Noob question, TGE>T3D games?
by Muir Hamilton · in Torque 3D Professional · 07/25/2010 (5:20 pm) · 3 replies
A friend of mine and I are working on a small game together for fun, but he has TGE, and I have Torque 3D (indie). I have the source of the game, but I don't know (where to even put the source, I'm assuming all of it goes under the Engine folder =P), and T3D doesn't seem to recognize TGE games as… games.
Is there any way I can port TGE games to T3D, and back again?
I apologize if this is a stupid or erroneous question, or if this has been answered already. Thanks for the help if you can refer me to another post of a similar question, or just answer the question here.
Is there any way I can port TGE games to T3D, and back again?
I apologize if this is a stupid or erroneous question, or if this has been answered already. Thanks for the help if you can refer me to another post of a similar question, or just answer the question here.
About the author
I'm 16, and I love doing game art. I prefer art to anything else, I don't have the patience for most coding, and I haven't bothered to learn much of 3DsX. I hope to have gamedev of some sort as a career in the future..
#2
You say the shaders don't work in TGE? My friend (we'll call him SM from now on) coded the water reflections, etc. So are you saying that some shaders work (i.e. Modernization Kit), but most shaders that are new to T3D (pureLight) don't work in TGE? (duh)
We weren't planning on using any of the new shaders available in t3D.
So in other words, I'd have to change my mission files' directories, but other than that it would work fine.
07/25/2010 (6:25 pm)
I said that? O_o Well, I don't =PYou say the shaders don't work in TGE? My friend (we'll call him SM from now on) coded the water reflections, etc. So are you saying that some shaders work (i.e. Modernization Kit), but most shaders that are new to T3D (pureLight) don't work in TGE? (duh)
We weren't planning on using any of the new shaders available in t3D.
So in other words, I'd have to change my mission files' directories, but other than that it would work fine.
#3
It also just occurred to me that you also wouldn't be able to use any high res textures for terrains in TGE which is limited to 256X256 texture sizes and only 1 detail texture per terrain.
The water shader and the MK bump/normalmap shaders are totally different from how T3D handles them, so no those wouldn't work.
And lets not forget the new Editor tools and Environment features either.
With all of the design limitations and workarounds you would have to plan a project around (due to TGE) it just wouldn't make as much sense to port from T3D to TGE as it would the other way around.
07/25/2010 (6:57 pm)
Quote:So in other words, I'd have to change my mission files' directories, but other than that it would work fine.Only if you kept the same script and asset directory structure between the two engine versions. Keep in mind that TGE uses a "mod" directory structure whereas T3D is more lenient in how you organize things.
It also just occurred to me that you also wouldn't be able to use any high res textures for terrains in TGE which is limited to 256X256 texture sizes and only 1 detail texture per terrain.
The water shader and the MK bump/normalmap shaders are totally different from how T3D handles them, so no those wouldn't work.
And lets not forget the new Editor tools and Environment features either.
With all of the design limitations and workarounds you would have to plan a project around (due to TGE) it just wouldn't make as much sense to port from T3D to TGE as it would the other way around.
Associate Michael Hall
Distracted...
98% of all script code would be usable in both engines. You would have to make allowances for directory structures in filepaths, distinction between SFX (T3D) and Audio (TGE) for sound profiles, and also a few changes in particleFx datablocks. Some console functions may have different names and some initialization (sound, graphics) code would be used differently.
A good bit of the source code changes you would make could still be usable, although extensive changes in the rendering aspect of the two engines would require a good bit of work if you delved into that area.
If you had to port it would be better to port in one direction and not have to flip back and forth, especially given the enormous amount of updating that has been done to the T3D codebase as compared to that of TGE. Porting in two directions for each change you make would be more than tedious and time consuming for any project.
According to the info popup of your profile you shouldn't have.