Torque X Builder 2D or 3D?
by Steve Marshall · in Technical Issues · 10/05/2008 (3:15 pm) · 4 replies
I've started working on a game that is similar to "Double Dragon", "Final Fight" and more recently "Castle Crashers" for the X360 Arcade.
I've been using Torque X Builder 2D...and I've gotten fairly comfortable with it, however I want to use 3d assets for EVERYTHING instead of sprites. The gameplay I'm aiming for is all in 2D, but with 3D models and art assests.
I have no idea about which Torque X Builder I should be using.
Torque X 3D Builder seems to be aimed at actual 3D games...not side scrolling 2d type games.
Torque X 2D Builder doesn't seem to have a way to add 3d assets....it seems as if I would have to add them in manually.
Any help would be greatly appreciated as I need to know which tool I should be using.
I've been using Torque X Builder 2D...and I've gotten fairly comfortable with it, however I want to use 3d assets for EVERYTHING instead of sprites. The gameplay I'm aiming for is all in 2D, but with 3D models and art assests.
I have no idea about which Torque X Builder I should be using.
Torque X 3D Builder seems to be aimed at actual 3D games...not side scrolling 2d type games.
Torque X 2D Builder doesn't seem to have a way to add 3d assets....it seems as if I would have to add them in manually.
Any help would be greatly appreciated as I need to know which tool I should be using.
#2
Thanks for the reply.
Hmmm...I understand everything you wrote, except for the "project them into a sprite", what does that mean? Is there some kind of 3d to 2d converter?
10/18/2008 (1:43 am)
Joao,Thanks for the reply.
Hmmm...I understand everything you wrote, except for the "project them into a sprite", what does that mean? Is there some kind of 3d to 2d converter?
#3
10/20/2008 (2:24 am)
Well, I don't know exactly how they do it (that's more the designer part of it) but in my mind I see them moving the animations frame by frame and clicking "Print Screen" :) 
#4
10/21/2008 (1:17 pm)
You would need to add them in manually since the Builder doesn't recognize 3D assets AFAIK. There are a lot of fun games that use 3D models in the way you're describing. I'm not so sure about the projection statement that Joao made, though. I got a little lost there. Most constrain movement to a specific axis and setup collision, etc along that axis. Or else they have path data for the movement area and camera (similar to Pandemonium on the Playstation). 
Torque Owner Joao Caxaria
From what I know, the 3D can build anything the 2D can, + 3D games. To do a 2D game using the 3D engine, you can just 'forget' the 3rd dimension (Z in a XYZ plane) and everything would run smoothly.
Now, given the examples you gave, all those games (as far as I know) were done using a 2D engine. If you want to use the 3D models, I would suggest that you create the models (in 3D) and project them into a sprite (2D), using all the movements you will need. This will give you sprites that look and feel as 3D.
PS: I'm rather new to Torque so, if I'm wrong, would someone please step up? :)