- Joined
- Oct 3, 2004
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- 1,461
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- Favorite Pinball Machine
- Trigon
I have started development of the extended version of shivaEngine (se4, or xse) Based off the previous versions of shivaEngine, the xse engine adds several very large improvements, and most importantly, will give the average member the ability to write the code for their tables without needing any scripting knowledge at all.
For those of you who do not know what shivaEngine is, shivaEngine is a scoring and logic script used to develop tables for Visual Pinball. Everyone already has the first version, as it was included with the full install of Visual Pinball. (called tutorial.vpt)
se2 was aimed at the most advanced user, and contains very complex scoring/sound/lighting routines. The best known games that use shivaEngine2 was Rapid Vienna and Trigon.
se3 was developed to emulate tables from flipperless to System 9, and added the concept of using preset scripts that can be added for target routines/scoring etc. All my Visual Pinball games the last year and a half use se3, such as the Power play se3 and Kiss se3 tables.
The xse engine builds on these concepts from before, but already, there are some major new features that are in place, with a lot more to be added.
One of the biggest features of the xse engine is it adds multiple preset scoring and control routines to standard objects and parts of a common table, (such as drop target banks, lanes etc) using a collection based system. Like the engine itself, this will contain multiple settings for each section, so there will be multiple types of scoring and routines capable for each section.
But most importantly, there is a new menu system, that will allow you to adjust and set any of it's routines, settings, scoring, and rules while in game. In theory (and so far) there is no need to do any scripting at all!
There are preset styles in case you don't want to change the settings yourself, and now a navigation and help menu that helps you in case you do. No more long text files that people don't read anyway in other words.
The official thread is here at:
http://www.shivasite.byethost22.com/forums/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=83
(you need to be a member to view the screenshots)
Ever since shivaEngine1 first came out, I have tried to do a system to develop tables, without any need to script anything, and with totally automated features and functions. Even with my poor scripting abilities, I am now about 99% closer to that goal.
I may not be the best coder in the world, but I always manage to get the job done in the end.
The engine is now capable of building it's own internal code, and running it. In time, as I develop more features, the engine will be able to build and run even more complex rules. Down the road, maybe system11 support, and even (gasp) in game modes. Unfortunately, I am very slow, and don't have the time like I use to, so it may be a very long time before the engine is ready to release even a test table.
I will be adding more info as I go along at my board, but comments and suggestions are always welcome.
For those of you who do not know what shivaEngine is, shivaEngine is a scoring and logic script used to develop tables for Visual Pinball. Everyone already has the first version, as it was included with the full install of Visual Pinball. (called tutorial.vpt)
se2 was aimed at the most advanced user, and contains very complex scoring/sound/lighting routines. The best known games that use shivaEngine2 was Rapid Vienna and Trigon.
se3 was developed to emulate tables from flipperless to System 9, and added the concept of using preset scripts that can be added for target routines/scoring etc. All my Visual Pinball games the last year and a half use se3, such as the Power play se3 and Kiss se3 tables.
The xse engine builds on these concepts from before, but already, there are some major new features that are in place, with a lot more to be added.
One of the biggest features of the xse engine is it adds multiple preset scoring and control routines to standard objects and parts of a common table, (such as drop target banks, lanes etc) using a collection based system. Like the engine itself, this will contain multiple settings for each section, so there will be multiple types of scoring and routines capable for each section.
But most importantly, there is a new menu system, that will allow you to adjust and set any of it's routines, settings, scoring, and rules while in game. In theory (and so far) there is no need to do any scripting at all!
There are preset styles in case you don't want to change the settings yourself, and now a navigation and help menu that helps you in case you do. No more long text files that people don't read anyway in other words.
The official thread is here at:
http://www.shivasite.byethost22.com/forums/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=83
(you need to be a member to view the screenshots)
Ever since shivaEngine1 first came out, I have tried to do a system to develop tables, without any need to script anything, and with totally automated features and functions. Even with my poor scripting abilities, I am now about 99% closer to that goal.
I may not be the best coder in the world, but I always manage to get the job done in the end.
The engine is now capable of building it's own internal code, and running it. In time, as I develop more features, the engine will be able to build and run even more complex rules. Down the road, maybe system11 support, and even (gasp) in game modes. Unfortunately, I am very slow, and don't have the time like I use to, so it may be a very long time before the engine is ready to release even a test table.
I will be adding more info as I go along at my board, but comments and suggestions are always welcome.
