Okay, so me and my friend are free from school this autumn (spring for those down under) and thought we'd do a very basic 3d-program. So, since none of us has done anything like this, we need some tips. The conditions are that I know C++ (I know classes, heritage, friend-classes, etc) and he knows 3ds Max (modelling, animation, etc). So, not to waste our talents, we're looking for a solution that uses these attributes to the maximum. Our goal is to create something as simple as a man walking in a room. And we don't think we'll succeed, but we'll learn hell of a lot during the process. Now, as I said, we know nothing/little about this, but we've gathered that we'd probably need some sort of engine, and my friend found Panda 3d. Is this a good choice? Is this needed? We might be out wandering totally, as I said, we have no/little clue on this. Any help is warmly welcome! And most critical, where do we start? Where can we find good, solid info about both structure and process? What do we need? How do they integrate? Basically, what we know is C++ and 3ds Max. And that's about it. I know this is all loose and sketchy, but I thought that here are good people who knows where to start. Just give us something to grab onto! Sincerely, OM

I would recommend taking a look at the NeHe page which deals with OpenGL and C++. it will give you a good foundation in 3D programming. Unfortunately as i'm unfamilir with 3DS Max, i'm not sure what output formats it uses, but you should be able to load the 3DS Max models in through OpenGL also. Those forums are pretty good if you're planning to do it from scratch.

I hope that helps you out.

If you've got 4 months, then pick a game engine, don't build that functionality yourself - 4 months won't be enough.

Personally I've had good experience with Panda 3D. I used Python with it, which allowed for pretty rapid development. The main thing I would've done different is using a separate physics engine, but other than that we were able to build a fair game in just 3 months. It was actually the first time I worked with Python but it's pretty easy to get into if you have some programming experience.

As for 3DS Max, it's a popular package so it shouldn't be too hard to find a conversion tool if the engine you pick uses a different format.

As for structure and process, a lot comes down to experience. Personally I've found modding existing games to be quite educative.

Thanks for the replies! It seems divided either we can build an engine from scratch or not. Also, if we chose an existing engine, there are different recommendations.
Making an engine from scratch will probably not work correctly once we're done, but we'd probably learn more from it. I'll talk to my friend and see what he says.

Once again, thanks for the replies! Feels like we can actually do something now!

Quote:Original post by WanMasterYou probably want to determine what you're objectives for this four month period are.

Yes, I've realized that now. And yeah, we'd learn different things.
Well, unless my friend decides we're going to do it from scratch (which I don't think, since he will do most/all modelling), it looks like it will be Ogre. And this was what we discussed in the beginning, so likely it will be this option.

Now, then. I guess Ogre's homepage and Google is a good place to start, but any other recommendations on tutorials and stuff for Ogre? And since I've never tried Ogre before, the very basics (like installing) is naturally highest priority.

Oh, also, OT. Anyone knows a good, rather simple, way to make the workflow smooth? We'll probably be at different places and different times, but in the same city.

Once again, thanks!

Edit: Found "Pro OGRE 3D Programming" quite cheap (at least for me since the dollar is low). Worth buying? (Something like 25$)

[Edited by - Obbedemus on July 4, 2008 11:33:48 AM]