Soya3D is a high-level
Python module for creating
3D video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
s. Soya is
free software
Free software or libre software is computer software distributed under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, and distribute it and any adapted versions. Free software is a matter of liberty, ...
, licensed under the
GPL
The GNU General Public License (GNU GPL or simply GPL) is a series of widely used free software licenses that guarantee end users the four freedoms to run, study, share, and modify the software. The license was the first copyleft for general us ...
. As a multi-platform game engine, it is known to run under
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which i ...
,
Mac OS X
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
, and
Microsoft Windows.
Creator Jean-Baptiste "Jiba" Lamy describes Soya as a game engine focused on rapid development and ease of use. Its goal is to enable amateur developers to create sophisticated 3D games entirely in the Python language.
Features and implementation
Soya3D aims to provide all that is needed to support a modern 3D game. Rendering, sound, input, physical simulation, and networking are all provided via simple Python interfaces. Soya is provided with a detailed - though incomplete - user guide which describes its architecture, operation, and interfaces. Also included are over sixty tutorial scripts which provide working examples of the engine's features.
Computationally demanding components of Soya are written with
Pyrex
Pyrex (trademarked as ''PYREX'' and ''pyrex'') is a brand introduced by Corning Inc. in 1915 for a line of clear, low-thermal-expansion borosilicate glass used for laboratory glassware and kitchenware. It was later expanded to include kitchenw ...
, which helps it to stay competitive in performance against more conventional game engines. The engine also relies heavily upon open-source libraries such as
Cal3D,
OpenAL
OpenAL (Open Audio Library) is a cross-platform audio application programming interface (API). It is designed for efficient rendering of multichannel three-dimensional positional audio. Its API style and conventions deliberately resemble those ...
,
ODE
An ode (from grc, ᾠδή, ōdḗ) is a type of lyric poetry. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structured in three majo ...
, among others.
Version history
Soya was originally a
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...
3D game system called Opale.Soya.
* 2003: The authors of Opale.Soya rewrote it in
Python and
C
* 2003: Opale.Soya renamed Soya3d with its version 0.3 release
* July 12, 2004: Version 0.7 released as a complete rewrite in
Pyrex
Pyrex (trademarked as ''PYREX'' and ''pyrex'') is a brand introduced by Corning Inc. in 1915 for a line of clear, low-thermal-expansion borosilicate glass used for laboratory glassware and kitchenware. It was later expanded to include kitchenw ...
* October 16, 2004: Version 0.8.1 release added
Open Dynamics Engine
The Open Dynamics Engine (ODE) is a physics engine written in C/C++. Its two main components are a rigid body dynamics simulation engine and a collision detection engine. It is free software licensed both under the BSD license and the LGPL ...
support
* December 12, 2004: Version 0.9 released added support for
Microsoft Windows and
Mac OS X
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
exporters for
3D Studio Max
Autodesk 3ds Max, formerly 3D Studio and 3D Studio Max, is a professional 3D computer graphics program for making 3D animations, models, games and images. It is developed and produced by Autodesk Media and Entertainment. It has modeling capabi ...
and
Maya
Maya may refer to:
Civilizations
* Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America
** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples
** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples
* Maya (Ethiopia), a popu ...
.
* July 9, 2005: Version 0.10, released including a new widget system called ''Pudding'' and support for Cal3d 0.10 (Soya previously used
Cal3D 0.9.2)
* June 11, 2006: Version 0.11 This release allows to use Cerealizer instead of cPickle (see on website for more information)
* July 19, 2006: Version 0.12 This new version proposes a new sound API, a new automatic system for optimizing static object
* January 24, 2007: Version 0.13 ODE integration, Blender exporter, BSP system (work in progress), bugfixes
* August 8, 2008: Version 0.14
* January 24, 2010: Version 0.15rc1
* September 6, 2014: Version 3–0.1 – Support for Python 3.4 and Blender 2.70, vertex shaders and pixel shaders, improved performance (the rendering process has been entirely rewritten using vertex buffer object), fullscreen anti-aliasing, per-pixel lighting and cellshading, GPL v3 license
PySoy
In June 2006, due to dissatisfaction with Lamy's leadership approach and technical decisions, some developers launched a fork of Soya3D calle
PySoyThe project promises a more inclusive, community-oriented development environment.
PySoy Beta-2 was released in January 200
and development remains active with further releases.
See also
References
External links
Current Soya3D Home PageOld Soya3D Home PagePySoy Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soya3d
Python (programming language) libraries
Free 3D graphics software
Free software programmed in Python