It's been an awesome couple of weeks since the SunBurn 1.3.2 launch.  The release went very well, the new features look amazing, and we're already seeing some great new projects developing around SunBurn 1.3.

One of these projects is Matt Bettcher's (of Farseer fame) new open source 2D / 2.5D engine, which uses SunBurn's 2D rendering, lighting, and shadows, and Farseer for physics.

Another great project is Konstantin's FlatRedBall integration, which pairs SunBurn's 2D rendering, lighting, and shadows with the FlatRedBall engine.

Excellent work guys!

Additional Updates

Over the past few weeks we also rolled out some additional updates:

SunBurn Framework 1.3.2 is now available

This is the first SunBurn Framework version updated to 1.3, and it contains SunBurn's new flexible api, the updated Developer Hub, and more.  If you're using the free SunBurn Framework it's definitely worth checking out!

Documentation updated to 1.3

We recently wrapped up work on the SunBurn documentation, all articles and tutorials are now updated to 1.3.  In addition we've added detail and clarification to docs we felt needed it, as well as two new articles covering Xbox LIVE Avatars and Custom Post-Processors.

Hot-fix for Developer Hub on x64

The launch did see one small hiccup, the Developer Hub's project builder wasn't working as expected on 64 bit operating systems.  Luckily the problem was minor and quickly resolved.

We've released a hot-fix for all editions (including SunBurn Framework), which is available in the Downloads section.  If you use the Developer Hub on a 64 bit operating system it's worth downloading.

More 1.3.2 Features

As promised I want to mention some of the cool new features I didn't get a chance to cover in previous blogs:

Avatar Rendering

SunBurn includes complete support for Xbox LIVE avatars, including both default xna animations as well as custom animations.  And avatars receive lighting, fog, and cast shadows like all other objects in the scene for very tight visual integration.

Working with avatars is also exceptionally easy, simply create an avatar, add it to the scene, and enjoy the  beautiful avatar goodness! :)

Volume Lighting

One feature from our GameFest 2010 demo which received a ton of requests was volume lighting (see the above GameFest video).  Due to it's popularity we decided to roll the feature into SunBurn, and 1.3.2 is the first public release to include it.

Using volume lighting is easy, it can be enabled on any spotlight by setting the Volume property (in either the editor or via code) to a number greater than 0.0.

Get SunBurn Engine 1.3 Now!

If you’re a SunBurn Engine developer head over to the Downloads section and check out the latest release.

And if you're not, what are you waiting for?  Become a SunBurn developer today!


Read More

Countdown to SunBurn 1.3.2 (SunBurn's engine-centric design, component system, and new editor)
SunBurn 1.3.2: The New Editor (a look at the new editor from its lead developer)
SunBurn 1.3.2 Launched! (SunBurn's ambient occlusion, indirect lighting, 2D rendering, and terrain)

-John Kabus

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Posted 06-24-2010 4:32 PM by JohnK "bobthecbuilder"