The Zone" DLC Released

Explore our reimagining of the Chernobyl nuclear exclusion zone with The Zone asset pack.  This package contains over three gigabytes of high-quality game assets prepared to take advantage of the latest Leadwerks features.  Use our ready-made map (included) to start your game or create your own post-apocalyptic environment. Get it now on Steam with a discount during launch week. "The Zone" DLC includes the following assets: 24 terrain textures 11 buildings (plu

Josh

Josh

Leadwerks Game Engine Launches in Ubuntu Software Center

Following completion of a successful Kickstarter campaign to bring Leadwerks’ game development software to Linux, Leadwerks and Canonical have joined forces to make Leadwerks Game Engine available in the Ubuntu Software Center. This provides Ubuntu users with a powerful tool for rapid game development.   Bringing Leadwerks Game Engine to Ubuntu also means that existing games can be more easily deployed for Ubuntu. The lineup of featured games on the Leadwerks website covers a diverse range o

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SciFi Interior Construction Kit Released on Steam

In collaboration with Arteria3D, we are pleased to announce the release of the SciFi Interior Construction Kit for Leadwerks Game Engine on Steam. This DLC provides all the props and textures you need to create your own high-tech sci-fi game environments. All content is ready to use with Leadwerks Game Engine, with no tweaking or adjusting required. Objects are designed to be easily aligned so you can build your scene quickly and revise it as often as you like. The included objects can be reuse

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Leadwerks Game Engine Reaches 10,000 Paid Users

Leadwerks Software today announced their top-selling game development system on Steam, Leadwerks Game Engine, has gained a user base of over 10,000 paid customers. Although the game development space has seen a dramatic drop in prices and the entry of many free competitors, Leadwerks Game Engine continues to gain popularity by teaching complete beginners how to make games with no previous knowledge required, and providing a pathway to publish directly to Steam Workshop.   Leadwerks’ ease of u

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Leadwerks Game Engine 4.4 Beta Adds OpenVR Support

Leadwerks Game Engine 4.4 beta is now available on the beta branch on Steam. This adds support for virtual reality with the OpenVR library. OpenVR supports both the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift headsets.     To enable VR mode in your Leadwerks game, simply call the command below. If a VR headset is detected and initialized, this function will return true: VR:Enable()   Any cameras not attached to a rendering target will render directly to the headset views. Both eyes will be rend

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Announcing Leadwerks Game Engine Enterprise Edition

Today we are pleased to announce the release of Leadwerks Game Engine: Enterprise Edition, a standalone version of our popular 3D development software. The Enterprise Edition allows business users to install and use Leadwerks without the need for the Steam client. The new product joins the existing Standard Edition with Lua scripting and the Professional Edition with C++ and Visual Studio support, both sold on Steam. The Enterprise Edition has already been approved for sale through N

Josh

Josh

Beta Branch Updated

The beta branch has been updated. The following changes have been made: Rolled beta branch back to release version, with changes below. Added new FBX converter. Fixed Visual Studio project template debug directory. Fixed Visual Studio project template Windows Platform SDK version problem. If everything is okay with this then it will go out on the default branch soon.

Josh

Josh

Introducing the Lobby System in Leadwerks 4.6

The new Lobby system in Leadwerks 4.6 allows you to create a public listing of your multiplayer game for others to join. This uses the Steamworks library. You can tap into the Steamworks lib by piggybacking on the default "SpaceWar" example game, which uses the Steam app ID 480. This is set up by default when you create a new Leadwerks project. Now you might think of a lobby as a place where people hang out and chat before the game starts. You can treat it like this, but it's best to keep t

Josh

Josh

Peer-to-peer Networking in Leadwerks Game Engine 4.6

I'm wrapping up the new multiplayer capabilities for Leadwerks 4.6, and I am very excited about what this offers developers. We saw previously how the lobby system is used to create or join games, and how to retrieve Steam IDs for messaging. Once we have joined a game we can start sending messages with the P2P::Send command, which includes a few overloads: static bool P2P::Send(uint64 steamid, const int messageid, const int channel = 0, const int flags = 0); static bool P2P::Send(uint64

Josh

Josh

Leadwerks on Steam

I first connected with Valve Software during GDC 2013. I recognized an opportunity to work together, so last week I paid a visit to Bellevue, Washington and met with Valve employees (no one has job titles in the company except Gabe) and discussed Leadwerks and the evolving Steam platform.   Today, I'm excited to announce our Greenlight campaign for Leadwerks 3: Steam Edition.     This software will be distributed through Steam and allow you to build games with Lua script and publish

Josh

Josh

Leadwerks gets the Greenlight for Steam

Leadwerks has been successfully Greenlit for Steam, meaning we can integrate great features like the Steam Workshop and Valve file formats right into our game engine! Thank you so much to everyone who voted.   We saw an incredible response from the Steam Linux community, both here and on our Kickstarter campaign for Linux support, which is nearly 85% funded. If the campaign reaches the first stretch goal, we're throwing in Android and OUYA support for everyone who pledged $100 or more to the c

Josh

Josh

Greenlight Status

I wanted to post an update on our Steam Greenlight campaign. Basically, we're doing better than most of the top compaigns did during the same time frame. However, because items in Greenlight are never removed, they slowly accumulate votes over time. Some of the software in Greenlight has been there for almost a year, and we've only been in there about three weeks. So their number of votes will be higher than ours for a while, even if we are accumulating votes much faster.   The campaign go

Josh

Josh

Leadwerks interviews Frictional Games co-founder Thomas Grip

Frictional Games is the developer of puzzle horror games like Penumbra and the new Amnesia: The Dark Descent. We sat down with Frictional Games co-founder Thomas Grip to learn more about their development process.   Josh: I'm a big fan of the Penumbra series. What can we look forward to in Amnesia: The Dark Descent?   Thomas Grip: There is a lot to of new stuff in the game. First of all the game is a more streamlined experience both in terms of general gameplay and interaction. For the gam

Josh

Josh

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