Happy New Year from the Explorations camp and as I promised, I have been dedicating the majority of my free time back to Ev9. I have released the latest version of Explorations v9.8 and nimble v3.0 and things are looking great!
So I have just released a fix to Explorations v9.8. This release fixes all of the preview panels not loading the images. I have also taken the time to work on the InstaRender application. I have not fully tested the render submission so the servers will be down for a while.
This version of Explorations is not compiled with the latest version of nimble, but it soon will be. There are great things happening with the core runtime. So stay tuned.
So I will be releasing Explorations v9.8 tonight. The entire application suite is 95% converted to the new runtime, but stable enough for me to get the install released for user testing. With the creation of the nimble, I have self contained development platform that compiles applications for Windows, Linux, and HTML5 Web Browsers. 
– I am very proud of this framework and can see huge potential in future software development.
Ok, so whats up with Explorations? Tonight I will release the package without the 3DObjectMaker tool. I will spend some time tomorrow figuring out a few of the graphic drawing/rendering issues that didn’t convert when porting to nimble v2 runtime. The software has a less intrusive registration process that is integrated within the IDE/Runtime itself. This means any future desktop apps pig-back off of the same registration system. The nimble IDE handles the DEMO vs FULL build process within the editor. So I don’t have to manually worry about license control. All the server scripts have been rewritten, and I have created a desktop Admin panel (for myself) to manage accounts.
The InstaRender web server is currently disabled but the scripts will not be altered and should operate perfectly when I activate them. The InstaRender feature within Ev9 has been converted but not fully tested. The InstaRender desktop application will be retired as I create a 100% HTML5 WebApp using nimblev2 & the j32 Virtual Desktop. This means rendering and downloading sprites will happen within Ev9, or any web browser. In the future, “content based” apps/features will be created as WebApps to support Ev9.
I haven’t made any changes to eMotions or the Ev9 Game driver and all of the file/data formats are unchanged. This effort was purely an editor conversion and runtime/core stability enhancement. (Along with building the software used to build Ev9.) – Truly a massive effort! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I have converted all orders to the new security scheme. When you download and register, your license key should be applied to the registration automatically. If you have any problems please email me.
To recap:
Writer.EXE – 100% Converted / needs minor testing
ObjMaker.EXE – 100% Converted
Debugger.EXE – 100% Converted / needs some testing
ServerSetup.EXE – 100% Converted / needs some testing
DataSecure.EXE – 100% Converted
DataShare.EXE – 100% Converted
CharGen.EXE – 100% Converted
Settings.EXE – 100% Converted
ObjMaker3D.EXE – 80% Converted / needs full testing
eMotions.EXE – Untouched.
Driver.EXE – Untouched.
InstaRender.EXE – Retired. Will be created as a Web App.
Nimble.EXE (v2.2) – 100% Created, functional, and in use for all this development.
It has been a while since I have posted an update. As my loyal followers know, if I am quiet on the internet, it means there is usually something cooking on the home front. And while this new update doesn’t come with the official release. I assure you, it is only a week or two away. This week I will spend some time looking at the server and making sure email and registration processes are working as expected. I will be reaching out to the users who have had problems with the email validation process. (I believe this is simply caused by my transition to nimble2.0) – It uses new back-end scripts.
On the Android front. Nothing new to report, but if you mosey on over to www.nimble-ide.com you can see what I have been cooking with mobile/web development. One step at a time…
That’s all for now! The kid is refreshed and renewed for the work, yet to come.
Explorations Forever!
So I have released the nimble-ide demo today. The project took a complete 5 months to create, and I have packaged and release the demo in a week. The official nimble home page is http://www.nimble-ide.com. If you are a fan of the late great Visual Basic, and you are interested in being a programmer please check it out. You will need a PowerBASIC compiler to build your apps.
Now that nimble-ide is released, its back to the gaming.. Stay tuned for more gaming videos and how-to help for Explorations..
Explorations Forever!
And without further ado.. “Visual PowerBASIC IDE v1.0″ (not the official title.)
Introducing “Visual PowerBASIC(?!?!)”
It’s Amazing what you can create when you have a library of solid routines to get the job done. A 1 man effort, over 4-5 months has created a cross-platform IDE for PowerBASIC. And make no mistakes about it, this thing is what Visual BASIC *should* have been.
Who’s Framing Who?
This IDE was created to fill the gap left with the extinction of VB6, and slow (somewhat pathetic) adoption of .NET for any real development. *not a flame, I use .NET professionally.* 
Migrate your “legacy” code easily!
The runtime used in Explorations was designed to migrate the project away from VB6 & dependency on Microsoft technology. In doing so, I felt it pertinent to create a User Interface for developing new applications powered by the cross-platform runtime.
PowerBASIC = Powerful Development
PowerBASIC offers support for OpenGL, SQLLite (SQL Tools), .DLL creation, and Architect-Level software development. This video shows my runtime implementation of Data-Bound objects with simple CSV files. Rapid Application Development is Back!
What’s in a name?
My Final Thoughts.. This video highlights a few of the short-comings of this project, in the hope to gain your support. This project needs an official title so please feel free to register to my forums and share your thoughts!
If you think developing a cross-platform IDE in 5 months was fast, imagine how rapidly apps can be developed with this baby! I hope you feel my absence was time-well spent!
Explorations Forever!
So I released the Dynamic Movement demo today. This little demo will give you guys a hands on example on how sprite animations are controlled. I hope this demo will give you a clear example of how sprites are managed..
More to come.
Explorations Forever!
I have released the Advanced Features Demo today. It’s packed with many of the features previously discussed in this blog. Feel free to download it today!
I have partnered up with the guys at Truebones to improve animation sequences Explorations/InstaRender can support. This partnership has yielded two great new utilities! BVH Converter, and the BVH Snoop application. You can find these tools on the Utilities page.
Explorations Forever!
So it’s been a few weeks since I have posted an update, and this one comes with three videos and a full package update. I spent the majority of my time creating the graphics for this update, and putting the editor to the test.
This demo was designed to show how Explorations handle dynamic sprite animations, vehicles, and to pose a simple question. Are you a “ride or die” fan of Explorations v9?
Below are also two brief “behind the scenes” videos of how all of the pieces are triggered and fit together. The amazing part about this demonstration, is that I only type 6 lines of script code!
Explorations Forever!
Well, my birthday is coming up and I wanted to drop two cool videos of some more A.I. scripting. This first video is a recap, and full demo of the complete Mining Script. This sample will remove the gold after it is completely mine from the map. Once all the gold has been removed the NPC will return to the camp and wait for further instructions.
I’m proud to share the newest addition to the A.I. script library. This demo shows how sprites can be used to build Guard Towers. I took a day to create the animations for this demo, and I’m really proud at how this demo turned out. Once one Tower is created the NPC will search for other Towers not yet complete. If any Towers are in the process of being built, he will join the effort. I hope you enjoy this sample, and tell your friends about this project.
