Here is another quick update about the merger.

I've just finished the "cross-platform plugin system" which will allow game libs to be dynamically loaded and used by the engine. The game code is platform independent, with the platform dependent parts being pushed into the engine. Basically this means that the game code only needs to be compiled on a supported platform in order to work with the engine.

I'm reworking the launcher to read some "info" files about each game (small text files that contain information such as name, description, launcher icon, library name and subdirectory) and then auto-populate the UI. The launcher will then be able to query each game regarding additional game-specific UI that it needs. This means that there won't be a hard coded set of games that are supported, new games can be added simply by adding the necessary resources (library - dll, so, etc., images, icons, scripts, etc.) and the info file. Obviously only the 4 main games will be shipped with the XL Engine releases at this time, but adding new games and the editor will be pretty easy in the future.

In addition I'm considering making the source for the games themselves open when the merger release occurs, though the engine source may not be for a while longer (depending on how clean and optimal the code is at release time).

That's good news Lucius.

Way to go..

Will the game (without engine) source code release open DaggerXL up for more advanced modification?

It will, but I'd prefer to allow modders to make new mods without modifying the source when possible. If you can mod by changing script files and assets then you don't have to worry about being able to compile the game under Linux, OS X, Windows and any other platforms. If you change the game source then you're basically making your own game which is going to be more work then a normal mod.

The console is now re-integrated and fully works. Below you can see some simple screenshots of the console in action, on Windows and Linux (click to see full size):





You can ignore the funny shapes in the background, they were just some debug drawing and will be going away soon. The next step is to integrate the DarkXL UI scripting system and get the game UI functioning again. So the next update will actually start to look like the current release again.

This may not look like much, but many of the core systems had to be re-written or re-integrated just to get to this point. Remember that for the merger I've started with a fresh new project and have been re-integrating and refactoring the code as I import it (or rewritting as needed) to work with OpenGL, be free of D3DX dependence and work on Windows, Linux and OS X while sharing as much as possible.

So far the dynamic game libraries are working, DarkXL is displayed above because the DarkXL.dll / DarkXL.so file is currently loaded. It gets the name and version number from the library since the games can be updated without recompiling the engine. There is also the platform independent Input system, file system, image loader, texture cache, core renderer, vertex and index buffers, bitmap fonts and font rendering, console, high resolution timer and so forth.

i must say lucius you are one of my most respected programmers, along with john carmack, patrick aalto and DragonGeo2 keep up the fantastic work

I don't think I say this enough : fantastic work Lucius

I just integrated the scripting system, so I believe that there won't be any more dependencies to worry about until I work on the sound system again - which won't be until the games are up and running (i.e. so I can test sounds). This means that I won't have to switch OS's as often for a while (like I just did for the script system on Linux) - so things should pick up a little.

Fantastic update Lucius.

You're the man..

Wow, linux gaming is one step closer! (offtopic)Personally the only thing that stops me from using linux is that wine couldn't support all games

Btw, lucius, why are you switching OS's instead of having virtual systems? It's great for testing.