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Library/Engine Recommendations

Started by Daramiz Feb 2, 2006 at 9:42 PM 6 replies 1.7k views
Original Post
Daramiz
Daramiz
'ello, I am currently planning on starting a new project. Nothing major at the moment, mainly toying with a few interface ideas, and elements for a possible multi-player or even MMO game further down the line. I am comfortable with C++ programming, and know a little of DirectX (I could put together a pong/Tetris/breakout style game without too much difficulty, I would have struggle through anything more complex just yet. But I am thinking, rather than re-invent the wheel, I should use the foundations of those who went before me.. I was hoping to get an honest review/opinion of some of the Libraries/Engines out there, by those who have used them.. At the moment, the primary thing would be a 3D engine, pre-developed networking functions would be handy as well, as that is one area I have no programming experience... Right now some of the ones I am considering (and my first impressions) are: Multiverse - (looks nice, but so far doesn't exist, and I can't get any hard specs on it... I am doubtful it can deliver on all its promises) Realmscrafter - (interesting, but how flexible is it? does it just create cookie-cutter games, or can it do more?) Realmsforge GDK - leaning towards this one, but it seems to be a work in progress.. any info? The other possibility would be using Ogre, or IrrLicht for the 3D engine and something like Raknet for networking when I get to that point... Can anyone tell me their thoughts on any of these engines? or recommend something better? keep in mind it would have to be reasonably priced, and preferably something that has some industry longevity.. if the engine would never be capable of a public release, or is near the end of its life span I'm better of starting from scratch.... Thanks [Edited by - Daramiz on February 3, 2006 11:52:23 AM]
Daramiz
Daramiz
(bump)

No one here has any experience with, or used any of these engines? I find that hard to believe...

What about Ogre vs. IrrLicht any thoughts?
Rob Loach
Rob Loach
The thing I don't like about Ogre is the use of the Singleton pattern. My advice would be to try both engines and see which one you prefer.
Rob Loach [Website] [Projects] [
pjcast
pjcast
I use the Ogre engine, and like it a lot. I cannot say anything about any other engines as I have not tried any others. I picked one, and have stuck with it (don't have the time ti try a million different engines). Ogre has a great community, wrappers for many different physics engines (search Ogre forum), supports all the advanced features needed in a graphics engine (but don't take my word for it, look at the feature list). The newest Cvs (Dagon, soon to be released) even supports Morph animations, and ribbon particles IIRC.

There are also bindings for .Net, Python, Java (a little outdated currently, but is in work at www.ogre4j.org) - though, these bindings are community projects and are not part of Ogre.
bnadland
bnadland
I use Irrlicht. It is easy to use and yet powerful. It has a good community and many tutorials. Even one about integrating RakNet, I think.

For networking there is a lib called Zoidcom which seems to be particular good at game networking. From what I know very powerful and relativly easy to use.

Good Luck, Dark Logan
Rob Loach
Rob Loach
Quote:
Original post by pjcast
There are also bindings for .Net...
The guys over at OgreDotNet are working on a SWIG interface to bind .NET to OGRE. PyOgre are the bindings for Python.
Rob Loach [Website] [Projects] [
MatrixCubed
MatrixCubed
We've begun using Raknet in our game engine, and are quite pleased with it. The developers' site forums have been hacked a few times though, so digging up histories of helpful posts is somewhat limited at the moment.
Dorvo
Dorvo
There are a LOT of engines you can use. There's a list of them over at DevMaster.Net. Irrlicht and Ogre are definitely something to check out. Although they're both only rendering engines, that would still cut down production time significantly. Personally, I can't recommend one over the other; simply because I like them both. The way they're both structured intrigue me, and since I'm (at this exact moment) designing a simple game engine for school, I like to study how things are structured.

Play around with the two. They're very simple to get up and running. And, they both have sets of very comprehensive tutorials.

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