Wannabe MacOSX developer
by Jonathon Brandemihl · in General Discussion · 07/04/2004 (8:58 am) · 5 replies
Lo M8s!
I am a total n00b, thinking of getting TGE for Mac. Wanna make fun lil' games.
However..
I know nothing of programming. I was checking out Ken's book, but I don't want to be 'stuck in da mud' by using a Mac.
I already do all video graphics work on my Macs. I am hoping to use Electric Image Universe for my modelling and IK. I have all the Adobe products as well.
Has anyone here been in my shoes? As far as knowing which of the 3rd party apps have equivilants for the Mac? As well as not knowing C?
Thanks for any assitance!
Jonathon...
I am a total n00b, thinking of getting TGE for Mac. Wanna make fun lil' games.
However..
I know nothing of programming. I was checking out Ken's book, but I don't want to be 'stuck in da mud' by using a Mac.
I already do all video graphics work on my Macs. I am hoping to use Electric Image Universe for my modelling and IK. I have all the Adobe products as well.
Has anyone here been in my shoes? As far as knowing which of the 3rd party apps have equivilants for the Mac? As well as not knowing C?
Thanks for any assitance!
Jonathon...
About the author
#2
I did get blender, however, do want to work in Elec Image.
My EIU animator will export:
FACT
DXF
Alias OBJ
LightWave object
My EIU modeler (untextured and no IK) will export:
SAT
FACT
STL
IGES
OBJ
Torque will handle Maya and Lightwave files, correct? Perhaps I can find a medium at least on a basic geometric level withe LW and OBJ formats.
If not, I am sure I can find exporters between Blender and EIU.
As for the coding.. Well, I suppose if one is willing enough, it can be done (Someone once told me...lol)
I can never be a master coder, but if I can get by on the xcode script, thats a start.
My next question would have to be for any other MacOSX users out there.. Pertaining to Xcode.
Shouldn't I be able to load up the demo .cs files into Xcode and build a project? Hehe... I am such a n00b...
Or is this reserved for licensed users.. As far as getting 'project' files?
Thanks for your help guys! Means alot as I have been a sci-fi animator/modeler for years, and want to make something I can interact with.
If this seems like a possible route for me, I will pick up the license NP. I hope to contribute to the MacOSX and possibly Win32 shareware community.
Thanks,
Jonathon
07/05/2004 (1:01 pm)
Thanks for the reply Alex!I did get blender, however, do want to work in Elec Image.
My EIU animator will export:
FACT
DXF
Alias OBJ
LightWave object
My EIU modeler (untextured and no IK) will export:
SAT
FACT
STL
IGES
OBJ
Torque will handle Maya and Lightwave files, correct? Perhaps I can find a medium at least on a basic geometric level withe LW and OBJ formats.
If not, I am sure I can find exporters between Blender and EIU.
As for the coding.. Well, I suppose if one is willing enough, it can be done (Someone once told me...lol)
I can never be a master coder, but if I can get by on the xcode script, thats a start.
My next question would have to be for any other MacOSX users out there.. Pertaining to Xcode.
Shouldn't I be able to load up the demo .cs files into Xcode and build a project? Hehe... I am such a n00b...
Or is this reserved for licensed users.. As far as getting 'project' files?
Thanks for your help guys! Means alot as I have been a sci-fi animator/modeler for years, and want to make something I can interact with.
If this seems like a possible route for me, I will pick up the license NP. I hope to contribute to the MacOSX and possibly Win32 shareware community.
Thanks,
Jonathon
#3
Yes, there are a few Torque MacOS X users over here, you won't be alone.
I've tried EIU and the problem is that you don't have an exporter for it. An exporter is a Plug-in that will export your artwork into something Torque can use, a .DTS, .DSQ or .DIF file.
There is a Maya exporter but I'm not quite sure if it's working for macs. Blender is a good alternative since it's free, but it's not really quite easy to install the exporter. You must reinstall the python interpreter or something like it.
IMHO, the best way is Lightwave. The exporter is really good and it's very easy to use.
As for coding : There are two languages you'll be dealing with. The first is Torque Script, it's a very easy language and you'll be able to edit the .cs files with the text editor. Ken's book has a really easy intro on programming on Torque script for that.
The second language is C++. You'll need to use Xcode for this one and you'll have to be a registered user in order to use it also. But since you don't know how to program, this won't really matter cause C++ is not easy at all.
HTH
Bruno
07/05/2004 (2:42 pm)
Hi Jonathon,Yes, there are a few Torque MacOS X users over here, you won't be alone.
I've tried EIU and the problem is that you don't have an exporter for it. An exporter is a Plug-in that will export your artwork into something Torque can use, a .DTS, .DSQ or .DIF file.
There is a Maya exporter but I'm not quite sure if it's working for macs. Blender is a good alternative since it's free, but it's not really quite easy to install the exporter. You must reinstall the python interpreter or something like it.
IMHO, the best way is Lightwave. The exporter is really good and it's very easy to use.
As for coding : There are two languages you'll be dealing with. The first is Torque Script, it's a very easy language and you'll be able to edit the .cs files with the text editor. Ken's book has a really easy intro on programming on Torque script for that.
The second language is C++. You'll need to use Xcode for this one and you'll have to be a registered user in order to use it also. But since you don't know how to program, this won't really matter cause C++ is not easy at all.
HTH
Bruno
#4
07/06/2004 (1:26 pm)
Also, if you know some decent programmers, the DTS SDK+ is available and should make creating new exporters much easier than it once was.
#5
I bought the license yesterday, and have started started compling some of the code.
I do know some engineers over at EIU. I will see what they say. If I can get one together, I will let you guys know!
I think, however, between blender and EIU, I can get some geometry across.
Tanks,
Jonathon
07/06/2004 (1:48 pm)
Hey thanks Alex! I bought the license yesterday, and have started started compling some of the code.
I do know some engineers over at EIU. I will see what they say. If I can get one together, I will let you guys know!
I think, however, between blender and EIU, I can get some geometry across.
Tanks,
Jonathon
Torque Owner Alex Swanson
There is currently no good DIF solution for Mac, as has been discussed in other posts. Some games - depending on what you plan to do - may not need difs - but otherwise you'll have to wait until something becomes available.
Not knowing C++ is going to be your greatest challenge. If you don't know any programming language, even Torque Script will be a challenge. Having Ken's book would be a great help, though. At least you have a free compiler from Apple (XCode)