Hi there! First off, I''m an indie dev planning to make a game. For different reasons, I''ve decided not to write my own game engine and to use someone elses instead. Right now I''m considering either Torque or PR. The big difference is that Torque is basically OpenGL with a DirectX wrapper, while PR completely realies on DX. The reason I''m considering PR is because its graphics capabilities are more advanced that Torque''s. So the big question is....Is multi-platform support all that important? I mean, whether we like it or not, Microsoft has the majority of gamers using Windows (even if many of these people have Linux/Mac somewhere else, most everyone does have Windows). At least, thats what I think. I havent seen any real stats on this. And what about in the future? How long is Windows going to be the top gaming OS? I dont want to start developing a game and find that when its released, no-one will want to get it cause they''d have to boot up old windows again. Anyone have any advice on this? Is Windows likely to stay ahead for many more years? ******* About Torque/PR: Anyone used both and can tell me which they like better? I understand that PR is a graphics engine while Torque is a complete game engine. However, I completely dont mind this! I mean, I like programming, so if I have to do more coding to get a PR game together, I''m all for it! ******* One last thing: at the risk of sounding like a complete noob, I''m gonna ask one more thing. What do you think about programs like DarkBasic Pro? I have to say, just the word BASIC in the name kind of scares me off....but they say you can code DLLs to add to the engine. Is a program like this worth checking into? ******* Few! Long post! --CYBER_SNEAK

Only you can decide how important multi-platform is. If you think that there isn''t enough of a user base in other OS''s for your game, then don''t worry about it. If you think there is a large user-base, worry about it. We can''t decide for you .

Personally, I think Multi-Platform support is a big plus, I think that while there are a whole lot more wondows users out there, there also are a lot of linux users, who also like to play games. And I think that there is a larger percentage of linux users than windows users that will know of/ check out/ buy indy games.(just a guess, really)

And I think it is nice when you do not only keep in mind the wishes of the majority but also those of a smaller group.

Nonetheless I think the aboslute numbers of users who will play your game are windows users, and i think that windows will be the standard for a long time from now, so that you do not have to worry about people having to boot up old windows again.

I would choose the multi-platform, but less advanced graphic solution, but its mostly personal preference I guess.

quote:Original post by Cyber_Sneak
I mean, whether we like it or not, Microsoft has the majority of gamers using Windows (even if many of these people have Linux/Mac somewhere else, most everyone does have Windows). At least, thats what I think. I havent seen any real stats on this.

Yep: nearly everyone has Windows, and even the Linux gamers have a Windows machine, partition, or emulator.

But if you wanted to change this, writing good applications - including games - is the main way of doing so.

quote:And what about in the future? How long is Windows going to be the top gaming OS? I dont want to start developing a game and find that when its released, no-one will want to get it cause they''d have to boot up old windows again.

lol, how many years is this game going to take? Personally I hope Linux does begin to offer a credible alternative to Windows soon, but in my opinion Windows is unlikely to drop below 50% of the market this decade.

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quote:I dont want to start developing a game and find that when its released, no-one will want to get it cause they''d have to boot up old windows again.

quote:lol, how many years is this game going to take?

OK, so i was exaggerating a bit

I also had this question some time ago, until I decided that I want to stick with DirectX and Windows. Here's why:

1. I have DirectX SDK, VS.NET, and using Windows
2. I make games.

So...instead of learning some new stuff like OpenGL, Linux game programming, or Mac game programming just to make my game can be run on many platforms, I'd rather make more and more games with new twist and creativity.

Current project:
2D in Direct3D engine.

[edited by - alnite on March 18, 2003 8:58:30 PM]

You could always just consider it as 'programming kudos' to be able to write for something other than windows!

ie, being able to write code that runs on both big & little endian machines or code that doesn't rely on DirectX support functions!

On the other hand you could just say sod it, windows is my target, and i'll stick to that!

It's entirely your choice

Neither is right or wrong - it's entirely dependant on what you want to do.

EDIT - I ought to clarify this before a war starts - I have no view on either preference!

[edited by - Shag on March 18, 2003 8:59:29 PM]

I tend to write my windows game with the point in mind that i''d like WineX (linux windows thingy) to be able to run them, to do this i basically stick to OpenGL and avoid platform specific code where posible, and obviosuly test it with WineX

100 % of all pc games are made for windows
0-0.5 % of those are ported to linux
1-1.5 % of those are ported to Mac.

So in light of that the choice is easy.

The choice between DX and opengl engine is to choose the best one since both exist on Windows.

It''s hard enough to make a game. Don''t try to score Kudos just because you feel like it. Take the shortest route and make it count.

Indeed, games nowadays are made for windows and only a very few are ported to GNU/Linux or Mac. The most recent example being UT2003. They ship binaries for a linux installation for the game and it runs. Not as well as in Windows, but it''s playable.

So I think that the industrie starts to see that lots of poeple switch to an alternate OS like GNU/Linux.
I personally admit that for gaming I still use windows as UT2003 is still an exeption. But I do my work exclusively on GNU/Linux. So when I want to take a break and game a little bit, I don''t want to boot Windows. So I''m glad some people port their games to other Platforms.
Me personally am doing my game programming in GNU/Linux. But I am trying to be as platform independent as possible. I''m using OpenGL and SDL. My current project doesn''t need 1 code change in order to compile in MSVC6. (probably that''s because it is my first game and not complex at all, but hey, I''m proud of it)

So to make a long story short: I think that it gets more and more important nowadays to provide binaries for other OS''es then Win as more and more people switch to them.

However, in the end, it''s all up to you.