Enviromental software i.e "vue"

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Enviromental software i.e "vue" // Game Development

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Post by Miles // Dec 18, 2008, 4:29pm

Miles
Total Posts: 9
Hi Guys


Sorry if this is the wrong forum, but as many of you have been doing this longer than me i would appreciated any help.


I am looking some environmental software. I have had some truespace products for a few years, and have designed a few characters and buildings, i am now looking for some software which would allow me import these, then interact with the environment. I.E Move my characters around the land, walk up and down hills, walk over bridges etc.

i would first use any environment software you suggest, animate with but eventually it would be used it in game development. I am at the moment trying out the blender game engine.


The reason i suggested "Vue", this is the type of high level, reasonably priced

software and i know i can use it for animation. But could i create an environment, then import it into a game engine.


As always your help would be appreciated


Miles

Post by TomG // Dec 19, 2008, 5:27am

TomG
Total Posts: 3397
Hmm, I would suggest... trueSpace.


You can create environments that are as interactive as you like, thanks to the real-time engine with physics and scripting. You can use FPN mode to walk around, with gravity, collision detection, jumping, etc. Controls are game-based (ie WASD and mouse look). You can switch on lights, open doors, shoot things, etc, all using scripting, physics and the LE.


If you want to "export to a game", then those features won't export of course, but you can get your geometry, textures, and animation (even skeletal animation) exported using, say, X format. Then you would create you interactive stuff in the game engine. There is no 3D application where you create your interactivity in it then export to the engine though, the interactivity has to be built in the engine using its specific tools. So tS is no different there, other than the fact that it has tools to build sophisticated real-time interaction at all (most 3D apps don't), so there's nothing to gain in this department by using something other than tS (and you do lose that real-time interactive environment in your 3D modeling tool)


XNA is free, so would make a good game development platform for example, giving you 3D modeling capabilities and game authoring capabilities at no cost. You could go for a more specific game engine, eg for MMORPGs, like Realm Crafter, again tS makes a good modeling companion to that (see Witch Gate). Or you could go for something that requires less coding than XNA (which is c# with necessary graphics and 3D libraries), and go for something like DarkBASIC. Again tS makes a good companion to those sort of engines (see Froggy Shoot Out).


So with tS you have a lot of options as to how to develop your game and at about the best price you can get anywhere ;)


HTH!

Tom


PS as far as I know, Vue is just a 3D modeling and rendering package, and doesn't do any real-time to let you walk around in it, and I doubt the real-time display of the landscape comes close to what you see in the renders too.


If you are talking about making huge lands, eg several miles in size, then you would most likely need to go the game engine route to walk around those, with all necessary portal processing to handle loading only what is required based on where you are, and streaming new content as you walk around. You wouldn't then be looking at 3D software, such as Vue, but at game engines such as DarkBASIC, Torque, Realm Crafter, etc.

Post by nigec // Dec 19, 2008, 6:49am

nigec
Total Posts: 314
pic
I can't think of any 3D modeling app that will export with an entire enviroment and world, maybe blender can.. but what i've heard it runs extremely slowly with loads of effects


Most of the Vue users i know, do panoramic games which it look awesome, but thats pre rendered images .. Bryce is just as good and free

Post by Heidi // Dec 19, 2008, 11:45pm

Heidi
Total Posts: 335
Vue Extreme will integrate as a plugin for some modeling programs... Maya, 3DSMax, Lightwave... but you're talking a major software investment. Both for a modeling app that will accept the Vue plugin and for the Vue Extreme package itself.


Due to the instancing that's used for creating the landscapes, Vue is only renderable in Vue. It does not do real time rendering.
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