Update 30 - All Things in Modification

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Update 30 - All Things in Modification

March 23, 2018 /
It's hard to believe a third of a year has already passed since VNgen first released in Early Access. With the advent of GameMaker Studio 2 requiring some extra strategizing for the release of version 1.0, the EA period has definitely gone on longer than originally intended, but not unproductively. VNgen has grown by leaps and bounds both internally and externally such that its code is barely recognizable as the same product that shipped in late 2017. As the march towards 1.0 continues (and indeed is ...

Update 30 - All Things in Modification

Update 29 - Gotta Split!

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Update 29 - Gotta Split!

March 09, 2018 /
As the saying goes, premature optimization is the root of all evil. On the other hand, this means there are some necessary evils in programming before optimization can happen. Up until recently, that's where VNgen has been, but now with 1.0 fast approaching it's my job to root out those evils. In other words, it's optimization time. But don't let that word conjure up false impressions of fanboy wars arguing over whether Game X is poorly-optimized or their platform of choice is just inferior. Optimization ...

Update 29 - Gotta Split!

Update 28 - Drawing Infinity As Fast As Possible

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Update 28 - Drawing Infinity As Fast As Possible

February 23, 2018 /
VNgen is an unusual GameMaker product. As previously described, it breaks the linearity of Step cycles and re-implements many built-in functions to do more work faster. With 1.0 approaching, I'm forced to evaluate the state of each part of the engine and ensure it's working as desired and is consistent with other engine functions, which has often led to even further reworks of standard GameMaker conventions. Some of these have been significant enough to warrant spinning off into their own, separate ...

Update 28 - Drawing Infinity As Fast As Possible

Update 27 - Semantic Arguments

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Update 27 - Semantic Arguments

February 10, 2018 /
With all major features in place, VNgen is now on the straight and narrow path to version 1.0. As you'd expect, this means isolating and fixing bugs—many of which are difficult to produce in the first place—but more importantly, the past two weeks have been all about standardization. Sound boring? Well, read on, because as you'll discover, standardization doesn't mean nothing new was added. And even better, you can see for yourself right now! Unity in Diversity Designing a group of disparate functions ...

Update 27 - Semantic Arguments

Update 26 - I've Got a Feeling

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Update 26 - I've Got a Feeling

January 26, 2018 /
Alright, I've avoided it long enough: after two posts and four weeks of dodging discussion over the state of VNgen, it's finally time to get back in the swing of things for the new year. As previously mentioned, part of the reason for the delay was life matters in the month of December. But that's not to say things weren't being accomplished—far from it. Rather, the bigger reason is that VNgen was undergoing such major changes that there was never a good point to stop and share it all. Now, most of these ...

Update 26 - I've Got a Feeling

Update 25 - Untangling Quantum

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Update 25 - Untangling Quantum

January 12, 2018 /
It's been four weeks since the last regular update on VNgen. While normally that'd be enough time for some major changes and improvements, between the holidays and personal family matters holding back development, this weekend's focus will be slightly different than usual, with regular VNgen updates to resume next time. Even with delays and reduced work hours, however, progress has certainly been made. Some of it has been largely experimental and required rolling back, but not without gaining valuable ...

Update 25 - Untangling Quantum