Questions about game Development in Engine?

Questions about game Development in Engine?

Discuss game development here, from a distinct game project to an accessible third-party mutator, down to the interaction and design of individual units if you like.

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Itsgotime
Posts: 2
Joined: 03 Feb 2020, 22:00

Questions about game Development in Engine?

Post by Itsgotime »

Hi, I am Itsgotime a total greenhorn at game Development but I aspire to make RTS games.

I am having a hard time choosing the right engine to develop something close to Supreme Commander Forge Alliance or I make my own engine which does not look to be ideal with how long it takes. 4 Factions, Bigger battles all over the map, Better Graphics, Improved Online Experience, Custom Campaigns, and Custom Games. Additionally I want to add my own stuff like Space battles ,however, I can't figure out if I want it as a separate layer on the map or have it as its own map just focused on space battles.

There is a list of several tools I want to use but dont know if I can use them in this engine:

For the Art side:
Blender
Houndini - Several features in there I like.
Gimp
ArmorPaint
Substance Paint
Several other Programs I forgot to bookmark.

On the programing side:
Stuck between Visual Studio that I am familiar with or Eclipse.
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FLOZi
MC: Legacy & Spring 1944 Developer
Posts: 6240
Joined: 29 Apr 2005, 01:14

Re: Questions about game Development in Engine?

Post by FLOZi »

Not sure I see any question marks in there, so in general;

Spring can do all the RTS basics that you probably don't want to have to implement from scratch yourself.

You can use any tools you want.
Itsgotime
Posts: 2
Joined: 03 Feb 2020, 22:00

Re: Questions about game Development in Engine?

Post by Itsgotime »

Thanks for your reply. As for developing this game should I learn anything like openGL or vulkan if I want to improve graphics?
Google_Frog
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Posts: 2464
Joined: 12 Oct 2007, 09:24

Re: Questions about game Development in Engine?

Post by Google_Frog »

Spring is perfect for someone aspiring to make RTS games and for making a game like Supreme Commander Forge Alliance. The big advantage of Spring is that it solves the many technical challenges involved in making an RTS for you. There is no need to worry about multiplayer, pathfinding, replays, saved games and unit behaviour. Initially, before you start tweaking and polishing your game, you can get away with doing even less. With some work you should be able to implement a basic version of your game quite quickly.

I recommend poking around the sources of other games that use Spring to get a feel for how they are structured. The only up-to-date guide I know of that takes you from nothing to modifying a game is this one: https://zero-k.info/mediawiki/index.php ... ng_sources (it is missing the first step, which is to have a Zero-K steam install (a standalone install works too, just the paths will not match)).

I think the best way to learn Spring is to hang around one of the game development projects, find something small that can be fixed or improved, and then offer to improve it. Looking through sources with a goal should help you see the structure of games, and other developers will find it a lot easier to answer specific answers than general questions.

One warning. When you decide to start your own project you should avoid working off Zero-K (or any other old project) as a base. Start with a small basic game. https://github.com/SpringCabal/SkeletonGame https://github.com/FLOZi/SpringABC or https://github.com/GoogleFrog/SpringCraft should work.

On your tools:
  • Blender - People make models for spring in blender. There is a workflow. I think you would have to ask around to learn it.
  • Houndini - Looks like a visual effect and animation generator. Spring is unlikely to support the output of Houndini. Spring has shaders and effects, however you would have to put in work to push them further.
  • Gimp - I see no special requirements for using images in Spring.
  • ArmorPaint - Looks like a PBR texturer. Some work has been done on PBR. Ask ivand and the BAR developers.
  • Substance Paint - See AmorPaint.
While it is possible to compile Spring, doing so is not required for game development. A large number of game mechanics can be implemented and tweaked through lua scripting.
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zwzsg
Kernel Panic Co-Developer
Posts: 7049
Joined: 16 Nov 2004, 13:08

Re: Questions about game Development in Engine?

Post by zwzsg »

Itsgotime wrote: 05 Feb 2020, 08:09should I learn anything like openGL or vulkan if I want to improve graphics?
Nah. Learn shaders!
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