Anarchy Arcade - The metaverse is real.

What is AArcade: Redux?

It is a completely new project based on the original Early Access version of Anarchy Arcade. It is a revisioning of the 3D desktop concept that incorporates everything that I've learned over the 7 years of running this living project.

Why not just a regular update?

Over the years, the AArcade user community has been defining what is expected of a practical 3D desktop by providing feedback on the freely available Steam Early Access version.

As a result, some of AArcade's coolest features were added as an after-thought and were not part of the original design. This eventually made the source code very complex and difficult to work with as the developer.

Now that we've learned what we want in a practical 3D desktop as a community, I can incorporate all of those features into a *new* design that will give us what we want now, and make it easy for us to stay current in the future.

When will it be available?

AArcade: Redux will be release in 2017. After that, it will routinely have updates to keep it current.

Redux is designed modularly so that major components can be easily upgraded or replaced without the developer (myself) having to worry about far-reaching bugs from the changes.

Where can I get it?

The new AArcade client will be available for download on Steam. The source code to all AArcade projects will be available on GitHub.

How can I upgrade?

AArcade: Redux is backwards compatible with the Early Access version of AArcade. You will automatically get this update and there will be in-game wizards to help you import your saves & content from the Early Access version.

Public Metaverse

Engine-agnostic library of meta information for shortcuts, props, saves, and servers.

The metaverse is pure text that holds all the info & references that an AArcade Client needs to generate 3D desktop worlds.

Like an HTML page, all the metaverse does is reference art assets and link to info that is outside of the page itself.

If the metaverse is like an HTML page, then an AArcade client is like your web browser.

The public metaverse is hosted in a cross-platform Firebase session and supports multiplayer.

Private Metaverse

The same concept as the public metaverse, but your own private metaverse stored on your own PC.

This is singleplayer mode.

Think of it as an HTML file sitting on your desktop.

You always have the option to host any of your private saves in a public metaverse session if you'd like.

This would be like uploading that HTML file so your friends could check it out.

AArcade: Source Client

This is the program that lets you build, use, and explore metaverse saves.

The AArcade: Source Client is built on Valve's Source engine.

When the metaverse references a prop or a map, the game engine provides these art assets.

This is the 3D world of the metaverse.

The client acts as a shortcut manager, world editor, and 3D web browser.

You can think of a client as a metaverse web browser that can view both local or online metaverse saves.

The first AArcade: Redux client is built on Valve's Source 1 engine and is completely backwards compatible with the Early Access version of AArcade.

Game Engine: Source 1

The Source 1 engine does something better than any other game engine, still to this day. And that's cross-compatible game assets that can be used interchangeably between its games.

AAarcade: Source is compatible with the game assets of over 30 other Source engine games & mods. This also includes all the community addon maps & props created by the Source modding community.

This plethora of content is what makes Source engine the ideal sandbox for your 3D desktop.
Library Manager: HTML/JavaScript UI

AArcade adds a new HTML-powered UI system to the Source engine. This allows for highly-graphical menus with familiar web browser interfaces.

The Library Browser menu is designed to help you find what you're looking for quickly & easily without having to worry about keeping your library tidey.

At the bottom of the menu is where you can create a *new* shortcut by pasting in an internet URL or browsing to a local file.

When creating a new shortcut, AArcade: Source provides a feature called META SCRAPING that simply lets you go to a web site & click a button to scrape information off of it to decorate your shortcut's 3D cabinet with.

AArcade's meta scrapers are written in JavaScript and are very expandable. Savvy users can write their own addon scrapers, and scrapers for the following sites already exist: YouTube, Origin Store, Steam Store, Google Images, TheMovieDb, Netflix, TheGamesDB, and Giant Bomb.

The screenshot images, marquees, and attract videos to be shown on your 3D shortcut can be automatically scraped from the web, or you can manually customize your shortcut in the Edit Item menu.
Shortcut Launcher: Steam & Non-Steam

AArcade: Source launches native Windows programs that run in their native Windows environment. It works with both Steam & non-Steam games, windowed or fullscreen, as well as any other type of PC shortcut. It also supports custom launch options and advanced open-with functionality.

Embedded Web Browser: Steamworks CEF

This allows web content to be displayed right on the in-game screens of their shortcut. This is great for watching videos, streaming music, or reading the news right in the 3D world without even launching a shortcut.

The new embedded web browser in redux is faster, newer, and more robust than before. It works with Netflix, Twitch, YouTube, and most everything else. It satisfies many of the expectations that users reported during Early Access.
Embedded Media Player: Libretro Framework

AArcade: Source has improved Libretro support (www.libretro.com) which is a framework that allows for a collection of embeddable apps to run on the in-game screens of AArcade. These embeddable apps are called Libretro cores. There are over 50 Libretro cores ranging from media players to emulators.

I'm doing my best to make redux compatible with as much of the Libretro framework as possible. However, redux is still only compatible with 2D Libretro cores. Cores that require 3D acceleration are not yet supported but will likely be added soon!

AArcade now has full menu support for configuring Libretro, its core options, and its input binds. It's also now multithreaded to resolve the sound stuttering and performance issues reported by Early Access users. Now you can watch your local media on in-game screens regardless of your in-game framerate.