This topic contains 33 replies, has 12 voices, and was last updated by 
Diffrenzy
2 years, 2 months ago.
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Well I’ve upped my donation to a whopping $10/month, if all 57 who currently contribute $5 up theirs $10 I think that would rather dandy and take some load off impixi.
You’re right supertino!
That would be awesome as well and it might be even more motivating for Mark. I also think Mark should add more “reward levels”. That doesn’t necessarily mean there should be really more rewards actually…
Well I’ve upped my donation to a whopping $10/month
That is the level I’m at as well. The way I figure it, it’s totally worth the pledge when you add up what you get from Mark.
- A language that is built with you in mind. Mark has been listening to our request and adding in features based on our feedback.
- Premium support. Although Mark’s happily coding away on Monkey 2 he provides personal support to most that have questions or issues. Where does that happen anymore? It’s worth $10 a month just for the technical support.
- Open source and free to use. Marks choice to free the Monkey is also worth $10 a month. It’s good for Monkey 2 and good for you.
These are just a few reasons to pledge at $10 a month. A $10 pledge is like buying Mark a pizza a month. If I could do $15 a month he might have some beer money.
Good for you impixi! I’m glad you’ve made it public because is eases a lot of worry over how “solid” the commitment was, so that’s great news!
@mark See my earlier post about having other incentives for higher pledges (edit: and Richard just reiterated above) as now is the time or the initial enthusiasm will wain, you can already see the psychological effect it has on people who are already suggesting they will pledge more after being inspired (and now feel more confident) by impixi.
You can also have a sponsors advertising area on the home page (and on the other blitz sites) for people who pledge a certain amount, like this guy: http://www.mapeditor.org/
Good for you impixi!
Aww. Just saw his post. Right on impixi! Inspiring? You bet!
I personaly think I’ll keep my patreon unless I become homeless or mark stop to post for several months.. or ask us to stop donating! It’s the first language I really love! Hope it’ll become a really mature language with full crossplatform features.
Thanks to everyone on backing Mark and Monkey. Extra thanks to impixi.
I am also happily sticking to my pledge. Monkey-X has been my doorway to mobile development, and Monkey 2 is proving to be even better.
Hey everyone,
Woohoo, looks like we made it!
Sorry I haven’t replied to this earlier – I keep noticing it at home (on the couch with ipad) but seem to forget it when I get to work (where I try to actually work as much as possible).
Anyway, hitting the 1000 Patron goal means I’m going to be mainly working on a 3d engine/module for monkey2 from now on, which is both exciting and a little scary.
My main mission is to provide something that has an easy to use API, and that can produce attractive results and runs at a decent speed. In other words, something hopefully in the ‘spirit’ of blitz3d.
I am also planning to include VR support from an early stage, mainly because I have become really fascinated with it (largely thanks to PSVR + rez + area X) and also because I have a DK2 (oculus rift dev kit) anyway which I’ve had going in the past and should be easy to get going again.
My plans for an API are to stick with gles2.0 + some extensions for starters, while keeping gles3.0 in the back of my mind. This doesn’t mean you’ll be using gles2.0 any more than you do in mojo 2d, but it’s what I’ll use behind the scenes, mainly because it works everywhere.
This does mean you wont be able to use ‘bleeding edge’ d3d12 etc features, but I’m cool with that. There is still a ton of amazing stuff that can be done in gles2.0+ (more in gles3.0 which is kind of sort of d3d11 to gles2.0’s d3d9) purely with vertex/fragment shaders and render targets.
My plans for file format support are to include support for gltf ONLY in the actual 3d module. gltf is a new format, but it has a lot going for it: it’s backed by khronos, very well documented, obviously written with gaming in mind, lightewight, available in binary/text flavors and completely open (unlike several other potential uber-formats). I think it has a very bright future. More info here:
Support for other formats can be provided via an ‘assimp’ module (still lovin’ that name!) – more info on assimp here:
And you will of course be able to combine mojo3d with 2d/mojox rendering.
One thing that WILL be a problem for me is test/demo models. I somehow managed to end up with a ton of cool models for the original b3d and I’m convinced that helped a lot both with development and marketing.
So if anyone has any test/demo models they would like to contribute to the project, please contact me.
Finally, this would indeed not be happening as quickly as it is – if at all! – without the major help of Impixi, who has not only helped get the patron up to 1000, but who has also chipped in some very generous amounts every now and then over the years to help keep monkey2 going and my spirits up – thanks a ton Impixi, I’m very happy I get to concentrate on monkey2 for at least a bit longer!
And of course, thanks also to anyone who joined as a patron or upped their contributions a bit.
Nice. Looks like a realistic plan. Can’t wait to see the results.
Mixed feelings: gles2.0+ only 3d for 2017/2018 sadly sounds pretty dated, more than a decade behind the times. In 3d, such old tech mostly isn’t relevant anymore. Who is playing 3d games on a 10+ years old desktop? Who is developing VR for such old hardware? Who’s using a phone from those days?
For 3d hardware stats look different than for 2d and so is the definition of what makes sense to support for a reasonable range of systems. gles2.0+ sounds like the next least common denominator issue no one will be happy with.
The competition is ahead already and their tech is packed with features, not gimmicks as it used to be for years, reasonable stuff which is supported by hard and software and which enables you both, looking good and running fast. Further technology builds on the latest tech and workflows how to use all this best were established already.
Why would ‘new’ devs want to go back to gles2.0+ if it’s not just for a specific retro flat shaded 3d title? Why not designing a 3d module with a realistic view of the market and considering devs’ needs? Doing so could end up being financially secure in the long run too (like, many want something and are willing to pay). Maybe you want to reconsider your position and debate.
One more thing: 3d import/export should work for a real world scenario, like, what does really work for most modelers?
Apart from such things, looking forward to whatever comes out, good luck!
I can provide you with tons of meshes I use in my games.
Would love to help and test.About gles2.0 I’m fine with that. Taumel, don’t forget we still speak about multi platform, so this should run on Android and iOS as well. Actually when you really want a top notch 3d AAA engine, I think Monkey 2 with its coming 3d module isn’t the right thing for you. I’m still amazed about things which were possible with DX7 though.
You can do fantastic stuff with gles2 already.
Mark, I’d love to see kind of a roadmap for that 3d engine, including rough ETAs as well. Based on your experience, how long do you think could it take till you have a rough going module ready? 1 year?
I had multiple platforms in mind already (although I favour a focused strategy).
Take a look at hardware stats for desktop, console and mobile. Understand how game development in this industry works, where the future is heading to. Imagine how the situation will be, when the 3d module will be released. Add some further time for devs creating content. Devices which only support gles2.0+ by then, aren’t the ones you want to target because they are slow, suffer from hardware-/software issues and aren’t in active usage anymore. If you own a iPhone 5/6/7, you don’t play 3d games on your iPhone 3.
And you’ll be limited again to retro styles putting all the effort into the art. Whilst the competition offers great visual enhancements with more performance. It will be like comparing monkey2’s 2d engine to a modern one.
Again, read the hardware stats, understand them, talk to people who know what they are doing, then it’s easy to see where gaming happens and what the market offers, that’s a world beyond gles2.0+. Don’t just have an opinion, check the facts and have an educated one.
Going for gles2.0+, with time working against you, that’s a mistake and no developer magnet.
Agreed partially taumel. But we have to be honest. When talking about industry standards Monkey 2 will play no role at all. It will never compete with Unity/Unreal for instance. It is a niche, a nice one I have to admit.
Mark has the chance to cherry pick tech which is relatively easy to implement, easy to use and offers a great bang for the buck. There exists a large enough niche who would be interested in such a small focused and efficient technology. But it’s more about clever decisions, less about ‘I do what I want to do’. The first has a chance leading to a product, with a increased number of users, paying money for a dev tool. With the second option chances increase that people are struggling on the market and Mark at some point moves away. Last but not least, Unity and Unreal were built from scratch but throughout the years they took their chances, made more right than false decisions and kept on working.
Well well.. when it comes to “clever decisions” I’m a bit worried because it somehow started with the not so clever decision to use Monkey as a name and there were several other decisions following up.
And to take that Unity example it was probably helpful for the Unity guys to stick to their product and make it better instead of always restarting from scratch and splitting up the community every time. But that’s just my thinking and I can be wrong of course.
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