TGEA Documentation
by Beth Harrison · in Torque Game Engine Advanced · 03/11/2007 (9:40 am) · 6 replies
I have been on this site and the forums for almost a month now trying to get the promised documentation for this engine. I have emailed support with no luck of an answer. I am getting rather frustrated about this and hope that someone will help me out here.
Everytime I go to the documentation I get a big Sample written across it and can't find anyway to get started. I log in and that doesn't work. The links support gave to me are the same one I have been using and they to not give me what I am looking for.
I have bought this game engine in hopes of working on a game, but if I can't even use it then what use was it to buy it? Please someone help a person out here and point her in the direction of some useful information, like the actual documentation I bought a license to see.
Thanks!
Everytime I go to the documentation I get a big Sample written across it and can't find anyway to get started. I log in and that doesn't work. The links support gave to me are the same one I have been using and they to not give me what I am looking for.
I have bought this game engine in hopes of working on a game, but if I can't even use it then what use was it to buy it? Please someone help a person out here and point her in the direction of some useful information, like the actual documentation I bought a license to see.
Thanks!
#2
I had to logout of the www.garagegames.com site after I bought a tgea licence.
After I logged back in and then went to the tdn site, I was able to get to the tgea section.
03/11/2007 (12:15 pm)
I assume you have done this, but it got me for awhile.I had to logout of the www.garagegames.com site after I bought a tgea licence.
After I logged back in and then went to the tdn site, I was able to get to the tgea section.
#3
When I click on my TGEA icon on my PC I get a folder, when that opens all I get is demo versions, but when I come here and check my account I have the license for INDIE. I have even tried to delete it off my system, re-download it and try it that way. Nothing I have done has worked in getting me the actual documentation.
Needless to say when I open the demo, that is what I have a demo, no engine, no mission engine, nothing. So another words, if you went and downloaded the demo right now, that is what I have but I downloaded what was on my order page next to TGEA INDIE License. I hope this helps everyone understand better what I have done and what I have come across and why I am so frustrated right now.
03/11/2007 (12:35 pm)
I have been to TDN and I get nothing in regards to the documentation. I have logged in, logged out, delete cookies, logged in and nothing, all I get is Preview of the actual documentation. When I go to TDN there is no documentation. If you go to getting set up it has more things to download, which I did. I have gone step by step any and everything I have found to get to the documentation and still have nothing to show for it.When I click on my TGEA icon on my PC I get a folder, when that opens all I get is demo versions, but when I come here and check my account I have the license for INDIE. I have even tried to delete it off my system, re-download it and try it that way. Nothing I have done has worked in getting me the actual documentation.
Needless to say when I open the demo, that is what I have a demo, no engine, no mission engine, nothing. So another words, if you went and downloaded the demo right now, that is what I have but I downloaded what was on my order page next to TGEA INDIE License. I hope this helps everyone understand better what I have done and what I have come across and why I am so frustrated right now.
#4
Use this one to start off.
Demo means demonstration in this context.
Not that it is a feature cut TGEA or anything the like.
Editors are not visible all the time just to mention that in case you assumed that they are there.
Mission editor is F11
GUI Editor is F10
03/11/2007 (1:34 pm)
In your TGEA folder, you have in the examples a folder named "terrain_water_demo"Use this one to start off.
Demo means demonstration in this context.
Not that it is a feature cut TGEA or anything the like.
Editors are not visible all the time just to mention that in case you assumed that they are there.
Mission editor is F11
GUI Editor is F10
#5
Marc, you are nothing but an absolute god send!!!!!!!! Thank you so much!!!! You do not know how many grey hairs you saved from being pulled tonight ;) That alone gets me started and that was what I needed to know. That is why I wanted to get my hands on the documentation so it can tell me things like that.
I just hope support figures out what is wrong and fixes it so I don't have to keep bugging you guys for answers to what probably seems like the smallest of things to you.
03/11/2007 (6:58 pm)
Joseph, that is the same thing I have been seeing from the start, no help there.Marc, you are nothing but an absolute god send!!!!!!!! Thank you so much!!!! You do not know how many grey hairs you saved from being pulled tonight ;) That alone gets me started and that was what I needed to know. That is why I wanted to get my hands on the documentation so it can tell me things like that.
I just hope support figures out what is wrong and fixes it so I don't have to keep bugging you guys for answers to what probably seems like the smallest of things to you.
#6
The example directory is where you will find all of your game or "mod" directories.
The example directory will already contain two mods you can run before you compile the first time. These mods are "demo" and "terrain_water_demo".
The example directory also contains TGEA.exe. This is the TGEA executable file.
If you run TGEA.exe, the first thing it does is to load the script file example/main.cs. If you edit example/main.cs you will find that the default mod to load is defined in the first line of script:
$defaultGame = "demo";
You can change this line to read
$defaultGame = "terrain_water_demo";
Then if when you double click TGEA.exe, the terrain_water_demo mod will run instead of the demo.
You can also add a few batch files to the example directory that saves you the trouble of having to edit the main.cs script file to change mods.
Open notepad and type or paste in this line:
tgea -game terrain_water_demo
Save the file in the example directory as Terrain_water_demoR.bat. (The 'R' stands for release build, when you compile a Debug build the executable will be named TGEA_DEBUG.exe ). Open notepad again and type or paste in this line:
tgea -game demo
Save the file in the example directory as DemoR.bat.
Now you can start either the terrain_water_demo or the demo by double clicking in the appropriate batch file.
You will also want a game/mod that you can modify into your own game without trashing the demos. Make a copy of the entire terrain_water_demo in the example directory and rename it "Mysandbox". Remember to also create a MysandboxR.bat file in the example directory. Now you are all set to make changes to Mysandbox and begin learning how the engine reacts.
I break game modifications down into 3 areas, from the easiest to the hardest:
1) Mission file changes
2) Script file changes
3) C++ or engine file changes
The first two you can do without compiling the engine.
An example of mission changes would be to try creating your own Atlas terrain, inserting it into the mission file and viewing it in the game.
Note: If you copied the terrain_water_demo to use as your sandbox, note that it has just one mission and that mission name is in script. To try making changes to the mission file you want to edit example/Mysandbox/data/mission/simple.mis and not change the name when you save it.
For other example games/mods you can add to your example directory and copy to use as a starting point for your game, search the forums for "starter.fps" (a great first person shooter example/starting point) and "starter.racing" (a great in-car racing example/starting point). These examples usually need to be modified after each release of the engine, but they may be ported to TGEA R1 by now. http://www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=57563 is the download thread.
03/12/2007 (1:27 pm)
A few things you can do with TGEA R1 even before you compile it for the first time.The example directory is where you will find all of your game or "mod" directories.
The example directory will already contain two mods you can run before you compile the first time. These mods are "demo" and "terrain_water_demo".
The example directory also contains TGEA.exe. This is the TGEA executable file.
If you run TGEA.exe, the first thing it does is to load the script file example/main.cs. If you edit example/main.cs you will find that the default mod to load is defined in the first line of script:
$defaultGame = "demo";
You can change this line to read
$defaultGame = "terrain_water_demo";
Then if when you double click TGEA.exe, the terrain_water_demo mod will run instead of the demo.
You can also add a few batch files to the example directory that saves you the trouble of having to edit the main.cs script file to change mods.
Open notepad and type or paste in this line:
tgea -game terrain_water_demo
Save the file in the example directory as Terrain_water_demoR.bat. (The 'R' stands for release build, when you compile a Debug build the executable will be named TGEA_DEBUG.exe ). Open notepad again and type or paste in this line:
tgea -game demo
Save the file in the example directory as DemoR.bat.
Now you can start either the terrain_water_demo or the demo by double clicking in the appropriate batch file.
You will also want a game/mod that you can modify into your own game without trashing the demos. Make a copy of the entire terrain_water_demo in the example directory and rename it "Mysandbox". Remember to also create a MysandboxR.bat file in the example directory. Now you are all set to make changes to Mysandbox and begin learning how the engine reacts.
I break game modifications down into 3 areas, from the easiest to the hardest:
1) Mission file changes
2) Script file changes
3) C++ or engine file changes
The first two you can do without compiling the engine.
An example of mission changes would be to try creating your own Atlas terrain, inserting it into the mission file and viewing it in the game.
Note: If you copied the terrain_water_demo to use as your sandbox, note that it has just one mission and that mission name is in script. To try making changes to the mission file you want to edit example/Mysandbox/data/mission/simple.mis and not change the name when you save it.
For other example games/mods you can add to your example directory and copy to use as a starting point for your game, search the forums for "starter.fps" (a great first person shooter example/starting point) and "starter.racing" (a great in-car racing example/starting point). These examples usually need to be modified after each release of the engine, but they may be ported to TGEA R1 by now. http://www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=57563 is the download thread.
Associate David Montgomery-Blake
David MontgomeryBlake