Plan for Tra'Hari Vandaette
by Tra · 02/04/2003 (8:27 pm) · 0 comments
Right now, I'm trying to get familiar with working with such a massive project. Trying to find out everything that I'm supposed to know is difficult, since there's little in the way of comprehensive tutorials.
It's worth mentioning that I do like the one scripting tut I found. Although it's not as comprehensive as I'd like (it's short on explanations about the code in terms of C++ equivalents, that sort of thing), it is still significantly better than the language reference. Of course, the language reference isn't intended to be a tutorial, but I do find it to be rather sparse.
I think that's the biggest problem I have with using TGE. There's a pretty sharp learning curve, learning the architecture and the API that make up the engine. Fortunately, there is a wealth of tutorials, example scripts, and mods that can improve your understanding of the way things work.
This is, in part, why I chose not to use Crystal Space: they did not appear to have a working body of tutorials explaining how you get from Point A, the walktest demo, to Point B, PlaneShift. I would imagine that I'd have been able to figure it out, given sufficient time, but combined with that was the impression that, aside from the tools based on 3D Studio Max, there isn't a solid pipeline for moving content into CS.
This isn't to say that this is a flaw with CS. If I were doing an independent project that required more flexibility than TGE allowed me, I would be willing to use CS in a heartbeat.
(In reality, there are some things I miss about CS, such as _coding_. I could do that with TGE, true, but I think it would end up being more trouble than it's worth when compared to the flexibility and speed of scripting. CS is also evolving more quickly, as I initially suspected, and you have a lot more input on the development process as Jorrit, bless his heart, is in constant communication with anyone who has any questions about what is going on.)
That aside, TGE's got a lot more solid pipeline (I can use LightWave!!), and a significant body of people who are constantly giving back to the community (one glance at the Resources section is enough to convince me of that). I didn't see that as much with CS.
So, I bought a license for TGE, and here I am, scared shitless since if I don't finish this project, I won't graduate. :)
It's worth mentioning that I do like the one scripting tut I found. Although it's not as comprehensive as I'd like (it's short on explanations about the code in terms of C++ equivalents, that sort of thing), it is still significantly better than the language reference. Of course, the language reference isn't intended to be a tutorial, but I do find it to be rather sparse.
I think that's the biggest problem I have with using TGE. There's a pretty sharp learning curve, learning the architecture and the API that make up the engine. Fortunately, there is a wealth of tutorials, example scripts, and mods that can improve your understanding of the way things work.
This is, in part, why I chose not to use Crystal Space: they did not appear to have a working body of tutorials explaining how you get from Point A, the walktest demo, to Point B, PlaneShift. I would imagine that I'd have been able to figure it out, given sufficient time, but combined with that was the impression that, aside from the tools based on 3D Studio Max, there isn't a solid pipeline for moving content into CS.
This isn't to say that this is a flaw with CS. If I were doing an independent project that required more flexibility than TGE allowed me, I would be willing to use CS in a heartbeat.
(In reality, there are some things I miss about CS, such as _coding_. I could do that with TGE, true, but I think it would end up being more trouble than it's worth when compared to the flexibility and speed of scripting. CS is also evolving more quickly, as I initially suspected, and you have a lot more input on the development process as Jorrit, bless his heart, is in constant communication with anyone who has any questions about what is going on.)
That aside, TGE's got a lot more solid pipeline (I can use LightWave!!), and a significant body of people who are constantly giving back to the community (one glance at the Resources section is enough to convince me of that). I didn't see that as much with CS.
So, I bought a license for TGE, and here I am, scared shitless since if I don't finish this project, I won't graduate. :)
