15 replies to this topic

[Garfinkel]

I have been looking at Game Engines on the site and i can't seem to find the one i want i was hoping people can help me. I am looking for a game that focuses are is well known for it's realistic environment. In other words im planing on having a forest with tree's (for people to climb and live on) animals (to hunt) and more... If you know of any engines that work good with these let me know. My two requirements are has to be under $1000 dollars (the license) and has to have atleast limited network support (MMO - dont bash me i know what you guys say im just doing this for fun)

[onyxthedog]

Garfinkel said:

I have been looking at Game Engines on the site and i can't seem to find the one i want i was hoping people can help me. I am looking for a game that focuses are is well known for it's realistic environment. In other words im planing on having a forest with tree's (for people to climb and live on) animals (to hunt) and more... If you know of any engines that work good with these let me know. My two requirements are has to be under $1000 dollars (the license) and has to have atleast limited network support (MMO - dont bash me i know what you guys say im just doing this for fun)

Go here. It has a feature list for A LOT of engines, along with their cost, pros/cons, and the license agreement.

I am not an expert in this subject, but from my understanding it requires more programming skills rather than the perfect engine. You also have to consider the optimization part, because you don't want the game to do this: *someone speaking* Hello *3 second pause* what is *5 second pause* your name *2 second pause*. So be careful with that feature list because you might want be sure you are able to make it run smoothly!

[Garfinkel]

I understand i have looked at the engines database but i would like suggestions before i end up buying a engine that doesnt create good environments. I agree as well about the pause thing but i think that has to do more with networking than with the engine itself

Also can someone explain the each type of ai system i understand scripted. I have been reading up on C++ but what are these other ones. If i understand correctly path finding is where the creature heads to a predetermined locations like a patrol
Pathfinding | Decision Making | Finite State Machines | Scripted | Neural Networks

[onyxthedog]

C/C++/Java is a must atleast to some extent! I am afraid that a scripting language is just not going to cut it as far as I know. Awhile back ago, someone posted a thread about a MMO creation kit that you do not have to know programming for, I would probably run that and a virus scanner in a sandbox first though because I have not downloaded it myself.

P.S. Here is the link

[Garfinkel]

I plan to use coding I knew some and plan to learn as I make the game. This is mostly for playing around and learning something new. So if you have any suggestions that are code based but have be sure to let me know I liked unity but it was 2000$ for licensing and networking even without networking it was 1500$ I plan to spend 1000 max

[onyxthedog]

Garfinkel said:

I plan to use coding I knew some and plan to learn as I make the game. This is mostly for playing around and learning something new. So if you have any suggestions that are code based but have be sure to let me know I liked unity but it was 2000$ for licensing and networking even without networking it was 1500$ I plan to spend 1000 max

I would invest in C++ How to Program by Dietel/Dietel which are two very known programming teachers. I would get the first edition since you mainly want to get the core language down. Even though the book was written in 1994, it is still pretty relevant and not much has changed. You can probably buy it for $20 off of amazon. Another good approach is to go to your local Half-Priced Books, Barnes & Noble, or what ever other book store is near you and convient. Go there and be prepared to spend 1-2 hours. I would set aside every week or however you get paid $5 dollars for 8 weeks to spend on a good book(s). Just go to the computer science section and pick some out that appeal to you. Then go and read some of each of them. (The begining of them to be exact, especially where you start seeing source code.) Example for a Hello World program source code

//Hello World Program

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;


int main()

{

    cout << "Hello World!" << endl;

    return 0;

}

It will not be exact because each compiler wants something a little bit different. Another good tip is to learn your compiler, I am a Visual C++ 2008 Express Edition fan, mainly because it is free from Microsoft. Then look through the explaination parts and see which one you understand the best. I might then purchase, after being done through Arrays, Pointer, and Classes a good C++ Game programming book. Don't go direct for the whole 3D over the top game. It is going to seem like you will be doing a lot of nothing (I speak from experience, I am currently going through this stage. ;~) ) Start with Tic-Tac-Toe or Pong and work your way up.

If you are going after an MMO you might want to look into getting a team going, even if it means a net team. There is an article for this in this link. But with the intense graphical output and realistic physics, you might want to change that from a MMO to a MO (I.E. 10-20 people each server Max!) That woud prevent alot of lag thus making your game more popular.

[Garfinkel]

I have read books and as for a team i have set aside a budget. But as i said before it's more to play around with then anything else. But if you know of a good game engine for terrain and tree and such let me know :)

[onyxthedog]

Look 2 posts down, it is more comprehensive.

[Garfinkel]

it looks good but it's also bad because it's inactive

[onyxthedog]

Here is a list of helpfuls. I didn't look at many, but the first one that is listed can be a good choice, because all you need to know is BASIC and how to click with the mouse. (Which I assume you know the latter. ;~D). But try to get the trial versions of the engines to test them with, say, Pong for example to get a feel for it!

[fireside]

Garfinkel, don't waste that amount of money. Buy some copies of Unreal tournament and you and your friends can make a mod. That engine costs more money than you'll ever be able to afford. Take that money and pick a good stock and invest it. See, you might want realistic trees and grass, but that's going to hold peoples attention for about 2 minutes. That's not what a game is all about.

[Nyad]

I agree with fireside. There are also a number of good opensource engines out there. seeing as your programming skills are not too great it's not a good idea to just jump into something like an engine which supports climbing trees and detailed grass. Especially if you want realism, it's not that simple to put realism in a game. And even if it was, gaming is about fun and tiny tiny little bit of eyecandy.
It must be fun and fast for people to like it. Look a Startcraft, it's not the greatest graphics but some people still play it today coz it's fun

[.oisyn]

Engines don't create environments, artwork does.

[onyxthedog]

First .Oisyn congrats on breaking 1k posts.

But back on making an enviroment, I think he was asking what engines can generate realistic enviroments, because although your statement is true, some are just better at making 3D objects that look real along with good physics. But you probably know better than I do so correct me if I am wrong.

[fireside]

Quote

But back on making an enviroment, I think he was asking what engines can generate realistic enviroments, because although your statement is true, some are just better at making 3D objects that look real along with good physics.

You have to use a lot of artistic cheats even with today's hardware. For instance, bump mapping is an artistic way for a model to look much more complex and yet still get a very good frame rate. There really isn't that much difference in engines, they all either use opengl or directX. Some can manage to occlude more, and use LOD. But, it's getting past what an individual can do without going out and buying a million models or hiring a lot of people, at least for the infinite world type games. It's something like someone getting his camcorder out and telling everyone he wants to make the next version of Star Wars. You can do some great things with a camcorder, just go to youtube, but get a grasp on reality first.

[.oisyn]

fireside said:

It's something like someone getting his camcorder out and telling everyone he wants to make the next version of Star Wars. You can do some great things with a camcorder, just go to youtube, but get a grasp on reality first.

I think a better analogy is when someone wants to buy a professional movie-industry camera, because he want to make the next hollywood bluckbuster. But cameras don't make good movies, scripts and acting do - even when using a camcorder. The camera only starts to make a difference when having lots of experience and you're fully using it's capabilities. With engines it's just like that. But I think in reality just an engine isn't what the topicstarter is looking for. He's looking for some sort of game editing package in which he can design his worlds and run it with minimal coding. I suggest to take a look at BlitzBasic or something like VirTools.