The Torque RTS Commercial Starter Kit provides foundational technology and modifications to the Torque Game Engine to make it easier for professional studios to quickly produce their own strategy games. The RTS Commercial Starter Kit will give you and your team the leg-up you need to quickly prototype your game, and start adding the features you need to make your game shine.

This kit is invaluable for anyone aspiring to make a Real Time Strategy game using Torque. This starter kit, however, is not limited in it's usefulness to an RTS game. A top-down RPG, similar to Dungeon Siege or Baldur's Gate, could greatly benefit from the selection and camera features, as well as the built-in, efficient multi-player support. Maybe you have an idea for a puzzle game that includes running little things around, this starter kit will give you the foundation to make your game work.

This Starter Kit consists of an installer which contains the full Torque 1.5.2 codebase along with the changes needed to make use of the RTS code. (Note that you must own Commercial Torque to purchase the RTS Commercial Starter Kit.) Once you download the RTS Starter Kit, you'll have a working code base from the second you run the installer. The kit comes with an example directory containing example scripts and UI demonstrating how to take advantage of the features and technology offered. Included documentation explains the code and technology so that you not only have a start on your Real Time Strategy game, but you learn each step of the way. Both intermediate and advanced users will find lots of useful code and techniques in the RTS Commercial Starter Kit, although beginners should be warned it doesn't pull any punches!

This pack was built on Torque 1.5.2

WATCH THE RTS MOVIE
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The new camera system provides "god-view"-style behavior and lets players control the position, zoom, and pitch of the camera. The camera is flexible and easy to customize. The camera smoothly follows terrain heights, moving up and down with the terrain. The camera system's networking routines are optimized for RTS-style scenarios, offering smooth client-side control no matter how busy the server (yet, without sacrificing security).


The customized mini-map system draws an overview of the mission area and displays tactical information (building and unit locations, known positions of enemies, etc). The mini-map can be used to control the camera, and can display event alerts and also teammate pings.


The specialized RTSUnit class have a highly optimized networking scheme so that efficiently managing large numbers of units is easy. The RTSUnit's simplified physics help make it easier to process large numbers of units. You can also customize what features RTSUnits have turned on - disable shadows, look animations, or water interaction to save resources. The RTSUnit also uses a customizable Datablock and Modifier system, which make it simple and quick to define new types of units without sacrificing the ability for individual units to have buffs, debuffs, and special abilities.


Players can place DTS buildings in real-time, complete with build, idle, and destruction animations, as well as the ability to preview building placement. The RTSBuilding's simple script interface allows buildings to receive commands, and scripted behavior can easily be hooked-in. Since buildings are derived from RTSUnit, adding mobile structures (like StarCraft's Terran buildings) is easy.


The RTS Starter Kit ships with an example selection system in place. Combined with some group management optimizations, the RTS Starter Kit lets players click- or drag-select units, group them, bind groups to hotkeys, and rapidly issue commands. The selection GUI feedback system is easy to customize and provides players with immediate feedback about the status of the units they have selected. The selection system is easy to modify and clearly documented, so that you can tweak and customize the way it works to suite your particular game design.


A simple multiplayer Lobby is included, defining a customizable system to allow players to gather, chat, and prepare before starting their game, just like you find in most RTSs.


GarageGames is becoming known for its voluminous documentation and the RTS Starter Kit is no slouch. The docs explain each of the systems in the Starter Kit, and the simple example game the pack ships with has well-documented source-code to demonstrate how to use the systems in the pack in a hands-on fashion.

You must own an Indie or Commercial TGE License in order to purchase or use the RTS Starter Kit.

Hardware requirements:
Windows 2000/XP
Pentium III 700mhz or better
128 MB RAM
250 MB free hard drive space
4x CD ROM Drive
OpenGL or DirectX Compatible 3D Graphics Accelerator
DirectX compatible Soundcard
Internet access

Mac OS X 10.2+
G4+, 128MB RAM
OpenGL-compatible 3D graphics accelerator
Supported compilers: XCode

Linux
Pentium 500 or AMD 500
128 MB RAM
NVIDIA TNT2 or better 3D Graphics Accelerator, Linux-supported sound card
XFree86 4.0 or newer with NVIDIA OpenGL drivers
glibc 2.2 or newer (e.g.: Redhat 7.x+, Mandrake 8.x+, Debian 3.0+)
SDL version 1.2 or newer (1.2.3 or later is recommended)
OpenAL Runtime or SDK Installation
Mesa3D version 3.4 or newer (3.4.2 or later recommended)
Supported Compilers: GNU make and g++ (version 2 or 3)