# Castle Game Engine 7.0-alpha.1 release, view3dscene 4.0.0 release

**URL:** https://forum.castle-engine.io/t/castle-game-engine-7-0-alpha-1-release-view3dscene-4-0-0-release/289
**Category:** News
**Created:** [February 6, 2021, 5:46am UTC](https://forum.castle-engine.io/t/castle-game-engine-7-0-alpha-1-release-view3dscene-4-0-0-release/289 "2021-02-06T05:46:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![michalis](https://forum.castle-engine.io/user_avatar/forum.castle-engine.io/michalis/32/3_2.png) [@michalis](https://forum.castle-engine.io/u/michalis)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2021, 5:46am UTC](https://forum.castle-engine.io/t/castle-game-engine-7-0-alpha-1-release-view3dscene-4-0-0-release/289/1 "2021-02-06T05:46:35Z")

</div>

| [![scene_1](https://castle-engine.io/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/scene_1-200x113.png)](https://castle-engine.io/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/scene_1.png "scene\_1") |
| [![1_gizmo2d-translate](https://castle-engine.io/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/1_gizmo2d-translate-200x114.png)](https://castle-engine.io/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/1_gizmo2d-translate.png "1\_gizmo2d-translate") |
| [![steampunk_gltf](https://castle-engine.io/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/steampunk_gltf-200x113.png)](https://castle-engine.io/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/steampunk_gltf.png "steampunk\_gltf") |
| [![environment_light_various_gltf_sample_viewer_setups_0](https://castle-engine.io/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/environment_light_various_gltf_sample_viewer_setups_0-200x113.png)](https://castle-engine.io/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/environment_light_various_gltf_sample_viewer_setups_0.png "environment\_light\_various\_gltf\_sample\_viewer\_setups\_0") |
| [![Escape from the Universe - one of possible ending screens in Japanese](https://castle-engine.io/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/y_5f91080a297db-200x113.jpg)](https://castle-engine.io/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/y_5f91080a297db.jpg "Escape from the Universe - one of possible ending screens in Japanese") |
| [![Screenshot of selection at 2018-07-29 05:15:01](https://castle-engine.io/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Screenshot-of-selection-at-2018-07-29-051501-200x116.png)](https://castle-engine.io/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Screenshot-of-selection-at-2018-07-29-051501.png "Screenshot of selection at 2018-07-29 05:15:01") |
| [![vlcsnap-2018-06-16-09h57m46s961](https://castle-engine.io/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/vlcsnap-2018-06-16-09h57m46s961-200x113.png)](https://castle-engine.io/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/vlcsnap-2018-06-16-09h57m46s961.png "vlcsnap-2018-06-16-09h57m46s961") |
| [![Castle Game Engine - strategy game demo - hexagonal Tiled map](https://castle-engine.io/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Screenshot-of-selection-at-2019-01-06-091937-200x116.png)](https://castle-engine.io/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Screenshot-of-selection-at-2019-01-06-091937.png "Castle Game Engine - strategy game demo - hexagonal Tiled map") |
| [![DamagedHelmet_0](https://castle-engine.io/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/DamagedHelmet_0-200x113.png)](https://castle-engine.io/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/DamagedHelmet_0.png "DamagedHelmet\_0") |
| [![third_person_camera_screen_3](https://castle-engine.io/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/third_person_camera_screen_3-200x103.png)](https://castle-engine.io/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/third_person_camera_screen_3.png "third\_person\_camera\_screen\_3") |

We proudly present the first alpha pre-release of _Castle Game Engine_ 7.0. It is time to break the long period of waiting since CGE 6.4!

We emphasize that it is a pre-release. We’re still working on a finished 7.0 release, where all the features are polished, all examples are reorganized to show the new approach, all of manual is updated to show editor usage etc. In the meantime, we feel (since a long time now) that what we have is fantastic, and a big step forward since the last CGE release.

[If you prefer a video introduction, watch the video presentation embedded on our “Getting Started” page](https://castle-engine.io/documentation.php).

The most important new features are:

- [CGE editor](https://castle-engine.io/manual_editor.php)
- [glTF 2.0 full support and realistic rendering upgrades](https://castle-engine.io/creating_data_model_formats.php#section_gltf)
- [Nintendo Switch](https://github.com/castle-engine/castle-engine/wiki/Nintendo-Switch)
- [Better API for viewports and cameras in `TCastleViewport`](https://castle-engine.io/manual_load_3d.php#section_camera)
- [Third-person navigation (with avatar)](https://castle-engine.io/wp/2020/06/29/third-person-navigation-with-avatar-component-in-castle-game-engine/)
- [TCastleDownload class, to make asynchronous (non-blocking) downloading](https://castle-engine.io/wp/2020/07/19/asynchronous-non-blocking-downloading-using-tcastledownload-class-and-other-http-communication-features/)
- [Load sprite sheets and images to TCastleScene](https://github.com/castle-engine/castle-engine/wiki/Sprite-sheets)
- [Big user interface classes improvements](https://castle-engine.io/wp/2018/11/26/november-engine-features-part-3-user-interface-classes-checkbox-refer-to-embedded-design/)
- [Easy serialization of components as JSON](https://castle-engine.io/apidoc-unstable/html/CastleComponentSerialize.html)
- [CastleSettings.xml file support](https://castle-engine.io/manual_castle_settings.php)
- [`castle-data:/` protocol](https://castle-engine.io/manual_data_directory.php)
- [`TCastleBehavior` to enhance `TCastleTransform` functionality like `TCastleBillboard` or `TCastleSoundSource`](https://github.com/castle-engine/castle-engine/wiki/Castle-Game-Engine-for-Unity-developers)
- [Many optimizations and profiling features](https://castle-engine.io/manual_optimization.php)
- [New screen effects API](https://castle-engine.io/wp/2018/07/29/new-screen-effects-api-and-demo-text-node-optimizations-multi-texture-modes-fixes/)
- [Easy mirrors on flat surfaces](https://castle-engine.io/x3d_extensions_mirror_plane.php)
- [Localization](https://castle-engine.io/manual_text.php#section_localization_gettext)
- [Animation blending improvements](https://castle-engine.io/wp/2018/04/21/engine-improvements-rejuvenated-playanimation-method-easily-play-animations-backward-with-blending-stop-notifications/)
- Many new notable examples
- Android support for Arm64, [many new services](https://github.com/castle-engine/castle-engine/wiki/Android-Services), upgrades to build infrastructure
- iOS [vibrations](https://github.com/castle-engine/castle-engine/blob/master/tools/build-tool/data/ios/services/vibrate/README.md), GPU compression, [IPA building](https://github.com/castle-engine/castle-engine/wiki/iOS#archive-deploy-on-ios), [new services](https://github.com/castle-engine/castle-engine/wiki/iOS-Services)
- Physics [detecting collisions](https://castle-engine.io/wp/2019/06/15/physics-collision-detection-and-new-properties/), [settings and triggers](https://castle-engine.io/wp/2019/11/02/triggers-detecting-collisions-and-physics-settings/)
- Sound backends, [FMOD backend](https://github.com/castle-engine/castle-engine/wiki/FMOD), LoopingChannel, [sound streaming](https://castle-engine.io/wp/2019/08/18/streaming-sound-tracks-fmod-linking-improved/)

[The more complete list of changes is here](https://github.com/castle-engine/castle-engine/wiki/New-Features-in-Castle-Game-Engine-7.0). Even that longer list is just a summary — just browse our [news](https://castle-engine.io/wp/) to know all the details.

Along with the new engine, we also release [view3dscene 4.0.0](https://castle-engine.io/view3dscene.php) and [castle-view-image 2.0.0](https://castle-engine.io/castle-view-image.php). These tools are packaged within the main CGE download (they will be automaticaly invoked if you double-click from CGE editor on a 3D scene or image), but you can also download them separately.

- New [view3dscene 4.0.0](https://castle-engine.io/view3dscene.php) features include CGE improvements, like glTF support, X3D 4.0, Spine improvements, sprite sheets, animations panel (test animations, with cross-fading, simultaneous animations), dynamic batching and more. It also features a few new view3dscene options like _“Edit -\> Convert Inline to Group (pulls external content into this model)”_ and gamma correction configuration.

- [castle-view-image 2.0.0](https://castle-engine.io/castle-view-image.php) features CGE improvements, like removal of dependency on libgtkglext and libGLU.