Fixed Right-Click Bug in Level Architect
Edit: You must upgrade to at least version 1.5 of the Adobe AIR runtime before the Level Architect will work.
I got tons of traffic today from various sources, and probably tons of downloads of the Citrus Engine (we’ll know in the morning). I had a big bad bug in the Level Architect that kept right-click from working for people. Not having right-click is a show stopper, so I fixed it this evening. You can download the new version here. It’s also in the newest version of the Citrus Engine package.
In case you’re wondering, there was an issue with the AIR 1.1 SDK. As soon as I upgraded to the latest SDK version, everything worked perfectly. I wish I would have done that a couple of hours ago.
Speaking of bugs, if you ever find one, please let me know.
Citrus Engine Free For Learning!
After much thought I have decided to offer the Citrus Engine for free to educational users. I receive many emails from students and educators who ask if they can use the Citrus Engine for their school project or to teach their class about game programming. At the previous price point, it just wasn’t possible to make this happen for many of them. I have decided to open up the Citrus Engine to those who are learning or teaching.
For anyone who is looking to make a pretty penny from their game, I have cut the Citrus Engine’s price in half. I believe that I will be able to reach many more people this way, which will help improve the engine, increase our bottom line, and make everyone happier overall. Please enjoy, and remember to sign up at the forum.
Good Questions!
I recently received some great questions about the Citrus Engine, and instead of responding privately, I thought other people might be interested in these answers as well. Here we go:
Q: How big can I make my level?
A: There is no limit to the size of a level, but just like any engine, the developer will want to run tests to make sure that loading, memory, and processor performance meets their minimum requirements. Personally, I have not made any unbelievably large levels, but I have seen other clients make levels as big or bigger than a typical mario level with no performance issues.
There are several ways that the Citrus Engine can handle large levels. Which way that you choose depends on your unique situation.
- Split large levels into sub-levels. Allow your hero to leave a screen and enter again in a new screen. An example of this is in Mario games when Mario goes down a pipe. You can pre-load your next screen while the player is going through the current one. Usually the next screen will be completely loaded by the time they get to it.
- If you want your level to be continuous, you can strategically design your levels to create “points of no return” so that occasionally you can stream-out (unload from memory) a part of the level that you know the player will not return to (at least not in this life). Then you can start preloading parts of the level that are further away from the player. Again, the streamed-in section of the level will probably be fully loaded by the time the player gets to it. These two methods can be used to keep memory and collision processing low.
- Push the limits of the engine (reasonably) to see how big you can safely make your level without killing slower computers.
Q: Can you animate with “sprite sheets” and/or MovieClips?
A: The Citrus Engine doesn’t natively support typical sprite sheets, but this is not normally a problem. The Citrus Engine follows an animation interface that is extremely flexible, allowing designers and developers to implement their own custom animation systems if they need to. The Citrus Engine, but default, uses the gotoAndPlay() method of MovieClips to transition between animations. This is very flexible and meets the vast majority of needs. You can find a tutorial on how to do this here.
Q: Is there a limited number of frames or animations that a game object can have?
No, just be respectful of load times if your game is being deployed on the internet.
DoCrew Uses the Citrus Engine
The DoCrew is a new website that does some amazing things to mix webcam technology with Flash games. The site introduces brand new interface technologies that allow people to play games just by waving their hands around, right from the browser! I am proud to say that many of the DoCrew games are powered by the Citrus Engine.
The site is geared toward parents with young children, but even if you don’t have a mini-me I still recommend playing through the minigames so that you can see some of the great interface advances that these guys have made. It makes me excited for the future.
Hamutzim Goes With Citrus Engine
The Israeli agency Hamutzim recently developed a game using the Citrus Engine. If you don’t speak Hebrew then you won’t understand the website, but you don’t need to read to notice how gorgeous their graphics are, and how solid the gameplay is. Hamutzim did a wonderful job extending the pre-made Citrus Engine game objects to create their own objects, and they balanced the levels wonderfully. An overall huge success.
Tweet About Citrus Engine, Win a Free Copy
I’d like to announce the Citrus Engine “Tweet Deal”! If you are thinking about making the plunge to buy the Citrus Engine, you can snag a free copy of the Citrus Engine or save yourself literally HUNDREDS of dollars just by tweeting a little ditty about the Citrus Engine. How does it work?
Just tweet this message or one similar to it. On April 15th 2010, we’ll randomly pick one lucky sonofabitch to receive a free commercial version of the Citrus Engine.
But there’s more! Even if you don’t win, you can still save a ton of money. After you make the purchase, just let us know your twitter username. After we’ve verified your tweet, we’ll refund you $0.25 per follower (USD)*. If you end up being the lucky winner, we’re refund your entire purchase. Couldn’t hurt, eh?
Just so you know, the deal ends April 15th 2010. Oh, and if you’re not buying the engine, feel free to give us a tweet anyway! You never know, you might win.
* Maximum discount is 50%.
Like the new site? Here’s who made it
If you like the new Citrus Engine site design, you can join me in thanking Travis Clancy for such great work. He built it on the freshest version of Expression Engine, which I have already learned to love. It feels great to be in the 21st century, pulling in Twitter feeds and updating content via WYSIWYG. I’ve worked with Travis before, and I’d do it again.
Fresh Website, Fresh Demo
The Citrus Engine has come a long way since I started it over two years ago. Lots of great clients have used it such as the Australian Broadcasting Company, Studiocom, and Yoplait, with tons more coming down the pipe. As the product matures, I decided that it was time to mature its website as well.
The new site features a gorgeous new demo with art from my good friend Jerry Shamblin. The detail and imagination that he puts into his characters and backgrounds is breathtaking. I’m hoping we’ll see more from him in the future.
A new demo isn’t the only thing that’s brand new about the website, though. The Citrus Engine now has its own dedicated blog, and a more descriptive purchase page with *gasp* fixed prices displayed right in front of you. You can also purchase and download the Citrus Engine at anytime, without even contacting me. Additionally, I’ve added an official new “educational” package for students, teachers, and hobbyists to get in on the action too. If you’ve been waiting for your chance to grab the engine for cheap, check out the Purchase page and see if the educational package suits your needs.
Make sure and subscribe to the blog as I’ll be updating soon with a couple of deals and some updates to the engine itself. Lots of great stuff on the way!
