Leadwerks Engine + 3D World Studio

[rider_eragon]

Hi all,

 

I'm going to be purchasing Leadwerks very soon and need to know if 3D World Studio is included or needed if it isn't. The tech demo made it seem that it wasn't too clear.

 

Cheers!

[macklebee]

3DWS is a CSG modeler to create architectural type models. Its not included in the price of the Leadwerks Engine, as it is its own product. It can be used though to create models to be used in the Leadwerks Engine. Please keep in mind that Leadwerks is not a modeling program, and you will need to either provide your own models by either creating them or buying them. You might be interested in Cartography Shop which was the predecessor to 3DWS and is currently free.

[rider_eragon]

3DWS is a CSG modeler to create architectural type models. Its not included in the price of the Leadwerks Engine, as it is its own product. It can be used though to create models to be used in the Leadwerks Engine. Please keep in mind that Leadwerks is not a modeling program, and you will need to either provide your own models by either creating them or buying them. You might be interested in Cartography Shop which was the predecessor to 3DWS and is currently free.

 

So 3DWS is not a level editor. Thank you very much!

 

I've just downloaded Cartography Shop (thanks again!). What are the main differences between the two?

 

Cheers!

[Rick]

So 3DWS is not a level editor

 

Well, it is a level editor, but not really for LE. I use 3DWS to make the basic level shape like floors, walls. Then I convert the file to the gmf model format (LE's model format). At that point it's just a model that I can include in the LE editor. I do this because I don't know how to model, and 3DWS is much easier to make these basic shapes than using a true modeling program.

 

The shell/meat/whatever you want to call it, of a level can be created with a tool like 3WDS. Then in the LE editor you would include other prop models and functionality in Lua if you like.

[rider_eragon]

So which of the following would I be best off with? My game is going to be open-landscape: very few enclosed areas.

 

- 3DWS

- Cartography Shop (obviously handy as it's free)

- L3DT

- T.ED

- FreeWorld 3D

 

Obviously L3DT and CS are the best, as they're free, but it would be pretty silly of me to start using a program that can't make compatible worlds with LE. Rather than me having to ask all of these cumbersome questions, is there a list that I could be directed to, so that questions like these can be answered by reading? I've used Google for a couple of hours, but maybe I'm not typing in the right stuff.

 

Cheers!

[ZioRed]

If you are a modeller (or have one in your team) then I think you don't really need 3DWS/CGS. For the terrain generator someone has managed to use L3DT, you can read the instructions on wiki.

[rider_eragon]

Wonderful! Free stuff is always welcome, especially with a very restricted budget. I'll be bookmarking that page

[L B]

Your terrain editor should always be the Leadwerks Editor itself (included). It's gorgeous, fast, and produces compatible format.

[rider_eragon]

Does the engine generate random terrain like the CryEngine? I know ultimate control is the best, but sometimes refining random generation is even more elegant.

 

EDIT:

 

Your terrain editor should always be the Leadwerks Editor itself (included). It's gorgeous, fast, and produces compatible format.

 

I'd only just found out that LE was capable of this yesterday. Been messing around with the demo to make sure it is truly the engine I want, and I must say, it's very nice, very elegant, and very in front of most other engines.

[Canardia]

Flexibility and compatibility and integritability are one of the most powerful aspects of LE.

 

I can't understand why some other engines don't even allow to program in C++, while LE allows to program in all languages.

 

Or why some engines don't allow you to flip your buffer when you want, but take the main loop in their own control which only limits things and makes development much more difficult.

 

Or why some engines don't support OGG, don't support OpenGL, don't support direct 3DSMax export, don't support UU3D, don't support Entity Oriented Programming, and so many other things which are essential for fast, easy and quality game development.

 

It's so much more fun to develop games with an engine which is designed from ground on correctly, and allows you to program with whatever language you like most.

[Rick]

Or why some engines don't allow you to flip your buffer when you want, but take the main loop in their own control which only limits things and makes development much more difficult.

 

I disagree with that. The main loop can be hidden and still not be limiting. Most engines do this because every game works the same when it comes to that stuff. Either way LE isn't an engine, but a library. I like it because it is a library and allows me to make my own engine.

[Canardia]

That means your main loop is somewhere hardcoded, and when you change it there (if you even can change it), it will be overwritten by each patch.

 

I think games and applications can be so different, that there is no way to make a standardized main loop. Some tool might just render one or 2 frames and then do something completely different. Or not render anything, like a game server. But yeah, LE is more a game library than a game engine, since it allows to do more than only games.

[rider_eragon]

Isn't the definition of ANY game engine a library of APIs?

[Pixel Perfect]

Not really, a game engine is more than this in as much that it will have specific embedded funtionality to handle such things as Path finding, AI, game flow, sophistocated support for animation etc. In other words, designed to have all of the major functional components required to make a game. Elements of these may be handled by program calls, so I do see where you are coming from, but more often than not supported by toolsets that allow artists/level designers to interface in a more human friendly way!

 

UDK would be an example of a Game Engine whereas Leadwerks is more of a Library or API as it currently stands. Gives you more work to do as you have to construct your own engine using the API but ultimately more versitile than an engine where a lot of decisions have already been made for you by the designer.

[Rick]

Gives you more work to do as you have to construct your own engine using the API but ultimately more versitile than an engine where a lot of decisions have already been made for you by the designer.

 

I think that's they key. In LE Josh has given us the ability to make our own system for our games. In other engines like UDK the system has been designed for you to use already, and you can't get around it. That doesn't make the system bad or anything, it's just the fact that you have to use the system.