Drag[en]gine Game Engine 1.23 Release

Published September 03, 2024
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This release took longer to be released since many external parties had been involved but you will like it. I'll highlight the most important additions here. Find the full changelog on the website.

One of the biggest highlights of this release is the addition of the Service Module System. Service modules are jack of all trades modules that allow to add all kinds of features to the game engine not covered by other specialized module types. The main use is adding platform support and community features. The following service modules have been added:

  • Steam SDK: This service module allows games to use the Steam SDK. The initial set of supported features are User Account (auto-login if Steam is running), Stats/Achievement Handling and Authentication Provider (link to Steam account by supported services).
  • EPIC EOS SDK: This service module allows games to use the EPIC EOS SDK. The initial set of supported features are User Account (auto-login launched from Epic Launcher and login using account portal), Stats/Achievement Handling and Authentication Provider (link to EPIC account by supported services).
  • Microsoft GDK: This service module allows games to use the Microsoft GDK. The initial set of supported features are User Account (auto-login from user logged into XBoxLive and login using XBoxLive overlay), Stats/Achievement Handling and Authentication Provider (link to XBoxLive account by supported services). Note: Due to still ongoing legal discussions with Microsoft this module is not yet included in the public release. It will be released once all is settled.
  • Mod.io: This service module allows games to use modifications hosted on Mod.io. The initial set of supported features are User Account (Using a service module supporting Authentication Provider) and Mod Handling.

With all these service modules they are automatically activated for all projects if the developer provides the needed initialization data in their "configuration.ptree.xml". An example file looks like this:

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
<parameterTree>
    <boolean path='defaultEnableGI'>true</boolean>
    <boolean path='defaultEnableAuralization'>true</boolean>
    
    <!-- Steam SDK -->
    <string path='steam.appid'>12345678</string>
    
    <!-- EOS SDK -->
    <string path='eos.productName'>My Game</string>
    <string path='eos.productVersion'>1.0</string>
    <string path='eos.productId'>1234567890abcdef12345678</string>
    <string path='eos.clientId'>1234567890abcdef12345678</string>
    <string path='eos.clientSecret'>1234567890abcdef12345678</string>
    
    <!-- Microsoft GDK -->
    <string path='msgdk.pathGameConfig'>/MicrosoftGame.config</string>
    
    <!-- Mod.io -->
    <string path='modio.gameid'>1234</string>
    <string path='modio.appkey'>1234567890abcdef12345678</string>
</parameterTree>

Easier than that is not possible.

To make modding even easier for you a full set of UI panels and windows has been added. See MMPanelModManagement, MMWindowModManagement and the linked UI classes. To only have to show an instance of MMWindowModManagement and your game supports modding (Drag[en]gine does the rest for you). To support script modding you have to do a bit more. An example you can find in DEMoCap.


But this is not all. Another big new feature are Attachable Element Behaviors. The existing Behavior System system works by adding behaviors to element classes. These are static and stay the same for all elements instantiated from the same element class. Attachable element behaviors allow now to attach and detach dynamic behaviors to an element at runtime. This opens up a lot of new possibilities to design game behaviors in a clean, stable and resuable way.

See the full changelog here: Changelog Release 1.23.

To help distribute your games find here also the updated distribution files for Steam and Microsoft App Store.

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