Darkstar GL aims at being a free, open-sourced game development system for Unix, Linux, Windows, Mac, and many more systems, complete with built in support for OpenGL for 3D rendering, OpenAL for audio, networking for multi-player, and a complete multimedia subsystem for videos and sounds.
The
most recent release of Darkstar GL is version 0.1.2.
Visit
the SourceForge
Project Page for more.
News:
- 09/11/2001
Whew...Update time. Version 0.1.2 is out with lots of reorginizations and bug fixes. No new features, but the engine is now completely memory-leak free, and the API has been completely reorginized into namespaces. This effectively groups the functions into common groups, making functions like dsExportSceneCached and dsDrawCached more common:
dsDraw::Draw()
dsDraw::ExportScene()
Much nicer, IMHO. This also makes documenting the API much easier, as it can be done in groups. And, while we were at it, we gave some of the functions more meaningful names, like:
dsFile::LoadWorld() instead of dsFile::BuildObjects()
Also, we have a kdevelop project file in the distribution for your convenience. Its use is optional of course.
Enjoy
- 08/10/2001
Wow, been a long time since I updated this thing... Just to show you we're not dead, I've posted a new update in CVS. It's mainly a bug fix around the lighting system, correcting some annoying bugs that disallowed setting position and color settings in the world files.
Still moving...
- 05/21/2001
OK, a little bug fix for you. Version 0.1.1 is out, with a vastly cleaned up interface. I went through the code and cleaned out all the functions that shouldn't be in there any more. I also updated the make scripts so that installing would work. Example programs are now installed in /usr/local/lib/darkstargl by default. It would also seem that there was a problem with outdated includes that I had deleted but never removed from the rest of the includes. This meant there were dependancy problems that shouldn't have been there and probably prevented some/most of you from compiling the engine. But it should work now.
All that needs to be done to install all the libraries, includes, and examples is:
./configure
--prefix=/usr
make install
That should build everything in the right order and compile without a problem. I would like to know how this works on everyone's computers, so please let me know.
Any bug reports are welcome. I'm still working the bugs out of the new queue-based drawing system, and I know reflections need work.
Enjoy
- 05/19/2001
Great news: Reflection support has been fixed. It now works better than ever, allowing for (theoretically) any surface, rotated in any manner, to reflect every other object present. It also works transparently in the drawing subsystem, allowing for a simple call to dsDrawCached() to draw it. All this thanks to the new queue-based drawing system. ;-) Enjoy
- 05/18/2001
Huge update for you today. DarkstarGL version 0.1.0 is finally out with TONS of new features and bug fixes. Among them are:
-
New depth sorting for proper alpha blending
- Queue-based drawing
system
- Quaternion-based rotation for both objects and the
camera
- Vertex lighting support, calculated on-the-fly
-
Billboarding support
Support for reflections is temporarily broken due to the complete revamp of the engine drawing subsystem. But it'll be back in soon.
I want to start on a Windows port for the next release if possible since the engine is starting to get to a more stable state.
Have fun with this release, it's taken a lot of work. ;-)
- 04/26/2001
Brand
new support for quaternion-based camera rotation has been
implemented. This will allow for various new camera transformations,
and will make rotating the camera a cinch. It also avoids the nasty
Gimbal Lock that the other mechanism was subject to.
Next up:
Billboarding, fixing reflections, and Z-Axis sorting.
Once
all that's done, version 0.1.0 will be released, the first major
release of this engine's life. (Woo hoo!)
- 04/15/2001
Brand new release today, version 0.0.4. This one sports brand new reflective surface support, and a bunch of other bug fixes and stuff. Be careful with this one though, if you have an older Voodoo 3 or 2, it may not work for you. Also, if it does work, be prepared for a massive drop in frame rate--it isn't the most optimized of algorithms.
- 04/14/2001
Added particle fountain support today, and also added this handy news section so you wouldn't think we're dead. ;-)
Currently (as of 05/19/2001), the engine supports:
Unlimited 3D objects, loaded through predefined world and model files, or through the client program
Unlimited textures for brilliant, realistic looking walls, furniture, etc.
Alpha-blended transparency of individual sides
World files describing how a 3D environment should be laid out, including objects, textures, and lights
Preliminary support for the auto-detection of hardware vs. software rendering modes
Full camera functions, including 360° of rotation in all directions and movement in all directions
2D text capabilities for HUD, console, and more
Objects built with either triangles or rectangles for sides
Particle fountains
Reflective surfaces
Vertex lighting
Billboarding
Quaternion-based rotation for objects and camera
Automatic depth-sorting for proper alpha-blend drawing
More
Much
more development needs to go into this engine.
You asked for them, and here they are.
Darkstar-GL could ALWAYS use more help. We currently need someone to:
Help in developing the 3D graphics (Preferably someone well versed in OpenGL and C/C++)
Document the engine better (I have rather messy code at times ;-) This includes API documentation
Development of sample programs and simple games to package along with the engine
Maybe someone willing to do a port to another OS...?
Anyone else interested in helping
You
can reach me (Cory) by email at darkstar6262@home.com.
Darkstar-GL is currently available from SourceForge as source tar.gz archives. Get them here:
It's also available from anonymous CVS. Under Unix, log in using the following:
cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.darkstar-gl.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/darkstar-gl login
cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.darkstar-gl.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/darkstar-gl co DarkstarGL
Under Windows or any other OS, I can't help.
If you're interested in helping with the development of Darkstar GL, or want to submit a bug report, or even if you just want to chat with me about the engine, send me (Cory) an email at:
I'll respond as quickly as I can. Also, bug reports are MUCH appreciated. Better yet, if you can download the CVS version and work on it, I'd be more than happy to accept patches.
Have fun.