Cocos 2d-x v3.7 released - unified! powerful! all in one!

Recently, Cocos, the leading mobile game engine in China, completed a major update and released Cocos 2d-x v3.7. In order to complete the evolution of the cocos engine, Cocos 2d-x v3.7 has completed the 3D function; at the same time, based on the more stable 2D function, it has strengthened the expressiveness and performance of 2D games; most importantly, Cocos 2d-js and Cocos Framework have been merged into the Cocos 2d-x engine, completing the unification of the engine!

3D physics and map navigation, Cocos 3D is ready to go

Cocos 2d-x v3.7 completes the 3D functions, adding a 3D physics engine and 3D map navigation. The 3D physics engine uses the bullet library as the basic framework and encapsulates it into a Cocos-style 3D physics interface. The new 3D physics engine can be used well with existing 3D modules such as 3D sprites and 3D terrain.

3D Physics Support

The 3D map navigation system provides a set of easy-to-use interfaces to facilitate developers to find paths in complex 3D worlds. Developers can freely control terrain and obstacles, let any 3D object perform pathfinding tasks in complex environments, and automatically move 3D objects to designated locations along the shortest path.

3D Navigation Mesh

From the previous cameras, 3D sprites, 3D particle systems, 3D lighting, 3D terrain, and skyboxes, combined with the 3D physics and 3D map navigation in the new version, I believe that developers now have room to give full play to their imagination, and we look forward to Cocos giving birth to more amazing and excellent games.

More powerful 2D engine

While promoting the evolution of 3D functions, the Cocos team has not relaxed the maintenance of the 2D engine. In version 3.7, in order to enhance the visual expression, the engine provides a very powerful material system, which can be used to define all the visual information of an object. In addition to textures, it also supports advanced functions such as setting shaders and writing multi-channel rendering, which can greatly enhance the expressiveness of the game.

Material System

In addition, the simplified Polygon Sprite can reduce the pixel fill rate when drawing sprites, thereby greatly improving performance; the JS and HTML5 engines have added WebView and VideoPlayer support, which can open web pages or play videos directly in the game; Android nine-square image format support, Samsung Enhanced API support for calling some system underlying interfaces to support better debugging and optimization performance, Android Studio support, etc. all make the 2D engine simpler and easier to use.

The pixel fill rate of the Polygon Sprite in the example is 30% of that of a normal Sprite.

All in one Cocos 2d-x

The new v3.7 is a version with the same source and same flow. In this version, the Cocos team has completed a substantial optimization of the Cocos mobile game development workflow. First of all, Cocos 2d-js has been merged into Cocos 2d-x, which means that developers using the cocos game engine no longer have to worry about which product to use. In Cocos 2d-x, developers can use C++/Lua/JS to publish to Windows/WP8.1/Android/Mac/iOS/Linux platforms, or use JS to seamlessly publish to the HTML5 platform. In order to facilitate Cocos 2d-js developers to adapt to the new version as soon as possible, the JS project established by Cocos 2d-x v3.7 maintains the original project structure of Cocos 2d-js, and the upgrade operation is simple and convenient, with no additional cost.

Secondly, Cocos Framework has also been merged into Cocos 2d-x, which supports customizing Cocos 2d-x function extensions and compiling the corresponding precompiled binary version of Cocos Framework, which can be freely replaced with the default version for development with Cocos Studio. This further improves the development efficiency and freedom of Cocos workflow, allowing for free customization and rapid iteration.

In terms of services, v3.7 integrates a new tool product, SDKBOX, which is committed to making overseas SDK access easier and more convenient, helping developers easily access the European and American markets and maximize profits. Using SDKBOX, developers can integrate third-party services such as payment, advertising, and statistics into their projects with one command.

Cocos 2d-x Roadmap

Cocos 2d-x v3.7 is committed to bringing the engine's functions to a new level, completely unifying the Cocos engine family, and bringing developers a more powerful mobile game engine. In the newly shared v3.8 roadmap, the Cocos team stated that it will slow down the iteration of new features. The future v3.8 version will perform in-depth and new optimizations on 2D and 3D modules to improve product quality.