rts game engine

[THE AQIB]

i wanted to know which engine uses less code but more play, because i'm not a programmer. any help

[Nyerguds]

...what.

[THE AQIB]

i want an engine to recreate the dune 2k . i hav no idea were to begin.

[Davidu]

man, you really need some programming skills. there's no game-making software... unfortunately.

[THE AQIB]

i'm learning cplusplus.. i got a few things properly... basics tht is.

[Davidu]

yeah, but you really need to get to use "classes" for example. and graphics input as well as mouse and everything.

it's possible to do something decent in C++ but i don't know how compatible it is with the new platforms. Win 7 and 8 ...

Anyway... keep up the good work :) it's a good excercise.

[Nyerguds]

There's no real point in trying to program a game engine, or even to program a game on an existing engine, if you're not a programmer... you kinda need the basics of OO programming and all that. "Hello world" will hardly get you there.

[THE AQIB]

YEA I FINISHED HELLO WORLD AND WENT ON TO A SHOP MANAGEMENT AND SCIENTIFIC CALCULATIONS. ARRAYS TO STACKS. ETC. THT AIN'T ENOUGH??

[Nyerguds]

Only if you go on with object oriented programming, memory management and graphical display, and then manage to wrap your head around the classes needed to represent all objects needed in a game engine like Dune 2000 :P

[THE AQIB]

i got tha hang of wht ur saying. i never learnt graphics till now. as for classes hell yea i done tht.

[Davidu]

Best way is to download the SDK from DirectX or something similar and include it in the game itself. Obviously I haven't programmed since 2004 when i graduated high-school, but as far as i remember most SDKs are in C language. Or somehow compatible.

It would be a pain in the ass to code a new engine, but why not? If you have the knowledge, time and will go for it. Just make sure you plan and organise everything well ahead. So you know what you want to go and where to get to. Otherwise starting to code blindly will not get you anywhere. As most unorganised work does.

My advice: start from graphics (importing the images - let's say a tank) and coding its AI and controls. selection, ordering etc. and then go up to map, and whatnot.

And don't expect to finish it in a month :D

[THE AQIB]

i need a base hence any readymade engines out there?? just to take a peek.

[Davidu]

Take a look at this. Maybe it'll be helpful. It says somewhere something about a compilable source code for Linux users.

[THE AQIB]

saw.. knew a few from the list already...

[X3M]

Before you start. What kind of RTS are you looking for? Do you know what makes a RTS game? I mean, RTS is not just the game. There is a lot of other work that needs to be done first. Before you even start making or copying a RTS game engine.

I don't want to be mean, I only want you to be proper prepared. So I suggest that you take a look at this first:

http://content.gpwik...TS_Design_Guide

This site isn't done yet, there is so much to think about it. But it already gives a lot of information. Even information that other sites won't give. Not just game balances. But also how you should use terrain and such, yet there seems to be missing a lot as well, and that is for others like you to fill in by yourself.

There is so much, and you need to know it all if you want your own game engine to function. There was only 1 part that I was good at, the numbers and balances.

And this is exactly why I quitted programming in my first year and went on with chemistry (also physics and math) instead ^^.

I wish you the best of luck.

[THE AQIB]

i've seen the site before. i've done pretty much homework before i asked the question here.

[THE AQIB]

will look into it hawker

[THE AQIB]

decided to proceed with gamemaker engine.

[THE AQIB]

still open for suggessions... anyone know how to code??

[Nyerguds]

No one is going to code this for you, you know... if you want to do this, you'll have to do it yourself. You can't expect to start a project to code a game if you can't actually code.

[THE AQIB]

i dont need the whole code just the basic variables to use... as said im using game maker8

[MrFlibble]

Why wouldn't you just take a moddable RTS and start there instead of trying to write an engine from scratch?

Also, perhaps it would work if you found some open source RTS engine (like OpenDUNE in fact) and build your own using what had already been done? That way you'd at least have something to work with already.

[X3M]

Perhaps he means to make his own battle mechanics and calculations? Then most modifiable games just wont do since they already have their "natural" laws in place.

But I too suggest to take a look at open dune.

Warzone2100 is also an open project, you could try there.

If you are meaning to learn how to make RTS games from scratch, you wont be getting much help here.

[criver]

Hi!

I've been kinda into programing for 8 years and I can tell u some simple things u might want to look at.

First - I don't think that Game Maker is a good enough "thing" for your goals - that's just IMO though.

Next - I'd recommend u using C++ for best results (speed, diversity, freedom etc.), however seeing as u're not really into programming u might want to try something easier - the easiest thing that comes to mind is Blitz3d (u can check it - it's fairly easy and a good start - though it is outdated and isn't worth the money), after that u can try BlitzMax (as an example for OOP) and then C++. Of course u can go with java (which I must say is really slow in most cases compared to C++), Python, VBasic etc.

It also depends on what u want to do - if u want to code everything from scratch - I tell u it will be super hard. But if u want u can code ur own 3d engine and then proceed with the rest. For 3d look at articles about software renderers, directX, OpenGL, SDL etc. - you might want to have some knowledge on math - like matrices, vectors, transforamtions, dot & vector product etc.

Now if u don't want to code the graphic engine - you should get some already available (which would be the wise thing to do) - like Irrlitch, Ogre etc.

I won't mention anything about sound cause I always use some library already available.

For physics u can try Tokamak, Havok, PhysiX etc. or of course u can code one.

All of the things above depend on what platform u want to code for - I'd recommend C++ and OpenGL so u can have the rts for more platforms (though u may want to make it only for windows and go with DirectX) - also if u decide to code something from scratch - I can say that it is not really hat bad. I mean if u code ur own software renderer for example u'll understand a lot of things about how things work - transformation matrices, projections etc - so u'll get to know how things actually work - which is a big plus (u won't regard 3d as some magic the vga does).

After all this u can start focusing on the genre of the game - meaning getting some articles on rts.

Something that is a must for rts is the A* pathfinding algorithm - check some algorithms on it (of course there are ready libraries with it) - also u should make the terrain compatible with the A* pathfinding algorithm (u can try something else of course rather than breaking ur map into pieces).

Another thing u might need to learn is classes and lists of objects (I mean let's say u have a class soldier but u need to make multiple objects of the class soldier during runtime and store them - u'll need a list of objects to store all the objects of class soldier - so u can access each of them later).

One of the hardest things in games is the AI (especially in RTS - unless it's some shitty AI) - u can of course avoid having to code an AI if u make a multiplayer only game (only PVP). U'll find plenty of subjects on AI - but there's no such thing as an universal solution - u should try to code the AI so it is best for ur game (it would be even better if the AI can learn from its opponent - like learning strategies and tactics from the player).

Now after u've "coded the engine" u start providing resources for it - like: 3d models (u can design some in anim8or, Maya, Blender etc. - or u can take some ready ones), audio , textures (should come with the 3d models and u should be able to map them - u know UV coords etc.), scripts, maps etc.

U might also want to create a map editor so u can make maps easier (the map editor should be especially tailored for ur game - check the map editor of Warcraft 3 to get an idea).

After all of this u can start really making the game - which of course will require a ot of effort, testing, bugs etc.

So the whole thing is pretty hard - but it's rewarding. And the good thing is that u get used to it - and if ur 1st project may seem hard, everything gets easier with practice - and I mean a lot easier - if u code ur engine from the scratch u can use it for later projects and u can use much of the knowledge u gained while coding the first thing. So if u want to make a (good, enjoyable, entertaining) game by urself u need good coding skills (depending on what u ant to code of course - but even the simplest tetris game requires some skill), some knowledge in art (some people think it's really easy to make 3d models - well it isn't - unless u're trying to do some half-assed shit - if you've done sculpting - it's similar; and I wouldn't even mention what it takes to compose a good piece of music - u can try for weeks and still get nothing good - and there's like harmony, melody, rythm, structure etc.) and a bunch of other things depending on the game. By this I don't mean to discourage u - just to help u get the idea of it - it may seem depressing by looking at the sheer volume of skill, effort and time required - but once u start doing it u'll find it's easier than it looks like.

Well good luck.

P.S. Before u ask - no I won't help u with making this RTS.

Also some additional material for motivation :

http://dev-ch.com/home

http://www.policyalm...tarTutorial.htm

http://en.wikipedia....earch_algorithm

http://irrlicht.sourceforge.net/

http://www.ogre3d.org/

http://rastertek.com/

http://www.codesampler.com/

http://www.gamedev.net/page/index.html

http://www.libsdl.org/

http://www.ode.org/

http://www.tokamakphysics.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PhysX

http://www.havok.com/

http://unity3d.com/

http://www.unrealengine.com/udk/

[criver]

I wouldn't say a 3d rts is really harder than a 2d one - it may even be the opposite. A 2d game is not necessarily simpler than a 3d one contrary to common belief. Of course considering the graphics engine - a 2d one would be simpler - which doesn't matter unless u want to code your graphics engine from scratch.

"SDL is a multimedia library - and so is SFML which I mentioned earlier. SDL is older and more well known. It's based in C and originally only did software rendering - now I believe it offers options to use it along directx or opengl.

SFML is written in c++ - it's already written in an oop manner - and uses opengl 'under the hood'." -

I haven't used SFML but I'd guess that it actually draws on a textured quad in 3d space in order to benefit more from the hardware acceleration (I mean the VGA). You said that OpenGL and DirectX are kinda "overkill" for a 2d game - but your SFML actually uses OpenGL - I mean u don't need to write a 3d engine with parallax mapping, soft shadows and sub-surface scaterring based on DirectX or OpenGL - u can as well write a 300 lines engine based on DirectX and OpenGL (just some basic functions) that takes care only of the things u need - something like SFML, if u want to start from scratch - and if u don't - well I'd say that Irrlitch isn't really that much harder from a 2d engine - I mean if u use the 3d functions only like a black box (u don't need to know what's happening inside them to use them) it's pretty much the same as a 2d engine but with more possibilities - also if u use a 3d engine - it will give u more freedom in terms of visual effects than a 2d one (and I can't even begin to mention the benefits u'll get from a 3d engine for a rts).

"Regarding the math, it definitily helps to know what's going on, however various libraries can handle that. SFML will handle translations, scaling, rotations and offers a 'view' class that makes scrolling maps quite easy to implement." - that's what I was talking about - it's up to the developer to choose the easy way or the hard and rewarding one. I mean u can alwys benefit from knowing how to write a soft renderer when coding a game.

"Other than that, I find game making software a bad idea for a bunch of reasons (for the tools it limits you to, to licencing). Have to concur with MrFibble, if you don't wish to get your hands dirty, starting with a moddable rts is a much faster way to implement your ideas." - I agree totally that "game making software" is limiting and not really the best option - that's why I was against game maker and the likes of it. However the term "game making software" is a really broad one ( I mean even C++, DirectX and OpenGL can be considered that) - I mean "game making software" varies - game maker is one of the worse types IMO (kinda like a toy for children - something like Blitz3D). The best one I know of is Unity3D (gives a lot of freedom btw) - kinda expensive though. But I still stand by my statement - if u want to make something outstanding or at least good - try some serious language like C++ - it's not as hard as it looks like. However idk about mods - for me it just doesn't seem that great - u're just making a remake of a game - nothing really that innovative - that being said I don't mean a mod can't be enjoyable and innovative - DotA was a kind of a mod for Warcraft 3 (but I should mention thatWarcraft 3 had one of the best editors at the time - and still) - and look now - it turned into a kind of new genre - dota-like games: Smite, LOL, DotA2.