So I've been trying to figure out what would be good to use for this 3D game I'm making…
The game is planned to be a multiplayer combination FPS/RTS - players carry out the strategy parts on a world map, but then can go into smaller first/third-person shooter matches in which they fight for control of the localized map. Complicated? Probably. Difficult to the point where I won't finish? Maybe, but I want to try anyway. :PThat said, I've been considering a few different engines/languages/what-have-you to use (looking for good performance over good graphics): Blender/PythonPros: - I'm already making all the models in Blender. - I love Blender. Plus Python is nice. Cons: - Potential performance issues with scalability, networking - I don't know how big I can make a map before it gets too slow to run. Also, I've seen at least a few small-scale attempts at networking, but I don't know how well it'll handle on larger scale. (By "large" scale, I mean 16-32 players. Or something like that.)Unity 3Pros: - It seems to perform nicely. Cons: - The usual closed-source stuff (watermark, some features not available, etc.). Also I don't really trust Unity yet (maybe because I just started looking at it a few days ago…)- Possible performance issues with scalability and networking, blah blah blah. Source SDKPros: - Valve!- It's proven to work nicely for decent-sized multiplayer and such (Counterstrike, Half Life 2, etc.)Cons: - Time, work, etc. Ogre3D/C++Pros: - I know C++ already, and this'll most likely work. Cons: - This might take a while.- I get the feeling I'm going to have to do a lot of coding from ground-up. : (My question to y'all is - what do you think will work best? Any suggestions you have (whether they be on the above list or not) are greatly appreciated. (Bravo if you read all that by the way. :D)ON NEARLY COMPLETELY UNRELATED SUBJECTS- I bought Minecraft yesterday. Very fun. Though a spider jumped into my shelter and hit me in the face before I had time to make a door…it was a bit of a surprise. Then there were the spiders that kept camping over my front door. >_<- YouTube video that actually motivated me to do game-making work:It happens sometimes. :P
@JID/Zarniwooop
LOD tessellation or something I think that's called. Versus (surface?) clipping, which is generally standard in 3D packages nowadays. Zarniwooop's right though, you did sound like you were talking about clipping at first. (Not that I can remember any of these terms correctly…lol)@Scott_AWJust looked up the Unreal Dev. Kit - it seems to have all of what I was looking for in terms of features. Only two problems I can see with it are that it 1) might require a really powerful computer (which would mean I would have to build a new one probably), and 2) does have licensing stuff attached for commercial uses (thought the terms seem reasonable, so I'm not as worried about that). @The AvatrolI actually already have the Ogre SDK and Visual Studio installed because of the computer science research I did recently, so just working straight with Ogre is conceivable at least. Networking programming would be a major speedbump though. (Then again, it always is… : / )@Mordisaywha? : |XNA, you know, that game library made my Microsoft. Unless you're not very experienced with c#, you should definitely check it out.
Ohh OK.
Now I know I think :DThanks everyone for the input, by the way. Though I think the two items I managed to cross off have been replaced by another two options…lolSource can work with what you're stating, but its not very good. See, source uses a BSP rendering system, which is great for something like an fps where you have a down portion grid but when you're in the sky its a bad idea due to the fact that multiple visleaves are being rendered.
PLus making maps in hammer can REALLY BE A PAIN IN THE ASS.I guess I should also mention that I was considering making it so that going between world (RTS) and localized (FPS) maps would involve loading different maps.
Though I was thinking of having looking-from-the-sky perspectives on the localized maps, so the BSP render system could still be a problem. Ah, Hammer…I did think it looked suspicious…How exactly is Hammer mapmaking annoying? (out of curiosity)Whatever you do, take the path of least resistance.
Hammer is a pain in the ass because it loves to crash on you for silly reasons, the rendering system in it for looking at how the world is lit is WRONG, No room for error in the BSP system, and overall takes for fucking ever because you're working with BSPs and that shit, to make it look good and be optimized, takes a looooong time.
Or at least it does in multiplayer games. TF2 mapping can be a bitch sometimes >_>.Also if you're going between maps in gameplay YOU AINT DOIN THAT IN SOURCE.@Scott_AW
Sage advice that. : |@KenonYeah, I think I'll be avoiding Hammer now…I read somewhere that it was outdated, but evidently it's worse than that. : /Make it in paint :D
mspaint