Haaaaaaa, this post is back from the dead.
[Aug. 12 2004]
I restarted this project, and it's going very good. For now, I'm heavily relying on a dll I made which contains a menu, open file dialog, and message box pop-up.
The program is very secure as of now, and solid as a rock in just one days coding. This meaning, I've put in many, many security measures.
Examples: Can't exit without saving(or at least being asked), undo feature, most effects are backwards compatible(use a second time to go back to original form), multiple warning messages telling you what you did wrong, and with loading the wrong file type it won't exit on you
.
Little things like that are making this a very solid program.
The reason development went so fast, is probebly because I already had all the image functions I needed, yet only really implemented an interface and security features.
The big feature for me to boast about though, is the 3D previewer. Since this product will be aimed at game developers, I don't see why we shouldn't be able to see our images on the fly in the 3D world.
Here's a quick screenshot of the two modes I have. (Textured object preview and textured matrix preview)
One(two actually) of the features I'm currently working on that I'm super excited about is the 3D heightmap preview mode. That way this will not only be a 2D software tool, but an excellent way to generate heightmaps. (This complements the in built effect of greyscaling images, and the blur effect. )
The second feature I'm excited about implementing, will be seamless texture generation. This will further complement the tool towards making landscapes.
Heck, I'm even considering an export to .x and my own custom format.
Finally, I'm also going to start working on the drawing tools. (pencil, cirlce, fill, etc.) These will probebly come last as they're not priority. Ideally, this will become a simple image effect editor(as in, you add to, not build from ground) program that'll give you a good idea of what your map will look like.
Whew, hope that's it.
A book? I hate book. Book is stupid.
(Formerly known as Yellow)