Alex Hopkins' Journal

I have finished "spec 1" of my custom model format, IOF. It is intended to remove a lot of the complexity of OBJ files that I won't be using but also introduce important features that I feel OBJ files are missing.

I am splitting the work of this format up until smaller "specifications" so that I don't spend months on finishing...

I am switching my focus from C++ to C# for my landscape / environment engine, and switching from native DX to SharpDX.

There are many reasons for this, chief among them the speed at which you can achieve things in C#. I could continue my engine in C++ but the rate of progress wouldn't be great and given that this project will end up being a submission...

So whenever I read about how to import a model into your game, it tends to be followed by suggestions that the user go and read the appropriate file format specification. Then a few suggestions related to model asset libraries like ASSIMP. I have tried many of the libraries and always seemed to have one or two issues with them, none of which were fatal, all...

I once had to write a DirectX "scene" for a module at University. Back then, I wasn't aware of graphics debugging tools such as PIX or nSight. They are amazing! They allow you to capture a frame of your application and examine every tiny detail of the graphics pipeline.

You can see all of the DirectX calls and the render targets as they...

Hello World! My name is Alex and this is my first post on my first blog on GameDev. I am currently studying for a Bsc. Hons in Computer Game Application Development at Abertay University, in Dundee, Scotland. I am about to enter my fourth year and decided that before I do, I'd start work on experimenting with the development of my own game...