Lot of questions from a beginner
by Andr · in Torque Game Engine · 11/29/2005 (2:59 am) · 2 replies
Hi,
I'am new to torque and have a lot of questions. It would be greate if somone can answer the following things
(all questions are related to the tse):
- What texture formats are supported ? Are *.dds and *.tga files supported, too?
- Is the ingame-terraineditor also avaible for the newest tourque so I can edit the terrain in realtime?
- How is the terrain textured(one big skin/ texture splatting)?
- Could I write the whole programm in c++ or must I use the scripting language?
- Are stencil/soft shadows avaible?
- Does the particle system support beam/streak effects?
- How can I create the world geometry(which editor)?
- Can I manually place portals for the world geometry and if so, are there also anti-portals avaible for placement?
- Is the light/shadowmap after every map load new generated? If so, why? Is it possbile to store the light/shadowmap in an external file to decrease loading time?
- Is it possbile to crypt the whole gameresources?
- I don't want that any other person can modify my game(changing the scripting files) or even see the scriptfiles. Is this possbile?
- Is a video/media-player supported by the engine(playing intro movies and so on)?
- Where can I find some sample applications?
- What sound/music formats are supported?(*.wav, *.ogg)?
- Are joysticks also supported for input(besides mouse and keybord)? Is directInput used for that?
- Is poly-accurate collision-dectection avabile for model files?
- Can models cast sahdow on them self? (Texture projecten or stencilSahdows)?
- Is it possible to create single polygons/triangle-stripes during runtime?
- Does the light/shadowmapper use radiosity?
- Is there email support from the developer avaible?
- How good is the documentation(all online, *.hlp files?)
regards
andr
I'am new to torque and have a lot of questions. It would be greate if somone can answer the following things
(all questions are related to the tse):
- What texture formats are supported ? Are *.dds and *.tga files supported, too?
- Is the ingame-terraineditor also avaible for the newest tourque so I can edit the terrain in realtime?
- How is the terrain textured(one big skin/ texture splatting)?
- Could I write the whole programm in c++ or must I use the scripting language?
- Are stencil/soft shadows avaible?
- Does the particle system support beam/streak effects?
- How can I create the world geometry(which editor)?
- Can I manually place portals for the world geometry and if so, are there also anti-portals avaible for placement?
- Is the light/shadowmap after every map load new generated? If so, why? Is it possbile to store the light/shadowmap in an external file to decrease loading time?
- Is it possbile to crypt the whole gameresources?
- I don't want that any other person can modify my game(changing the scripting files) or even see the scriptfiles. Is this possbile?
- Is a video/media-player supported by the engine(playing intro movies and so on)?
- Where can I find some sample applications?
- What sound/music formats are supported?(*.wav, *.ogg)?
- Are joysticks also supported for input(besides mouse and keybord)? Is directInput used for that?
- Is poly-accurate collision-dectection avabile for model files?
- Can models cast sahdow on them self? (Texture projecten or stencilSahdows)?
- Is it possible to create single polygons/triangle-stripes during runtime?
- Does the light/shadowmapper use radiosity?
- Is there email support from the developer avaible?
- How good is the documentation(all online, *.hlp files?)
regards
andr
Associate Matt Fairfax
PopCap
- Yes
- TGE uses Texture blending/splatting. TSE's new Atlas terrain uses one big texture but will support blending in the future.
- FAQ: Do I have to use script? Can I code completely in C++ in Torque?
- The engine does soft shadows via a software renderer as seen in the demo. There is an incomplete C++ resource for adding stencil shadows.
- Yes
- FAQ: What is the difference between .dif and .dts shapes?
- You can place portals (for visibility calculation) manually when you build a .dif Interior. There is currently no support for anti-portals.
- It is only recalculated if you are running in debug mode or if you change something in the mission. It does store the last results in an external file.
- Yes. There is a C++ resource covering this.
- Your script files will compile automatically into binary .dso's that are very hard to modify (not impossible). You can additionally encrypt them as mentioned above.
- Yes. The new 1.4 release supports the cross-platform theora video codec.
- There are several demos for both TGE and TSE on their product pages. You can also try Orbz, ThinkTanks, Marble Blast, and Lore. There is also Tribes 2.
- .wav and .ogg
- Yes and yes
- Not without some work. It has been done. Refer to the .dif vs .dts FAQ I linked above.
- Not unless you integrate the stencil shadow resource.
- Yes. Most of the .dts exporters will automatically triangle-strip the models.
- No. It uses simpler and quicker algorithms.
- Yes. Commercial developers can set up support contracts with us.
- There is a ton of documentation and most of it is excellent. However, most of it is online and somewhat unorganized. There are two books available for offline consumption with a third and fourth on their way. We also recently opened a wiki site for license owners that has been getting great content.