New to Torque - Have questions
by Eric Hilder · in General Discussion · 10/30/2006 (12:54 am) · 8 replies
Hello all. I'm new to Torque and the gaming development industry in general. I have lots of prior experience with medical software development, so I'm in no way new to programming, design and development of software in general.
I am looking to branch into a new direction for my business and expand into gaming. I found reference to Torque in this 3D Gamining all In One book at Borders a couple days ago. While it sounds like a nice and inexpensive way to get started, I'm wondering if it is really a total gaming solution.
Does Torque support all game types from deisgn all the way to production with just the Torque products and 3rd party packages? Or do you need to also use a more commercialized programming package like Visual Studio to make the games really work correctly? I am interested in messing with FPS to begin with to learn and then I'll be putting together a team to work on a mmorpg in the future after I have a firm grounding in game design.
Any insight and comments are welcome, but keep any flames to yourself as they help no one.
I am looking to branch into a new direction for my business and expand into gaming. I found reference to Torque in this 3D Gamining all In One book at Borders a couple days ago. While it sounds like a nice and inexpensive way to get started, I'm wondering if it is really a total gaming solution.
Does Torque support all game types from deisgn all the way to production with just the Torque products and 3rd party packages? Or do you need to also use a more commercialized programming package like Visual Studio to make the games really work correctly? I am interested in messing with FPS to begin with to learn and then I'll be putting together a team to work on a mmorpg in the future after I have a firm grounding in game design.
Any insight and comments are welcome, but keep any flames to yourself as they help no one.
#2
FPS should be the easiest, but it all depends on what you consider quality. I would definatly suggest checking out Tribes II as I think it will give you a very good summary on what Torque can do for an FPS game.
10/30/2006 (5:33 am)
Unfortunatly, all gametypes is very broad and I can say that no - it does not support all gametypes out of the box. There is however a very good base that is excellent for most gametypes.FPS should be the easiest, but it all depends on what you consider quality. I would definatly suggest checking out Tribes II as I think it will give you a very good summary on what Torque can do for an FPS game.
#3
A compiler (for changing the engine itself, which you may want to do)
A Texture editor/ photoshop environment
A 3d modeling program (and something that will let you create animations)
Sound editing or music composing program
TorqueScript editor
You can prototype a fun game without any of the above, but to create a fully customized game that you would be happy with, you'll probably end up using all of these at some point.
Luckily, there are free and/or opensource alternatives for all of them. Developing doesn't have to be expensive. But it is time consuming (unless you are Tom Bampton). The non-free programs often streamline the proccess, and may save you time.
You can find some information on programs here:
http://tdn.garagegames.com/wiki/Noobs_guide
10/30/2006 (6:29 am)
To get the most from TGE you'll likely need the following:A compiler (for changing the engine itself, which you may want to do)
A Texture editor/ photoshop environment
A 3d modeling program (and something that will let you create animations)
Sound editing or music composing program
TorqueScript editor
You can prototype a fun game without any of the above, but to create a fully customized game that you would be happy with, you'll probably end up using all of these at some point.
Luckily, there are free and/or opensource alternatives for all of them. Developing doesn't have to be expensive. But it is time consuming (unless you are Tom Bampton). The non-free programs often streamline the proccess, and may save you time.
You can find some information on programs here:
http://tdn.garagegames.com/wiki/Noobs_guide
#4
Now two final questions for you guys.
1) Since I absolutely suck at textures, modeling, animation and sound, does the Torque engine or addon packages provide some basic resources that I can use to prototype my games until I can get a team put together for assistance with these things that I am lacking in? I can start on the coding since I am strong in that department, but if there aren't basic resources for me to use then I'll have to get my hands on those before I consider using Torque.
2) Do I need to buy a commercial license to get the code for compilation or does the indie license give me that functionality also? I'm not opposed to buying a commercial license right away if needed, but I would prefer to start with an indie license first and upgrade to a commercial license later if I can. This way I can be certain that this is actually the route I want to take my business before I dive in feet first.
Thanks again for the great info.
10/30/2006 (7:15 am)
Thanks for the great info guys. It sounds like Torque has everything I need to get started with my learning curve. I'll start by working on a basic FPS game using the resources provided with Torque to get familiar with the environment, then after I learn the basics I'll work on a simple single player RPG to get familiar with the Torque code and making modifications. After that learning porcess (with many side taks along the way I'm sure), I think I'll be ready to embark on my final goal to design the mmorpg I have planned out. Of course this task will be 3-5 years in the works, but hard work should pay off.Now two final questions for you guys.
1) Since I absolutely suck at textures, modeling, animation and sound, does the Torque engine or addon packages provide some basic resources that I can use to prototype my games until I can get a team put together for assistance with these things that I am lacking in? I can start on the coding since I am strong in that department, but if there aren't basic resources for me to use then I'll have to get my hands on those before I consider using Torque.
2) Do I need to buy a commercial license to get the code for compilation or does the indie license give me that functionality also? I'm not opposed to buying a commercial license right away if needed, but I would prefer to start with an indie license first and upgrade to a commercial license later if I can. This way I can be certain that this is actually the route I want to take my business before I dive in feet first.
Thanks again for the great info.
#5
10/30/2006 (7:19 am)
2) You get the full source, and it says so on the product page. You do not have to upgrade to a commercial license unless you meet the criterias in described in the license agreement. (mainly based on your revenue)
#6
10/30/2006 (8:14 am)
Yes, I see that now. I didn't read far enough down. I also see that 1.5 does include sample animations and textures so that should be enough to prototype any game as long as it is easy to swap them out later on. Now I just need to also learn C++ apparently since I am currently using C#. 
#7
As far as starter resources, TGE itself now comes with 2 bi-ped. models and one weapon (crossbow). This crossbow can be modified to act like many other weapons, but you'll be stuck with the one model. The great news is that with the available content packs, you could have full access to moern weapons, medieval melee weapons, and several different world settings. Just check out the products->content pages.
10/30/2006 (8:16 am)
Again, I'm impressed that you realise it's good to start with a simple prototype to learn, and that it will take a few years to get to your MMORPG idea. It's refreshing.As far as starter resources, TGE itself now comes with 2 bi-ped. models and one weapon (crossbow). This crossbow can be modified to act like many other weapons, but you'll be stuck with the one model. The great news is that with the available content packs, you could have full access to moern weapons, medieval melee weapons, and several different world settings. Just check out the products->content pages.
#8
Thanks everyone for the great input.
10/30/2006 (8:33 am)
That sounds great. I'll download the demo soon to check out the software in more depth and then get started on my learning curve.Thanks everyone for the great input.
Employee Michael Perry
ZombieShortbus
It is possible to make any game type using Torque without Visual Studio. FPS, Survial Horror, Adventure, RPG, RTS, racing, ect. All of these can be made using just Torque Script.
However, implementing features that do not ship stock with the engine might require a compiler. I use Visual Studio, but I know that's not my only choice in compilers. A 3D model creation program is quite useful for creating assets that aren't available in the release and content packs. Again, I use Maya, but there are plenty of free 3D Model creation tools out there.
A good example is my custom mission creator tool that is similar to what you might find in games like Warcraft or Rise of Nations. If you saw this resource and wanted to implement it into your own game, you would need a compiler since it requires both engine and script changes.
I hope this helped.