I am currently working on a small project and I was wondering which engine would be best for releasing it as a multiplayer game. Important for me is: Real-time physics with more than five players. In the video below are just two players, because it`s just a test yet (how you can see), but it should be for several players, two teams playing against each other (with nice passing etc).
I created that test in GameMaker, because I got used to it and like the engine (still making my bigger project with it). But the multiplayer support seems a little... strange. I am not sure if I can get it done with it.
Of course there are many threads about which engine is better, GameMaker, GameSalad, Stencyl, Construct 2 or whatever but they seem all to lack a bit in support of multiplayer features. So I thought I ask in here first, maybe some of you have some experience with one of these engines (or more than one).
If the game engine isn't used for high-visibility multiplayer games, I wouldn't put my bets on the networking being particularly solid. I haven't tried any of the engines you're suggesting, but neither of them is used in any high-profile multiplayer game that I know about. If solid networking was a requirement, I'd go for something well-known, like Unreal Engine, or roll my own, using something like RakNet, Lidgren, or similar (depending on language.)
Well my scripting abilities are pretty basic, so I would like to go with one of these engines (which user a simple language and have d&d features, which is pretty helpful for a beginner). So maybe somebody has a hint, which of these engines could potentially be the best for such a project.
Yes, Unity has network multiplayer support, to some extent, and it will probably work OK for 5 people (at least no worse than Game Maker :-)
I have to ask, though -- if you like and understand GameMaker, and it has network support, then why would you use some other tool, which means you'd have to learn a new tool?
Also, the Unreal Engine 4 added a new kind of gameplay control called Blueprint Scripting, which is a graph-based scripting language, which may be easier for non-programmers to use -- no C++ required. There are several example games developed entirely using blueprint scripting, and there are tutorials for how to do that in multiplayer. The biggest challenge for you would be to "dumb down" the 3D game engine to a 2D display. (There are a few sample games that use 2D, including "Tappy Chicken" and "Swing Ninja."
UE4 is also nice because you can "buy" it for $19, and use it and get updates for 29 days. Then cancel the subscription to not get billed for a second month. You can still keep using the engine (totally legit!) and just aren't getting patches/updates. If/when you ship a game that makes more than some minimum amount of money, you give Epic 5%. It is a very nice environment, used to make many different kinds of games. The main draw-back is that it doesn't work great on the lowest-end PCs or cell phones.
Also, Unreal Engine skills will translate directly to many game studios -- it's the most-licensed, most-used engine in the AAA games industry.
Well that sounds nice, although I never considered the UE to be a appropriate choice.
I like Game Maker, but the network support sounds pretty bad, I have never heard of a stable game, which has been released. So I try to keep flexible and ask for other engines, I have no clue, how good they are (in their multiplayer support). But I am still undecided. Must be a good choice, otherwise he money will be gone.
I guess I try Unity Free first, then I go with your advice of the unreal engine. The other engines seem to be a little crappy in mp as well.
If you're having problems with Game Maker, I'd say you're unlikely to find Construct 2 better. Construct 2 just makes easy things easier and hard things harder than Game Maker. But then again, it has been awhile since I've used it, so I could be wrong.
Well it really isn`t about the engine per se, it`s just about online compatibility and stability. The rest of the engines features doesn`t really matter right now.
