I found Leadweks in TGC website

[Juggernaut]

Hello,

 

I found this engine on the TGC website.

 

How does it compare with Dark Basic Pro - considering feature set, speed and ease of use ?

 

Thanks,

[macklebee]

go here and try the evaluation: http://www.leadwerks.com/werkspace/files/file/232-leadwerks-engine-evaluation-kit/

[Pixel Perfect]

There is simply no comparison as far as I'm concerned having originally started with dark basic and dark GDK. Leadwerks is by far the better game development SDK but it does require a reasonable graphics card. People wanting to support antiquated hardware might struggle with Leadwerks, otherwise it's a no brainer! Both the feature set and ease of use are far better.

 

But as Mack says, don't take our word for it (we are a little biased ), try it for yourself!

 

Did I mention its a great community too

[DigitalHax]

Hah yeah it is a really great community, I came here late last year and the community has been so welcoming!

 

But I agree with pixel, there really is no comparison, leadwerks is a very easy to use and a very powerful game and rendering engine. It has great programming ease of use and the editor is great so work with too. Also leadwerks 3, officially "Leadwerks" is on the way and will be cheaper if you buy LE2 first.

 

But there is no point telling you this, try the evaluation and have a go for yourself.

[Juggernaut]

What features will be added in Leadwerks 3 ? And how much will it cost ? And when is it due to be released ?

 

Is the source code included ?

[AggrorJorn]

Many new feauters

 

- Awesome particle system

- prefabs

- csg editing

- realtime model

- Project manager

- newton physics 3

- support for android, ios, mac and pc. (other OS will be added later)

- better support for editing models and textures

- Pathfinding and navigation mesh integration

- recording movies and screenshots from the editor

- Models have multi-script support

[shadmar]

And a realtime shadereditor :-)

[Benton]

And don't forget all the modern great graphics coming after the initial release, such as cloth physics etc.

[Guest Red Ocktober]

you're sure to be disappointed...

 

 

--Mike

[Juggernaut]

Oh ! Sure to be disappointed ? Very circus-tic indeed

 

Can you please confirm if the following things will be available or not -

 

Are these features available -

 

1. Real-time SSAO - screen space ambient occlusion

 

2. GI - Real time global illumination and dynamic lighting

 

3. HDR rendering

 

4. Real time God rays.

 

5. Soft particles.

 

6. APEX destruction

 

7. Clipmap water mesh

 

8. Tearable cloth real time

 

9 . Squash-able soft bodies and ropes.

 

10. Fluid dynamics - realtime buoyancy with ripples and splashes.

 

11. Vehicle physics.

 

12. Character Physics.

 

13. Works on onboard intel GPU chip

 

14. An AI module with features as dynamic obstacle avoidance, unit behaviours - flock, follow, peruse, avoidance, flee etc. , dynamic navigation mesh generation etc.

 

15. Dynamic Soft shadows

 

16. Real-time radiosity lightmapping

 

17. Different mapping techniques with inbuilt shader library (so that I do not have to learn shader coding myself)

 

18. Post-processing effects like night vision, old tv, frosted glass etc.

 

19. Creating real-time mirrors

 

20. Dynamic cube mapping and environmental mapping

 

21. Dynamically configurable ocean or water surface (FFT)

 

22. Underwater rendering effects , light scattering.

 

23. Multi player support ?

 

24. Per vertex collision detection ?

 

What is the recommended hardware requirement to run the engine ?

 

When will the version 3 be released ?

 

Many of the existing users have complained in their review - http://devmaster.net...-2#user-reviews

that the engine is very slow and is not good enough for commercial use, collision system with forest trees not working properly etc.

I want to know the true picture before buying.

 

Thanks,

[Pixel Perfect]

I'm sorry but I had to laugh at your list of features as I don't know of any engine that has all of these! Does this represent your ultimate wish list?

 

The specifications for Leadwerks Engine 2 are published on the Product page and the evaluation version is available for download which, if your serious about this, will provide ample time for you to explore the many features of the engine along with support from the forum members should you need more information.

 

I don't have time to answer your long list of questions but suffice to say LE2 is a game engine SDK and as such you are expected to code a game engine framework of your own (rendering is handled for you by an internal framework). There is no in built AI, you need to code that yourself and no current path finding (LE3 addresses this with it's inclusion of Recast and Detour and some simplistic AI built around this).

 

There is good support for shaders and, as such, a lot of the things you reference which are not inherently provided in the SDK can be added.

 

No it won't run properly on an onboard intel chip ... do you honestly expect it to? Put a mini engine in a Ferrari and it's going to run like a mini You need the equivalent of an nVidea 8800 or better to use all of the features at playable frame rates.

 

Leadwerks is not an 'off the shelf' ready to go game engine, if that's what you need then I'd look elsewhere as I'm assuming from the list of features you specify that your looking to make a serious game but without having to do much of the functionality development yourself.

 

The release date for the initial version of LE3 is to date still unknown but likely to be inside the next couple of months! It is a reduced version though in terms of the final feature set so not suitable for all applications depandant on what it is you want to do. The full feature set will follow in again some as yet unspecified time scale.

 

Sorry for summarising, maybe someone with more time can answer each individual question.

[Juggernaut]

I'm sorry but I had to laugh at your list of features as I don't know of any engine that has all of these! Does this represent your ultimate wish list?

 

Yes it is indeed. You can laugh if you want. No hard feelings.

[Paul Thomas]

13. Works on onboard intel GPU chip

 

Hopefully you know you can't have all of those features working with this part of your list because that isn't possible. Otherwise, besides I think APEX, you're describing CE3. If you plan on all of these GPU intensive features then I wouldn't even worry over Intel. It honestly sounds like you're only looking for what you've read about or you don't have your project completely flushed out and ready to be built.

 

You need to base your engine around your project/game, not the other way around, and then shop for the right engine. The other part of the decision, besides what's based on your project and platform, is if you can afford royalty as that will drastically change which engines to decide on. It also, obviously, depends on your experience level and skills on everything as a whole. If you're trying to learn then I would definitely say LE is worth the money if you have it. If you're looking for a one shot deal into commercial, without any experience or skills, I'd say drop the dreams for the now and start with a mobile game, work your way up, and see where you stand from there.

 

Good luck.

[Josh]

And the company that made that engine is now making Kinect games only for XBox. Even they couldn't sustain their approach.

[Paul Thomas]

Sorry Josh, was that a reply to me? If so, which company are you talking about?

[Pixel Perfect]

Not sure, but I suspect it's not Crytek as CE3 is set to 'Melt PCs' again according to a recent statement by Cevat Yerli.

 

C4 possibly?

[Josh]

Not sure, but I suspect it's not Crytek as CE3 is set to 'Melt PCs' again according to a recent statement by Cevat Yerli.

That's a marketing statement, but the market always figures it out if the substance behind the statement isn't there. Crytek gave up their position as the high-end PC graphics leader, and can't get it back as long as they are making Kinect games.

 

-(Former Crytek fanboy.)

[Pixel Perfect]

Personally, I think it would be a mistake to underestimate Crytek.

[wayneg]

Most of the comments seem dated at this point, and some issues relate quality of assets and how they are used. One must factor in the design decisions in whatever this guy was looking at.

 

I'd agree popping is an issue but can be mitigated with settings, not a big issue for me.

 

I still have issues with terrain self casting shadows when using large terrain features, so I'd agree with the following:

I also found the shadows to be very buggy, disappearing at close distances when the camera faces certain directions.

 

LE3 is a fantastic SDK, and If there was a better product out there I'd be using it.

[Juggernaut]

LE3 is a fantastic SDK, and If there was a better product out there I'd be using it.

 

How can you say that when it is not yet available ? Are you in the official team or a licensed user ?

[Pixel Perfect]

I suspect it's a typo, no-one to my knowledge outside of Josh's office has a copy of LE3. Well ... no-one that's lived

[wayneg]

My bad LE2

[Juggernaut]

Can Mr. Kint give a hint about if I buy LE2 for $200 now, how much do I have to pay for LE3 upgrade ? Without knowing the cost for further upgrade I cannot make any decision. And after upgrading to LE 3 how long will I get upgrades for LE 3 ? Until LE 4 ?

[wayneg]

Let me guess, LE3 (full price) - $500, LE3 (upgrade) - $200, LE3 Maintenance after first year $50

 

What would you pay? ( totally train wrecked this thread )

[Pixel Perfect]

Long term users of this engine have been trying to extract this info from Josh and failed to date! I suspect you will be no different, it's a commercial decision and likely to remain a secret until just shortly before its released.