DeleD Community Edition

[Jeroen]

I've been working hard on the plugin architecture because I wasn't happy with its current state (too limited). The new plugin architecture allows the plugin to request items from DeleD (for example, all objects, all lights, all selected objects, etc, etc, or combinations of those items). DeleD will then only send the items requested after which you can do whatever you want with them. The same goes when sending data from the plugin to DeleD. The system can also handle various different stringformats so we are ready for the future as well.

This all means that current plugins will have to be slightly altered (fortunately, not too much). I will provide new plugin examples with code to show how it's al done. The system is in testfase now and I expect it to be finished sometime next week so it will be included in the next DeleD version (0.87 probably).

[Il Buzzo]

Hi Jeroen,
I'd like to see this new system and I hope it's compatible with C++ like the actual system ( please don't use Delphi String but PCHAR to ensure compatibility with all development languages).
If you want a C++ tester I'm here , you've just to send me DeleD 0.87 and Delphi examples so I'll try to port them to C++ !!!!
Bye

[Jeroen]

[Chris]

So does this mean I'll be able to write a light object exporter, and use the data from the DeleD lights for a new lighting system I'm planning for DBPro. Well Khris has talked me into doing for DBPro.

[Jeroen]

[dirkk]

All of this sounds very good!

I take this opportunity to thank Il Buzzo for the Dev-C++ translation, so, yes, I hope very much the new plugin architecture is compatible .

[Chris]

Wee Jeroen thats great news, well it is untill I have troubles with my plug-ins.

If my idea works well it'll hope fully make DeleD even better for use with DBPro. Well if I can get per-pixel lighting to work in DBPro using a plug-in.

[Jeroen]

[Chris]

No I mean you can create plug-ins in other languages for use with DBPro. I intend to write a light exporter (in C++) for use with DeleD, then a light importer for DBPro.

As it stands DBPro can only have 7 dynamic lights at any one time, this is in my opinion very restrictive, so what me and Khris want is to be able to have as many light sources as we want (we'll be useing DeleD to create, edit and position these lights around our levels).

[Jeroen]

Ah, I see. Well, it should not be any problem writing your plugin in C++. As you can see from II Buzzo's landscape plugin, it's perfectly possible to write your plugins in C++.

Btw, feel free to tell us a bit more of your plugin plans, Chris!

[Chris]

I'll take a look at Ill Buzzo's tutorials when I get round to doing the plug-in for DeleD, and I'll make sure that I keep you all informed about the progress with my lighting plan (after I kow what I'm doing that is ). With any luck if it works it'll bring even more DBPro users over to DeleD.

[Il Buzzo]

Hi All,
I want to point out that it's always possible to create a plugin for DBPro that reads lights from a DeleD file in C++ without the need of creating another plugin for DeleD, or you can create a DBO exporter for DeleD that exports lights in a separate file in a format used by you.
So I think you could start to write your light system by now if lights file format (ask Jeroen for this ) is not changed.
Anyway, as a DBPro developer myself , I wanted to solve this problem by creating dummy objects at the desired position and move lights only in the zone where my character is.
Is this similar to your idea?
Well , bye .

[Chris]

What I hoped to do was create a plug-in for DBPro that will replace the exsisting DBPro dynamic lighting system. And enable the user to load all lights from a new file type (thats what the DeleD exporter is for) all in 1 command. The plug-in would then position each light in the file and set it up as it was in DeleD, hopefully allowing good dynamic lighting in DBPro with out to much restriction.

[Jeroen]

I'm very happy to report that the new plugin architecture now allows you to create import and export plugins. It also has more robust errorhandling and validation code which means plugins will be handled more savely.

I will finish the system now and start on plugin examples.

[Daaark]