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TIGSource ForumsDeveloperTechnical (Moderator: ThemsAllTook)Blender questions
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deadeye
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« on: April 20, 2008, 02:04:01 PM »

Due to a number of recent events, my interest in 3D has been rekindled.  I haven't modeled anything in quite some time (since dropping out of art school) but I've had a hankering to get back in the game.  The shame and mourning period of being a dropout is over.

But... no more school means no more Maya.  Sad  I've been looking for a cheap (re: free) replacement that has good support for game integration, and I came across Blender.  I'd heard the name before, I'd just never bothered to check it out.

I'm a little excited by what I see so far... mainly the built-in game engine.  I'm trying to stifle my excitement though, because it kinda seems like a "too good to be true" type of situation.  So I have a few questions:

1.  Has anyone here ever tried the BGE?  What are your impressions?

2.  What's the scope of the "non-coder" type functions?  Can I do something like click a model and say "this is my player, it uses the arrow keys to move" and make it move?  Or will I be needing Python knowledge for even simple tasks like that?

3.  What's the scope of world or level creation?  Can I make huge maps (like, say... the size of Portland in GTA3)?  Will they need to be split up into smaller sections?

4.  Are there any good examples of Blender games out there I can check out?  The pickings on this page seem pretty slim: http://www.blendernation.com/category/games/  Though the Duk Duk game looks interesting.

Basically I want to know what I'm getting into before I go learning a whole new program, just to save frustration down the line when I come across something that defies my expectations.
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« Reply #1 on: April 20, 2008, 05:51:46 PM »

1) Yes, I've used the BGE, and while it isn't as good as some of the commercial ones out there you can make some pretty good games with it. Also....
2)The BGE uses logic bricks which will allow you to do some complex things without writing a line of code. In fact I really wish some of the other engines out there would do something similar. Torque, for example, is a much better engine, but requires a lot of coding.
3) With any engine, it's just a good idea to split your levels up. Blender allows you to create multiple "scenes" in a single .blend file, however, you will need to do some coding to pass information from one scene to another.
4) The game engine is probably the most poorly documented part of Blender, but you can hang around the forums at Blender Artists to get more information.

Anyways, hope this helps Smiley
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« Reply #2 on: April 20, 2008, 06:05:32 PM »

Also (after re-reading your post), even if you don't use Blender's built in game engine, there are other game engines that have support for Blender (Torque, and Unity for example).

If you want to see a pretty decent game done w/Blender, try here
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« Reply #3 on: April 20, 2008, 07:56:43 PM »

The Apricot Open Game will be an awesome resource when its done.

Quote
The team will work on a cross platform game (at least Linux, Windows, OS X), using Blender for modeling and animation, Crystal Space as 3D engine and delivery platform, and Python for some magic scripting to glue things together. It is not only the purpose to make a compelling 3D game experience, but especially to improve and validate the open source 3D game creation pipeline, with industry-standard conditions. At this moment we only know that the game characters are funny and furry, and the game environment is outdoors in a field and forest. Once the team is together - february 2008 - they will define the game concept and game design.
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deadeye
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« Reply #4 on: April 20, 2008, 10:55:47 PM »

Also (after re-reading your post), even if you don't use Blender's built in game engine, there are other game engines that have support for Blender (Torque, and Unity for example).

If you want to see a pretty decent game done w/Blender, try here

At first I was looking for a modeling program in which I didn't have to do any file format conversion to get my models into a game engine.  The second criteria was that engine had to be somewhat easy to use for beginners yet robust enough to do more complex things once you get more deeply into it.  Mostly I just wanted to be able to make my models and drop them right into an engine for immediate feedback/testing.  Blender seemed like the miracle answer.

From what you've told me about the logic blocks being click-and-play style, it's kind of looking like Blender is the closest thing to a 3D Multimedia Fusion or Game Maker (only the 3D aspect is way more advanced by proportion).  Which is just about right for me. 

Plus I had already started to learn Python anyway, so this will give me yet another reason to keep at it.

I have noticed some comments here and there that the game engine is "buggy," but I haven't yet seen any details.  Any idea what that's all about?
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Melly
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« Reply #5 on: April 20, 2008, 11:41:49 PM »

I've used Blender once. Didn't get very far with it, but my experience with it was very positive. It was very easy to learn and working with it was fast and intuitive. It also encouraged a lot of shortcut key usage.
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Jolli
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« Reply #6 on: April 20, 2008, 11:49:42 PM »

I love blender! only tried the game engine once but i didnt like that Sad
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deadeye
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« Reply #7 on: April 21, 2008, 12:40:05 AM »

Weeeeeeeeeellllllllllll............?

What didn't you like about it?
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Jolli
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« Reply #8 on: April 21, 2008, 02:16:55 AM »

it feels like it was just built for artists only
and i like that idea
but my weak little programmi side says to me
don't waste ur time on this junk  Sad
give it a try though,doesnt take too much time
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deadeye
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« Reply #9 on: April 21, 2008, 02:26:57 AM »

it feels like it was just built for artists only

Ah, okay then.  That's a good thing in my case.  I don't like coding unless I absolutely have to.  The art side of things takes up enough time as it is.
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« Reply #10 on: April 21, 2008, 05:53:50 AM »

Blender interface is very...special. If you like it, better for you,but it's nothing like maya. I for one am annoyed because everytime I come back to it after a break I have to relearn all the interface.
As for the BGE it's a nice toy. ATM it is not very usable to release a game, but due to it's open source nature it can only evolve well, and I don't rule out that it could turn into something very powerful in the future.
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Chris Whitman
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« Reply #11 on: April 21, 2008, 11:02:20 AM »

You could always just fight the power and steal Maya.

That's what I do, unless you're a cop in which case I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't even own a computer.
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« Reply #12 on: April 21, 2008, 11:32:43 AM »

You could sneak into colleges and use free labs. Though you might have to seduce someone for their password.
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deadeye
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« Reply #13 on: April 21, 2008, 11:51:37 AM »

Blender interface is very...special. If you like it, better for you,but it's nothing like maya. I for one am annoyed because everytime I come back to it after a break I have to relearn all the interface.
As for the BGE it's a nice toy. ATM it is not very usable to release a game, but due to it's open source nature it can only evolve well, and I don't rule out that it could turn into something very powerful in the future.

Yeah, I've watched the first few tutorial videos and it does seem a little strange.  I'm sure I can get used to the interface though.  As for the game engine, I tried that Dukduk game out and it seems like it will do what I need it to do.  I don't have anything big and fancy planned right now.

You could always just fight the power and steal Maya.

That's what I do, unless you're a cop in which case I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't even own a computer.

Well actually I do have a copy, from back when I was in school.  But while I would feel a bit guilty about using it now (even for releasing free stuff), there's also the fact that everywhere I look at this game engine or that, to get your Maya models into the game you pretty much have to stand on your head and chant arcane spells in an eldritch tongue.  I don't want to have to fuss with MEL scripts and stuff to convert my models to a compatible format.  Being able to drop things into Blender and see immediate results will be a big plus.  And if it means I'm not pirating then hey, bonus.
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« Reply #14 on: April 21, 2008, 02:26:51 PM »

XNA is pretty easy to get models into from either Maya or 3dsmax, I've had experence with both, Its as easy as committing your changes then exporting.
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Jolli
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« Reply #15 on: April 21, 2008, 02:58:57 PM »

The tutorial that helped familiarize me with blender was the gamedev one

http://www.gamedev.net/reference/art/features/blender1/
theres a part2 after
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