Jules Verne
26.July2007, 12:02
So I thought a thread like this might be useful to people? Basically, make a post about a particular real time engine (commercial, free, new, old, doesn't matter) which could benefit users of GeoControl who either want a realtime solution, or are looking to use GeoControl generated heightmaps in a game, and of course doesn't cost the earth to use unlike the high end pre-rendered applications.
Please just stick with engines that you have some experience in, and have actually been released! :)
Try to be fair, giving honest pros and cons, this isn't a contest for the best engine.
Stick to just engines that have some possibly use with Geocontrol and terrains
The Source Engine
Developer: Valve
Used in: Half Life 2, Counter Strike etc.
http://www.armchairempire.com/images/Reviews/pc/half-life-2/half-life-2-4.jpg
Getting on a bit now. The Source engine is still a viable solution, perhaps more suited to smaller more densely packed landscapes rather than an entire range. Those looking to create believable environments that are highly optimised for speed will find the Source engine suits their needs. With little effort, the engine can produce very high quality visuals and by careful use of its many features would allow it to be used in all manner of work, from the obvious games, to animated movies or more business related projects.
Pros
Geared nicely for large terrains
Can create quite realistic scenes in realtime.
Can paint textures onto the terrain directly.
Useful "skycam" feature, letting you make locations appear far larger than they really are.
Almost everything can be customized giving you more options.
Regular updates, patches and improvements.
Cons
Takes a while to grasp the basics
The editor is a little simple
Requires Steam to run.
Updates to the Engine have been known to suddenly break things
Isn't really made for very very large terrains unless you have a solid grasp of the code
Large area's of impressive detail, but will be map based, with loading between different maps, which can be slow for larger maps.
Uses the out of date BSP method of storing maps (low limit to how much you can put into each map)
Not really seamless movement between area's
Gamebryo
Developer: Emergent Game Technologies
Used in: Oblivion (and some others)
http://www.quandaryland.com/2006/pix2006/Oblivion1b.jpg
Designed from the ground up to handle large open air landscapes, and does its job well. Happily handles dense forests and large amounts of detail and has a very far view distance.
Besides the normal application of using it as a games engine. The core system as provided with Oblivion could very easily be used to demonstrate architecture in a realtime environment for a client. Going so far as to replace all links to the game itself with those of your company identity. The engine itself can, when run on a high enough system. Almost rival that of pre-rendered graphics.
Pros:
Very large terrains of almost any size
Very high detail
Editor is very simple to use
Special tools for populating terrain with tree's, plants and grass of all types.
Uses heightmaps natively
Completely customizable, down to the smallest part (outside of the source code that is)
Seamless loading through the exterior, with interiors loading separately
Weather effects, Day/Night effects.
Script based control over changes in the terrain.
Uses Speed tree (can in certain conditions look very realistic)
Friendly and helpful community
Cons:
Rarity of updates and bug fixes.
Awkward and difficult object file format
Not very optimized for lower end systems without losing a great deal of quality
Editor has a habit of crashing a lot
Little documentation outside the user made online wiki
Can be very slow when building the initial terrain
Uses Speed tree (not very interesting variations in tree's)
--
Some engines I'm hoping others can write something about. There are obviously more engines out there, but these are the only ones that spring to mind right now.
Crytek - used by FarCry
Very pretty even today. Seems perfectly geared towards island like terrain. Integrated editor
X-ray - used by S.T.A.L.K.E.R
Amazing visuals, good apparent terrain support, but how easy is it to use?
Torque
The advanced version has new terrain support. Never used it so hoping someone who has can go into detail here.
Ogre
I know very little of this, I've only heard of it a few times. Hopefully someone uses this for terrains and can go into more detail.
Doom3/Quake4 engine - could this be usable for large terrains with some work? I have seen examples of very large terrains by this engine, and under some circumstances does a very good job.
Please just stick with engines that you have some experience in, and have actually been released! :)
Try to be fair, giving honest pros and cons, this isn't a contest for the best engine.
Stick to just engines that have some possibly use with Geocontrol and terrains
The Source Engine
Developer: Valve
Used in: Half Life 2, Counter Strike etc.
http://www.armchairempire.com/images/Reviews/pc/half-life-2/half-life-2-4.jpg
Getting on a bit now. The Source engine is still a viable solution, perhaps more suited to smaller more densely packed landscapes rather than an entire range. Those looking to create believable environments that are highly optimised for speed will find the Source engine suits their needs. With little effort, the engine can produce very high quality visuals and by careful use of its many features would allow it to be used in all manner of work, from the obvious games, to animated movies or more business related projects.
Pros
Geared nicely for large terrains
Can create quite realistic scenes in realtime.
Can paint textures onto the terrain directly.
Useful "skycam" feature, letting you make locations appear far larger than they really are.
Almost everything can be customized giving you more options.
Regular updates, patches and improvements.
Cons
Takes a while to grasp the basics
The editor is a little simple
Requires Steam to run.
Updates to the Engine have been known to suddenly break things
Isn't really made for very very large terrains unless you have a solid grasp of the code
Large area's of impressive detail, but will be map based, with loading between different maps, which can be slow for larger maps.
Uses the out of date BSP method of storing maps (low limit to how much you can put into each map)
Not really seamless movement between area's
Gamebryo
Developer: Emergent Game Technologies
Used in: Oblivion (and some others)
http://www.quandaryland.com/2006/pix2006/Oblivion1b.jpg
Designed from the ground up to handle large open air landscapes, and does its job well. Happily handles dense forests and large amounts of detail and has a very far view distance.
Besides the normal application of using it as a games engine. The core system as provided with Oblivion could very easily be used to demonstrate architecture in a realtime environment for a client. Going so far as to replace all links to the game itself with those of your company identity. The engine itself can, when run on a high enough system. Almost rival that of pre-rendered graphics.
Pros:
Very large terrains of almost any size
Very high detail
Editor is very simple to use
Special tools for populating terrain with tree's, plants and grass of all types.
Uses heightmaps natively
Completely customizable, down to the smallest part (outside of the source code that is)
Seamless loading through the exterior, with interiors loading separately
Weather effects, Day/Night effects.
Script based control over changes in the terrain.
Uses Speed tree (can in certain conditions look very realistic)
Friendly and helpful community
Cons:
Rarity of updates and bug fixes.
Awkward and difficult object file format
Not very optimized for lower end systems without losing a great deal of quality
Editor has a habit of crashing a lot
Little documentation outside the user made online wiki
Can be very slow when building the initial terrain
Uses Speed tree (not very interesting variations in tree's)
--
Some engines I'm hoping others can write something about. There are obviously more engines out there, but these are the only ones that spring to mind right now.
Crytek - used by FarCry
Very pretty even today. Seems perfectly geared towards island like terrain. Integrated editor
X-ray - used by S.T.A.L.K.E.R
Amazing visuals, good apparent terrain support, but how easy is it to use?
Torque
The advanced version has new terrain support. Never used it so hoping someone who has can go into detail here.
Ogre
I know very little of this, I've only heard of it a few times. Hopefully someone uses this for terrains and can go into more detail.
Doom3/Quake4 engine - could this be usable for large terrains with some work? I have seen examples of very large terrains by this engine, and under some circumstances does a very good job.