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[Onza40]

I know there are loads of threads about the different engines, but I would like to hear some advice from people who have used one or more of the engines in one place, whether it be praise of an engine, slating another, or a comparison between 2, any help would be greatly appreciated.
Things we're looking for:
- ease of use, but not oversimplicity, I've played with rpg maker before and it is very limited in what it can produce, so not something like this
- multiple platforms, being able to deploy to mac, linux and windows would be useful, but not completely essential, I would willingly sacrifice this and have the game windows only in favour of ease of use
- a level designer, I need multiple physical layers, not just graphical, a built in editor would be awesome, but a means of easily making our own would be good (probably better)
- realtime, no turn based rounds or combat so typical roguelike engines are unsuitable

Lastly I would like some advice as to whether to make the game in 3d or 2d, considering in 3d we could simply have a fixed 3rd person camera, then the multiple layers and physics would be easier to do instead of adapting a 2d engine to incorporate multiple layers and pseudo-3d physics.  But then we would need a good 3d engine to build on and would have the added effort of 3d modelling.
Really this is a question of whether it would be easier to adapt a 2d engine, or to put the extra effort in to use a 3d engine.

As I say, any comments greatly appreciated

[Yshaana]

Well, I would probably tell you to try out Unity 3d, but you didn't really tell us your skill-set.

Unity is very robust engine (quite surprising actually), it will let you create builds for PC, MAC, Browser and Iphone in an instant, it has great realtime features, a robust editor and if you know any C#, you can make it do some vey nifty stuff.

If you don't know any programing though, I would stick to game makers and such...

[nikki]

When I read your post carefully it appears your looking for an cookiecutter-engine as opposed to some libraries (in language X),  is that right?

i guess so , the title and all..

Since your looking for an engine to do the hard work, i think it will be very hard for you to adapt that engine to your own specific wishes, (you'd have to grasp the inner workings before you can modify) (assumption made)

And since your already thinking about 3d, i'd say make the effort and get it in there quickly.

I am not aware of engines anymore, so i'd say Blitzmax + minib3d (or any other 3d library.)
or when it is browser usage you want Unity .

[moi]

YOu must use C++ if you are a real programmer. "Game engines" and "makers" are templates and your game will be unprofessional if you use them.

[Onza40]

Thanks for the replies, I am looking at Unity at the moment, in terms of skill level, I have a basis in coding so can pick up new languages with relative ease.

@nikki - yeah, I kinda figured I may need to do some core mods if I use an existing engine, which means that the source would need to be accessible, I think unity has this.

@moi - pretty narrow minded there, you clearly don't know much, nor much about things people have made in game engines, try looking at some of the stuff made in UDK, quake engine or things like spelunky in game maker. There are some good engines out there that people make some excellent games in so don't bundle them all away

[Dacke]

YOu must use C++ if you are a real programmer. "Game engines" and "makers" are templates and your game will be unprofessional if you use them.

Pro tip: Never mind moi's one-liners. As far as I know, it's impossible to tell if he's serious.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

i'm pretty sure he's sarcastic there

[Dacke]

Hm, yeah, I think so too.

[inkBot]

I'm assuming you're aiming for something akin to Zelda, since you mention RPG Maker and that it should be realtime. I use Unity for 3D stuff and Construct for 2D games. Construct is easy to get into and a good tool. But whichever program/method you decide to go with, all of them require being able to think like a programmer. Even though Constructs event sheets are easier to understand and program than proper coding, the theory behind it is the same.

If you are not in any way experienced in working with 3D I personally would advice doing 2D before taking on a 3D project. Mostly because the added dimension, physics and camera will be alot more difficult to manage than pure 2D. Not to mention the actual content aspect of 3D. You'd need meshes, textures and bones and animation. You can of course make things simpler by doing 2.5 and using sprites in a 3D world.

Unity has the advantage of browser plugins and mac/win executables. However, it requires real coding. I'd advise going with Unity JavaScript if you go 3D.

Construct is as said, easy to get into and has some really good clever functions. There's also room for Python coding, though I don't use it myelf.

Both of those are free and great tools, but it all comes down to if you're going to do 3D or 2D. 3D is more work, but also gives some versatility (easier to redo animations, any form of gameplay is doable).

[Onza40]

@inkbot - so in terms of 2.5d (which is where the project is aiming really) would you suggest trying to use consturct and add some 3d aspects, or to use unity, and simplify it (fixed camera etc.)

Bear in mind that the nature of what we're going for is kind of zelda-esque (not that it would play like that, but I think that sums up what I mean quite well)

[gimymblert]

Regarding your requirement: UNITY3D FREE

[inkBot]

If you're going 2.5D I suggest going with Unity. Construct does have some 3D capabilities but it is specifically designed for 2D games so there's no real way of implementing 3D other than some few very limited features.

The great thing with Unity is the ease of importing assets to the engine. Pretty much every standard audio/image/mesh format is supported.

[Mikademus]

@moi - pretty narrow minded there, you clearly don't know much, nor much about things people have made in game engines, try looking at some of the stuff made in UDK, quake engine or things like spelunky in game maker. There are some good engines out there that people make some excellent games in so don't bundle them all away

Hehe, you should be aware of that most conversations here contains lots of meta-talk. He wasn't speaking to you but to the other denizens, probably in referral to the GM and SDL threads in the Technical forum atm. Welcome to TIG.

[Onza40]

@mikademus - right, I'm getting used to it a bit

@inkbot - thanks for the tips, unity it is I think

I'll post a devlog once I have anything to show.

[Yshaana]

I would say good choice, but it might be because we are using it too I'll be looking forward to seeing your progress!

[moi]

I try to turn all threads into an art thread.
There are way too many thread about engines. There are at least 3 going on right now!

[gimymblert]

I try to turn all threads into an art thread.
There are way too many thread about engines. There are at least 3 going on right now!

I have all the threads Atosureddo please enable. How can Sureddoenjin. Or, at least three, or I can use?