Download

Getting GameStart


Download

You can use the following links to download the current GameStart editor and samples.
Please note that the editor is still in Beta and your feedback is essential in making it a better software.

Important: The GameStart debugger uses a network connection to communicate with the debug thread, please allow GameStart in your firewall settings to prevent debugger lock up until a proper solution is worked out.

Please refer to the included changelog for more details. This Beta has no limitation.

Installation

  1. Register on this website, your user account page lists a user key required to authenticate the software during the first launch.
  2. Download the installer and follow its instructions.
  3. You will need an internet connection to authenticate your account on the first launch using your user key.
    (Once activated an internet connection is not required anymore.)

Quickstart

Unzip the sample archive to any location and launch the editor. Open the sample project (gs_sample/sample.ngp) from the File menu or by drag'n'dropping it on the editor. Open scenes from the project explorer and preview them by pressing F5. You can find more detailed instructions in the Editor Quickstart and the Editor Documentation.

Once you are done testing the basic samples provided in the sample package, feel free to test and play with the more complex projects available from the Tutorials section.

Requirements


Recommended configuration

  • SSE capable processor (>= 2Ghz).
  • OpenGL 2.0 compatible graphics card (GeForce 8600 class or better).

Minimum configuration

  • SSE capable processor (Atom 1Ghz or better).
  • OpenGL 1.2 compatible graphics card.

Note: Mobile GPUs such as the Ion platform or the ATI HD 3x00 series can run the deferred renderer but are not powerful enough to provide acceptable performances.

Troubleshooting

  • The application fails to start because the 'openal32.dll' library is missing.
    Reinstall the software with administrator privileges or manually install the OpenAL Installer for Windows from Creative Labs.

Changelog


Beta 10U5 (6/10/2011)

New Features:

  • Several post-process filter integrated into EGL: Motion blur, proper SSAO, radial blur, Hue/Saturation, etc...
  • XInput device support (devices 'XInput0' through 'XInput3').
  • The stand-alone executable now outputs the script callstack when a runtime script error is encountered.

Changes:

  • Animation system improvements.
  • Skinned mesh performance improvement.
  • Improved FBX importer, proper scale conversion.
  • Improved bloom filter.
  • Data driven shader declaration.

Regarding the upgrade of the animation system:

The animation system has received many improvements under the hood. The script API was slightly modified to better reflect those improvements. The API now support both AnimationSource and AnimationSourceGroup. Previous version of the API where always returning AnimationSource as part of an AnimationSourceGroup and calling it AnimationSource directly.

Porting your existing scripts will require the following modifications:

  • The AnimationSourceXXX functions are now named AnimationSourceGroupXXX (eg. AnimationSourceSetClock is now called AnimationSourceGroupSetClock).
  • GroupSetMotion now returns an AnimationGroup.
  • ItemSetMotion still returns an AnimationSource.