Torque as an RPG Engine
by William Briddon · in Torque Game Engine · 10/01/2008 (9:17 am) · 16 replies
Hello again!
I was wondering if anyone had any tips/tutorials/examples that we could use to make Torque into an RPG engine. I've gone through the tutorial, and I've looked through the script (which, I must say, is a lot simpler than I thought it'd be), and it just appears like it'd be more of an arcade/shooter type engine. I may just be missing somethin'.
Thanks for the help!
I was wondering if anyone had any tips/tutorials/examples that we could use to make Torque into an RPG engine. I've gone through the tutorial, and I've looked through the script (which, I must say, is a lot simpler than I thought it'd be), and it just appears like it'd be more of an arcade/shooter type engine. I may just be missing somethin'.
Thanks for the help!
#2
Do a search for these items: ArcaneFX, mesh hiding (for armor, clothing customization, etc.), server side melee, spell system, inventory, killer kork, Persistant Character Server.
Those are all resources available here on GG that will give you a headstart. If you want a login screen, or any advanced stuff like that, you'll have to do some coding. Hope these give you an idea of what's available.
edit: Just thought of another resource, the leveling/experience resource done in script:
http://www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=resource&page=view&qid=13020
10/01/2008 (9:40 am)
There are other various resources to help you out as well. Are you interested in a singleplayer or multiplayer rpg?Do a search for these items: ArcaneFX, mesh hiding (for armor, clothing customization, etc.), server side melee, spell system, inventory, killer kork, Persistant Character Server.
Those are all resources available here on GG that will give you a headstart. If you want a login screen, or any advanced stuff like that, you'll have to do some coding. Hope these give you an idea of what's available.
edit: Just thought of another resource, the leveling/experience resource done in script:
http://www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=resource&page=view&qid=13020
#3
Yes Torque can do a RPG with a few changes. noted above is a good start, It really depends on the style of RPG you intend to do.
10/01/2008 (10:08 am)
I recommend AFX as well, it turns it completely on its head from a FPS style engine, to a RPG style engine, with just the addition of the spell system simulated in AFX.Yes Torque can do a RPG with a few changes. noted above is a good start, It really depends on the style of RPG you intend to do.
#4
If anyone has any further suggestions, please let me know.
Thanks again, everyone!
10/01/2008 (10:55 am)
For now we were going with a First or Third Person action RPG, with full stat menus and mini-maps, and all the goodness. We are still debating about making it multi-player.If anyone has any further suggestions, please let me know.
Thanks again, everyone!
#5
www.fantascihiddenwar.com
All the items you have stated can be done, just takes time, a bit of knowhow, and a good skill set, and possibly a bit of money.
10/01/2008 (10:58 am)
I am working on a RPG, myself, Fantasci: Hidden War.www.fantascihiddenwar.com
All the items you have stated can be done, just takes time, a bit of knowhow, and a good skill set, and possibly a bit of money.
#6
If anyone has any further suggestions, please let me know.
Thanks again, everyone!
10/01/2008 (11:05 am)
For now we were going with a First or Third Person action RPG, with full stat menus and mini-maps, and all the goodness. We are still debating about making it multi-player.If anyone has any further suggestions, please let me know.
Thanks again, everyone!
#7
Currently our team consists of me as the lead programming (failing miserably, btw), my friend who is excellent at 3D modeling and textures is doing all of that goodness (hes got a pretty big job in front of him), and another guy who is doing sounds and all that goodness. I am envying your large team, atm...
I'm actually currently having issues even compiling the engine... or whatever its called, lol... The only way I can get the World/GUI Editor to pop up is with the tutorial.exe, and making a .exe for use with Torsion is whooping me, as well.
So, yeah, if anyone has any advice on that as well, lol. I feel pretty bad 'cause I feel like a complete noob.
@Berry Thanks for the advice and links and stuff... I'm looking it all over right now, and its definately going to help out a lot. Now if I can just manage to get a copy of AFX I might get rolling on a couple of other things... (downloading 100 megs here is hard).
Thanks for the continued support!
10/01/2008 (11:33 am)
@Edward I took a quick look at your site (looks pretty good), and I have to say that I would love to see your source, for reference purposes, lol... This is definitely a big learning curve on this whole thing. I'm very highly competent in computer troubleshooting, administrative stuffs (networking and the like) and I also game a lot. I never imagined that getting started on this would be quite as time-consuming as it really is. It probably doesn't help that I am in Iraq and with sub-par internet services (when we have it).Currently our team consists of me as the lead programming (failing miserably, btw), my friend who is excellent at 3D modeling and textures is doing all of that goodness (hes got a pretty big job in front of him), and another guy who is doing sounds and all that goodness. I am envying your large team, atm...
I'm actually currently having issues even compiling the engine... or whatever its called, lol... The only way I can get the World/GUI Editor to pop up is with the tutorial.exe, and making a .exe for use with Torsion is whooping me, as well.
So, yeah, if anyone has any advice on that as well, lol. I feel pretty bad 'cause I feel like a complete noob.
@Berry Thanks for the advice and links and stuff... I'm looking it all over right now, and its definately going to help out a lot. Now if I can just manage to get a copy of AFX I might get rolling on a couple of other things... (downloading 100 megs here is hard).
Thanks for the continued support!
#8
AFX will be a great place to start.
Also stop refreshing the page. close the page and reclick it from the community page. It wont repost. And if programming is your weak point, maybe try the other portions, I have been getting pretty good at scripting.
Time will be your biggest factor, Fantasci, has a huge scope so it takes longer. but you have to start somewhere, i look forward to seeing your project soon.
10/01/2008 (11:37 am)
Well i dont know about a large team, i have pretty much the same team, a programmer, a artist and a sound guy, all the other names are contractors or contributers (always keep track of those, most will appreciate it.)AFX will be a great place to start.
Also stop refreshing the page. close the page and reclick it from the community page. It wont repost. And if programming is your weak point, maybe try the other portions, I have been getting pretty good at scripting.
Time will be your biggest factor, Fantasci, has a huge scope so it takes longer. but you have to start somewhere, i look forward to seeing your project soon.
#9
If you don't have a TGE license, I'd suggest just modding the starter.fps at first until you can purchase the actual engine. You can still learn a lot from modding the base. Start with the starter.fps and tweak everything the way you want it. If you have the source (read: engine), then you can add in stuff like the server side melee, which then hooks into script.
It depends on your preferred learning style, but I'd recommend going through every single "*.cs" file in the starter.fps directory, and just looking at/tweaking the code. "server/scripts/player.cs" and "crossbow.cs" are some files you may find interesting. One thing to remember, is that everytime your .exe runs, all of your .cs files are compiled into .dso's. So if you make a change to a .cs file, that changes won't show up unless you run the deleteDSOs file. A lot of newcomers get mixed up on that.
After that, look into using triggers. Since you're doing an RPG, I imagine you coul be using these a lot to trigger events. You can use triggers to spawn enemies, load new areas/missions, start a story scene, etc. See if you can make a box, that when you collide with it, a drawbridge opens/close. Stuff like that. Scripting can be a lot of fun, and is pretty powerful.
10/01/2008 (11:39 am)
Well, to compile the .exe you need the Torque SDK, and a compiler. For Windows, you can't go wrong with Visual Studio. Torsion is used for scripting, not compiling. Torsion will help you figure out where any mistakes are in your code. If you don't have a TGE license, I'd suggest just modding the starter.fps at first until you can purchase the actual engine. You can still learn a lot from modding the base. Start with the starter.fps and tweak everything the way you want it. If you have the source (read: engine), then you can add in stuff like the server side melee, which then hooks into script.
It depends on your preferred learning style, but I'd recommend going through every single "*.cs" file in the starter.fps directory, and just looking at/tweaking the code. "server/scripts/player.cs" and "crossbow.cs" are some files you may find interesting. One thing to remember, is that everytime your .exe runs, all of your .cs files are compiled into .dso's. So if you make a change to a .cs file, that changes won't show up unless you run the deleteDSOs file. A lot of newcomers get mixed up on that.
After that, look into using triggers. Since you're doing an RPG, I imagine you coul be using these a lot to trigger events. You can use triggers to spawn enemies, load new areas/missions, start a story scene, etc. See if you can make a box, that when you collide with it, a drawbridge opens/close. Stuff like that. Scripting can be a lot of fun, and is pretty powerful.
#10
And I noticed the thing about the page refreshing. I didn't notice it until I posted the same thing like 3 times, though... Fixed it though, heh.
@Berry Alright, that explains a few things... I don't think I ever got the TorqueSDK, but I do have the DX9SDK. Don't think that matters, though. We are currently looking into getting Visual Studio from our server guys, so we'll see how that goes. Luckily, the guy that is doing our visuals had an old copy of Torque Engine that is registered for the Endie users, so we were in luck there.
Also, thanks for the advice about the DSO thing, I never would have known that if you didn't say it.
10/01/2008 (12:11 pm)
@Edward Lol, I don't even know if we'll get past base concepts and very basic areas of the code any time this year. But I was looking at the TorqueScript that comes with the engine, and I have to say it is an excellent tool to use. As far as contractors go, we are hoping to only use what is needed (like the engine and its components), and we were going to do all the actual scripting/coding/modeling and all that goodness ourselves, including the soundbytes. We're trying to do a completely original thing, and I know it'll probably make it take longer, but we're mostly doing it for the experience. Even though, its got my head spinning, lol.And I noticed the thing about the page refreshing. I didn't notice it until I posted the same thing like 3 times, though... Fixed it though, heh.
@Berry Alright, that explains a few things... I don't think I ever got the TorqueSDK, but I do have the DX9SDK. Don't think that matters, though. We are currently looking into getting Visual Studio from our server guys, so we'll see how that goes. Luckily, the guy that is doing our visuals had an old copy of Torque Engine that is registered for the Endie users, so we were in luck there.
Also, thanks for the advice about the DSO thing, I never would have known that if you didn't say it.
#11
If I need to clarify anything, please let me know.
Thanks again.
10/02/2008 (2:53 pm)
I'm feeling extremely stupid right now. I can NOT figure out how to make Visual Studio (C++) work with Torque... like, I can't get them to see each other ... or whatever needs to happen, at all... I have tried looking it up, but every site just says to compile it or do this, it just doesn't explain the process... so if anyone can tell me what to click on, or if maybe I'm doing somethin' wrong? I have Torque on my C: ...If I need to clarify anything, please let me know.
Thanks again.
#12
Basically, make sure you download VS2005, and msdk from microsoft and install both.
then open the project in your vs2005 folder, it should open up in the visual studio automatically. My advise before you even start adding things. do a blind compile, and learn what its supposed to look like before you change anything. You will need to set the output directory. but if you followed the TDN, you should be in good shape.
I had to learn it when adding the tank pack. It was a very good learning experience, and a milestone for sure.
10/02/2008 (3:57 pm)
I would relax william, compiling the game is not that hard once you do it once or twice. I would take some time, and check out the TDN. It has a good listing and instructions.Basically, make sure you download VS2005, and msdk from microsoft and install both.
then open the project in your vs2005 folder, it should open up in the visual studio automatically. My advise before you even start adding things. do a blind compile, and learn what its supposed to look like before you change anything. You will need to set the output directory. but if you followed the TDN, you should be in good shape.
I had to learn it when adding the tank pack. It was a very good learning experience, and a milestone for sure.
#13
10/02/2008 (9:52 pm)
Alright, maybe I'm doing it wrong? My main goal right now is to open the World/GUI editors without having to go into the tutorial, but for some reason I can't find it. I'm having the same issues with Irrlicht...
#14
I noticed that you are not a licensed member, that would really make a difference considering you cant recompile anything (and if your using a nonlicensed copy, not a good idea to be asking how to recompile here:)
But the Private areas and TDN has additional resources that will help you with alot of these questions.
f11 should open your editor, in the demo as well as in the full version.
10/02/2008 (10:19 pm)
Well I would recommend that you dont use the tutorial base to start with, I would use the FPS kit, at least it gives you some running ai, and some weapons already equiped and example scripts. Have you read the gettingstarted.pdf that comes with the demo and clean installs?I noticed that you are not a licensed member, that would really make a difference considering you cant recompile anything (and if your using a nonlicensed copy, not a good idea to be asking how to recompile here:)
But the Private areas and TDN has additional resources that will help you with alot of these questions.
f11 should open your editor, in the demo as well as in the full version.
#15
I'm having problems with Visual C++ not even recognizing CS files or wanting to compile them.... it is a joyous thing, which I am working out at this time... Unfortunately all alleys of searching for fixes is closing soon with my internet access this month. And, as such, it will be fun working with what I have.
10/06/2008 (6:44 pm)
As I said earlier, the guy that is doing the graphics has a licensed copy... but I don't, so I post using my acct.I'm having problems with Visual C++ not even recognizing CS files or wanting to compile them.... it is a joyous thing, which I am working out at this time... Unfortunately all alleys of searching for fixes is closing soon with my internet access this month. And, as such, it will be fun working with what I have.
#16
But it's not your license, so that means you will get little help here - You can imagine how many people post on here wanting access for "a friend". I would recommend that you get your own license, and then post questions like these in the private areas. There you will find out things like: the cs files aren't compiled by Visual Studio, they're script code (not C#).
10/06/2008 (7:06 pm)
@William:Quote:As I said earlier, the guy that is doing the graphics has a licensed copy... but I don't
But it's not your license, so that means you will get little help here - You can imagine how many people post on here wanting access for "a friend". I would recommend that you get your own license, and then post questions like these in the private areas. There you will find out things like: the cs files aren't compiled by Visual Studio, they're script code (not C#).
Torque Owner Kevin Lee