[FVG]: Choosing an Engine: Final Poll

[Tristan Lall]

Originally Posted by Astronouth7303

If we would to break Unreal somehow, all we can do is hope it's fixable. If we break CS, we can modify the source if need be.

Running unreal would be cool, but the strings atached would make it almost not worth it. Using the Unreal engine would be no more dificult than using an open source engine.

The point is, you can't break Unreal, without tampering with source code that you don't have. If you're confident in Crystal Space, that's not a problem, but be aware that modifying source is what can lead to the most trouble. If you're up to it, and keep backups of every build (so you don't lose as much time hunting down erroneous changes and subtle bugs), you end up with a more flexible and arguably more effective platform. If you're lazy, or lack the resources to be methodical about source control, or any number of disadvantageous situations pop up, you're in for a pile of painful debugging. Also, if someone else's bug is the problem, are you sure that you can fix it? Are you sure that they can fix it (in the near future, without invalidating your code)?

With an open-source engine, you're not coding for a mature platform--you're coding for something that's in development. That's a lot harder than modding a well-known, well-documented, versatile, and stable game.

Originally Posted by Astronouth7303

I never said it would be easy, but considering that I don't have Unreal in any form, I am going to say no to it.
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And if we spend any money, a huge infrastructure may need to be set up. I certainly don't have a whole lot of cash.

It isn't expensive to buy Unreal Tournament ($20 CAD in the old games section), nor is it particularly expensive to buy Unreal Tournament 2004 ($60 CAD). Not free, but not all that much cash either. It is not a huge infrastructure. (To reiterate: you can't buy a copy of the source without a corporation and suitcases full of money. So it's irrelevant!)

Originally Posted by Astronouth7073

There is also the fact that it would be a mod, not it's own program.

Yes it would be a mod, so no, you couldn't sell it. (Were you planning to sell it? Who would buy it? There aren't that many FIRST people, you know, say 30 000, most of whom will not buy anything of the sort. And if you intend to convince the public to buy it, that's excellent in that it provides exposure for FIRST and for you, not to mention money; but are you sure that you can pull it off? Maybe that's just a wild extrapolation, though; disregard it, if you had no such intentions.) More to the point, what fundamental objections do you have to modding a game?

Originally Posted by Astronouth7303

Running unreal would be cool, but the strings atached would make it almost not worth it. Using the Unreal engine would be no more dificult than using an open source engine.

So what's the problem? To which strings are you referring? You're implying a similar level of difficulty, so either you're intending a (relatively simple) mod for Crystal, or you're making minimal changes to its code. (In other words, why do you need/want the source code?)

Or is it that you really want to use SourceForge, but can't justify it if it's a commercial game engine? I hope it isn't something as miniscule as that.

We're still not really clear on one thing: are you focused on getting a "product" (saleable or not) out in the world, or are you concentrating on developing your own skills? I'd tend to agree that the more challenging option (Crystal Space) is better for skill development, but that as a practical matter, you're more likely to end up with something substantial to show for your efforts if you mod Unreal (or the like).

And like I said before, since you're promoting this project vigourously, and recruiting help, people are going to be disappointed if you find Crystal Space to be too difficult, or too limited, or otherwise unsuitable. By opening this up to the world, you're now bound by their expectations, at least to some degree.

All that said, give it your best shot--who knows what will come of your decisions, but at least you'll have learned something....