Making a puzzle game
by Jason Tilley · in Torque Game Engine · 02/04/2005 (6:45 pm) · 6 replies
Hi
I recently purchased Torque SDK, and am confused. I am currently looking at the Terrain Editor.
I want to make my first game similar to Marble Blast, where you have tunnels, buttons etc.
What I can't figure out is how to do this. As the surface is generally 'flat' how do you remove the terrain in Torque?
What I liked about 3D GameStudio was the 'click-and-play' style of generating the levels, whereby you simply add standard shapes, connect them together and then cut doorways out.
I'm interested in making first a puzzle game then an RPG, but the terrain options really only suit online rpg's.
Does anyone know of any tutorials, guides, etc on how to make a puzzle game with Torque? I've seen the documentation on Marble Blast, but it doesn't cover how to actually use Torque to make this product.
Thanks
Jason
I recently purchased Torque SDK, and am confused. I am currently looking at the Terrain Editor.
I want to make my first game similar to Marble Blast, where you have tunnels, buttons etc.
What I can't figure out is how to do this. As the surface is generally 'flat' how do you remove the terrain in Torque?
What I liked about 3D GameStudio was the 'click-and-play' style of generating the levels, whereby you simply add standard shapes, connect them together and then cut doorways out.
I'm interested in making first a puzzle game then an RPG, but the terrain options really only suit online rpg's.
Does anyone know of any tutorials, guides, etc on how to make a puzzle game with Torque? I've seen the documentation on Marble Blast, but it doesn't cover how to actually use Torque to make this product.
Thanks
Jason
About the author
#2
02/05/2005 (12:28 am)
You can remove the terrain by deleting it from the .mis file in data/missions, then you should add a large plane for the player to stand on. For what you are trying to do, you might be better off to not really use the built-in terrain but rather use a terrain-shaped .DIF which can have all the tunnels etc. that you want. 
#3
-Jeff Tunnell GG
02/05/2005 (3:40 pm)
MB does not use terrain. It only uses .dts shapes, all of which were created in Quark. MB is not actually a puzzle game, it is an action game, and is probably above the level of game you should be trying to make, based on your questions. There is a great chapter in the official TGE documentation that tells the process by which we created Marble Blast.-Jeff Tunnell GG
#4
What is the easiest way to add a plane? Should I do that with Quark?
Regards
Jason
02/09/2005 (3:00 am)
Thanks for all the replies.What is the easiest way to add a plane? Should I do that with Quark?
Regards
Jason
#5
02/09/2005 (10:24 am)
Read the documentation.
#6
I did it with a standard dts shape used an TSStatic item (they don't suffer from gravity). But you are better off using dif shapes instead because you can cast shadows on the plane or use planer reflections (if you are using tse).
Ben
02/10/2005 (5:03 am)
Hello Jason, I did it with a standard dts shape used an TSStatic item (they don't suffer from gravity). But you are better off using dif shapes instead because you can cast shadows on the plane or use planer reflections (if you are using tse).
Ben
Torque Owner Eric Lavigne
The tunnels, planks, and platforms in marble blast are 3d models that are imported into Torque. Torque itself is not a good tool for creating these models, so you will need to choose a 3rd party tool for the job. Quark is one option, which I believe is free. I am not an artist, so I can't comment much on this.
The documentation you are looking for is here. I don't know of any tutorials that are specific to making puzzle games, but the first step is to learn how to use Torque's basic features.