It's been out a few weeks now but we wanted to highlight Construct's new 3D camera plugin, introduced in r268. It opens up lots of exciting new creative possibilities for using 3D in Construct, and we've already been blown away by what some of you have created with it!
Existing 3D features
Even prior to the new 3D camera feature, Construct had several 3D features. These included Z elevation, allowing any object - or even entire layers - to be moved up and down on the Z axis for a quick 3D depth appearance; the 3D Shape plugin introduced earlier this year for adding elements of 3D to your levels; the ability to change the vanishing point to suit your art style; and even using mesh distortion in 3D. The Vehicle switching example is a good demonstration of what was already possible.
However this was all done with a fixed camera using a scrolling 2D view. The new 3D camera takes this to the next level!
3D camera
With 3D camera, you can now move the view to any position and orientation in 3D. So you can take a game using a range of 3D features like 3D shape, and instead of being limited to a 2D view, you can fly the camera around anywhere you like.
You can use new 3D pespectives to make new kinds of games - such as a first-person shooter style game. You can try this yourself in Construct by opening the First-person shooter example!
We also added support for mouse look, so you can even have a mouse-controlled free look movement to control the camera direction. And while Construct remains a 2D engine, you can still use event blocks to add some extra handling of the Z axis, allowing for 3D level designs and capabilities like running up stairs.
You can also set layers back to render in 2D mode so they overlay 3D content - perfect for things like your HUD.
Content on a 3D layer can be covered up by 3D objects, but content on a 2D layer just overlays everything.Layouts can also be switched to use a flat-style orthographic projection, allowing for a new way of rendering an isometric view using 3D features. Try it out yourself now in the Orthographic projection example.
More examples
Construct now has lots of 3D examples built-in, many of which made by our friends at Viridino Studios, ranging from Crossing Frog to Top-down shooter 3D - try searching for 3D on the Start Page to see more. Picking just two to show here, Ground Shift makes great use of a 3D camera for a stylish platformer.
The Top-down shooter 3D example also demonstrates how adding a 3D camera can give a unique perspective on an otherwise 2D game.
Your examples
We've been super impressed by what you've all been able to make so far with this! There's Doom clones, RPG prototypes, fast-paced racing games, 3D platformers and first-person platformers, and much more. Keep them coming and do share them with us too, we love seeing them! Tweet us or use the tag #construct3 and share what you've made.
More to come
We're excited about the new possibilities with 3D camera and Construct's other 3D features - but it doesn't stop there. There's more to come, including the ability for Construct's effects to make use of depth for 3D style effects like fog.
As ever there's also plenty more we can do for 2D games as well! As cool as the new 3D features are, we haven't forgotten that many of you will keep working in 2D, and that 2D always has been and always will be a key part of Construct. So we'll keep working on Construct features that are relevant for 2D games too - such as sub-layers in the latest beta release (which we'll talk more about in future as well). If you're happy to try the very latest features and examples while accepting the risk of occasional glitches, you can follow our regular beta releases, all of which are listed on the releases page.
Construct remains a fundamentally 2D engine, but these new features allow you to enter the world of 3D more easily than ever before. You can learn more about these features in the tutorial Using 3D in Construct. Our goal is to make it as easy to use 3D features as it is to use 2D. The Construct editor also previews all these 3D features while allowing the same convenient but powerful drag-and-drop interface used for 2D. So jump in and try Construct 3 now!