jMonkeyEngine#Ardor3D fork

By itself, jMonkeyEngine is a collection of computing libraries, making it a low-level game development tool. Coupled with an integrated development environment like the official jMonkeyEngine 3 SDK, it becomes a higher-level game development environment with multiple graphical components.

The SDK is based on the NetBeans Platform, enabling graphical editors and plugin capabilities. Alongside the default NetBeans update centers, the SDK has its own plugin repository and a selection between stable point releases or nightly updates.

Since March 5th, 2016, the SDK is no longer officially supported by the core team. It is still being actively maintained by the community. The term "jMonkeyPlatform" is also used interchangeably with "jMonkeyEngine 3 SDK."

jMonkeyEngine helps to improve the lack of full featured graphics engines written in Java. The project has evolved over time.

Version 0.1 to 2.0 of jMonkeyEngine marks the time from when the project was first established in 2003, until the last 2.0 version was released in 2008. When the original core developers gradually discontinued work on the project throughout the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008, Version 2.0 had not yet been made officially stable. The code-base became adopted for commercial use and was most popular with the engine's community at the time.

{{timeline-start}}

{{timeline-item|{{Start date|2003}}|Initial work on jMonkeyEngine was begun by Mark Powell (aka MojoMonkey) as a side project to see if a fully featured graphics API could be written in Java. Much of the early work on the API was inspired by David Eberly's C++ book 3D Game Engine Design.}}

{{timeline-item|{{Start date|2004|01}}|Mark was joined by Joshua Slack (aka Renanse) and together over the following two years, with the help of other community contributors, a commercially viable API was developed.}}

{{timeline-item|{{Start date|2008|08|15}}|Joshua Slack announces to step back from active development of the jMonkeyEngine.{{Cite web

|url=http://jmonkeyengine.org/groups/development-discussion-jme2/forum/topic/a-break

|title=a break

|author=Joshua Slack

|publisher=jMonkeyEngine forum

|date=2008-08-15

|access-date=2009-08-12

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726211405/http://jmonkeyengine.org/groups/development-discussion-jme2/forum/topic/a-break

|archive-date=2011-07-26

}}{{Cite web

|url=http://blog.renanse.com/2008/08/at-end-of-tour.html

|title=At the end of the tour...

|author=Joshua Slack

|date=2008-08-14

|access-date=2009-08-12

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090703213723/http://blog.renanse.com/2008/08/at-end-of-tour.html

|archive-date=2009-07-03

}}}}

{{timeline-end}}

Since the departure of jME's core developers in late 2008, the codebase remained practically stagnant for several months. The community continued to commit patches, but the project was not moving in any clear direction. Development on Version 3.0 started as an experiment.

The first preview release of jME3 in early 2009 drew positive attention{{Cite web

|url=http://jmonkeyengine.org/forum/topic/jme%D0%B7-project/

|title=jME3 project

|publisher=jMonkeyEngine forum

|date=2009-04-01

|access-date=2013-04-23

|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130704035826/http://jmonkeyengine.org/forum/topic/jme%D0%B7-project/

|archive-date=2013-07-04

}} from many members in the community, and the majority agreed that this new branch would be the official successor to jME 2.0. From there on, all the formalities were sorted out between the previous core developers and the new.

{{timeline-start}}

{{timeline-item|{{Start date|2009|04|01}}|Kirill Vainer "shadowislord" starts a new branch in the official jMonkeyEngine repository and commits the first publicly available code for jMonkeyEngine 3.0. Soon after, the branch was renamed to reflect its "test" status.{{Cite web

|url=http://code.google.com/p/jmonkeyengine/source/detail?r=4225

|title=New Branch and Management

|publisher=jMonkeyEngine GoogleCode Project

|author=Kirill Vainer

|date=2009-04-01

}}}}

{{timeline-item|{{Start date|2009|06|24}}|The project sees a new beginning in the official jMonkeyEngine 3.0 branch, initially designed and developed solely by Kirill Vainer. Management responsibilities are picked up by Erlend Sogge Heggen, shortly later accompanied by Skye Book.{{Cite web

|url=http://jmonkeyengine.com/blog/blog/2009/06/24/new-branch-and-management/

|title=New Branch and Management

|publisher=jMonkeyEngine Blog

|author=Erlend Sogge Heggen

|date=2009-06-24

|access-date=2009-12-07

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100101055014/http://jmonkeyengine.com/blog/blog/2009/06/24/new-branch-and-management/

|archive-date=2010-01-01

}}}}

{{timeline-item|{{Start date|2010|05|17}}|The first Alpha of jMonkeyEngine 3 is released.{{Cite web

|url=http://jmonkeyengine.org/2010/05/17/jme3-sdk-first-alpha-release/

|title=First jME3 Alpha released

|publisher=jMonkeyEngine Blog

|author=Erlend Sogge Heggen

|date=2010-05-17

|access-date=2010-11-04

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706041319/http://jmonkeyengine.org/2010/05/17/jme3-sdk-first-alpha-release/

|archive-date=2010-07-06

}}

The same date marked the first Alpha release of the jMonkeyEngine SDK, only a few months after the first planning stages.{{Cite web

|url=http://jmonkeyengine.org/groups/jmonkeyplatform/forum/topic/jmonkeyplatform-gde-idea-thread

|title=First jME3 SDK Alpha released, aka jMonkeyPlatform Alpha-1

|publisher=jMonkeyEngine Forum

|author=Normen Hansen

|date=2010-02-01

|access-date=2011-01-16

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100930050131/http://jmonkeyengine.org/groups/jmonkeyplatform/forum/topic/jmonkeyplatform-gde-idea-thread/

|archive-date=2010-09-30

}}

The "jMonkeyEngine SDK" has since become the default product download recommended to all jME3 developers.}}

{{timeline-item|{{Start date|2010|09|07}}|The jMonkeyEngine website was completely re-designed. A new domain, jmonkeyengine.org, is dedicated to all project and community activities. The old jmonkeyengine.com is re-purposed as a product promotion site.{{Cite web

|url=http://jmonkeyengine.org/2010/09/07/jmonkeyengine-com-and-org-re-design-what-is-happening/

|title=Complete website redesign

|publisher=jMonkeyEngine Blog

|author=Erlend Sogge Heggen

|date=2010-09-07

|access-date=2010-11-04

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113124704/http://jmonkeyengine.org/2010/09/07/jmonkeyengine-com-and-org-re-design-what-is-happening/

|archive-date=2010-11-13

}}}}

{{timeline-item|{{Start date|2011|10|22}}|jMonkeyEngine 3 SDK Beta is released. Stable update track is introduced as an alternative to downloading bleeding edge nightly builds.{{Cite web

|url=http://jmonkeyengine.org/2011/10/22/jmonkeyengine3-sdk-beta-released/

|title=jMonkeyEngine3 SDK Beta released!

|publisher=jMonkeyEngine Blog

|author=Normen Hansen

|date=2011-10-22

|access-date=2012-02-10

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111224165436/http://jmonkeyengine.org/2011/10/22/jmonkeyengine3-sdk-beta-released/

|archive-date=2011-12-24

}}}}

{{timeline-item|{{Start date|2014|02|15}}|jMonkeyEngine 3 SDK Stable is released. In spite of being technically stable for a long time, the official 3.0 SDK release was delayed until February 2014.{{Cite web

|url=http://jmonkeyengine.org/219514/jmonkeyengine-3-0-stable-released/

|title=jMonkeyEngine 3 SDK Stable released!

|publisher=jMonkeyEngine Blog

|author=Erlend Sogge Heggen

|date=2014-02-15

|access-date=2015-09-20

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206113558/http://jmonkeyengine.org/219514/jmonkeyengine-3-0-stable-released/

|archive-date=2015-02-06

}}}}

{{timeline-end}}

File:Skullstone screen.jpg, showing jMonkeyEngine's capabilities ]]

• Nord, a browser-based massively multiplayer online game (MMO) on Facebook, created by Skygoblin{{Cite web

|url=http://www.engagedigital.com/2010/09/16/slx-games-launches-nord-on-facebook/

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101106034051if_/http://www.engagedigital.com/2010/09/16/slx-games-launches-nord-on-facebook/

|url-status=dead

|archive-date=2010-11-06

|title=SLX Games Launches Nord on Facebook

|publisher=EngageDigital / Authored by Alicia Ashby

|date=2010-09-16

}}{{Cite web

|url=http://www.beta-games.com/Beta-Games/beta-game-news/1637/nord-3d-virtual-world-on-facebook

|title=Nord: 3D Virtual World on Facebook

|publisher=Beta Games

|date=2010-09-19

}}{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{Cite web

|url=http://www.arcticstartup.com/2010/09/22/swedish-slx-games-takes-first-3d-mmo-to-facebook

|title=Swedish SLX Games Takes First 3D MMO To Facebook

|publisher=ArcticStartup

|date=2010-09-22

|access-date=2010-11-05

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030150511/http://www.arcticstartup.com/2010/09/22/swedish-slx-games-takes-first-3d-mmo-to-facebook

|archive-date=2012-10-30

}}

• Grappling Hook, a first-person action and puzzle game, created by an independent developer{{Cite web

|url=http://www.indiedb.com/games/grappling-hook

|title=Grappling Hook IndieDB entry

|date=18 September 2009

|publisher=Christian Teister via IndieDB.

}}{{Cite web

|url=http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/09/24/what-it-says-on-the-tin-grappling-hook/

|title=What It Says On The Tin: Grappling Hook

|website=Rock Paper Shotgun

|date=2009-09-24

|author=John Walker

}}{{Cite web

|url=http://www.indiegames.com/blog/2009/10/indie_game_pick_grappling_hook.html

|title=Indie Game Pick: Grappling Hook (Speed Run Games)

|publisher=Indie Games – The Weblog

|date=2009-10-03

|author=Michael Rose

|access-date=2010-11-06

|archive-date=2010-01-31

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100131044839/http://www.indiegames.com/blog/2009/10/indie_game_pick_grappling_hook.html

|url-status=dead

}}

• Drohtin, a real-time strategy game (RTS){{Cite web

|url=http://drohtin.org/blog/

|title=Drohtin – The indie strategy Game

|date=2014-01-22

|access-date=2014-01-14

|archive-date=2014-01-13

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113083824/http://drohtin.org/blog/

|url-status=dead

}}

• Chaos, a 3D fantasy cooperative role-playing game (RPG) by 4Realms{{Cite web|url=http://www.rpgfrance.com/dossier-10187-1-interview-4realms|title=Interview: 4realms - Dossiers / Chroniques RPG France|last=Idix|first=Prostate|website=www.rpgfrance.com|language=fr|access-date=2017-07-27|archive-date=2017-06-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170608205812/http://www.rpgfrance.com/dossier-10187-1-interview-4realms|url-status=dead}}
• Skullstone, a 3D retro-styled single player dungeon crawler game, created by Black Torch Games{{Cite web|url=https://www.rpgwatch.com/show/newsbit?newsbit=35649|title=Skullstone - Dungeon Crawler in Development {{!}} News @ RPGWatch|website=www.rpgwatch.com|language=en|access-date=2017-07-27}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.igdb.com/games/skullstone|title=Skullstone {{!}} IGDB.com|website=IGDB.com|language=en|access-date=2017-07-27}}
• Spoxel, a 2D action-adventure sandbox video game, created by Epaga Games{{Cite web|url=https://www.igdb.com/games/spoxel|title=Spoxel {{!}} IGDB.com|website=IGDB.com|language=en|access-date=2018-03-11}}
• Lightspeed Frontier, a space sandbox game with RPG, building, and exploration elements, created by Crowdwork Studios{{Cite web|url=https://lightspeedfrontier.gamepedia.com/Lightspeed_Frontier|title=About Lightspeed Frontier {{!}} Lightspeed Frontier Official Wiki @ Gamepedia|website=lightspeedfrontier.gamepedia.com|language=en|access-date=2018-03-11}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.igdb.com/games/lightspeed-frontier|title=Lightspeed Frontier {{!}} IGDB.com|website=IGDB.com|language=en|access-date=2018-03-11}}
• Subspace Infinity, a 2D top-down space fighter MMO{{Cite web|url=https://github.com/assofohdz/Subspace-Infinity|title=Subspace Infinity Source Repository {{!}} Github Repository|website=www.github.com/assofohdz/Subspace-Infinity|language=en|access-date=2018-05-09}}
• 3079 and 3089, randomly generated and open-world RPGs by Phr00t's Software
• New Star Soccer, a mobile football video game, created by New Star Games.{{Cite news |last=MCV Editors |date=2019-05-15 |title=Making an indie hit: New Star Soccer uncovered |language=en |work=MCV |url=https://www.mcvuk.com/business-news/mobile/making-an-indie-hit-new-star-soccer-uncovered/ |access-date=2023-04-27 |issn=1469-4832}}

• JavaOne 2008 Presentation{{Cite web

|url=http://developers.sun.com/learning/javaoneonline/j1sessn.jsp?sessn=TS-5711&yr=2008&track=desktop

|title=JavaOne presentation keynote

|publisher=Oracle/Sun

}}{{Cite web

|url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://developers.sun.com/learning/javaoneonline/2008/pdf/TS-5711.pdf

|title=Presentation slides

|publisher=Oracle/Sun

}}{{Cite web

|url=http://jmonkeyengine.org/2008/05/11/javaone-2008-and-jme/

|title=JavaOne blogpost with videos

|publisher=jMonkeyEngine Blog

|date=2010-09-07

|access-date=2010-11-04

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726210901/http://jmonkeyengine.org/2008/05/11/javaone-2008-and-jme/

|archive-date=2011-07-26

}}

• Finalist in PacktPub Open Source Graphics Software Award 2010{{Cite web

|url=http://www.packtpub.com/blog/the-2010-open-source-awards-finalists-announcement

|title=PacktPub nominees announcement

|publisher=PacktPub

|date=September 2010

|access-date=2010-11-04

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100930141604/http://www.packtpub.com/blog/the-2010-open-source-awards-finalists-announcement

|archive-date=2010-09-30

}}

Ardor3D began life on September 23, 2008, as a fork from jMonkeyEngine by Joshua Slack and Rikard Herlitz due to what they perceived as irreconcilable issues with naming, provenance, licensing, and community structure in that engine,{{Cite web

|url = http://blog.renanse.com/2008/09/new-focus-ardor3d.html

|title = A new focus: Ardor3D

|author = Joshua Slack

|date = September 23, 2008

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160410045120/http://blog.renanse.com/2008/09/new-focus-ardor3d.html

|archive-date = April 10, 2016

}} as well as a desire to back a powerful open-source Java engine with organized corporate support.

The first public release came January 2, 2009, with new releases following every few months thereafter. In 2011, Ardor3D was used in the Mars Curiosity mission both by NASA Ames{{Cite web

|url=http://www.slideshare.net/tamarmot/nasa-verve-eclipsecon14

|title=NASA VERVE: Interactive 3D Visualization within Eclipse

|author=NASA

|date=March 19, 2014

}} and NASA JPL{{Cite web

|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oBYQaKo74A

|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/_oBYQaKo74A| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=Interactive 3D Mars Visualization

|author=NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory and California Institute of Technology

|website=YouTube |date=September 17, 2009

}}{{cbignore}} for visualizing terrain and rover movement.

On March 11, 2014, Joshua Slack announced that the project would be abandoned, although the software itself would remain under zlib license and continue to be freely available.{{Cite web

|url=http://ardor3d.forumatic.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=12755#p25887

|title=Winding down

|author=Joshua Slack

|date=March 11, 2014

|access-date=March 26, 2016

|archive-date=December 2, 2014

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141202230232/http://ardor3d.forumatic.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=12755#p25887

|url-status=dead

}}{{Cite web

|url=http://blog.renanse.com/2014/03/winding-down.html

|title=Winding down

|author=Joshua Slack

|date=March 11, 2014

|access-date=March 26, 2016

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160410021803/http://blog.renanse.com/2014/03/winding-down.html

|archive-date=April 10, 2016

}} However, a subset of Ardor3D called "JogAmp's Ardor3D Continuation"{{Cite web

|url=http://forum.jogamp.org/JOGL-2-support-for-Ardor3D-JMonkeyEngine-3-jzy3d-and-NiftyGUI-tp1706747p4033608.html

|title=JogAmp's Ardor3D Continuation user's guide is available

|author=Julien Gouesse

|date=November 22, 2014

}}{{Cite web

|url=http://jogamp.org/wiki/index.php/Ardor3D_Overview

|title=JogAmp's Ardor3D Continuation overview

|author=Julien Gouesse

|date=August 2, 2014

}} was still actively maintained by Julien Gouesse as of 2014.{{Cite web

|url=http://forum.jogamp.org/Official-Homepage-and-gitbub-for-Ardor3D-tp4032362p4032452.html

|title=Official homepage and Github for Ardor3D

|author=Julien Gouesse

|date=November 22, 2014

}}{{Cite web

|url=http://ardor3d.forumatic.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&p=25977#p25907

|title=Ardor3D, JOGL 2

|author=Julien Gouesse

|date=March 17, 2014

|access-date=March 26, 2016

|archive-date=December 2, 2014

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141202222744/http://ardor3d.forumatic.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&p=25977#p25907

|url-status=dead

}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website}}

{{Video game engines}}

Category:2003 software

Category:3D scenegraph APIs

Category:Free 3D graphics software

Category:Free game engines

Category:Free software programmed in Java (programming language)

Category:Java (programming language) libraries

Category:Video game engines

Category:Software using the BSD license