Not sure if this belonged in the Software Engineering forums or this one so I figured I post it in the one with the most activity. Anyways not to sound like a greenhorn but I dont know squat about programming, I'm a designer/animator. But nevertheless I found a really impressive rendering engine I like but thats just it, its only a rendering engine. What I was hoping to do is use Blender as a level editor and somehow hire a programmer to integrate the 2 so that the content I make in blender can be exported to this graphics engine, then maybe with a little collision and this and that it could become a full game eventually. Heres the technical side: Editor - Blender Graphics Engine - G3D http://g3d-cpp.sourceforge.net/ My main concern isnt creating the levels, but the objects in the levels that would behave differently. For instance objects that would get knocked down when something rus into them, drapes that dangle and sway with the wind, etc. Would all that have to be added through code? Because I'm no programmer. But ultimately what I'm getting at is how difficult would all this be? Constructive critisism, negative, sarcastic, suggestions, I dont care. Give me any feedback you want I appreciate every bit of it. Thanks everybody.

Quote: Original post by double O seven
But ultimately what I'm getting at is how difficult would all this be?

Twelve and a half.

G3D looks fine, but it doesn't have any features I can see that aren't to be found in other renderers. Picking an engine purely based on demos and screenshots (you know, as non-programmers would be wont to do) is a bad idea. Additionally I would strongly suggest using a full-featured game engine, rather than a graphics engine plus the huge amount of extra stuff you'd have to reimplement.

Finally, one of the most important factors in picking an engine should be toolchain integration. Do not go with a game engine (or a renderer) that does not have preexisting, mature, well-supported content export for the latest version of your modeling software of choice.

Quote: Original post by double O seven
Is there any full SDK's that G3D can be integrated into? Thats the look I want for my RPG but I have no idea what engines it would be compatible with (if at all). I was thinking about C4 engine, I like its technological innovation but I hate the way it renders, but thats just me.
Aside from that theres another really good affordable SDK called Esenthel (http://www.esenthel.com). But the main thing I see thats wrong with that is its DirectX, so I dont know if G3D could be incorporated as its renderer or not.
But I figured since C4 is OpenGL and not DX maybe G3D could be integrated into it as its renderer.

Any game engine is going to be built intimately around a particular rendering architecture, and changing out just the renderer will almost certainly be impossible. The point of using a fully featured game engine is to avoid the hassle that this sort of integration involves, after all, so using a game engine is largely an all-or-nothing proposition. The graphics layer is likely the most deeply embedded part of any game engine.

BTW, you mention the "look" you want for your RPG. For the most part, the "look" of a game comes from the art, not from the renderer. Two games made with the same rendering system can look utterly different from each other. What specific G3D features or elements of its "look" do you want? They may be more commonly available than you think.

Quote: Original post by Sneftel

Quote: Original post by double O seven
Is there any full SDK's that G3D can be integrated into? Thats the look I want for my RPG but I have no idea what engines it would be compatible with (if at all). I was thinking about C4 engine, I like its technological innovation but I hate the way it renders, but thats just me.
Aside from that theres another really good affordable SDK called Esenthel (http://www.esenthel.com). But the main thing I see thats wrong with that is its DirectX, so I dont know if G3D could be incorporated as its renderer or not.
But I figured since C4 is OpenGL and not DX maybe G3D could be integrated into it as its renderer.

Any game engine is going to be built intimately around a particular rendering architecture, and changing out just the renderer will almost certainly be impossible. The point of using a fully featured game engine is to avoid the hassle that this sort of integration involves, after all, so using a game engine is largely an all-or-nothing proposition. The graphics layer is likely the most deeply embedded part of any game engine.

BTW, you mention the "look" you want for your RPG. For the most part, the "look" of a game comes from the art, not from the renderer. Two games made with the same rendering system can look utterly different from each other. What specific G3D features or elements of its "look" do you want? They may be more commonly available than you think.

well im not up to speed on terminology but I think its the tone mapping and bloom that gives it its appearance. That combined with heavy specular shine.

Out of curiosity how would you go about making a game with G3D? On that note what SDK would you recommend for me? Something with commercial potential and next gen capabilities.

Thanks.

Quote: Original post by double O seven
well im not up to speed on terminology but I think its the tone mapping and bloom that gives it its appearance. That combined with heavy specular shine.

You'll be happy to hear, then, that many game engines out there support those three features. Of the engines you mentioned, C4 does not yet support HDR as far as I know, but Esenthel does.

Quote: Out of curiosity how would you go about making a game with G3D?

Well, you'd use it to draw your triangles, and then you'd write code for everything else. Resource loading and management, sound and music, entity management, physics, camera control, input mapping, pathfinding and other AI, level management, etc. (There's a lot of etc.)

Quote: On that note what SDK would you recommend for me? Something with commercial potential and next gen capabilities.

First of all, your use of the term "SDK" is incorrect. As for what I'd recommend, I'd say the best way to pick an engine that supports the look you're looking for would be to describe the needs to the person who's actually developing the thing, and have them choose the engine. They're the one who's going to need to work with the thing, after all.