How far can it be stretched?
by Mava aka Mozira · in Torque Game Engine Advanced · 06/04/2009 (5:52 am) · 5 replies
Hi GG citizens
I have read a lot about this amazing tool TGEA and seen work produced through it and I must say it is damn amazing. Since I am totally new to Garagegames, I have to be honest I have only seen FPS, TPS and MMORPG and any other if I have missed out. My question: is it possible to develop a complete soccer/football game (I know Rokkitball© is similar to that but I just want to know is it possible).
Regards,
Moz
I have read a lot about this amazing tool TGEA and seen work produced through it and I must say it is damn amazing. Since I am totally new to Garagegames, I have to be honest I have only seen FPS, TPS and MMORPG and any other if I have missed out. My question: is it possible to develop a complete soccer/football game (I know Rokkitball© is similar to that but I just want to know is it possible).
Regards,
Moz
#2
Before anyone jumps on me here, I know its alot MORE than just a terrain generator. Note, I said basics.
Of course it can be used without terrain, for space sims, flight sims, etc.
It can be used for anything in 3D, even Tic Tac Toe.
www.garagegames.com/community/resources/view/5129
www.garagegames.com/static/pg/resource/5129.tictactoe.tar.gz
Sports can be done. I remember seeing screen shots of a tennis game somewhere, and there are resources I think for a soccer-style "team" game, or maybe that was just a forum thread... The Realm Wars "Capture the Flag" demo was as much a sporting event as an FPS.
What did you have in mind, specifically? A full blown WorldCup style soccer game? Or something simpler like 3-on-3 soccer? Obviously the AI would be the most challenging for a single-player game, but a networked game with 6 real people would be simple. Use triggers for the goal, a simple physics ball maybe using the ridgidShape? that come with TGE...
If you can dream it, it can do it, with your help, of course.
Tony
06/05/2009 (12:14 pm)
The basics of Torque is that it's a 3D terrain generator, with lots of cool features.Before anyone jumps on me here, I know its alot MORE than just a terrain generator. Note, I said basics.
Of course it can be used without terrain, for space sims, flight sims, etc.
It can be used for anything in 3D, even Tic Tac Toe.
www.garagegames.com/community/resources/view/5129
www.garagegames.com/static/pg/resource/5129.tictactoe.tar.gz
Sports can be done. I remember seeing screen shots of a tennis game somewhere, and there are resources I think for a soccer-style "team" game, or maybe that was just a forum thread... The Realm Wars "Capture the Flag" demo was as much a sporting event as an FPS.
What did you have in mind, specifically? A full blown WorldCup style soccer game? Or something simpler like 3-on-3 soccer? Obviously the AI would be the most challenging for a single-player game, but a networked game with 6 real people would be simple. Use triggers for the goal, a simple physics ball maybe using the ridgidShape? that come with TGE...
If you can dream it, it can do it, with your help, of course.
Tony
#3
Starting small doesn't necessarily mean making pong if you want to make a MMO. While the mechanics of pong will help you learn basic scripting and game logic (definitely helpful), it will not necessarily teach you the specifics needed to make a persistent world RPG; at least not directly.
These topics come up frequently on various engine forums and are often answered in the same manner: "of course our engine can do it!" That's half the story, though. Pretty much any engine that you research can be tailored to make a sports game. Some will be easier, some more difficult. But most of them can fit the bill (or be made to fit the bill by the right team). The other half of the story is that you have to be a knowledgeable developer or have a strong team to put together a complex piece of software regardless of the engine that you are using.
If you do not have a programmer on your team, the answer of "you have the source, use it!" doesn't amount to a whole lot. And you will quickly find yourself coming up against a number of issues regardless of the engine you choose. C4's visual scripting language has limited usability, Unity is artist friendly from an asset perspective but requires programming knowledge for logic as does DXStudio and GameCore (previously Beyond Virtual). Fun 2D games can be made in GameMaker with limited programming ability, but the really fun GM games have a good chunk of GML for their gameplay logic.
How is your team setup, what type of game are you looking at, what is the complexity level, etc? Answer those questions and begin breaking down the strengths and weaknesses in your team with brutal honesty. Then match the engine with that list so that you can emphasize strengths and build your weaknesses up high enough that they cease to be issues (or modify your design to remove the weaknesses if possible). Scope your project and milestones accordingly. If you have to learn a significant piece of the process (say, learning to use Maya to effectively create real-time assets), then you will need to schedule accordingly.
Any number of games can be made with any number of engine technologies. The better question is whether your team is ready to take on those challenges and how best to break them down into manageable chunks for your team to work on effectively.
06/05/2009 (1:56 pm)
Of course it *can* be done, and as Daniel notes, having the source is instrumental in being able to ensure that you can do anything that your team can realistically develop. But that is the key: having a team that can do it. If you are juggling learning programming, learning the in's and out's of a complex engine, learning your art tools, etc you have a lot of learning to do. Hence the advice people give of "starting small" so that you can more easily chunk and parse the information you need and develop the type of game that you want to make in the long run.Starting small doesn't necessarily mean making pong if you want to make a MMO. While the mechanics of pong will help you learn basic scripting and game logic (definitely helpful), it will not necessarily teach you the specifics needed to make a persistent world RPG; at least not directly.
These topics come up frequently on various engine forums and are often answered in the same manner: "of course our engine can do it!" That's half the story, though. Pretty much any engine that you research can be tailored to make a sports game. Some will be easier, some more difficult. But most of them can fit the bill (or be made to fit the bill by the right team). The other half of the story is that you have to be a knowledgeable developer or have a strong team to put together a complex piece of software regardless of the engine that you are using.
If you do not have a programmer on your team, the answer of "you have the source, use it!" doesn't amount to a whole lot. And you will quickly find yourself coming up against a number of issues regardless of the engine you choose. C4's visual scripting language has limited usability, Unity is artist friendly from an asset perspective but requires programming knowledge for logic as does DXStudio and GameCore (previously Beyond Virtual). Fun 2D games can be made in GameMaker with limited programming ability, but the really fun GM games have a good chunk of GML for their gameplay logic.
How is your team setup, what type of game are you looking at, what is the complexity level, etc? Answer those questions and begin breaking down the strengths and weaknesses in your team with brutal honesty. Then match the engine with that list so that you can emphasize strengths and build your weaknesses up high enough that they cease to be issues (or modify your design to remove the weaknesses if possible). Scope your project and milestones accordingly. If you have to learn a significant piece of the process (say, learning to use Maya to effectively create real-time assets), then you will need to schedule accordingly.
Any number of games can be made with any number of engine technologies. The better question is whether your team is ready to take on those challenges and how best to break them down into manageable chunks for your team to work on effectively.
#5
Great Post David, made us to check a lot of things, also thanks to Daniel and Infinitum. you guys have been helpful.
We definitely will be in touch, cause we have a limited knowledge about torque but we have artists who have knowledge of 3d Studio Max and good programmers, Together we are a team of seven people.
Regards
Moz
06/07/2009 (11:57 pm)
GG CitizensGreat Post David, made us to check a lot of things, also thanks to Daniel and Infinitum. you guys have been helpful.
We definitely will be in touch, cause we have a limited knowledge about torque but we have artists who have knowledge of 3d Studio Max and good programmers, Together we are a team of seven people.
Regards
Moz
Torque Owner Daniel Buckmaster
T3D Steering Committee