****README.txt****
Check out the Getting Started manual (http://realmforge.com?url=GettingStarted) for the latest setup instructions. They are on the RealmForge wiki (http://wiki.realmforge.com) which also provides additional information about the project. You can also visit the public RealmForge Google Group mailing list (http://groups-beta.google.com/group/realmforge) to read through development discussions or post on the forums (http://forums.realmforge.com) to receive help.
Notice:
Please remember that this project is still in an alpha stage so there will be problems and incomplete features (see ChangeLog.txt for latest changes and notes), however you can post on the forums and the development team will be happy to help you out. I hope that this open-source game development middleware, development toolset and rendering engine for .NET will assist you in the development of your game or simulation. Thanks for your interest!
This project is entirely free and open-source for both commercial and free or open-source usage and is developed in the spare time (and through so many all-nights and sleepless nights of Dan Moorehead and the other developers listed in Credits.txt). It also builds upon the other open-source products (such as both the Axiom rendering engine and .NET Prebuild for which Dan is also the project manager or the Tao Framework). Please contact him at dan05a@gmail.com if you would like to help out or donate to help support this free project at the dan@xeonxstudios.com Paypal account or via the SourceForge.net project page (http://sourceforge.net/donate/index.php?group_id=108848).
Please rate and review the RealmForge GDK on DevMaster.net (http://www.devmaster.net/engines/engine_details.php?id=68) if you find it useful or of great potential. The feedback proves useful for the developers as well as others evaluating it and it helps to increase the relativly new projects visibility. This few seconds it takes to even write a sentance about it and rate it would be greatly appreciated as few reviews are made.
Common Problems:
The most common problems are with not having the required version of DirectX installed along with the appropriate version of the Managed Update for DirectX (in this case the June release of DirectX, Managed DirectX is automatically installed with this one). However, generally recompiling the project will allow you to use the version installed on your machine and instructions for this are also found on the wiki. Users who know how can also create an Axiom.RenderSystems.DirectX.dll.config file in the bin directory to map to the appropriate version of the Direct3DX assembly installed on their machine instead of recompiling.
Old Problems and IDE Usage;
Until recently there have been problems with use with SharpDevelop due to a bug in the .NET Prebuild utility used for project file generation, however this is now fixed. To recompile you must run the appropriate batch file (such as VS2003.bat) to generate the project files for your IDE of choice. The .NET Framework must be installed and C# must be supported by Visual Studio .NET if it is used. SharpDevelop is a freely available IDE and MonoDevelop is the one for non windows operating systems.
Also, now you don't have to reopen Visual Studio .NET or compile projects individually first as Clean.bat no longer removes the obj directories that cause this to be required. FullClean.bat does this now, however (though it greatly reduces size) is not recommended for use due to these complications.
Now the DirectX rendering system is compiled against the newer April release of Managed DirectX which more developers have then the old February release compiled against for earlier releases, also Managed DirectX comes with this version by default, simplifying setup. You can use app.config files or recompile however to work against different versions. This will not be an issue in the future.
Linux Support:
There are currently problems with Mono supporting C++.NET for the ODE physics and WinForms for the In-Game Editor that prevent its use on non-windows platforms for several months until workarounds are provided or Mono completes the required features. Though Axiom (the rendering engine) works well for multiplatform use, waiting until Mono matures further or workarounds or devised is suggested. Mono is the open-source and cross-platform implementation of the .NET Framework.
NEW in v0.6.2:
Access In-Game Editor
-Press F11 with any application to toggle the In-Game Editor on and off for editing games at run-time
Controller-based Input
-Intuitive component-based input handling and behaviors that are easily extended
Support for Editor/DevTool Plugins
-Devtools have been factored out of WorkspaceManager and are organized as simple and extendible or plugins
Input focus fix
-Input isn't handled when working with the devtools
-Clicking on the render window will remove focus from devtools, enabling input again
Drag-Drop Scene Creation
-Drag templates from the Scene Object Templates window onto the Scene window
-Reorganize the scene graph in the scene window and the templates in the Scene Object Templates window
-Click on nodes in the Scene window to select them
Property Editing:
-Select nodes by clicking on them in the render window or Scene window and edit their properties in the Properties window (Property Inspector)
-Select components (such as the rendering engine or application) from the Components menu in the In-Game Editor to edit their properties
-The properties are grouped and have descriptions and any custom properties added will show up as well
-New properties and ways of editing properties (especially collections) will be added in the future as well as fixes for properties like Orientation angles, Absolute Position, Direction, etc that may not work properly at the moment.
About Box:
The Help > About RealmForge GDK menu item now shows the About Box properly with information about the project and its developers.
Event Editing:
Click on the "View > Event Scripting Designer" menu item to work with the designer to visually script events
-Selecting a target from the drop-down list and an event from the list right below it
-Drag scripts from the Tree of all scripts or from the list of named delegates
-Add any method in the entire framework or from plugins that has a void SimpleMethod() or void Script(object owner, object args) signature by specifying the fully qualified (include namespace) class name and members (fields and properties) that need to be traversed to get to it from a static member of that class
-You can leave the class name empty an will default to the RealmForge.RF, the singleton aggregator.
Saving your game:
-The File > Save menu item now actually works and will save the current scene (for applications that load the scene from a master module, doesn't work for the Sample Browser tech demos yet). This feature is buggy and verbose, however since it is finally supported it won't be long before the editor will be fully usable for game development!