As previously announced, we have been working on a new jMonkeyEngine website, and it is now live:

https://jmonkeyengine.org/

With jMonkeyEngine 3.10 now in beta, the engine is going through a large refresh, with work on platform support, rendering, input, compatibility, iOS support, HiDPI handling, PBR improvements, and many other areas. So this felt like the right time to refresh the website as well.

One of the main goals of the new site is to make it easier to keep updated over time.

The previous website already had a showcase, and the original idea was that each project could eventually have a more customized page, almost like a small project page on itch.io. In practice, that required too much manual work, so most entries were never really maintained that way.

This time, we rebuilt the website around structured content and automation, so the site can stay active without requiring constant manual editing.

Homepage

The homepage has been refreshed, but it keeps some of the ideas from the old website.

As before, Open Collective backers and code contributors are shown on the homepage. The new version keeps that recognition, but makes it more dynamic:

• top backers are shown based on all-time Open Collective support
• recent top code contributors are shown based on GitHub activity
• additional backers and contributors are randomized, so more people can appear over time
• supporter messages left through Open Collective are shown on the homepage

The homepage also shows updated project information, news, and statistics pulled from GitHub and Open Collective during every website rebuild (~ once per week).

Another change is the homepage hero, it is now a collage generated from every image uploaded to the website, and it is rebuilt with a randomized selection each time the site is built.

Showcase

The showcase has been rebuilt from scratch.

This time it was designed as a core part of the website from the beginning. It is also broader than before.

The old showcase was mostly focused on games. The new showcase can include:

• games made with jMonkeyEngine
• applications built with jMonkeyEngine
• tools and editors made for jMonkeyEngine
• engines or frameworks built on top of jMonkeyEngine
• other published projects related to the jMonkeyEngine ecosystem

The current showcase was rebuilt using data from the old website, forum posts, and projects found around the web, including places like IndieDB.

Because some of these entries were reconstructed from older or external sources, they may not all be perfect. Some descriptions may be short and some projects may have better screenshots or information available now.

If your project is already listed and you want to improve how it is presented, feel free to open a pull request with better text, links, screenshots, tags, or media.

Experiments

The new showcase also has an Experiments section.

This section is for work in progress, unfinished work, demos or tests, with an optional short description and link to a forum post, website or anything else.

For example:

• rendering tests
• visual prototypes
• gameplay experiments
• editor or tool demos
• screenshots
• WIP videos
• technical tests
• anything cool built with jME, even if it is not a finished game or app

Recent Monthly WIP media is also imported into the Experiments section automatically, thanks to @aegroto’s PR. This should help keep the section fresh over time and make recent community work easier to discover.

The showcase and homepage collage are randomized during each website build. Over time, different projects should get a fairer chance to appear near the top of the showcase or inside the homepage collage.

The goal is simple: if people are building interesting things with jME, the website should help show that work.

Adding new projects or media

If you have a jME game, app, tool, editor, engine, experiment, screenshot, or video that should be added, you no longer need to modify the website code.

You can open an issue in the website repository using the appropriate template:

github.com

GitHub - jMonkeyEngine/jmonkeyengine-website: jmonkeyengine.org website

jmonkeyengine.org website

There are templates for showcase entries and experiments. Fill in the requested Markdown fields, add the relevant links and media, and submit the issue.

Once the issue is reviewed and approved by the team, the website automation can import it and publish it automatically.

No code required (except the markdown).

Featured projects

The new showcase also supports featured entries.

We are still defining the exact details, but the idea is to occasionally feature a new or recently released jME game on the homepage. For this, we are currently thinking of focusing on games released on Steam, including solid Early Access releases.

The reason is that this can help both sides: the game gets more visibility from the jME website, and the engine gets a stronger example of what people are actively releasing with it.

Donations

The donation section has also been updated.

Previously, donations were mostly handled through a general Open Collective donation link. The new website can now also show specific funding projects from the jMonkeyEngine collective.

So people can still support the general jMonkeyEngine fund, but they can also choose to support specific needs when those are available.