I'll let others provide feedback on the Arduino thing (although this sounds like something that could be whipped up as a script pretty easily). As for the particle system, the reason the BGE doesn't have a built-in system isn't so much the difficulty in making a particle system (a simple emitter is really easy to get up and running), it's the user interface. How should users control the particles? It seems a lot of systems just have simple controls such as speed, gravity, etc. How about allowing particles to change shape or color over time? Do we need some sort of scripting interface for this? Nodes? Furthermore, before tackling a built-in particle system, user created systems should be explored such as X-Emitter[0] and easyEmit[1]. What would your system provide that these don't? Having something "built-in"? We have a procedure for shipping user contributed add-ons, so we could always look into bundling something like easyEmit (I'm not sure if X-Emitter is actually setup as an add-on). There was also a project (might have been GSoC) for built-in GPU-based particles for the BGE in the past, EnjaParticles[2].
In general, I think the focus on a built-in particle system would be to deliver a solid user experience rather than just get another half-baked system tossed into the BGE. Also, it would probably be nice to take a look at some of the ideas mentioned here[3]. Overall, particles isn't a bad GSoC project, but I don't think people always understand the details involved (such as why this hasn't already been done). In other words, you'll want to put some thought into your proposal. I'm also available on IRC to discuss the idea further. Cheers, Mitchell [0] http://solarlune-gameup.blogspot.com/search/label/X-Emitter [1] http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?241656-easyEmit-Fully-integrated-Particle-System-in-Blender [2] http://enja.org/blender/ [3] http://directtovideo.wordpress.com/2009/10/06/a-thoroughly-modern-particle-system/ On Mon, Apr 22, 2013 at 1:34 PM, Trevor Tomesh <[email protected]>wrote: > Hi all, > > I've been hashing out a few ideas for this years GSoC, and I was wondering > if anyone would be interested in mentoring me? > > BGE Particle System: > As you probably know, the BGE does not have a built-in particle system. In > order to make the BGE more attractive, I propose that a basic particle > system be implemented complete with Python API and logic brick controllers. > I have the physics background (my first degree was in physics) -- I just > need the support! > > Arduino API: > The Arduino micro-controller prototyping board is a very good and > inexpensive option for collecting all sorts of data including accelerometer > data -- Blender could very much benefit from a built-in Arduino API to make > it easier to control and take data from the Arduino as it would be a good > way to > a) Provide animators with a powerful tool for motion capture. > b) Provide scientists with an easy way to capture and visualize data using > Blender. > > Please let me know what you think and if you are interested at all in > either of these projects! > > Thanks! > > Trevor Tomesh (irc: tsquar3d) > _______________________________________________ > Bf-committers mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.blender.org/mailman/listinfo/bf-committers > _______________________________________________ Bf-committers mailing list [email protected] http://lists.blender.org/mailman/listinfo/bf-committers
