Turbulenz SDK 0.19.0 is an update for both the Turbulenz Engine Installer and SDK components.
Please see the Change List for details on API changes.
Note
The Turbulenz Engine Installer is now included with the SDK. If you intended to develop using this SDK, you will need to install the engine located here: *SDKINSTALLDIR*/engines/0.19.0/. This Turbulenz Engine is a pre-release for developers and is only intended for development with the SDK. If you want to access games on https://turbulenz.com, make sure you check https://hub.turbulenz.com/download to ensure you have the latest compatible version. In the future, engine version management will be taken care of automatically.
Windows XP/Vista/7
The Turbulenz SDK for Windows is available from https://hub.turbulenz.com as a downloadable a self-extracting installer exe. This contains the tools, samples and engine components required to develop Turbulenz applications.
The following software should be installed before installing the Turbulenz SDK:
Essential
- Python 2.6 - http://www.python.org/download/releases
Note
It is possible to use Python 2.7 (Not 3.X) with the tools. This feature is currently in beta. If you encounter any problems, revert back to using 2.6.
Recommended
- Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 - Used to compile speed-ups for python environment if available on platform.
- PDF reader - Required to read documentation in PDF format
After installing the essential and recommended software, install the SDK:
- Visit https://hub.turbulenz.com and login
- Download SDK 0.19.0 for Windows
- Run TurbulenzSDK-0.19.0.exe
- Follow the instructions
Note
Performance of any Python modules could potentially be slower if speed-ups cannot be compiled. It is recommended that you install Visual Studio before installing the Turbulenz SDK, so that the speed-ups can be configured in the environment. If you are using a 64bit version of Python you must have installed a 64bit version of the Visual Studio compilers.
Mac OS X 10.5/10.6/10.7 (BETA)
The Turbulenz SDK for Mac OS X is now available to developers in beta from https://hub.turbulenz.com as a self-extracting shell script. This contains the tools, samples and engine components required to develop Turbulenz applications.
The following software should be installed before installing the Turbulenz SDK:
Essential
- Python 2.6 - http://www.python.org/download/releases
Note
It is possible to use Python 2.7 (Not 3.X) with the tools. This feature is currently in beta. If you encounter any problems, revert back to using 2.6.
- Xcode 3.2.6 (Or greater) - This MUST be installed before running the script so that Python can compile certain modules.
Recommended
- Cg Toolkit - http://developer.nvidia.com/cg-toolkit - Required to compile shaders using the cgfx2json tool.
After installing the essential and recommended software, install the SDK:
- Visit https://hub.turbulenz.com and login
- Download SDK 0.19.0 for Mac
- Open a terminal in the same directory as the SDK installer and type:
- chmod a+x TurbulenzSDK-0.19.0.run
- ./TurbulenzSDK-0.19.0.run
- Follow the instructions
As technology and tools are updated, so too will the recommendations for development environment. Turbulenz aim to recommend versions of various third party tools and services that are the most stable, reliable and representative of the final product for development of your projects.
The web browser is the focus point for development. Games developed using Turbulenz are run, debugged and profiled from the web browser. Although performance of the browsers in release mode is relatively consistent. The choice for debug mode, depends on the performance of the browser and the tools available for it. Most JavaScript debuggers are either integrated into the browser or add-ons. These debuggers allow developers to pause execution, step through code, inspect variables and execute functions via the console.
| Windows: | XP/Vista/7 |
|---|---|
| Mac: | 10.5/10.6/10.7 |
Turbulenz recommends for debugging in debug mode:
For plugin configurations: Firefox 3.6.X with Firebug 1.7.3
Firefox 3.6 is recommended for performance in debug mode. This is due to fact that it runs plugins in-process, making the execution of low level API faster. Later versions of Firefox can be configured to run plugins in process too. See Running in Process.
| Windows: | Firefox 10 with Firebug 1.8.4 can be configured to achieve a similar performance level with in process. |
|---|---|
| Mac: | Safari 5.0/5.1 with Web Inspector (built-in) |
Note
Performance of plugin configurations in release mode is unaffected by being in or out of process. This is true across all supported browsers.
For canvas configurations: Chrome 17 with Web Inspector (built-in)
In canvas 3D (WebGL), Chrome offers the best performance.
Chrome’s web inspector also includes a heap snapshot tool for looking at memory usage.
| Windows: | Firefox 10 with Firebug 1.8.4 |
|---|---|
| Mac: | Safari 5.0/5.1 with Web Inspector (built-in) |
Ensuring accurate JavaScript code is written before runtime is an important step when developing with JavaScript. There are a number of tools that are designed to inspect JavaScript usage and check syntax. Turbulenz recommends for code verification:
Note
For JavaScript code optimization, a minimization tool is required that combines speed with accurate optimization. Choosing an appropriate minimizer improves the workflow of developing and ensures that the code will run as expected on the Turbulenz JavaScript engine. Turbulenz recommends for minimization:
UglifyJS
Note
Requires Node.js - http://nodejs.org/#download to be run from the command line.
To edit JavaScript code for Turbulenz applications, there are very few restrictions. The choice of editor should meet your development needs and include the features you require. Turbulenz recommend using an editor with a minimum of JavaScript syntax highlighting, code verification options and external command execution. If you are looking for a basic editor to try, Turbulenz recommend:
Komodo Edit
The js2tzjs and html2tzhtml tools have been replaced by maketzjs and makehtml respectively. HTML and JavaScript code to start the engine and load the application is now automatically generated. The game code must supply an entry point. For details refer to the following sections of the documentation:
The inline_tz_asset and tz_asset_name template variables no longer exist and have been replaced with tz_engine_div, tz_include_js and tz_startup_code. See Templating JavaScript Applications for more information.
The /*{% if run_in_engine %}*/ and /*{% if run_in_browser %}*/ template blocks no longer exist and have been replaced with /*{% if tz_development %}*/ and /*{% if tz_canvas %}*/. See Templating JavaScript Applications for more information.
To deploy to the Hub, you must now specify the latest Turbulenz engine version your game is compatible with (in the form X.X or X.X.X). This can be done in the Manage tab for the game in Local or directly in the game’s manifest file by adding the line (for instance with the current engine version):
engine_version: '0.19'
This engine version will be checked for existence on the Hub and then associated with your game.
MathDevice functions now perform more checking of parameters, calling Turbulenz.onerror when a problem is detected.
The engine version was previously required to be passed to the maketzjs tool. This has since been removed in favor of it being set via Local as described above.
The old On Screen Display library osdlib.js has been deprecated, meaning it will be removed from the SDK and support will be removed in the future. Its functionality is now integrated into the Bridge, requiring a few minimal code changes. See Examples for details.
The Turbulenz Bridge object is now required by the TurbulenzServices.createGameSession function. This means that you will need to include it with /*{{ javascript("jslib/services/turbulenzbridge.js") }}*/ in your script template.
Event handlers are now added and removed from the InputDevice using the addEventListener and removeEventListener functions. Multiple handlers may now be attached for each event type.
The InputDevice now supports the insert, delete, home, end, page up, and page down keys.
In canvas mode, input events are now dispatched immediately, (rather than during calls to update). Therefore, to maintain compatibility with canvas mode, any stored input states should be cleared after input has been handled each frame.
The app Worm now has multiplayer support and hence forth is known as MultiWorm. Up to 3 players can now play together if they launch the app from the same server.
The scene_loading sample has been removed from the SDK, due to limited functionality. Examples of similar functionality can be found in the load_model and loading samples.
If you are having difficulties with Turbulenz Technology, the following support resources are available for developers:
Documentation should be the first port of call, wherever possible. Documentation for each SDK is included within (In HTML/PDF format). The latest documentation can be found online at http://docs.turbulenz.com
Having a problem with a programming interface? Take a look at the API reference. There might be an argument you are missing or dependency you need to include:
Something slightly different in a previous release? We put interface upgrade information in the release notes for each SDK. If there’s something different you have to do, you’ll find it listed here:
Do we already know about your problem? The known issues contain a listing of caveats, some of which we are fixing, some which 3rd parties are fixing and a few facts of life. Make sure you look at the known issues for the version of Turbulenz you are working with. Issues do get fixed!
If you think something is not quite right, doesn’t make sense or is missing, give us some feedback.
This is where you can find important notifications, useful articles and frequently asked questions. If there’s something we think our developers should know about, we’ll put it here. The knowledge base will grow and update over time to keep coming back, there might be an better way to it!
If you’ve racked your brains, searched the documentation and you are just plain stuck, then maybe its time to send Turbulenz a support request. Questions, issues, feature requests, advice, whatever you need help with... put it in the form and we will try to get back to you as soon as possible. Once you’ve submitted it you can track your request until you get the right information and the issue has been resolved.
To use the support system, navigate to https://hub.turbulenz.com and click on ‘Support’
In some cases we may give you an additional issue reference so you can find out exactly when the issue fix is available. In these cases you can compare your issue with the release notes for the version of the SDK your issue was resolved in.
Once you have started your support request, you can correspond with the support team about that ticket via the support site or email.
The following is a list of the changes to the known issues in this SDK.
Calling hasOwnProperty on a JavaScript object returned from the plugin implementation throws an error (Not in canvas implementations).
Under Mac OS X, switching to full-screen browsing under Firefox 3.6 while the plugin version of the engine is running can result in rendering being halted.
WebGL performance in Firefox 4 and above may be limited by the browser’s current implementation. Consider using Chrome to get a better representation of WebGL performance.
The plugin implementation of the engine requires a CPU that supports SSE2.
When running intensive JavaScript applications that push the performance of the platform, such as the multiple animations, the browser may become less responsive. You may have to manually terminate the process to regain control. Make sure the browser you are using can handle JavaScript running at full load and scale up slowly. See the Turbulenz recommendations for the preferred browser to use for development.
Some browsers don’t support delete on engine object properties (plugin only), e.g. delete techniqueParameters.diffuse does not work, use techniqueParameters.diffuse = undefined instead.
Erratic behavior has been observed in Safari 5.0 on Mac OS X, relating to input and debug mode applications. Turbulenz recommend using Safari 5.1 if any of this behavior is observed.
The SVG samples doesn’t work on Internet Explorer 8 in any mode. This is related to IE8 not parsing the SVG file correctly.
The nVidia drivers (version 8.17.12.7061 - 8.17.12.7533) bug causes multiple render targets to render the output for the first target to all target textures. The current work around for shaders generated with cgfx2json is to reorder any writes to gl_FragData so they are in order. nVidia have now fixed this bug through windows update or the latest driver download on their website. If an update is not possible follow the steps in this example.
WebGL is currently unsupported by Firefox on Mac OS 10.5.
The MathDevice ignores JavaScript arrays as destination parameters and acts as if no destination has been given. This is to ensure performance in maintained.
For shader support the plugin implementation of the engine requires a GPU that supports GLSL (OpenGL Shading Language).
The SDK HTML help search feature does not work on Chrome. See http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=47416.
Running Turbulenz tools at the same time as the local server can sometimes result in access errors in “simplejson_speedupds.pyd”. Please close the local server before running any Turbulenz tools.
Sound stuttering can be heard when the browser is using 100% of CPU.
In some cases, refreshing a web page when a Turbulenz application is requesting data can leave the browser in an inconsistent state. Please avoid refreshing when the application is still loading.
In some cases on Windows 7, the SDK installer is unable to automatically open the Windows Firewall for the Local Server on a local network if UAC is enabled. To allow the local server to be accessed over a local network, please manually update the Windows Firewall rule.
When using the Input Device, certain browsers can take a little longer to release the mouse pointer when pressing ESC. Try holding ESC for a longer period of time, or alternatively use alt-tab to navigate to a different window (windows only) or end the process if the browser stops responding.
The mouse wheel does not send scroll events in Safari 5.0 on Mac OS 10.5.
The middle mouse button does not send click events in Firefox on Mac OS 10.6 and 10.5, and in Safari 5.0 on Mac OS 10.5.
Switching window or tab on Safari 5.0 and Firefox on 10.5 does not send a blur or mouselocklost event.
The browser is not in focus when exiting fullscreen in Safari 5.0 & Firefox on Mac OS 10.5.