ALE 1.1 Free Update & New Demo

Grab it here :
http://www.dyvision.co.uk/aleupdate1.zip

Installation Instructions :
Simply unzip the file into your ALE installation directory.
Make sure you have the latest version of Blitz when using the landscapes too.

The demo has also been updated if you want to try out the numerous new features :
http://lightbulb.binary-people.com/ALEdemo.zip

New in v1.1 :

Placement of 'Props' (such as trees, buildings, waypoints) on the landscape

Full world enitor functionality implemented. (Load, position, scale, name, set to ground,
rotate, clone, delete)

Place multiple objects using white pixels on a bitmap (known as a 'PlaceMap')

Improved lightmapper.
Props can cast shadows on to the landscape (masked textures also cast correct shadows)

Export prop setup file (simple ASCII text file - loader function for Blitz included). Allows you to access ALL settings made within ALE including fog/CameraRange/player height etc.

New export options :
No Lightmap (strips lightmap from landscape. Useful if you are using an external lightmapper)
Copy All Media (Creates a directory with the same name as your landscape and copys all required models/textures to it)
Do Not Optimize (If you just want to preview your landscape quickly the optimize phase can be skipped)

Fixed AutoSmooth bug with steep hills

Make Self Tileable (Use a landscape as a repeating 'tile' - edges match seamlessly)

Edge To Zero (Any landscape with this function applied with seamlessly tile with itself or any other)

Improved heightmap Import/export

Hide Lightmap (So you can see dark areas when painting)

Lightmaps now sit on texture layer 1 and do not require the separate mesh that was causing some people problems.
This also means that the average optimize ratio is about 40% ie. 60% of polys are culled !! :)

Camera Mode (Set the camera to either a free-roaming 'flying' mode or FPS 'walk' mode which is more like a players perspective. Can also set 'player' height)

Nice work Skitchy ! That's an impressing update 1.1 !

[edit] Just to let you know all the glitches I reported are now gone! yay i can turn the lightmaps back on ;) [/edit]

Nice work Skitcky.

Kiss.

Cool update :) thanks Skitchy :)

btw in the next update could you put another menu to save the current setting state, like mouse speed etc in the option. each time I load ale it start with the default option.

Hi there again,

I find a very strange problem.

1- Create a New terrain (File/New)
2- I put some textures on my terrain (Default textures of ALE)
3- I Export him to Blitz B3D with default setting (File/Export/Blitz B3D) in the same folder of ALE
4- When i try this Test.bb in the same folder of ALE

graphics3d 800,600,32,1
land=loadmesh("testing.b3d") ; find this in the .zip file and also copy the textures & lightmap to your working dir
cam=createcamera()
positionentity cam,0,1.5,0
repeat
renderworld()
flip
until keyhit(1)

I get a Memory violation at (loadmesh), and i try to open my mesh with some tools, i get the same Error.

NOTE: I not have this problem with my OLD Terrain Mesh created with the OLD version of ALE.

Any idea ?

Kiss.

Found it. You MUST either :
1) Lightmap the landscape before you export or
2) Click the 'No Lightmap' tick-box that appears in the menu just before export.

:)

I'll teach the exporter to auto-detect a lightmap in the next update.

Thanks you ! Very fast support and thanks you for your email too :) Keep it's up :)

Kiss.

You're welcome :)

Is the version posted the 1.1 now? It's a bit confusing as the zip reads 1 still.

Yes, sorry - forgot to change the version number. All new purchasers get the latest version, everybody else download the update from www.dyvision.co.uk
:)

Bit of news : next update includes .x file export ;)

looking real good Skitch...

--Mike

Hi Skitchy :)

After playing with the upgrate I found some issue.

Auto-Smooth - If I have Peek mountain and the height is high
then auto-smooth make the peek flat so we are limited to a certain height..

"Selecting differant texture" when the Spray rate is low or minimum when I paint it use the lastest texture selected and not the current selected texture. For me it's append with the first and the third texture.

This is the problem I found and I hope it can help you.

I don't complain and I'm happy with the upgrate ;) just letting you know those glitch.

Just turn the spray rate up a bit. The lowest spray setting is actuall a kind of 'subtract' mode (intentional) that wipes the layers back to layer 1.

The auto-smooth thing is just the way it works. It removes severe angle differences by averaging the landscapes and makes them, well, more smooth :)

Hmm.. I noticed that about the global smoothing too, and find it to be a bit irksome - not enough local control over surfaces.

Would it be out of the question to, say on a future release, implement local (paint-brush level) "smooth" and "sharpen" functionality so folks can fine-tune for a smooth rolling hill here, or a sharp cliff-like ledge there, etc?

The second link for the ALEDemo.zip doesn't work skitchy!!
Can you please fix it.. Thank's!!! ;)

Sorry, this is an old thread. I had to move the file because I ran out of webspace. Heres the new link :
http://lightbulb.binary-people.com/ALEdemo.zip
or just go to
http://www.dyvision.co.uk/ale.htm
and follow the link. :)

Skitchy, just wondering if you are planning on adding the feature to output the actual texture for the landscape as a graphics file. The height map idea is good, but with export of the texture as well.

Beyond that, I like the demo and SS. Im just waiting to see what else is coming before buying.

Its already in :) If you export to .x the layers are collapsed and the textures/lightmap 'baked' into 4 textures - 1 for each quarter of the landscape (ie. 4 surfaces). This also means the poly count is much lower.

X? didnt realize you added .x output awsome.