Posted By: XNASorcerer
S2 engine game demo - 08/21/07 11:42
For those that was wanting to try a demo made with the S2 engine, send me a message and I will send you a link for a little FPS game demo made with the S2 engine.
S2 engine game demo
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/21/07 11:59
Posted By: nuclear_winter
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/21/07 12:28
the link is broken
thanks in advance
thanks in advance
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/21/07 12:42
Fixed! And please, tell me what are your opinion about it.
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/21/07 13:59
And I forgot. To run it, click on the FrontEnd.exe file. To close it: "Alt+F4". 
Posted By: nuclear_winter
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/21/07 14:29
it opens and closes in an instant... maybe i need to reboot?
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/21/07 15:42
Quote:
it opens and closes in an instant... maybe i need to reboot?
You should only hit "Alt+F4" when you want to close it! Now, talking serious: I tested on two computers and it runs fine. Look at the log file and try to see what is wrong with it.
Did anyone else have this or any other kind of problems?
Posted By: ChrisB
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/21/07 18:27
I have the same problem as nuclear_winter.
WinXP sp2
Radeon 9550
Sound: C-media onboard
From the log:
WinXP sp2
Radeon 9550
Sound: C-media onboard
From the log:
Quote:
(ERROR) S2Engine::Initalize(): Cannot instantiate AudioDevice
Posted By: TheExpert
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/21/07 18:45
So sorcerer you've gone XNA now 
?? good choice anyway if it's the case
Not on subject, but i've don't have been from long time on BV engine ...
i've just looked some months ago , is the engine abandonned,
no more news about Gekido ?
Tried the demo : very fluid with lighting , characters,shaders,shadows ...
AAA quality.
For serious teams it can be the choice, now i don't know it's state ?
syable , easy to program ?
no missing tools ?
What i like , it seems to have all shaders , lightening , shadows, animations etc ... alla integrated ready to go
For tools , i odn't knwo , but it seemed to be 3DSMAX exportes ? only ?
Let's hope people buying it won't follow some BV engine bad way ??
?? good choice anyway if it's the case Not on subject, but i've don't have been from long time on BV engine ...
i've just looked some months ago , is the engine abandonned,
no more news about Gekido ?
Tried the demo : very fluid with lighting , characters,shaders,shadows ...
AAA quality.
For serious teams it can be the choice, now i don't know it's state ?
syable , easy to program ?
no missing tools ?
What i like , it seems to have all shaders , lightening , shadows, animations etc ... alla integrated ready to go
For tools , i odn't knwo , but it seemed to be 3DSMAX exportes ? only ?
Let's hope people buying it won't follow some BV engine bad way ??
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/21/07 19:09
CrisB and nuclear, I am looking into it.
TheExpert, yes, I am following the XNA path. I have my engine at the place where the next step will be implementing an AI system. I recomend this for everyone. With a little studing, and hard work, we can make our own engine.
About BV... Gekido, released today a public update for everyone to try it. For me, it doesn't help me much, because the bug that stop me from working with BV, is still there.
S2 engine:
Well, I have the engine for a while now, but I never touch it until today. I was waiting for the tutorial that would come with this update, but they had a problem with their hard disk and lost the tutorial, some files and a few other things.
How long am I using it? Just a few hours! And I already manage to make a level with 4 rooms and I make it to work. So, the learning curve to make level, make a scene, add a player, some enemies is very short. Now to add your own model, well, I can not say about that because I still didn't try this yet. I am only working with the models that come with the engine. They are betting on the FBX format, and I think that they also talked about COLLADA.
The engine comes with a Materia editor ( very easy to use!!! I love it!), a world editor ( easy to use!! ), a model editor ( I still didn't use it ), a sceneStudio ( easy to use! ), a config editor (very easy to use!! But I don't understand why they made that way, but it works fine), a viewer for you to view your game ( simple and very easy to use! But I don't see the reason for this viewer. I don't use it. ), and a FrontEnd viewer ( With this we release the game. Simple to use. )
The S2 way of working is completely diferent from BV. BV is alot more easy, I think that BV is the easiest engine out there. But it has a lot of problems and there is no communication between the developers and the community, not anymore. The S2 engine gives a little more work, but it produces very good results. Did you play the demo that I posted here? You can also see another video of the FPSdemo ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf3vDcYF_i8 ) . I reduce the quality of the video to reduce the size of it.
I already talked about the tools. Now about the coding part, well, just open the folder Scripts and look at them.
Stable? Yes, as long as you don't call a file that is not at the pointed path. The engine was crashing for me, until I found that the script was asking for other files. After adding those files, the crashes were gone!!! And until the Nuclear and CrisB problem, the released demo was working fine.
Quote:
So sorcerer you've gone XNA now
Not on subject, but i've don't have been from long time on BV engine ...
i've just looked some months ago , is the engine abandonned,
no more news about Gekido ?
Tried the demo : very fluid with lighting , characters,shaders,shadows ...
AAA quality.
For serious teams it can be the choice, now i don't know it's state ?
syable , easy to program ?
no missing tools ?
What i like , it seems to have all shaders , lightening , shadows, animations etc ... alla integrated ready to go
For tools , i odn't knwo , but it seemed to be 3DSMAX exportes ? only ?
Let's hope people buying it won't follow some BV engine bad way ??
TheExpert, yes, I am following the XNA path. I have my engine at the place where the next step will be implementing an AI system. I recomend this for everyone. With a little studing, and hard work, we can make our own engine.
About BV... Gekido, released today a public update for everyone to try it. For me, it doesn't help me much, because the bug that stop me from working with BV, is still there.
S2 engine:
Well, I have the engine for a while now, but I never touch it until today. I was waiting for the tutorial that would come with this update, but they had a problem with their hard disk and lost the tutorial, some files and a few other things.
How long am I using it? Just a few hours! And I already manage to make a level with 4 rooms and I make it to work. So, the learning curve to make level, make a scene, add a player, some enemies is very short. Now to add your own model, well, I can not say about that because I still didn't try this yet. I am only working with the models that come with the engine. They are betting on the FBX format, and I think that they also talked about COLLADA.
The engine comes with a Materia editor ( very easy to use!!! I love it!), a world editor ( easy to use!! ), a model editor ( I still didn't use it ), a sceneStudio ( easy to use! ), a config editor (very easy to use!! But I don't understand why they made that way, but it works fine), a viewer for you to view your game ( simple and very easy to use! But I don't see the reason for this viewer. I don't use it. ), and a FrontEnd viewer ( With this we release the game. Simple to use. )
The S2 way of working is completely diferent from BV. BV is alot more easy, I think that BV is the easiest engine out there. But it has a lot of problems and there is no communication between the developers and the community, not anymore. The S2 engine gives a little more work, but it produces very good results. Did you play the demo that I posted here? You can also see another video of the FPSdemo ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf3vDcYF_i8 ) . I reduce the quality of the video to reduce the size of it.
Quote:
Tried the demo : very fluid with lighting , characters,shaders,shadows ...
AAA quality.
For serious teams it can be the choice, now i don't know it's state ?
syable , easy to program ?
no missing tools ?
I already talked about the tools. Now about the coding part, well, just open the folder Scripts and look at them.
Stable? Yes, as long as you don't call a file that is not at the pointed path. The engine was crashing for me, until I found that the script was asking for other files. After adding those files, the crashes were gone!!! And until the Nuclear and CrisB problem, the released demo was working fine.
Posted By: achaziel
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/21/07 19:46
very nice effects, bloom (or is it hdr?) works fantastic and the lightning too... but how do i increase the resolution? 
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/21/07 19:52
Quote:
very nice effects, bloom (or is it hdr?) works fantastic and the lightning too... but how do i increase the resolution?
Bloom!
Well, since this is a simple demo, there is no GUI for do that. But you can open the "S2Engine.cfg" and change the "VideoMode=10" (640x480) to "VideoMode=27" for 800x600, "VideoMode=46" for 1024x768.
Posted By: Frederick_Lim
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/21/07 23:23
Can I achieve the same lighting effect in A7?
I don't like the scripting of this engine, it looks too complex. Only IF...THEN?
I don't like the scripting of this engine, it looks too complex. Only IF...THEN?
Posted By: Machinery_Frank
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/22/07 07:48
Lighting is the key. It changes everything.
As far as I know it was only possible in the past via external rendering libraries (some replacements for the A6/A7 renderer). So did Sylex or Sphere.
This means short and simply: No, A7 cannot do it. You need an external tool. But there is none for A7 yet.
As far as I know it was only possible in the past via external rendering libraries (some replacements for the A6/A7 renderer). So did Sylex or Sphere.
This means short and simply: No, A7 cannot do it. You need an external tool. But there is none for A7 yet.
Posted By: gri
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/22/07 09:59
hi,
dont know why all the people loves this lightning.
What is this ? Zombies are taking a sunbath ?
I cant stand it ! Its so cruel
This is the fact why I leave the Game "Oblivion" after a view hours!
This blurry - softed view. Baeeee...terrible!
Nice to take a picture. But in a game it is an additional layer between me and
the "gameworld". This is so useless like this "lensflare-effect" but in the beginning all people loves it.
Nothing against the S2 engine but this blurry softed Lightning is not a feature!
,gri
dont know why all the people loves this lightning.
What is this ? Zombies are taking a sunbath ?
I cant stand it ! Its so cruel
This is the fact why I leave the Game "Oblivion" after a view hours!
This blurry - softed view. Baeeee...terrible!
Nice to take a picture. But in a game it is an additional layer between me and
the "gameworld". This is so useless like this "lensflare-effect" but in the beginning all people loves it.
Nothing against the S2 engine but this blurry softed Lightning is not a feature!
,gri
Posted By: Machinery_Frank
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/22/07 10:03
I agree with you gri. They very much over-did this effect.
But think away the blurry part and you still have good shadows and per-pixel-lighting. Bloom is not always needed.
PS: You can switch off Bloom in Oblivion as well. No need to suffer from blurry game experiences.
But think away the blurry part and you still have good shadows and per-pixel-lighting. Bloom is not always needed.
PS: You can switch off Bloom in Oblivion as well. No need to suffer from blurry game experiences.
Posted By: JibbSmart
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/22/07 10:52
Quote:
Lighting is the key. It changes everything.
As far as I know it was only possible in the past via external rendering libraries (some replacements for the A6/A7 renderer). So did Sylex or Sphere.
This means short and simply: No, A7 cannot do it. You need an external tool. But there is none for A7 yet.
shaders will do it all for you. it is possible in a7. commercial or higher. the only thing shaders won't do is the stencil shadows, which a7 already has -- z-fail, and in this screenshot they're orthographic, which a7 does whether you want it to or not
julz
Posted By: Felixsg
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/22/07 11:03
Personally I love gamestudio
but where is the link to the s2 engine?
but where is the link to the s2 engine?
Posted By: Machinery_Frank
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/22/07 11:09
Quote:
Personally I love gamestudio
but where is the link to the s2 engine?
We all do! Thats the reason we are here.
Here is the link:
http://www.profenix.com/S2Features.html
Posted By: Frits
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/22/07 12:15
Part of the S2engine basic edition licence;
4. FEES.
(a) The S2BE License fee for the Engine is 100 euros per EACH Game made with the engine tools and script sources. There are no additional royalties. Licensee does not have to show the Games or publish the Games with Profenix Studio.
(b) Licensee agrees to display a full screen, unmodified S2Engine logo for no less than four full seconds in the start up sequence of any game created and released with the Engine.
(c) Licensee agrees to include in the "About" box or in the credits screen: (i) a link to www.profenix.com, and (ii) the wording "This game powered by the S2Engine."
(d) Licensor may use Licensee's name in connection with the Games and in any customer reference list or in any press release issued by Licensor regarding the licensing of the Engine.
4. FEES.
(a) The S2BE License fee for the Engine is 100 euros per EACH Game made with the engine tools and script sources. There are no additional royalties. Licensee does not have to show the Games or publish the Games with Profenix Studio.
(b) Licensee agrees to display a full screen, unmodified S2Engine logo for no less than four full seconds in the start up sequence of any game created and released with the Engine.
(c) Licensee agrees to include in the "About" box or in the credits screen: (i) a link to www.profenix.com, and (ii) the wording "This game powered by the S2Engine."
(d) Licensor may use Licensee's name in connection with the Games and in any customer reference list or in any press release issued by Licensor regarding the licensing of the Engine.
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/22/07 13:02
Quote:
hi,
dont know why all the people loves this lightning.
What is this ? Zombies are taking a sunbath ?
I cant stand it ! Its so cruel
This is the fact why I leave the Game "Oblivion" after a view hours!
This blurry - softed view. Baeeee...terrible!
Nice to take a picture. But in a game it is an additional layer between me and
the "gameworld". This is so useless like this "lensflare-effect" but in the beginning all people loves it.
Nothing against the S2 engine but this blurry softed Lightning is not a feature!
,gri
You can always turn off the bloom effect and also animated that light(The Sun) to go down and make a dark night time instead of day bright time.
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/22/07 14:54
Nuclear and CrisB and for that can not run the demo, because it opens and close it right after, go inside the folder of the demo and look at the log file. If it says this:
(ERROR) S2Engine::Initalize(): Cannot instantiate AudioDevice
Than, you have to install the OpenAl sound library. Here is the link: http://developer.creative.com/articles/article.asp?cat=1&sbcat=31&top=38&aid=46
(ERROR) S2Engine::Initalize(): Cannot instantiate AudioDevice
Than, you have to install the OpenAl sound library. Here is the link: http://developer.creative.com/articles/article.asp?cat=1&sbcat=31&top=38&aid=46
Posted By: ChrisB
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/22/07 18:27
yep, it works now.
I always wished to do these effects in 3dgs
oh well this pc is way to slow, but it looks cool
I always wished to do these effects in 3dgs
oh well this pc is way to slow, but it looks cool
Posted By: TheExpert
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/22/07 18:59
" So, the learning curve to make level, make a scene, add a player, some enemies is very short"
Well that's all tha counts , instead of coding , like i said , i target : produce levels , characters 3D art only , and just game behaviour script. Simple to use that's what i want : )
"The S2 way of working is completely diferent from BV. BV is alot more easy, I think that BV is the easiest engine out there"
Coo lhting to ear, even if i coud only make some Adventure/FPS , i prefer to do it with all package ready ot go instead of dealing with missing tools or coding missing ones
"But it has a lot of problems and Did you play the demo that I posted here? You can also see another video of the FPSdemo"
Yeah , i played the demo , and seeing dynamic lights interacting with
shaders and shadows, with some post process effect , all working and incredibly smooth on my PC , make me only think in a quality AAA engine
Even if it's not terrain oriented ? it can serve for third person games, arcade or FPS/Adventure or what you can imagine in 3D with a camera
I keep an eye on it.
Well that's all tha counts , instead of coding , like i said , i target : produce levels , characters 3D art only , and just game behaviour script. Simple to use that's what i want : )
"The S2 way of working is completely diferent from BV. BV is alot more easy, I think that BV is the easiest engine out there"
Coo lhting to ear, even if i coud only make some Adventure/FPS , i prefer to do it with all package ready ot go instead of dealing with missing tools or coding missing ones
"But it has a lot of problems and Did you play the demo that I posted here? You can also see another video of the FPSdemo"
Yeah , i played the demo , and seeing dynamic lights interacting with
shaders and shadows, with some post process effect , all working and incredibly smooth on my PC , make me only think in a quality AAA engine
Even if it's not terrain oriented ? it can serve for third person games, arcade or FPS/Adventure or what you can imagine in 3D with a camera
I keep an eye on it.
Posted By: Frederick_Lim
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/22/07 22:25
Quote:
With S2Engine SDK is, also, possible to customize and extend game objects via C++. Moreover SDK is supplied with Standard object packages: BasePack, CharacterPack, GadgetPack, TriggerPack, DoorPack. BasePack contains Billboard, Base Light, Base Camera, Paricle systems. CharacterPack contains Player Character, Non Player Character. GadgetPack contains Base Weapons. DoorPack contains base door classes. TriggerPack contains base trigger classes.
That sounds very similar to Torque: "If you want something unique, please code in C++", or
wait and buy additional Pack, like RTS pack, racing pack.......
lite-C is easier for me.
Posted By: PHeMoX
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/22/07 22:59
Quote:
shaders will do it all for you. it is possible in a7. commercial or higher. the only thing shaders won't do is the stencil shadows, which a7 already has -- z-fail, and in this screenshot they're orthographic, which a7 does whether you want it to or not
Actually, the one thing shaders don't do is write themselves...
Cheers
Posted By: Orange Brat
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/23/07 03:23
Quote:Quote:
shaders will do it all for you. it is possible in a7. commercial or higher. the only thing shaders won't do is the stencil shadows, which a7 already has -- z-fail, and in this screenshot they're orthographic, which a7 does whether you want it to or not
Actually, the one thing shaders don't do is write themselves...
Cheers
True, but one day we'll have good old 1.x shaders built into A7. First, though jcl needs to put down his caviar and Cuban cigars.
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/26/07 22:50
I upload a new video of the FPS demo made with S2, but this time in wireframe mode. You can the engine drawing and removing object that enter and leave the camera area.
http://www.youtube.com/v/jf3hQgY0E4E
http://www.youtube.com/v/jf3hQgY0E4E
Posted By: HPW
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/26/07 23:27
Just as an Info...
It runs smooth if no one is firing (like > 180 FPS). But if some enemies are firing, then the game runs like with 15 FPS and if the player is firing it runs like 2 FPS.
My System: Intel Dual Core 3,4GHZ; 2 GB DDR2 RAM; GeForce 7900GS
But it looks nice.
It runs smooth if no one is firing (like > 180 FPS). But if some enemies are firing, then the game runs like with 15 FPS and if the player is firing it runs like 2 FPS.
My System: Intel Dual Core 3,4GHZ; 2 GB DDR2 RAM; GeForce 7900GS
But it looks nice.
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/26/07 23:47
Quote:
Just as an Info...
It runs smooth if no one is firing (like > 180 FPS). But if some enemies are firing, then the game runs like with 15 FPS and if the player is firing it runs like 2 FPS.
My System: Intel Dual Core 3,4GHZ; 2 GB DDR2 RAM; GeForce 7900GS
But it looks nice.
A user on the S2 forum reported this, but this is not happening with everyone. For example, is not happening with me.
Posted By: Machinery_Frank
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/27/07 07:33
From the wireframes it looks very interesting. They must have a good scene-management. It really displays only visible contents.
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/27/07 13:44
Quote:
From the wireframes it looks very interesting. They must have a good scene-management. It really displays only visible contents.
Yes, this is one of the best features of this engine. And that scene don't even use any Occluder object ( Very easy to use it also! ).
Posted By: IslandDreamer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/27/07 17:06
Sorcerer, you should produce one of your wonderful tutorial videos for the s2 engine. I will host it, if you do!
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/27/07 18:59
Maybe a little later. I just found a serious bug on one of their editor. Whenever I try to add waypoints for the Ai, when them I try to save, the editor will crash and delete my scene file.
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/31/07 13:41
Quote:
Let's hope people buying it won't follow some BV engine bad way ??
Well, I am not sure about this, but I think that this is already happening. I am starting to see some of the similarities with BV developers approach. Just look at their forum. Lots of questions now without answers.
But there is a diference: I can talk with one of the S2 developers, Paolo, by msn. But he doesn't know much about the S2 scripting.
Also, as with BV, their manual is not complete.
So, another great engine that is going on a bad way? Let's hope not!
Posted By: Machinery_Frank
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/31/07 14:13
I really dont understand that. The most important point for a sophisticated software like a 3d engine is the quality of their documentations and examples. That is one of the reasons why Unreal-technology sells so well.
And I also dont understand it from the other way around: If you spend several years to produce such a great tool then writing a manual is just a small task but it helps all the world to dive into your genious masterpiece of software so it could even feel good for a developer to write such a documentation. It can be fun and can show the world your concepts and ideas.
But when they lack good tutorials then they do not sell enough copies and they wonder what is wrong with their great tools and abandon to improve it later on.
Documentation is just another part of this software and should meet the same level of support.
And I also dont understand it from the other way around: If you spend several years to produce such a great tool then writing a manual is just a small task but it helps all the world to dive into your genious masterpiece of software so it could even feel good for a developer to write such a documentation. It can be fun and can show the world your concepts and ideas.
But when they lack good tutorials then they do not sell enough copies and they wonder what is wrong with their great tools and abandon to improve it later on.
Documentation is just another part of this software and should meet the same level of support.
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 08/31/07 18:01
Well, I finally manage to talk with the other S2 developer. And the problem is always communication everywhere, isn't?!
The guy is implementing a GLSL "interface" for the basic version of S2. He even showed me a screenshot of a postscreen effect. It does look very nice!!
We also talked about the lack on the scripting tutorials and examples on the manual. He said that he will take care of that.
So, I guess I will be making a new video tutorial very soon.
The guy is implementing a GLSL "interface" for the basic version of S2. He even showed me a screenshot of a postscreen effect. It does look very nice!!
We also talked about the lack on the scripting tutorials and examples on the manual. He said that he will take care of that.
So, I guess I will be making a new video tutorial very soon.
Posted By: Nems
Re: S2 engine game demo - 09/01/07 00:23
You can try COLLADA , a team centric almost P2P type system for team work.
Post, upload, download are basic foundations of the App and it has a few more interesting features and is presently FREE.
@ Friendly_Frank absolutly agree with you about documentation and in particular, tutorials.
Adobe, Discreet, Macromedia etc all understood this and are still selling strong from their initial documentation releases, they were visionaries who hired educators to write the content as far as I know and of course, all are now standard names for the industry.
Why other vendors do not pursue this course is crimnal when you look at some of the mighty software that vaporises due to lack of documentation and therefore, user familiarity.
Post, upload, download are basic foundations of the App and it has a few more interesting features and is presently FREE.
@ Friendly_Frank absolutly agree with you about documentation and in particular, tutorials.
Adobe, Discreet, Macromedia etc all understood this and are still selling strong from their initial documentation releases, they were visionaries who hired educators to write the content as far as I know and of course, all are now standard names for the industry.
Why other vendors do not pursue this course is crimnal when you look at some of the mighty software that vaporises due to lack of documentation and therefore, user familiarity.
Posted By: Machinery_Frank
Re: S2 engine game demo - 09/01/07 11:46
Yes, Collada is a fine alternative format very similar to FBX.
If you ask me then I would like to have much wider support for Collada. FBX is becoming an Autodesk format more and more. All the support for XSI, Lightwave and so on is gone. Currently Autodesk only offers FBX for Maya and Max. So I am not sure what happens to this file format in the future.
Collada is free from that. It should become the real alternative for engines and modelling applications. But unfortunately not every software supports it currently. I did not find a plugin for Lightwave as an example.
Here are some more details about Collada.
software that supports collada:
https://collada.org/mediawiki/index.php/List_of_products_that_support_COLLADA
The COLLADA 1.4.x feature set includes:
As you can see one could save complete levels, animations or even cut-scenes in Collada-format.
If you ask me then I would like to have much wider support for Collada. FBX is becoming an Autodesk format more and more. All the support for XSI, Lightwave and so on is gone. Currently Autodesk only offers FBX for Maya and Max. So I am not sure what happens to this file format in the future.
Collada is free from that. It should become the real alternative for engines and modelling applications. But unfortunately not every software supports it currently. I did not find a plugin for Lightwave as an example.
Here are some more details about Collada.
software that supports collada:
https://collada.org/mediawiki/index.php/List_of_products_that_support_COLLADA
The COLLADA 1.4.x feature set includes:
- Mesh Geometry
- Transform hierarchy (rotation, translation, shear, scale, matrix)
- Effects
- Shaders (Cg, GLSL, GLES)
- Materials
- Textures
- Lights
- Cameras
- Skinning
- Animation
- Physics (rigid bodies, constraints, rag dolls, collision, volumes)
- Instancing
- Techniques
- Multirepresentations
- Assets
- User data
As you can see one could save complete levels, animations or even cut-scenes in Collada-format.
Posted By: Doug
Re: S2 engine game demo - 09/02/07 11:30
Quote:
...If you spend several years to produce such a great tool then writing a manual is just a small task ...
I agree that a good manual is every bit as important as good software. But writing good documentation is no small task. If it was, every product would have it.
Even when a good manual exists, only a small amount of people actually read it...
Posted By: Machinery_Frank
Re: S2 engine game demo - 09/02/07 13:03
Yes. I understand this point. But if you seriously learn a software then you always have to read manuals. I remember learning Lightwave or ZBrush. I could never achieve this without tutorials and manuals. A 3d engine even needs much more examples and tutorials.
The best engine documentation that I ever got my eyes on is the documentation of TGB (Torque Game Builder - the 2d engine of Torque). You have so well written tutorials, several small games as examples to teach you the techniques and of course a list of all functions, properties and parameters at the end plus a well working search engine.
The best documentation of a 3d-modelling application is the one from ZBrush. It also supports many examples to guide you into the insides of the software.
I think this is very important. A list of short descriptions is nice and is a good compendium but to teach an engine it needs knowledge about the insides the coherences, interdependencies and more. Little examples are the best way to do so.
I still work with Delphi 5 and often checked the later editions of Delphi. But the documentation got worse with every edition. The reason for the Delphi-breakthrough simply was the geat documentation. Almost every command came with an example in the online help. And the help always is just one key away. If I place the cursor above a command and press F1 then I get the fitting help page and an example.
The examples are often at their own pages since they fit to more than one command / function / structure. So they have links from various pages. That even helps to minimize the amount of examples.
The best engine documentation that I ever got my eyes on is the documentation of TGB (Torque Game Builder - the 2d engine of Torque). You have so well written tutorials, several small games as examples to teach you the techniques and of course a list of all functions, properties and parameters at the end plus a well working search engine.
The best documentation of a 3d-modelling application is the one from ZBrush. It also supports many examples to guide you into the insides of the software.
I think this is very important. A list of short descriptions is nice and is a good compendium but to teach an engine it needs knowledge about the insides the coherences, interdependencies and more. Little examples are the best way to do so.
I still work with Delphi 5 and often checked the later editions of Delphi. But the documentation got worse with every edition. The reason for the Delphi-breakthrough simply was the geat documentation. Almost every command came with an example in the online help. And the help always is just one key away. If I place the cursor above a command and press F1 then I get the fitting help page and an example.
The examples are often at their own pages since they fit to more than one command / function / structure. So they have links from various pages. That even helps to minimize the amount of examples.
Posted By: xXxGuitar511
Re: S2 engine game demo - 09/03/07 05:04
Quote:
Even when a good manual exists, only a small amount of people actually read it...
...this has been proved here many times. IDK how many times we tell people to "read the f*cking manual"...
Posted By: Atlantis_Curry
Re: S2 engine game demo - 09/13/07 23:11
I contacted them about a engine demo and they said that they might be coming out with one in October.
Posted By: Machinery_Frank
Re: S2 engine game demo - 09/14/07 07:13
I talked to them concerning import formats and they stated that there will be an API to write your own import plugin. But at the moment they can only write files via plugin directly vom 3ds max. They tried FBX but found a few issues there.
Posted By: TheExpert
Re: S2 engine game demo - 09/15/07 15:24
It would be cool to find an engine proposing full Blender plugin.
by full i mean : import diffuse map , specular map, normal map,
glow map , and lightmap for levels also.
But irecognize S2 engine , is already complete working next gen !
with normal, specular , dynamic lights , soft shadows and all the rest,
all reday to use
A7 have some lot of work to reach that state of integration
(shaders, lights, shadows) and workflow.
by full i mean : import diffuse map , specular map, normal map,
glow map , and lightmap for levels also.
But irecognize S2 engine , is already complete working next gen !
with normal, specular , dynamic lights , soft shadows and all the rest,
all reday to use
A7 have some lot of work to reach that state of integration
(shaders, lights, shadows) and workflow.
Posted By: broozar
Re: S2 engine game demo - 09/15/07 23:50
Seems like the scripting options of the base S2 pack are really limited. Good for newcomers and Doom3-Cloners, but you need to proof me that you can make all kinds of games with it.
graphics and shadow rendering capabilities seem to be awesome, though it looks a bit hard-edged.
@expert: Then you would force anyone to use blender and build the models for the engine's requirements. I prefer a universal game model format like x or fbx, maybe collada (collada can be transformed seamlessly into fbx ad back). and the blender format is in constant motion, like the c4d files... hard work to keep it up to date.
graphics and shadow rendering capabilities seem to be awesome, though it looks a bit hard-edged.
@expert: Then you would force anyone to use blender and build the models for the engine's requirements. I prefer a universal game model format like x or fbx, maybe collada (collada can be transformed seamlessly into fbx ad back). and the blender format is in constant motion, like the c4d files... hard work to keep it up to date.
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 09/25/07 01:26
S2 have a terrain editor system now, so we can make terrains inside of it. And perhaps will have a replication system for terrain just like torque. At least they said they can do it.
And shaders are already working.
And shaders are already working.
Posted By: broozar
Re: S2 engine game demo - 09/26/07 23:55
nevertheless, things like opening txt files shouldn't be limited to higher editions. for me it seems that pulling off anything with the standard edition is rather impossible, the pro license seems the way to go. but it's 500, so you better think twice.
Posted By: Machinery_Frank
Re: S2 engine game demo - 09/27/07 07:17
The price is no issue: 100 or 500 $ to realize your dream-project.
I think this is not a problem at the long run.
My problem with this tool-set is still the import-workflow. They have only a 3ds-max pipeline. And if you do not want to spend 500 instead of 100 for the engine then you also dont want to spend 5000 for max instead of 800 for Lightwave (or even less for any other modeller).
They want to provide a SDK very soon so you can write your own importer. But how many customers are able to write their own importers (with animations etc.)?
I think this is not a problem at the long run.
My problem with this tool-set is still the import-workflow. They have only a 3ds-max pipeline. And if you do not want to spend 500 instead of 100 for the engine then you also dont want to spend 5000 for max instead of 800 for Lightwave (or even less for any other modeller).
They want to provide a SDK very soon so you can write your own importer. But how many customers are able to write their own importers (with animations etc.)?
Posted By: PHeMoX
Re: S2 engine game demo - 09/27/07 08:11
Quote:
And if you do not want to spend 500 instead of 100 for the engine then you also dont want to spend 5000 for max instead of 800 for Lightwave (or even less for any other modeller).
When someone can't afford a certain engine it's usually not meant for them, when they think 3DMAX support is a logical choice then they are clearly aiming for those who actually own 3DMAX. Those with budgets above 5000$ at least. I don't think the pricing is off either, but I think we should be less surprised about the fact that it's 3DMAX-centered in regard to the import-workflow,
Cheers
Posted By: Machinery_Frank
Re: S2 engine game demo - 09/27/07 08:23
Your post does not make any sense to me and does not contribute to this topic.
If they really aim for teams with budgets with ten thousands of dollars then they dont have to sell their tool for $100
Maybe they take warez into account.
If they really aim for teams with budgets with ten thousands of dollars then they dont have to sell their tool for $100
Maybe they take warez into account.
Posted By: Frederick_Lim
Re: S2 engine game demo - 09/27/07 09:13
If the import workflow strictly rely on 3D MAX, I think S2 definitely not for users in this forum. Most people don't have legal 3DMAX I believe.
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 10/10/07 15:20
A terrain made with the new S2 terrain editor:
Now the vegetation system working. It appears only over the green areas with fading at some distance from the player:
And it is getting better and better! It has more good things already working! Surprise!!!
Now the vegetation system working. It appears only over the green areas with fading at some distance from the player:
And it is getting better and better! It has more good things already working! Surprise!!!
Posted By: TheExpert
Re: S2 engine game demo - 10/10/07 18:22
So fast already
and working , they have some talentued programmers
Do they have tools for terrain/grass to defrom /paint like Torque editor ?
and working , they have some talentued programmers
Do they have tools for terrain/grass to defrom /paint like Torque editor ?
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 10/10/07 21:45
Quote:
So fast already
and working , they have some talentued programmers
Do they have tools for terrain/grass to defrom /paint like Torque editor ?
Well, more or less. Right now, for the vegetation we use a defined mask generated by the engine. Also, the paiting is in 2D view, but we can see the result on the 3D view. But they said that it will move on to paiting directly on the terrain.
Quote:
If the import workflow strictly rely on 3D MAX, I think S2 definitely not for users in this forum. Most people don't have legal 3DMAX I believe.
This will change very soon.
Posted By: PHeMoX
Re: S2 engine game demo - 10/11/07 01:29
Why would this change? Or did you mean to imply that you are getting a legal version soon?
Regardless, there are still way too many people constantly complaining about how ridiculously high these engines or tools are priced and how they are outside of their budgets.
Lol, really, unless you've won the lottery and care to donate some money to this entire community, I don't see why this would change anytime soon...
Yeah, that was what I was saying earlier on, I don't think S2 is meant for people within our community of 3DGS users,
Cheers
Regardless, there are still way too many people constantly complaining about how ridiculously high these engines or tools are priced and how they are outside of their budgets.
Lol, really, unless you've won the lottery and care to donate some money to this entire community, I don't see why this would change anytime soon...
Quote:
If the import workflow strictly rely on 3D MAX, I think S2 definitely not for users in this forum. Most people don't have legal 3DMAX I believe.
Yeah, that was what I was saying earlier on, I don't think S2 is meant for people within our community of 3DGS users,
Cheers
Posted By: mpdeveloper_B
Re: S2 engine game demo - 10/11/07 03:10
he could be talking about making a model editor, good job btw, engine is looking good, how well does it render? by that i mean how fast
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 10/11/07 10:31
What I meant was that they are making a way for us to use others models editor like blender, lightwave, milkshape, etc.
And it render pretty fast!!
And it render pretty fast!!
Posted By: Machinery_Frank
Re: S2 engine game demo - 10/11/07 10:46
Quote:
What I meant was that they are making a way for us to use others models editor like blender, lightwave, milkshape, etc.
And it render pretty fast!!
Hey, that are good news. How are they doing that? As far as I know from their forums they just want to publish a SDK and I have to write the Lightwave export then. I don't know if I really can manage that.
Posted By: ello
Re: S2 engine game demo - 10/11/07 10:50
Quote:
Quote:
If the import workflow strictly rely on 3D MAX, I think S2 definitely not for users in this forum. Most people don't have legal 3DMAX I believe.
This will change very soon.
what will change? the support of other formats? or the users getting 3dmax?
i always ask myself why not all these programs support fbx as a great format
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 10/11/07 16:15
Quote:
what will change? the support of other formats? or the users getting 3dmax?
Support of other formats!
Posted By: mpdeveloper_B
Re: S2 engine game demo - 10/11/07 19:10
Quote:
What I meant was that they are making a way for us to use others models editor like blender, lightwave, milkshape, etc.
And it render pretty fast!!
hmm, compare the rendering to 3DGS? Serious engine 2(doubt the entity rendering can top it)? Blender? etc
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 10/21/07 17:07
Just a question about your S2 engine opinion...
In your opinion, what are the bad points of S2 engine? We all know that it has great graphics. It has a lot new shaders that you didn't see yet, a new terrain system and editor, good AI, nice shadows, a vegetation system, a good price, etc.
So, in your opinion what are stoping you from buying a S2 license? Is it the script? Is it Max support only?
In your opinion, what are the bad points of S2 engine? We all know that it has great graphics. It has a lot new shaders that you didn't see yet, a new terrain system and editor, good AI, nice shadows, a vegetation system, a good price, etc.
So, in your opinion what are stoping you from buying a S2 license? Is it the script? Is it Max support only?
Posted By: Machinery_Frank
Re: S2 engine game demo - 10/21/07 18:34
Quote:
Is it Max support only?
Yes. That's it.
Posted By: D3D
Re: S2 engine game demo - 10/21/07 22:27
What does 5 hardware keys mean? I can install the engine on 5 computers. Or the produced game on 5 computers? Just simple question: Can I use this engine and create whatever I like? I will never sell anything though it's just for fun.
Posted By: Machinery_Frank
Re: S2 engine game demo - 10/21/07 22:57
You can install it at 5 computers, maybe you and 4 friends, some kind of a team license or you just use it for yourself to install it at your laptop, pc and whatever you want.
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 10/22/07 01:57
Quote:
Just simple question: Can I use this engine and create whatever I like? I will never sell anything though it's just for fun.
No, not anything. There are some features that are not implemented yet, like multiplayer, a complete physics system( It has physics, but is not complete yet ).
For the next ( will come until the end of this month ) update (v1.5), this is what will come:
* terrain editing in world editor with some filters like erosion and Thermal weathering, and a vegetation system.
* some scripting change(file write and read;for loop; else, switch case; etc). They are improving the script.
* new culling and compiling. I love this new feature. Will be a big surprise.
* new shaders(motion blur, water refraction, reflection, heat distortion, etc)
Motion Blur:
Posted By: Frederick_Lim
Re: S2 engine game demo - 10/22/07 02:10
I don't like the script, and I don't like it only support 3D MAX, because I don't have it.
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 10/22/07 02:22
Quote:
I don't like the script, and I don't like it only support 3D MAX, because I don't have it.
well, script is changing to become better, more powerfull and more easy to use.
Collada format is on the list of features to add and I am also trying to convince to add suport for Blender.
Posted By: TheExpert
Re: S2 engine game demo - 10/22/07 21:04
Hummm ...
Like always , forecast remember some 3DGS or Beyond Virtual
-3DSMAX for the moment , bad point if you have an indie team,Blender would be lot better.
-The features you mentionned, they deadline is fast, perhaps they are talentued
they won't do like BV team , that was fast , but gonna to the wall with
shaders request !
They already have done shaders etc ... refraction and others should just be
adding FX files and adapt to lights of scene.
Why they don't adopt LUA ? for language ?
Well i'm not targeting this engine ... for the moment until things really
evolve for indie lonewolves ?
Like always , forecast
remember some 3DGS or Beyond Virtual -3DSMAX for the moment , bad point if you have an indie team,Blender would be lot better.
-The features you mentionned, they deadline is fast, perhaps they are talentued
they won't do like BV team , that was fast , but gonna to the wall with
shaders request !
They already have done shaders etc ... refraction and others should just be
adding FX files and adapt to lights of scene.
Why they don't adopt LUA ? for language ?
Well i'm not targeting this engine ... for the moment until things really
evolve for indie lonewolves ?
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 10/22/07 22:19
Quote:
Hummm ...
Like always , forecast
-3DSMAX for the moment , bad point if you have an indie team,Blender would be lot better.
-The features you mentionned, they deadline is fast, perhaps they are talentued
they won't do like BV team , that was fast , but gonna to the wall with
shaders request !
They already have done shaders etc ... refraction and others should just be
adding FX files and adapt to lights of scene.
Why they don't adopt LUA ? for language ?
Well i'm not targeting this engine ... for the moment until things really
evolve for indie lonewolves ?
3DSMAX- Perhaps if lots of possible users say their opinion about this, they would realize that supporting Blender now it will be a good move.
SHADERS- Well, for shader they are doing a big library, but they say that it will be easy for everyone to add their own shaders(glsl).
SCRIPT- They have their own idea for script and that is their choice. In my opinion, is not so bad, as long the script becomes more powerfull. And they are doing that. So, I don't LUA will be a choice.
TALENTED- If you only knew... They are very talented people. I know a lot more stuff that I can not tell. You will see!!!
LIKE BV- Humm. I don't think so. At least for now. The big difference is that you can talk with them all day by messenger or skype. With Gekido (From BV) you can not even send him a pm.
So TheExpert, are you saying that the only reason for you not go with this engine is the MAX support only?
Posted By: Machinery_Frank
Re: S2 engine game demo - 10/23/07 07:16
Quote:
So TheExpert, are you saying that the only reason for you not go with this engine is the MAX support only?
If you dont mind that I answer this question: Yes, for some people like me this is the only reason.
I already wrote that in their forum. They said, I should wait for their upcoming SDK and write my own exporter.
Posted By: ello
Re: S2 engine game demo - 10/23/07 08:04
i hate every tool that does not support fbx to a certain degree
Posted By: D3D
Re: S2 engine game demo - 10/23/07 11:59
Quote:
S2Engine Toolset also contains Exporting plug-ins for the most used modelling editors. These programs let to export different type of files which contains: simple meshes, skinned models, level structures, hierarchical mesh models, etc…
Made me think that there was support for applications other than MAX? I tried to find the documentation of the engine, script and tools, but could not find it on their website. Guess it would be nice if it's possible to take a look inside, as there is no trial version available.
Posted By: TheExpert
Re: S2 engine game demo - 10/23/07 21:53
Yeah , it's the risk with their engine.
All they want first is money , it's normal , but
in second place i hope they will take care of community and bring
minimum things users ask :
i say minimum things that can be done for the engine and shaders :
if they are really 3D engine programmers it can't be incredibly difficult,
on the net you can find all shaders and engine things you need.
Well people will have to be carefull, not to buy an engine that is just developped without users in mind
For 3DSMAX it's not very good, caus it's a very expensive package to use for commercial things.
If you have a team that own it ok.if you are making a team that uses Blender or cheap ones like Silo and others that's is not really possible to ask each
to pay an incredible price and perhaps for a game that will not ne selled or be cancelled one day !
I work in industry in programming , i use open source and can say it has lot of benefits even if non free servers / tools are better in some points for support.
In 3D domain , there are free and cheap tools very great, for engine
targetting indie domain they must follow other general formats (3DS,Obj,Collad,FBx, Blender ... ) than 3DSMAX only !
All they want first is money , it's normal , but
in second place i hope they will take care of community and bring
minimum things users ask :
i say minimum things that can be done for the engine and shaders :
if they are really 3D engine programmers it can't be incredibly difficult,
on the net you can find all shaders and engine things you need.
Well people will have to be carefull, not to buy an engine that is just developped without users in mind
For 3DSMAX it's not very good, caus it's a very expensive package to use for commercial things.
If you have a team that own it ok.if you are making a team that uses Blender or cheap ones like Silo and others that's is not really possible to ask each
to pay an incredible price and perhaps for a game that will not ne selled or be cancelled one day !
I work in industry in programming , i use open source and can say it has lot of benefits even if non free servers / tools are better in some points for support.
In 3D domain , there are free and cheap tools very great, for engine
targetting indie domain they must follow other general formats (3DS,Obj,Collad,FBx, Blender ... ) than 3DSMAX only !
Posted By: not_me
Re: S2 engine game demo - 11/21/07 05:51
i just found this and i cant get this to work it opens and closes instantly....can someone help me?
Posted By: alienheretic
Re: S2 engine game demo - 11/21/07 07:22
You have to install OpenAL audio drivers
Posted By: Kasey_Dee
Re: S2 engine game demo - 01/09/08 03:51
Quote:
It provides all needed stuff to start making awesome commercial games, WITHOUT coding and 'quick-and-visually'.
What does this mean? You can make a fps with it? What type of game can be made without coding?
Does S2 require a compiler? What scripting language? How simple is the language to learn as I am making a rpg game? I can not find any docs.
What model format does it use and can you have more than one texture per model? I have seen that it uses Max but I am sure it does not use the max format.
Posted By: Machinery_Frank
Re: S2 engine game demo - 01/09/08 09:31
Currently it only supports an exporter plugin for max but a collada importer has been announced at their pages.
Posted By: XNASorcerer
Re: S2 engine game demo - 01/09/08 20:29
But you can use any software that exports to FBX , I think.
Posted By: jigalypuff
Re: S2 engine game demo - 01/09/08 21:12
what language does this engine use?
Posted By: Machinery_Frank
Re: S2 engine game demo - 01/09/08 21:23
Quote:
But you can use any software that exports to FBX , I think.
No. They told that they dont want to support fbx because of problems with this format. But if they support collada in the future then you can translate between fbx and collada.