Gamestudio

3D Game Studio (short 3DGS ) is a software package of Conitec, which includes not only the designed for computer games and other multimedia applications 3D engine Acknex also a complete development environment with its own scripting language. The included Tool-Set contains a simple model editor (MED ), a GNP -based level editor ( WED ), a script editor with integrated debugger (SED ) as well as a WYSIWYG editor, with which 3D environments can be modified within the current application ( GED).

In addition to the tools provided a comprehensive and customizable template system, numerous sample programs, various SDKs for the tools and engine and a multilingual reference are also texture and artwork collections included.

The template system allows you to create simple first-person shooters, RPGs, racing games, etc. with no programming knowledge. For more complex games and other genres, it is recommended using the supplied programming languages ​​and tools to write his own programs.

Until the introduction of the A7 game engine in 2007, the 3D Game Studio possessed with the A6 engine just about the scripting language C- script, a simplified version of C. C -Script programs can not be pre-compiled, but are compiled at the start of the engine and translated into machine code. Furthermore, it is the experienced programmer possible to expand on various software development kits, the tools or the engine through its own functions and features. There SDK versions including for C / C and Delphi.

Since 2007, the C -Script compiler is no longer being developed, but is still supported by the A7. Instead, developed in collaboration with Atari lite-C language is used with which to optimize the functions of the Windows API or DirectX directly respond. This can be developed much more complex programs.

Tools

The supplied model editor MED is more for beginners. It has the basic tools for modeling, texturing and animating.

In the level editor WED all items of the gaming world are composed. Each object (English Entity ) functions can be assigned to the Level Editor. The program defined object properties can be edited in input windows, so that a level designer can assemble and configure the level environments individually. The template system can even be extended, or you can even create and use templates so that the level design can be completely separated from the code.

The map compiler compiles the levels that have been compiled in WED and generates a binary file that stores all model references, Meshes newly generated lightmap data, object definitions, and so on. Since the introduction of the A7 game engine, there are two rendering techniques, ABT and BSP - Tree rendering, which also require a different compilation of the level. The BSP tree rendering is reserved from the A7 game engine, the Pro version and leads to a longer compile because the compiler needs to compute all the visibility data. To compile in ABT mode, so you can also concave geometry or import models as static geometry (and also with Light mapping data provided ). We can all levels directly from other programs such as Import Maya ( software) or 3D Studio Max. In the future you can load precompiled lightmap data from these programs.

The advantage of authoring systems such as 3D Game Studio is the effective interaction between the individual parts and the resulting economic utility (shorter development time ). The reason is that the developer does not need to invest more time, effort and money for even the most elaborate development of these things, but can only concentrate on the design and implementation of a game. Disadvantages are eliminating it to be technically in the last level and the - compared to individually tailored to a project tools - low flexibility (with the SDK this disadvantage actually revised).

Current status

In 2007, the version 7 of 3D Game Studio appeared with the A7 game engine. Accompanying this was released the lite- C programming language, which is also available free of charge. The progress of the engine is also backed up by a more modern rendering kernel based on an Adaptive Binary Tree, and a planned focus on a completely shader -based rendering.

2010 was the current version 8 on the market. The engine was brought up to date to keep up with its competitors can. The completely shader - based rendering has now been expanded, including through the function of real-time shadow mapping. For quick success in designing levels but still remained slightly to be designed " WED - block " get. This Level design is based on Constructive Solid Geometry ( constructive solid geometry), which often came to be used in older 3D games, but now increasingly the polygonal geometry has given. This method generally provides significantly higher quality results, but is much more complex and expensive to handle. The supplied tool MED is often criticized in the community, which is neither the creation of complex models, nor the shader - based implementation in the engine allows. Other features of the new A8 engine is now implemented in the Lite -C Nvidia PhysX, which replaces the old ODE physics engine, as well as numerous (ongoing ) improvement of the script language Lite -C. In addition, some improvements have been made, for example, the reduction of the rendering time of models.

Features of A7

Features of A8

Limitations

A special license condition prohibiting the use of game studio for games, the "open violence against any group, race, nation or religion of today's real world propagate " (quote from the license agreement ).

History of development

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