Practical question.

How do you guys organize your 3D content ? For example if my game is split into levels and every level uses different objects and mats, do you:
1, use a huge AWD to define the level (does this include Prefab’s behaviors ?)
2, use some kind of bespoke XML structure to define the level - great for extensibility
3, define it internally inside AS3 (which means extensibility is dead)

?

1: Awd doesn’t support Prefab’s behaviours. It might be added at some point in one form or another.
As it seams that many are using them, I might add in the meanwhile some dedicated export features for the behaviours so that you can combine them with other approaches than AS3 only. Obviously having them in awd2 would be better.

As about building levels, since you are familiar with Prefab’s behaviours… have you seen there is one called dataGuy? It’s basically a place holder, you can define which object needs to be set, and even add custom data…
In Prefab a ghost will be displayed to ensure that you can place them where you want. (Note that it would work with camera’s, dummy objects etc, but this will not work in the app)
If you export as as3, per level, you then runtime only to ensure that the assets that you have defined in the dataobjects are there. Once the set of behaviours is inited, your level will be constructed. What Prefab doesn’t honor atm, is generate a management for these for you. You will have to init/destroy and manage yourself.

2/ yes, xml or any other logic that you like. As said above, this is something that doesn’t come out of the box.

3/ I do not see why extensibility would be dead. Can you develop?

Fabrice Closier - 29 November 2012 02:22 PM

1: Awd doesn’t support Prefab’s behaviours. It might be added at some point in one form or another.
As it seams that many are using them, I might add in the meanwhile some dedicated export features for the behaviours so that you can combine them with other approaches than AS3 only. Obviously having them in awd2 would be better.

Indeed it would be awesome, if AWD2 supported behaviours, namely putting them in place and configuring them for you. Bound to their parent objects they could be internally constructed and destroyed with their parent. That was what I expected, but that’s probably because I’m new to all this stuff.

Fabrice Closier - 29 November 2012 02:22 PM

As about building levels, since you are familiar with Prefab’s behaviours… have you seen there is one called dataGuy? It’s basically a place holder, you can define which object needs to be set, and even add custom data…
In Prefab a ghost will be displayed to ensure that you can place them where you want. (Note that it would work with camera’s, dummy objects etc, but this will not work in the app)

Will give it a go at some point, thanks for pointing me to this feature.

Fabrice Closier - 29 November 2012 02:22 PM

If you export as as3, per level, you then runtime only to ensure that the assets that you have defined in the dataobjects are there. Once the set of behaviours is inited, your level will be constructed. What Prefab doesn’t honor atm, is generate a management for these for you. You will have to init/destroy and manage yourself.

2/ yes, xml or any other logic that you like. As said above, this is something that doesn’t come out of the box.

3/ I do not see why extensibility would be dead. Can you develop?

Yes this will be my approach. XML will hold the scene definition, behaviors. This obviously leads to great freedom while defining the scene, which is what I meant when I was talking about extensibility. Simply I would be free to define and alter any level taking into account possible player’s decisions, story continuation and so on. Not even mentioning the debugging. It would be much more difficult if a level was carved in stone inside AS3 as well as more time consuming. But then again approaches differ.

Fabrice - you’re the man. Thanks for all the valuable info!