TGB level editor for non-TGB game
by Raj Sharma · in Torque Game Engine · 03/08/2007 (2:00 pm) · 6 replies
Hi,
This is my 1st post here, apologies in advance if I put this in the wrong forum section...
I'm planning to make a 2D sidescroller game... Instead of making the whole thing using TGB, I was hoping to implement the game using my own engine, but use TGB's level editor for creating the levels. Basically this would mean creating tilemaps and also placing sprites throughout the level for enemies.
If anyone would be so kind, I was wondering about 2 things-
-Does using TGB's level editor as a standalone tool make sense- i.e. does it offer anything over something like Mappy? If all I need is tilemaps and sprites, am I trying to cook a hot dog with a flamethrower?
-Is it possible to write an exporter or something so that TGB spits out the level in a format that my engine can understand? I looked at the t2d file, it's plaintext, so that might be OK, but the .lyr file for the tile layer is in a binary format.
Thanks,
-R.
This is my 1st post here, apologies in advance if I put this in the wrong forum section...
I'm planning to make a 2D sidescroller game... Instead of making the whole thing using TGB, I was hoping to implement the game using my own engine, but use TGB's level editor for creating the levels. Basically this would mean creating tilemaps and also placing sprites throughout the level for enemies.
If anyone would be so kind, I was wondering about 2 things-
-Does using TGB's level editor as a standalone tool make sense- i.e. does it offer anything over something like Mappy? If all I need is tilemaps and sprites, am I trying to cook a hot dog with a flamethrower?
-Is it possible to write an exporter or something so that TGB spits out the level in a format that my engine can understand? I looked at the t2d file, it's plaintext, so that might be OK, but the .lyr file for the tile layer is in a binary format.
Thanks,
-R.
About the author
#2
Anyway, I see what you mean, it does sound like a bit of a headache. Writing my own is probably a bit of a pain too, but at least then I know it's going to work without any problems since I design it to fit my game's needs.
Thanks again for your post, appreciate it!
03/10/2007 (3:56 pm)
Thanks very much for your response! Hmm, alright well the professional license is no problem, and as for the EULA, I'm not talking about making a competing product, or even releasing the editor. Just basically being able to use TGB's level editor for my specific game, without actually using the TGB engine.Anyway, I see what you mean, it does sound like a bit of a headache. Writing my own is probably a bit of a pain too, but at least then I know it's going to work without any problems since I design it to fit my game's needs.
Thanks again for your post, appreciate it!
#3
You wouldn't need a Pro license. What we're talking about is possible to do it entirely with the regular binary using only TorqueScript.
As to the legality of the issue, under the Indie EULA TGB can only be used to make games. Under the Commercial EULA, TGB can be used to make any product, so long as it meets the other criteria. One of those criteria is that the product is not a game-making tool.
I'm no lawyer and this is strictly my interpretation of the contract, but it seems to me that what this means is that under the EULA you could not legally sell your level editor. To my knowledge, it does not keep you from developing a tool with TGB for use with your custom engine (though you might need a commercial license).
In other words, that's a question for our sales or CS department. Shoot an email to James Wiley (jamesw@garagegames.com) or Davey Jackson (daveyj@garagegames.com).
03/10/2007 (9:37 pm)
Using TGB as a level builder is definitely a viable solution (if legal). In fact, we did exactly that for Torque X: the TGBX editor exports to an XML format that Torque X can deserialize.You wouldn't need a Pro license. What we're talking about is possible to do it entirely with the regular binary using only TorqueScript.
As to the legality of the issue, under the Indie EULA TGB can only be used to make games. Under the Commercial EULA, TGB can be used to make any product, so long as it meets the other criteria. One of those criteria is that the product is not a game-making tool.
I'm no lawyer and this is strictly my interpretation of the contract, but it seems to me that what this means is that under the EULA you could not legally sell your level editor. To my knowledge, it does not keep you from developing a tool with TGB for use with your custom engine (though you might need a commercial license).
In other words, that's a question for our sales or CS department. Shoot an email to James Wiley (jamesw@garagegames.com) or Davey Jackson (daveyj@garagegames.com).
#4
03/11/2007 (11:04 am)
My reason for the source "requirement" was that otherwise it would be a case of reverse-engineering the level editor to use in another engine, unless the other engine was designed with the level builder in mind (say building from scratch).
#5
03/11/2007 (4:40 pm)
I'm pretty sure all the level builder code is in Torque Script. The only reason you'd need a source license is if you wanted to add some new kind of GUI Control for your interface, but pretty much everything you need is already there. 
#6
I think what David is getting at is that we don't include the TorqueScript source to the Editors without the Pro license.
03/15/2007 (1:47 pm)
Thomas,I think what David is getting at is that we don't include the TorqueScript source to the Editors without the Pro license.
Associate David Montgomery-Blake
David MontgomeryBlake
Personally, I think it would be a headache. If I were using my own engine, I would know the data that it is expecting and make a tool or adapt one like Mappy to it. Stripping the editor from TGB would be a feat on top of interfacing between it and your engine.