Questions on the different versions of Torque

#21 These spam bots are getting sneaky. lol
Please remove this post and the one above (#20).

#22 Hey D.L. I'm wondering if I can ask you a few questions.

So far I've downloaded T3D Demo, TGEA Demo, and TGB Demo is now installing and I went through each one and I'm just trying to get a grasp. I'm only 16 and at the moment I'm trying to self teach, but with my very short 2 day experience with 3D Max Autodesk, I just can't self teach myself this stuff anymore and I need some help.

My major problem and concern is getting my foot in the door and get an IDEA down and start working on it. I really learn well when I had someone with a guiding hand walk me through making some examples and showing me where stuff is, and that's usually how I get the hang of it and pick up on it. But I find getting an idea on what to make to help test out the program is what kills me the most.

Umm, it's a little garbled, if you can make anything out of that please reply.

#23 Im a little confused with differences between TGB and TX2D

In terms of licensing and usage I can see TGB comes in two packages as Torque 2D and Torque 3D, the products state there is cross platform deployment option for Wii, Xbox360 and iPhone with TGB

Having looked at the code from TX2D and TGB they seem very different, I have made the same mock up game on both systems but both use quite different syntax.

Can I purchase TGB2D with license option to distribute to PC, Browser(flash)and Xbox360 deployment ? If so how much ?

I do realize the TX2D and TGB2D engines seem very different in terms of syntax(TorqueScript and c#), and I can’t visualize a kind of “magic box” IDE that will allow me to develop once on PC the distribute to PC, and Xbox360 with minimal code changes, though this is what I am looking for. Looking at the site the product description gives this impression. Can it really be so ? A “Build once Deploy too many” ? Seems like a dream, I would like to confirm or point me in direction of information that could let me know about this.

#24 TGB is T2D, which is not T3D. Torque3D is its own product. TGB is the old engine, T2D is the coming version of the same engine. There's no product called TGB2D. T2D and T3D share platform stuff and scripting, but are otherwise different. Xbox 360 needs a licence you have to inquire about through e-mail - they don't let on exactly what it costs you :)
(Hint: $lots, and you need an official Xbox 360 devkit.)

T2D is C++ or TorqueScript, while TX is meant for managed C# code on 360 (which incidentally gives you a PC port in the process). TX is the magic box if you ONLY want to develop for Windows and 360.

T2D gives you OS X and Windows. Add-on licences give you Wii (WiiWare or disc)/Xbox 360 (XBLA or disc)/possibly PS3 (similar to 360). TX is only for the indie game stuff (which isn't even available in most countries).

Browser: We still don't know if they will do it for T2D. It's a game engine, and little tweaks and fixes to the C++ base are always desirable. But then a thousand different plug-ins will be made. Flash is a generic runtime with no game-specific things defined (or even app-specific - it's just a canvas, timeline-based animation and ActionScript 3), so keeping one version around is easier.

You can't get 360 AND browsers in the same engine cheaply. A browser plug-in is still in need of being compiled for each platform, and there's more than one browser.

#25 I have seen a licensing chart that showed there would be a Basic Developer edition of the new Torque 3D engine for $250. That does not seem to be available from the current licensing information on the Torque 3D Game Engine page. If that is not available, could I save some money by purchasing the Torque 2D Game Engine and then upgrading it to the Torque 3D (trying to figure a workaround for the $1,000 price)?

#26 It's still being discussed, but I think Brett Seyler mentioned a possible blog on Monday. The 2D and 3D engines don't have cross-product upgrades, though. You can go from the old TGE to TGEA to T3D, paying the difference. Or you could have the ancient T2D (first time it was named that), upgrade to TGB and then to the forthcoming T2D (round two!) for only the difference.

T2D and T3D are different product lines where they are still merging the foundation to share the same cross-platform sound/graphics/input/network base. Maybe there will be some sort of core product in the future.

#27 Thanks for the info. on the 2D and 3D engines. Since the sale of TGE was discontinued on Nov. 1, 2009, if I do not own a copy of that game engine, I am out of luck to go the TGE to TGEA to T3D route paying the difference.

Maybe a Basic Developer version of T3D will be available soon.

Thanks again!

#28 Hi, everyone. My name is Jonathan Price, I'm a student of Game Art and Design at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh (Online), new to the game development scene (but with a strong passion for games) and I happened across this while perusing a disc that came with my class text. I've been reading far and wide that the worst thing I can do is wait until I get my degree to start working on game development (i.e., get started now!), so I'm trying to tap into the resources and learn and DO as much as I can. So when I first found this website, the first thing I did was write up a huge email asking a lot of questions that, as I disover now, could mostly have been answered just by checking out this thread. (If the person who answers the emails is reading this and sees one from dualmask, just ignore it, heh.)

I was very close to purchasing the T3D game engine at the $100 price, but based on what I read here, I might have been jumping a little far ahead, especially after reading that T3D doesn't actually have a 3D modeling program as part of the engine (which I don't know how to use anyway). I find that I need to learn how to think like a game developer before I start messing around with 3D game development.

Anyway, the reason for my post is that I'm a little confused as far as licensing and selling games goes. If I were to purchase the TGB (the 2D engine) for $100 and somehow miraculously make a good game with it, would I be able to sell it? Or does that require the professional version? I read that sales of under $250K are fine, but I just want to be clear on the details.

Also, I was thinking about 2D games with 3D graphics, games like Trine, Bionic Commando Rearmed, etc. (Drawing multiple sprite animation frames is a bit of a turn-off; I'd rather learn how to make figure models and animate them.) How would one go about developing a game like that? Could one incorporate 3D models into a 2D engine or is that a modification of a 3D engine?

#29 @Jonathan

You can sell your game with any of the licenses we offer for TGB. The Indie license allows for sales up to $250k/year, after that you'll have to upgrade to the Commercial license. The Pro distinction for TGB refers to whether or not you have the source code. TGB Pro includes the source code whereas TGB is just the binary.

This was the old licensing structure which is slightly different from the new one we're using with T3D which is more simplified. The T3D Binary and Pro licenses allow for sales up to $250k/year, after that you'll have to upgrade to the Studio license.

TGB allows for 3D models to be used in the scene. You can also use T3D to make a 2D game. A 2D game is nothing more than a locked camera angle and movement restricted to only 2 axes. It's easily done with just TorqueScript.

Also a quick sidenote, I can't think of any engines that feature a full on modeling suite within the engine itself. Content for most game engines has to be created by external programs like Maya, Max, Photoshop, etc. T3D 1.1 does have a sketch tool, but it is intended for prototyping and not for final art.

#30 There is no game engine that I know of which has a 3D modelling program included. If you want it cheap and easy, there's Milkshape 3D ($35). Free and tricky: Blender.

Yes, you are free to sell any game made with any Torque engine you pay money for. $100 TGB and $250 TGB Pro is the same in that respect. Your modification options are limited, is all, but it's probably the engine you can do the most with before you start to miss source code. T3D is already much better than previous engines in that respect, so a binary version is still very useful.

You can use 3D models in TGB, but you can also render models to sprite sheets, depending on what sort of look you're going for. On the other hand, if you want proper lighting, you'd want T3D. Michael Perry is dreaming of making something like that, so perhaps we'll see some example use of T3D for a semi-2D game one day :)

EDIT: I must swear at Scott for typing faster. Damn you Scott, and damn your quick connection!

#31 Thanks for the quick replies! See, not knowing that 3D game engines don't come with 3D modeling software is just another example of my incredible lack of understanding. That's why it's good to ask questions.

Now I know what my first step will be. I'm going to look into TGB first and learn the ins and outs of actually designing simpler games before I start fiddling with 3D. And I'm also going to look into that Mikshape 3D as mentioned. $35 is pocket change.

Thanks again.

#32 I have a quick question of my own.

To confirm, if you want to use Torque 3D for iPhone, you need to purchase Torque 3D prior to that because you primarily use this for the game development, then take it over to Torque 3D for iPhone?

Also what does the per seat developer actually mean? If I was to buy a Torque 3D license, does that mean I can let a designer use the world editor to build my levels without purchasing another licence as I am the only one editing source code?

#33 Hello everyone! I'm new to Garagegames.com and TGB.

I have some questions that might have already been answered, but I can tell that some of these posts are a bit old and i assume that some of the answers are outdated.

My questions is:

1. Does "TGB Platformer Kit Pro (Indie) $100" work on iTorque 2D?
2. When I finish my game, what do I do to get the game on appstore?
3. Can I make a game in iTorque 2D and later open it in Torque 2D to deploy it to other platforms?
4. Is iTorque 2D and Torque 2D a safe buy? Considering lots of news about engines not longer supported.
5. If I buy iTorque 2D can I download it and work with the same project on both my pc and my mac? if it works, do I need two licenses?

If I can get clear answers this will help me out allot :D