TGB feature list
by anycast · in Torque Game Builder · 09/24/2008 (3:40 am) · 5 replies
Hi,
I'm currently evaluating TGB as a possible engine for a game I'm going to develop. I'd like to know if it's possible to:
- Have animated buttons by using a Gui*Ctrl class (I don't want to do it with animated sprites, since it's more work)
- Stream large ogg files (I'm not sure if they're currently streamed of if they're loaded up front)
- Play .avi files
- Pack all game files into a single or a reduced amount of files (I don't want the end user to be able to view the game art). I tried using molebox to pack the game files, but it doesn't work.
- Wrap the game with Armadillo's Software Passport.
Thanks!
Alex
I'm currently evaluating TGB as a possible engine for a game I'm going to develop. I'd like to know if it's possible to:
- Have animated buttons by using a Gui*Ctrl class (I don't want to do it with animated sprites, since it's more work)
- Stream large ogg files (I'm not sure if they're currently streamed of if they're loaded up front)
- Play .avi files
- Pack all game files into a single or a reduced amount of files (I don't want the end user to be able to view the game art). I tried using molebox to pack the game files, but it doesn't work.
- Wrap the game with Armadillo's Software Passport.
Thanks!
Alex
About the author
#2
Thanks for your answer. Here's a bit more detail on what I want to achieve:
1- Animation of a bitmap button on mouse hover and animation on button press. By animation I mean more than one frame. Something like a GuiAnimationButtonCtrl :-)
2- Is there any way to stream?
3- Is there a tutorial showing how this is done on TGB (for Theora)?
4- Molebox does not work. I tried to pack a Breakout tutorial that I did, and the .exe file complained about not being able to find main.cs. I'll try again, perhaps I did something wrong.
5- ok.
BTW is there any web page that details the differences between the normal and Pro versions? Something that highlights all the changes to the code that have been done over time by the community.
Alex
09/24/2008 (7:22 am)
Hi David,Thanks for your answer. Here's a bit more detail on what I want to achieve:
1- Animation of a bitmap button on mouse hover and animation on button press. By animation I mean more than one frame. Something like a GuiAnimationButtonCtrl :-)
2- Is there any way to stream?
3- Is there a tutorial showing how this is done on TGB (for Theora)?
4- Molebox does not work. I tried to pack a Breakout tutorial that I did, and the .exe file complained about not being able to find main.cs. I'll try again, perhaps I did something wrong.
5- ok.
BTW is there any web page that details the differences between the normal and Pro versions? Something that highlights all the changes to the code that have been done over time by the community.
Alex
#3
2. I don't know. I haven't looked into it, though I have seen others talking about it in TGB. I do not know if they modified the source or what the extent of the modifications may have been.
3. The Video page on TDN should get you started. You will need to convert your AVI's to Theora. You can find more information about the format and various conversion programs here.
4. You can modify the source to remove the main.cs limitation. Here is one resource. There are others as well. I'm not sure if that one is for TGB or TGE. There may be other gotchas with Molebox, but this is the main one. There are dev's using it, though.
The difference between Pro and Binary is that you get the source code to the engine. Between the resources, TDN, and the forums, you will find a number of different community additions, changes, etc.
09/24/2008 (7:31 am)
1. The Gui Overview in TGB should have some more information on the GUI system in TGB.2. I don't know. I haven't looked into it, though I have seen others talking about it in TGB. I do not know if they modified the source or what the extent of the modifications may have been.
3. The Video page on TDN should get you started. You will need to convert your AVI's to Theora. You can find more information about the format and various conversion programs here.
4. You can modify the source to remove the main.cs limitation. Here is one resource. There are others as well. I'm not sure if that one is for TGB or TGE. There may be other gotchas with Molebox, but this is the main one. There are dev's using it, though.
The difference between Pro and Binary is that you get the source code to the engine. Between the resources, TDN, and the forums, you will find a number of different community additions, changes, etc.
#4
Actually, using T2DAnimatedSprites for UI work isn't particularly difficult at all. I've written a couple of different prototypes that use T2D objects exclusively for UI work, and it's been both quite powerful, and relatively easy (All TorqueScript).
The hardest part was wrapping my head around various generic button states, but once you get some baseline handling script written, you can do some amazing things :)
09/24/2008 (7:52 am)
Just a quick note on this section:Quote:1- Animation of a bitmap button on mouse hover and animation on button press. By animation I mean more than one frame. Something like a GuiAnimationButtonCtrl :-)
Actually, using T2DAnimatedSprites for UI work isn't particularly difficult at all. I've written a couple of different prototypes that use T2D objects exclusively for UI work, and it's been both quite powerful, and relatively easy (All TorqueScript).
The hardest part was wrapping my head around various generic button states, but once you get some baseline handling script written, you can do some amazing things :)
#5
Another thing that's eluding me is how to move the GUI around in a scene, so that I could make it enter the scene from one side, instead of just popping up (a fade in/out would also be useful).
I don't want to start implementing this only to find out it's done somewhere. Also, one of the reasons I'm considering this engine is to dramatically reduce my dev time. I'm expecting TGB to handle most of "functionality" code for me (and this would include some not so basic GUIs).
David, thanks for the links. The one on video was exactly what I was looking for.
09/24/2008 (9:26 am)
Well, I could do it with T2DAnimatedSprites, but I know there's a better way. One of the games made with TGB is Turtix (http://www.alawar.com/game/turtix/) and they've managed to do some good looking GUIs with animated buttons. Perhaps they did change the source code of the engine...Another thing that's eluding me is how to move the GUI around in a scene, so that I could make it enter the scene from one side, instead of just popping up (a fade in/out would also be useful).
I don't want to start implementing this only to find out it's done somewhere. Also, one of the reasons I'm considering this engine is to dramatically reduce my dev time. I'm expecting TGB to handle most of "functionality" code for me (and this would include some not so basic GUIs).
David, thanks for the links. The one on video was exactly what I was looking for.
Employee David Montgomery-Blake
David MontgomeryBlake
2. I believe it loads them up-front rather than streaming them.
3. You will need to convert them to Theora or add in an AVI resource to the Pro version.
4. You will need to use a third-party program like Molebox if you want them in a single archive. Otherwise you can use zip files. With the pro version, you can add an encrypted zip resource.
5. If Armadillo requires source-level access (for example, to a SDK), then it will require the pro version of TGB.