Im goina try to make an RTS, but first I need to know which engine everyone thinks would be the best for one. I want it to be kinda like AOE2, not the same time period, but the same engine type graphix and stuff. So, I''m kinda new to this, so I''m wondering which engine would be the best for an RTS.

I dont know if this engine will the best for a RTS game (probroly because i dont know what RTS means), but Genesis3D has been a very popular engine for indoor-type games, specialy RPGs. Some developers of Genesis3D have decided to compleatly be-build the engine (more optemized) and they should be releasing it by the end of this year. Since the engine is open-source, you can modify it your self , but just be sure to read the licence for the engine. For more information, and a sample program that shows the power of Genesis3D, visit www.genesis3d.com, and be sure to look into GDemo while ur at it

BTW: Its a FREE engine, if you leave the begining screen in the engine.



Edited by - Jasun220 on August 26, 2001 1:12:52 AM

RTS= Real Time Strategy games, like Starcraft, and Age of Empires.

The stratagy part is up to u, Genesis is just a rendering engine.

If you want it like AOE, then you don''t want Genesis 3d for the reason that Genesis 3d is 3d

But... I think you would find it most beneficial to write your own engine. I don''t think there is such thing as an rts engine because the term rts is very general. What do you mean? Is it the bit that draws your units, the bit that creates maps, the bit that moves the units?

My guess is, that as soon as you are ready to make an RTS, you will know exactly how you are going to do it. No offence intendid, but it sounds like you are jumping the gun a bit.

Trying is the first step towards failure.

http://freecraft.sourceforge.net/

FreeCraft is a free cross-platform real-time engine. It is possible to play over a LAN, the internet or against the computer and to build C&C, W*rCr*ft, St*rCr*ft and AOE like RTS games with it.


BLACK SABBATH

practising random acts of intelligence

Thanks everyone. Ill check out that freecraft. Basically I just wanted a 2d engine that could make the maps and units. I guess directdraw would work fine if necessary. Thanks for the feedback!

I would also suggest looking at freecraft.

I don''t entirely agree with ragonastick. There are RTS engines you can use (like freecraft), which already implement the core basics that virtually every RTS uses -- tile map rendering, tile map editor, some basic pathfinding, code for unit handling, etc, etc...

And if there''s and existing engine out there that you can work from as a basis, it can save you a bunch of time that you can then put into the details of the game.

Yes, you could write this for yourself starting at DirectDraw, and yes its always good to know the lower levels of what the engine you are using is doing... but the attitude that you should build your own engine from scratch for every game you do is really a silly one, and one that is falling out of favor in the professional games industry. For example look at Half-Life, Deus Ex and other games. They took an existing engine, added their own unique flair to it via some custom programming and created classic games.