Garage Games

Well many do say Torque is really good.

Post this in the lounge, you should get better answers there.

I have this engine. It is dated somewhat, but it does give you the chance to create a game on your own, given that:

A) You can create your own 3D models
B) You have your own sounds
C) You are willing to spend significant time learning TorqueScript
D) You are willing to spend significant time learning the mission editor
E) You are willing to learn without much help and not so good documentation

All in all, it is the quickest way to create a game and would do a better job than >90% of the people here could do given 10 years to do so.

If you get it, make sure to buy 3D Game Programming All in one, it deals specifically with Torque and will help you immensely.

Thanks Alex. This is why I asked the question here and not just go by the reviews on garage game's website.

I was thinking of using it to just jump in fast and see if my concepts were do-able and at only $100 for the lisence it seemed reasonable.

However I needed some impressions from people who use it first :)

I got it, I even wrote a commercial level exporter for gameSpace which is fine tuned for Torque.

for $100 you get the engine behind Tribes 2, which is pretty sweet, though it is in fact a bit dated, however, they are working on the Torque Shader Engine, which is a re-write of the code to bring it up to date, it costs $150 extra to get that though, and is work in progress as of right now (will become more expensive once is finished).

The documentation of the code itself IS lacking, but when you think that you get a head start with full source to an engine that works, that was used to make a hit game, and the most important thing, that you could actually make money from it with little investment ($100-$250) on the engine itself, you realize it is a really good deal.

living in england and not having a CC, i might try and download the demo version of the engine.

also, i was looking at the RTS Starter Kit, looks kinda neat, so if an RTS is your project, then id consider purchasing that.

Is TorqueScript easy-ish for a begginer?
I could really do with a new concept, but here is not the place for that...

Join NastLite!!!

SpaceMonkey I did download what they called the demo and it's not what you think. All it is is a program that shows you the features of the engine. It did nothing to tell me if it was easy to work with or what not, just showed me engine features.

I am working in Torque as i write, and i would say it's a quite capable engine. My impression is that you can go really far with it...and after reading through a few resources on GarageGames, i'm even more impressed. [smile]

As for easy...i wouldn't really say so. The scripts can be tweaked rather easily and if you have a background in programming you'll pick up the basics quite fast. If you want to change/add a bit more advanced stuff you will have to go into the source, and it can get quite nasty...

The demo is more than just a feature walkthrough with a game thrown in. You can edit the .cs files with a text editor, access several development tools by pressing the 'F11' key and swap the assets used.

Although you wouldn't have access to the core documentation at Garage Games, you could still refer to third party docs and create a fully functioning game with that demo. Check the Torque SDK home page for links to internal and external documentation.

You could not distribute anything you created without purchasing a license, but you could still use it to learn the basics.

Is it easy to work with? Well that depends on your experience level and what you compare it with. It's harder to use than something like GameMaker, or even 3D GameStudio, but it is much more flexible. It's definitely much easier than creating your own engine in C++ though.

It's possible to leave the source code as-is, and create a game just by modifying the existing TorqueScript files and assets in much the same way you would create a "mod" for Tribes 2.

3D Game Programming All In One by Kenneth Finney includes a precompiled version of TGE and walks you through the process of creating a game, and includes all the software you need to do so (some of which requires a licensing or registration fee for long term use).

It costs somewhere between $30 and $50, depending on how hard you search and where you live, but it is well worth the investment IMO.

book looks good

hello
I have used Blitz3d for some time now I want to switch to a more advanced game engine.
What advantages may I expect with Torque vs Blitz3d ?


PS

Actually I have been using c++ and opengl \direct x for a long time
I know that most of people here do not like prefabricated solution but, beleive me , it is the only way to achieve concrete results, at least at an amateur level