problems with engines

[Berndr]

Hi everyone,

I ve spent a week researching a game engine and still equally confused.
They are all hyped up and you can only see the good things about them being said .
I would appreciate if you could write about your personal negative experiences with game engines you have used and about the problems you had with them

I am personaly interested in;
C4 Engine, Unity, TV3D SDK 6.5 , DX Studio v2.2 and NeoAxis Engine

Also could you rate which one is ;

1 The easiest to start with
2 The most stable
3 Best Render
4 Best AI
5 Most suitable for multyplayer /mmog
6 Support 3dmax

also has anyone tried Visual 3Dnet http://www.visual3d.net/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx or Shiva http://www.stonetrip.com/index.php

I am an artist and I prefer to model and animate in 3D studio max so being able to import my animated models would be great advantage

Thanks everyone and sorry for being a pain but I like to take time and reconsider all option before buying one

Ps some of my artwork
http://www.drivehq.com/folder/p2886413.aspx

also I am not a total noob I made quite a few games in director and flash but wish to move into something more serious

[Frank Skilton]

C4 Engine

Pros:


$200 license
Full source code provided
Runs on Windows, Mac and PS3
Supports 3ds Max
Powerful rendering capabilities
Lifetime updates for free
Excellent support from author/community
Very stable, bug free
Extremely clean code base and well thought out architecture


Cons:


Limited terrain/outdoor world support (this is being addressed in next few releases)
Requires firm grasp of C++ (not really a con in my opinion but worth mentioning)
No official physics integration (though plugging in a 3d party solution is relatively easy and there is a community PhysX port available)




Unity

Pros:


Can deploy to Windows and Mac
Good tools and art pipeline
Supports 3ds Max
Powerful rendering capabilities
Excellent support


Cons:


Only allows for development on the Mac
Source code not provided with Indie license ($1499 for pro license)




TV3D SDK 6.5

Pros:


Supports 3ds Max
Powerful rendering capabilities


Cons:


Full source code not provided
Requires firm grasp of programming (not really a con in my opinion but worth mentioning)
Only runs on Windows




DX Studio v2.2

Pros:


Designed to be easy to use (for non-programmers) and features a good tool set as well as editors
Supports 3ds Max
Powerful rendering capabilities


Cons:


Only runs on Windows
Power is sacrificed for ease of use




NeoAxis Engine

Pros:


Supports 3ds Max
Powerful rendering capabilities (it uses Ogre)
Lifetime updates for free
Excellent support from author/community
Relatively stable
Includes physics integration


Cons:

No networking
Shadow code needs work
Windows only




1. The easiest to start with: DX Studio or Unity
2. The most stable: C4
3. Best Render: C4
4. Best AI: NeoAxis
5. Most suitable for multiplayer/mmorpg: All with some work on your behalf
6. Support 3dmax: All

[Berndr]

Frank you are best ...your post is fantastic ... it will also help other noobs decide which engine to go with

THANK YOU SO MUCH :)

I think you made up my mind I will start with Dx studio and then when comfortable enough I will move to C4 ( I do have Mac and PC)

can anyone recomand a good free compiler that works with vista , something to practise my c++

[Reedbeta]

can anyone recomand a good free compiler that works with vista , something to practise my c++

How about the Visual Studio Express Edition (http://www.microsoft.com/express/)?