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Lightmapping curved CSG objects

I'm a big fan of constructive solid geometry because it allows people without advanced modeling skills to design a game level that looks great. In fact, I originally got my start in game development using the Quake and Half-Life modding tools, making game maps.   One of the criticisms of CSG has been that it only allowed creation of faceted objects. (Valve's Hammer Editor has a workaround for this that lets you set smooth groups, but you can't see the results until they are run in the game.)

Josh

Josh

Lighting enhancements and fixes in Leadwerks 3

After a wild week at GDC 2013, it's nice to be back doing what I do best...writing code!   A new build of Leadwerks 3 is now available. We've added light vector maps so that lightmapped surfaces can display normal mapping effects. Lightmapped materials with normal maps should use the texture "Common/lightvectormap.tex" in slot 4. (If you create a new lightmapped material, this will be done automatically.)   This technique works by calculating the average light vector that influences eac

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Admin

Learning how to use C++11 shared pointers

I have implemented C++11 shared pointers into Leadwerks Game Engine 5 and the following program now works.  When you press the space key the box variable is set to NULL and the visible box on the screen disappears: #include "Leadwerks.h" using namespace Leadwerks; int main(int argc, const char *argv[]) { auto window = CreateWindow(); auto context = CreateContext(window); auto world = CreateWorld(); auto camera = CreateCamera(world); camera->Move(0,0,-5); camera->SetClearColor(

Josh

Josh

Leadwerks.com launches new community features

Leadwerks.com now features a video gallery where our members can post movies of their games made with Leadwerks Engine. Instead of slowly uploading a huge video file, you can simply enter a YouTube video ID to submit movies. Check out some of the cool videos like Legos falling over to a techno soundtrack, fly through floating islands in Aerora, and of course there's Dave Lee's excellent Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.   We've also created a random rotating banner image in our website header. Lead

Josh

Josh

Leadwerks Winter Tournament Roundup

The Winter Games Tournament is complete, with a long list of fun mini-games made by the community. This tournament saw the release of many new and innovative types of games you want to be sure to try. To claim your prize, go to "My Profile" in the drop-down box that opens when you click your name in the upper-right part of this website:   On your profile page, click the button that says "Edit My Profile" and enter your name, shipping address, and shirt size.   Lone Water: Prologue Lon

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Admin

Leadwerks Winter Games Tournament Kicks Off

The first Leadwerks Winter Games tournament has begun!   How to Enter Submit your playable game to the Leadwerks Games Catalog, before January 15th. You can use any Christmas or non-Christmas related ideas. You can work together in teams or on your own. On the day of January 15th, a review of submitted games will be posted. Prizes Rather than a competition, this tournament is a "co-opetition". The community is encouraged to help one another make fun playable games. Everyone who participat

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Admin

Leadwerks Winter Games Tournament 2016

At last, it is time for the 2016 Leadwerks Winter Games Tournament! This is going to be a big one, for a few reasons. We're very likely to reach 100 games in Leadwerks Game Launcher, which means it will be ready to move out of early access mode and be an official release on Steam. As an experiment, you're getting two extra weeks to polish your games, with an extended deadline lasting until January 15th.     WHEN: The tournament begins Monday, December 5, and ends Sunday, January

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Leadwerks Winter Games Results

The results of the Leadwerks Winter Games Tournament are in! I think you will agree, this tournament produced some very fun playable games. You can download all of these games and more in the Leadwerks Games Listing. Each author will receive a Leadwerks sticker via mail (Gonan gets a Leadwerks T-Shirt since this is his second entry.)   So without further ado, let's look at the games, in no particular order:   Crime Closer By nick.ace Catch the crooks before they get away!     Next

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Admin

Leadwerks wants to put game development on Steam

Valve Software's Steam is a game distribution platform used by millions of gamers worldwide. What started as simply a way to buy and update games has evolved into a vast ecosystem with instant messaging between friends, game hubs featuring players' screenshots and video, and workshops for sharing user-generated content. Last fall, Valve added software titles to its lineup of products, and implemented Greenlight, a system that lets users vote directly on which titles should be sold on Steam.

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Admin

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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Admin

Leadwerks Summer Games Tournament 2016

Now that you've had time to get acquainted with Leadwerks, it's time for the Summer 2016 Game Tournament.   WHEN: The tournament will start Monday, July 25, and end Sunday, August 21th at 11:59 P.M. (Pacific Standard Time).   HOW TO PARTICIPATE: Publish your summer-or-other-themed game to Steam Workshop or upload it to the games database before the deadline. You can work as a team or individually. Use blogs to share your work and get feedback as you build your game. If you need models for

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Leadwerks Summer Games Tournament

Summer is here, which means the beach, barbecue, and the first Leadwerks Summer Games Tournament.   WHEN: The tournament will start Monday, June 15, and end Sunday, July 19th at 11:59 P.M. (Pacific Standard Time).   HOW TO PARTICIPATE: Publish your summer-or-other-themed game to Steam Workshop or upload it to the games database before the deadline. You can work as a team or individually. Use blogs to share your work and get feedback as you build your game.   PRIZES: Rather than a competiti

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Admin

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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Admin

Leadwerks Standard Edition Brings C++ Game Development to Steam

Following the successful debut of Leadwerks Game Engine: Indie Edition on Steam, Leadwerks Software today announced the launch of Leadwerks Standard Edition. This DLC on Steam adds support for programming in modern C++11 with Microsoft’s Visual Studio 2013.   C++ is the game industry’s leading programming language, due in large part to its superior performance and flexibility. However, the language is sometimes considered to be too complicated for indie developers to take advantage of. Lead

Admin

Admin

Leadwerks Software to Assist NASA Building VR Applications

TLDR: I made a long-term bet on VR and it's paying off. I haven't been able to talk much about the details until now. Here's what happened: Leadwerks 3.0 was released during GDC 2013. I gave a talk on graphics optimization and also had a booth at the expo. Something else significant happened that week.  After the expo closed I walked over to the Oculus booth and they let me try out the first Rift prototype. This was a pivotal time both for us and for the entire game industry. Mobi

Josh

Josh

Leadwerks Software Now Offering Internships

Leadwerks Software is now offering internships through the Center for Entreprenuership at Sacramento State University. Internships are available for programming, 3D art, web development, and marketing.   Programming Internship Assist the development team with tools and core engine design. Work with game development team to create a sample Leadwerks3D game. Gain experience working in a professional software development environment. C++ and Lua experience are a plus but not required.

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Admin

Leadwerks Software Announces .NET Support

Leadwerks Software has released version 2.5 of their game development software Leadwerks Engine, featuring enhanced graphics and support for the Microsoft .NET application framework. Josh, CEO of Leadwerks said, “.NET support fits in with our goal of making game development simple and more approachable for programmers. We have an energetic community of coders who have been requesting .NET support for some time, and we’re happy to deliver that in Leadwerks Engine 2.5 along with enhancements to ou

Admin

Admin

Leadwerks Seeks to put Game Development on Linux

Linux is a solid and secure operating system that’s perfect for gaming, but at this time Windows remains the lead platform for PC games. One company wants to change that by putting the game development process right on Linux. Leadwerks Software has launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring their game development software to the Linux operating system. The company says this will allow users to build and play games without ever leaving the Linux operating system.   The company's Kickstarter page

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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 on OUYA

Last weekend I attended an OUYA game jam and got to play around with the OUYA dev kit for the first time. My goal was to see if I could get Leadwerks running on it over the weekend. I had problems with the USB driver, but compiling went smoothly: I didn't have any problems with controller latency, but did not finish mapping the controls or updating our project to use some newer functions we need. In the end, I had to manually copy the compiled .apk file to the device to deploy it. All in

Josh

Josh

Leadwerks Named Steam Community Choice Winner

Leadwerks Game Engine has been declared the winner of the Steam Community Choice against Substance Designer and Music Maker. An additional bonus discount will apply to the indie and standard editions during the next 24 hours. Thanks for voting!  

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Admin

Leadwerks Mailing List

We've created a mailing list so you can stay up to date with the latest happenings. Sign up here and we'll notify you when Leadwerks 3 is ready,

Josh

Josh

Leadwerks Levels Up

Leadwerks has been accepted into the Sacramento State University Center for Entrepreneurship. The mission of the Center for Entrepreneurship in the College of Business Administration (CBA) is to develop and nurture innovative business ideas and to capitalize potential entrepreneurial opportunities, both from CSUS and local entrepreneurship communities.   The Center will provide entrepreneurs with the skills and resources needed to launch a venture and to identify and cultivate solutions to en

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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

Leadwerks Halloween Game Tournament 2017

Fall is in the air.  The leaves are changing colors, people are bundling up, and game developers are itching to try their hand at another community game tournament.  How does it work?  For 30 days, the Leadwerks community builds small playable games.  Some people work alone and some team up with others.  At the end of the month, on Halloween day, we release our projects to the public and play each other's games.  The point is to release something short and sweet with a constrained timeline, whic

Josh

Josh

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