Torque 2D in ActiveX
by Dave Rickey · in Technical Issues · 03/18/2005 (3:21 pm) · 10 replies
We're considering Torque 2D in building a graphical front end for our Virtual Horse Ranch game, and we ran into a sticking point: Our audience is mostly young, female, and non-technical, and we want to avoid having separate download and installation steps. Our options seem to be Java and embedding a windows application into an ActiveX control. Even Java isn't all that helpful, as it is not installed in the standard IE installation.
My question is: Does anyone have any knowledge of how easy/difficult it is to put Torque 2D in an ActiveX wrapper?
--Dave
My question is: Does anyone have any knowledge of how easy/difficult it is to put Torque 2D in an ActiveX wrapper?
--Dave
#2
03/18/2005 (3:44 pm)
Who would I need to contact about it? Our main priority on this is to move quickly, we want to have the whole thing up and online in 3 months or less. Our only experienced C++ programmer has mostly worked in Linux, and we'd rather not spend a lot of time wrestling with the Windows/IE API's. FWIW, you can see our text game at www.virtualhorseranch.com/ , we really have no interest in virii, and we'd be more than willing to sign any neccessary non-proliferation agreements. 
#3
Here are a couple of topics on it:
Torque WebPlayer - Open Source
Play Game through Internet
Embedding Torque window in another app
Something of interest:
New signed active X controler, run any game in an IE web browser
There's a lot more if you search for ActiveX in the forums.
03/18/2005 (3:53 pm)
Joe Maruschak is the king bee over there. Clark Fagot programmed and put the package together.Here are a couple of topics on it:
Torque WebPlayer - Open Source
Play Game through Internet
Embedding Torque window in another app
Something of interest:
New signed active X controler, run any game in an IE web browser
There's a lot more if you search for ActiveX in the forums.
#4
03/18/2005 (4:15 pm)
Another front-end option is Flash.
#5
The OsaKit from the last link looks like an option. Although I understand the security concerns, the fact is that ActiveX security is such a joke anyway, this is not much more of an issue. I'll contact Joe and Clark and see if we can work something out.
--Dave
03/18/2005 (5:18 pm)
Flash isn't really a good games platform, and we have other reasons for wanting to use T2D (for starters, the next step in my fiendish plan for World Domination is a 3D version of VHR using TGE from scratch).The OsaKit from the last link looks like an option. Although I understand the security concerns, the fact is that ActiveX security is such a joke anyway, this is not much more of an issue. I'll contact Joe and Clark and see if we can work something out.
--Dave
#6
Details in email
03/19/2005 (9:20 am)
If you are adventurous and dont mind alpha level software, then I'm willing to let you test drive my ActiveX installer. Was just slow responding to your email. Sorry. Somewhat busy lately.Details in email
#7
03/20/2005 (6:56 pm)
If you need additional testers, or advernturous people... i am more than willing!
#8
03/21/2005 (5:08 am)
Dump me an email Sean - its in my profile
#9
IE is slowly losing browser market share, and the components still won't run if it's set to "disable" instead of "prompt" or "enable" (or unless your site is in their trusted sites lists, a process that takes a dozen clicks to do). Plus doing cross-platform Active X (i.e. Mac), well good luck with that!
03/23/2005 (2:36 pm)
If your audience is not technical, I'd reccommend skipping Active X as the definitive solution, though it's good to give them options. IE is slowly losing browser market share, and the components still won't run if it's set to "disable" instead of "prompt" or "enable" (or unless your site is in their trusted sites lists, a process that takes a dozen clicks to do). Plus doing cross-platform Active X (i.e. Mac), well good luck with that!
#10
Especially if your audience is non-technical, then the ActiveX installer is perfect.
Non-tech people and those who dont think much about what happens inside a computer (including security) will run PC+Windows+IE without any security settings enabled.
I wished it wasnt so, but its a fact that ~90% of all browsers out there (on the public net - share would be even higher if we calculated with corporate nets) are IE. Personally I hate IE and have run Mozilla/Firebird for aaages. Working in the computer security business I know the risks
So until someone cooks up a browser plugin or some other component that works in other browsers, the ActiveX approach is the only one available for now that is proven to work + hit most of your casual gamer target group.
Thats at least what I think about it all
03/24/2005 (1:00 am)
I respectfully disagree with you JoshuaEspecially if your audience is non-technical, then the ActiveX installer is perfect.
Non-tech people and those who dont think much about what happens inside a computer (including security) will run PC+Windows+IE without any security settings enabled.
I wished it wasnt so, but its a fact that ~90% of all browsers out there (on the public net - share would be even higher if we calculated with corporate nets) are IE. Personally I hate IE and have run Mozilla/Firebird for aaages. Working in the computer security business I know the risks
So until someone cooks up a browser plugin or some other component that works in other browsers, the ActiveX approach is the only one available for now that is proven to work + hit most of your casual gamer target group.
Thats at least what I think about it all
Associate David Montgomery-Blake
David MontgomeryBlake