How do you start the TGEA ???

#1 It's pretty trivial--double click the executable.

The installed directions have a step by step guide to take you through compiling your own executable.

Start Button -> All Programs -> -> Official Documentation gets you to the installed directions.

#2 Uhm... alright. Might want to take some prozac and calm down.

Firstly... the "demos" as you call them are the executables you want to open and get to the creating... or whatever it is you wish to do.

They are demostrations of what you can do. not some sorta crippled editions of the software. But i'm sure if you read the documentation, you'd know that.

#3 What version are you using?

By default it should run an interactive demonstration showing off the features of the engine.
If you just downloaded TGEA, you would have noticed there's currently two links for very recent betas.
Those have even more demos, and better documentation. However, they're not exactly stable since they just went public beta.

If you're getting an error like that, it can't find main.cs, a very important script file game startup.

#4 I am running the 1.0.3 TGEA I just bought.

It says Vistas compatible I thought, not sure now.

Wonder if it would be better to just install it on my XP pro machine?

Thx

#5 @Chu

I feel your pain. You probably purchased TGEA expecting there to be an IDE to work in. I did also. I'm still reading all the documentation and books.

#6 TGEA is fully vista compatible. i have no clue what you're doing on your machine to give you issues. if it says it can't find main.cs you either are running the exe in the wrong place, or deleted it, or a number of other things.

It's really not that difficult to start making stuff. it's mostly creating script files, and adding stuff to the world editor.

It's also safe to say that TGEA is not designed for beginners. As quoted from the product page:

"You're an experienced coder with strong skills and you're ready for game-making technology that lets you to take advantage of modern hardware to make truly stunning games. You've seen dramatic visuals applied to games you love to play yourself and you've been waiting for the opportunity to replicate and innovate on those effects to make your next game one that everyone wants to play.

It's one thing to create beautiful effects, but you're a serious developer and you know how important having a solid foundation for scripting, editing, physics, networking, animation, and debugging are to getting your game finished and shipped on schedule."

It assumes you're an experienced coder/serious developer. So you should be pretty familiar with making your own classes of objects.

Anyhow. enough ranting. My advice is to either download the latest betas, which has stuff like a TGE port of the "Starter.FPS" and mess with that. Alternatively, you can find a starter.fps port for tgea 1.0.3 somewhere on this site as well. open up the script files, see whats going on in them, since the easiest modifications can be done via torque script(which is a C like language, but much easier).

If you still don't feel comfortable with TGEA, you could perhaps get TGB to get more of the functionality of clicking a game together, or perhaps you could look into the NeoAxis Game Engine. But first you should download the TGE demo and play with the starter.racing and/or starter.fps for some basic examples of stuff you can build upon.

#7 As advertised

"Edit every aspect of your world, including terrain attributes, weather and fog, configure objects, set triggers and mission logic all in the WYSIWYG Mission Builder. "

I do no see anything :)

So with TGEA, the WYSIWYG is a lie?

I'd expected to enter the Engine and ... drag and drop ... the combo packs ... as they advertised into the WYSIWYG.

Aye enuff ranting I shall fully comb thru the forum and google some more before my next post.

CT

#8 As was mentioned, download the TGEA 1.7 beta, run any of the GameExamples, and hit F11 once in the mission.

That opens the World Editor, which is what that marketing paragraph is talking about.

#9 @Chu Thao,
Trust me, this will click at some point and you'll get it. If needs be, re-install to a clean directory of your choice (Name it TGEAclean or something like that during the installation). This way we can know that all the files are in the right places. And since a picture is worth a thousand words here is the exact process on how to get into a new mission and start the drop down GUI editor menus:

Start TGEA by executing TGEA.exe in the example directory



This is what loads. It is called a "DEMO" but really is a precompiled .EXE with a sample mission.



Next press "F11" and a GUI menu system will appear, select from the "FILE" menu "New Mission".



A new blank mission template will load and you can use the "F11" key to open the GUI Editor.



I would strongly suggest working with TGEA a day or so like this before you try editing script files to open up your "New Mission", or delving in more. Get a feel for how things are loaded in the GUI Editor, mess around with the Terrain Editor -- make some mountains, flatten out some plains, change your ground textures, add a few default static shapes in and get a feel for moving them around, rotating them, resizing them.

Honestly, once it clicks, Torque Engines are far and above every other Indie engine I have tried and/or own in ease of use and GUI Editing. Give it a step back and you'll be glad you did.

- Alan
Really Really Good Things Studio

#10 Why is everyone telling me to run demos? Just edit the demos since the demos already trigger the engine?

I don't need to see what the TGEA can do or cannot do...there's plenty of posts from both sides already.

Instead of telling me to run demos to play with, it would be easier to just tell me how to start the frigg'n engine to get some sort of IDE/in game world, no?

Yes I know about objects and properties and Lodes and Nodes aka back in 90's 3D in VRML.

Would the -Torsion IDE- program do what I am seeking? If it does I would buy it.

Would doing a Hello_world.cs like in the All in One book open the TGEA environment like the demos that came with TGEA 1.0.3 and then hitting F11?

There ARE ALOT of stuff that are very useful ... for later on ... but there is nothing about opening up and getting inside the environment besides ... running demos.

From what I've gather so far I'm thinking ... I need to compile a .cs file to get into the engine world ... then hit F11?

#11 @Chu Thao - Sorry that you've had some issues gettin' going. Have you gone through the official documentation that ships? I've been working on the documentation for TGEA, and will continue to work on it for as long as needed.

I spent quite a bit of my time working on the Getting Started portion of the new documentation. My goal was to leave no step out of the setup of TGEA:

-Download of the engine
-Download of the DXSDK
-Windows SDK
-Picking a compiler
-Installation and setup of a compiler
-Loading a Torque .sln
-Compiling debug and release build
-Directory layout overview
-Running Torque
-Links to using the GUI Editor and Mission Editor

There are various bits of information and steps in between those categories, but you get the idea. Have a look there and see if that helps you out in your progress. If you feel there is something more the documentation needs, be sure to post in the TGEA 1.7 Documentation Feedback Thread.

#12 What you seem to be missing is that the demo uses the exact same engine executable as what you will be using in your game development (until you modify it to meet your needs).

All of the tools, editors, environment, and world are already there, and you can learn how things are set up in the demo, gaining experience in working with Torque for your own game.

In TGEA 1.7, we go even further, and provide several different environments for you to learn from.

I highly, highly suggest you download the 1.7 beta and move past 1.03.

#13 Thanx a ton Alan.

I can get into all those screens.

The first screenshot is confusing because of all the AD links at bottom .. I'm thinking to myself why does it still want me to go and buy it.

I ran the Intereactive walkthrough ... more visual AD about the capabilities.

Most links I follow ends up at the TSE which says I cannot view the stuff unless I buy.

SO once I start a demo, press F11, start new mission, that will be MY project?

I will give it a shot, looks like your screenshot is what was needed.

Thanks.

#14 Thanks all! :)

I will move on to beta 1.7 as suggested.

The F11 keys is part of what I was missing besides ... my thinking ... demos, demos, demos.

I should be A okay now.

CT

#15 Thanx Perry.

Those are nice steps for setting up the pc and programming environment ... although I haven't gotten to the loading a Torque .sln part yet.

The truth is I bought this complete 3D game engine for my 14 year boy to play with.

I like the fact that I can buy combo packs and that they advertise drag and drop features and are also QC'd by the Torque family for approval.

I am a pro at hacking and attacking codes but not a professional programmer. Just enuff to alter and get programs to go my way so I will be handling the scripts while teaching my boy how to program and program games.

I am newbish and I like all the features Torque offers ... especially the inside the environment apps. to build and customize and the tons of combo packs available thru the community.

#16 Just an honest word of warning: Game Development is tough. Jumping right in to the most advanced engine GG offers is going to be a challenge to accomplish a fully functional game, as there are literally dozens of things to be exposed to very soon in the game development process.

With dedication and a lot of learning and sweat, it's really awesome to see what you envision happen on the screen, but it's a long path to being very comfortable.

It's not a bad idea to start off with the Torque Game Builder, our 2D engine, to learn the basics of scripting, game mechanics, and many of the details of game development in a less complex world (2D vs 3D), and TGB is designed in many ways to make things much more intuitive for the beginning game developer.

All that being said, as you've seen the community here is very responsive, but there are going to be a lot of questions over the next several months, so be patient and be ready to work :)

#17 Well said Stephen. My own opinion:

As a general approach to game design, for any engine, there's a classic mantra I learned from one of my teachers.

Quote:
Read. Read Code. Code

.

You usually have to create the specifics yourself, depending on what you are using. For Torque, the same 3 steps can be easily detailed.

Read - Pretty simple here. You will want to absorb as much information as you can by reading through the documentation, official tutorials, and tutorials provided by the community. Also, the forums provide a wealth of information when it comes to general game design and development, as well as Torque specific concepts.

Read Code - A lot of programmers find this step invaluable during their own development. Where can you read code? There are code samples in the official documentation, on the TDN, and community resources(my favorite). Developers that have already traveled down the path you are following have paved the way for the rest of us.

Code - This is the fun part. Remember the community resources I mentioned? Find the ones you like or you find useful and start putting those into your game. Some require engine changes, others are purely script, and even some require both. Once you get a good idea on how to implement changes in Torque Technology, start prototyping a game. Create your own resources. Dig deep and find what you can change that is perfect for your design.

Again, just my opinion. There is no right way to approach development, but there are critical steps to follow in the beginning to lay down a good foundation.

#18 Yep, thanks.

I can't wait to REALLY bug U2 and U folks about the good stuff later!

CT

#19 @CT where does it mention "drag and drop features "?

#20 Not in TGEA advertisement itself but somewhere in the contents, some content pack mention something like it.

I took it literally though.

Will look for the link and re-edit this post with it.


Found this:
http://www.garagegames.com/solutions/beginner/
Swore I seen it else where too in them content add on packs.

I guess I absorb too much too fast without sorting :)

What Stephen says is true too, drag'g N drop'n and exporting n importing.

CT