M'thinks the time is nigh for release 2.9. The last of the blocking bugs has been squished, so the beta programme is about to begin.
For the benefit of those that have not been following the developmental builds, the major changes in release 2.9 are:
- Fixes for Windows 7 compatibility, particularly regarding graphics driver resetting in Aero themes.
- Cumulative improvements and bug-fixes for the Torque T3D export plugin.
- Major improvements to the ZeoGraph interface, including many more filters, bug fixes, and user interface improvements.
- Speed improvements for scripting (~5x), using a just-in-time compiler.
- Various user interface improvements and tweaks, including a new layers menu.
- A new mask generator, for creating mask images based on terrain altitude, slope, water depth, salinity, and/or land type coverage.
- Anti-aliasing in alpha maps.
- Support for more file formats, including MOLA and Unreal's G16.
The first beta release is due next weekend, on or about the 8th of May. If no major problems are found, L3DT v2.9 will be released two weeks later, on or about the 22nd of May.
Cheerio,
Aaron.