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Leadwerks 3 Brings Native Code to Mobile Games


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Leadwerks Software announced today the release of Leadwerks 3, their new development platform for building mobile games with native code. Based on the technology developed for their successful game engine for PC, Leadwerks 3 brings a totally new approach to mobile game development.

 

While environments such as Unity and MonoDevelop use managed code...that is, code that is designed to be easily run on multiple devices...Leadwerks uses an approach called native code. Applications built with native code are optimized to work with each platform. That means games written with Leadwerks will run faster and be more powerful than their managed code counterparts.

 

Mobile is growing rapidly, but there still exists a gap between mobile gaming and the larger game industry, which has traditionally focused on consoles. Professional game studios overwhelmingly favor native code because of its speed and flexibility. By focusing on the standard the game industry already uses, Leadwerks provides both professional studios and indie developers with an easy pathway into mobile. Games written in C++ can be ported to Leadwerks 3 without having to rewrite them in a new programming language.

 

Leadwerks 3 brings some innovative new approaches to the table:

  • The editor features tools for building game levels using a technique called constructive solid geometry. This streamlines the process of creating games, and makes it easier for artists to see what their games will look like as they build them.

  • Leadwerks 3 uses automatic asset conversion. This means that images and objects can be reloaded on-the-fly, so an image file can be modified in Photoshop and the result will show up in the editor right away. This removes tedious steps from the game development workflow.

  • AI is supported out-of-the-box. The traversable areas AI can travel within are highlighted in the editor as you build your game level. Pathfinding is dynamic, meaning that if a door opens or a drawbridge lowers, the AI is smart enough to take the new routes that appear.

  • The script language Lua is also supported, and can be combined with games written in native code. Scripted objects can be linked together in a visual flowgraph editor. This makes it easy to set up game interactions, something that can be a challenge when working with development platforms based solely on code.

 

Leadwerks CEO Josh said that “Leadwerks 3 is a big step forward for our company and our users. We’re bridging the gap between mobile gaming and the traditional game industry.” The product received a favorable response at the GDC 2013 expo. ”C++ is the game industry standard. Our market research at GDC 2013 revealed a huge demand for a cross-platform game engine built on native code. We found the design philosophy of Leadwerks resonates with a lot of developers.”

 

Leadwerks 3 can be purchased from the company’s website for $199, with add-ons for iOS and Android publishing available separately. A source code license is available for professional studios. A 30-day trial can be downloaded from the company’s website.

 

Leadwerks Software has provided game development tools to thousands of developers worldwide since 2006. It’s technology has been used in commercial games, education, training simulations, and military applications. To find out more, please visit www.leadwerks.com.

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Well,

 

It seems there is some demand from industry , this is not indie field.

I hope LE 3 to not forget 3D artists and non super programmers.

"AI is supported out-of-the-box", it's more navigation system not AI behaviour.

 

Let's hope LE 3 native code orientation leading it to popularity.

Some big titles by big publishers could make it popular, more than indie games.

 

Not only super power make the games good, this point can be seen on last AAA games, where bioshock, Minecraft, Borderlands.

Like Crysis , super graphics are not the only stuff that counts, their last game is just a tech demo with awfull balancing gameplay , and the industry steers up with UDK instead.

 

Even if LE3 will be somewhat faster than some others engines, be sure the others won't sleep and put optimisations also.

LE 3 simply need some big games could it be mobile or PC, (with a big LE 3 logo dissplayed ta startup wink.png )

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You may be right about the indie market. For the professional market, native code is a big deal. We're still learning what our user base looks like as we gain more customers.

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