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1. Composition
Unlike SDK 0.5 (CHN), designed exclusively for working with multiplayer levels and containing only LevelEditor with the main compilers, SDK 0.7 contains a full set of tools of the latest versions:
- ActorEditor
- LevelEditor
- ParticleEditor
- ShaderEditor
- Postprocess
- DialogEditor
- Debugger
As well as compilers:
- xrAI
- xrDO
- xrLC (+ coordinator + agent)
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2. Changes in compilers
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2.1. General changes
The compilers of the new version have improved support for multithreading on multi-core processors, and they use up to 4 GB of memory (for comparison, although the CH compilers supported 4 cores, they did not yet implement memory addressing, and in PM only one thread was used at all).
The compilation speed at full load, respectively, can grow up to two times compared to CHN.
It is also worth noting that it was the inability of the compiler to address more than 2GB of RAM that caused a number of limitations faced by mod developers.:
for the maximum size of the ai grid (and, consequently, the size of the level's playable area)
and for the maximum number of vertices, and in situations where the game itself would have completely withstood the level.
Of course, this does not mean that it is worth trying to make levels in 5x5km or 20 million polygons, but situations when the engine can work with a level, and the compiler is unable to assemble it due to memory overflow errors, should no longer occur.
It is impossible not to mention the implementation for all SDK editors of Windows Vista and Windows 7 support.
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2.2. Network compilation
An important innovation is the ability to compile a level on several computers at the same time.
It is performed using xrLC and additional applications. One computer performs the role of "coordinator", the rest, "agents", work with tasks defined by them.
For ease of operation, already configured executable files are attached to the SDK, with which it is enough only to specify the name of the level and the IP of the coordinating computer.
The meaning of using such a compilation is clear - it allows you to collect complex levels with very high quality settings in much less time than on a single PC. Of course, since the days of xrLC PM, which took up to a week of pure time to build a large level in high quality, the speed of the compiler has increased up to four times, but compilation time is still not fast.
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3. Changes in applications
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3.1. General changes
There are absolutely no cardinal changes - the engine was not created yesterday, and most of the tools are suitable for working unchanged for many years. The main thing is that all the tools are present in full, and are compatible with the latest versions of the formats used in X-Ray 1.6 (PO).
The differences, which are worth mentioning separately, can be given both in comparison with SDK 0.5 (CHN) and SDK 0.4 (PM), since a number of tools were missing in the CHN SDK.
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3.2. LevelEditor
The Move tool has been improved: now it is not necessary to switch the desired axis to move the object: controllers are displayed on the object, for which it is enough to simply pull the cursor.
The possibility of using spawn element classes, which was missing in the CHN SDK, appeared:
- actor
- camp
- smart_terrain
- smart_cover
... and the like
Thus, the SDK now has the ability to work with smartcovers (which, although they appeared for the first time in the CHN, were not available in its SDK), in particular, and levels for a single game in general (available in the LE CHN, but rather limited).
Removed a number of obsolete spawn element classes, added classes involved in the PO.
The Simulate/UseSimulatePositions tool has appeared, designed to test physics right in the editor.
For a number of spawn element classes, auxiliary models are displayed that simplify work in situations where there are many objects in the scene.
It doesn't make much sense to list small changes. Anyway, LevelEditor contains all the tools necessary to work with any level.
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3.3. Postprocess
An application for creating and editing .ppe (post-process effects) files. It is quite easy to learn: seven classes of effects, a number of parameters in each, the ability to build sequences and other features.
It was missing both in the PM SDK and in the CHN SDK.
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3.4. DialogEditor
An application for editing game dialogs in the format .xml with support for conditions and checks:
has_info, dont_has_info, give_info, disable_info, precondition, action.
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3.5 Debugger
Debugging Lua scripts, checking syntax and their validity, supports working with Source Control Center.
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4. Compatibility
The format of the levels (with the exception of data related to xrAI) has not changed much, so the results of the xrLC work can be used in the CHN. Of course, this applies only to multiplayer maps or the use of geometry.
Thus, if you want to use SDK 0.7 to compile a single level to CHN (say, because of the speed of xrLC), then this is possible - but, accordingly, only with xrAI from CHN.
The files collected by xrDO are compatible with both PO and CHN and PM. Files .thm is compatible with all versions of the game up to PM 1.0004.
The format of skeletal objects .ogf is the same in PO and CHN, - the results of work in ActorEditor can be used in both games.
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