   Starting a project
  I've been programming in c++ for 3 years now, and feel pretty confident in writing my own engine.  I've often been told I should just buy an engine for around $1000, to save me several months of development.  So I've been searching for engines.  I tried Shiva, beyond virtual, and C4, but they all have something wrong with them.  Shiva seems to crash a lot, and the support sucks, C4 doesn't run well on my computer for some reason, and beyond virtual doesn't seem to have the power I'm craving.So I don't know if I should just start making my own engine, and learn a scripting language like LUA, or if I should just stick it through and deal with an engine I can buy.I figure by the time I figure out how to use something like Shiva, I could have made my own design.As for the game I'm trying to make, it's an RPG that's online.  Ever play Runescape?  (www.runescape.com)  He uses low-poly models (real low!) and is able to have over 100 people in the same location without lagging the system.  That is what I'm striving for here.  I'm sure there are awesome networking engines/libraries out there that would blow whatever I could make out of the water, so that's another option.  I'm looking to make the graphics better than Runescape, and have less characters on the server at one time.  Can anyone point me in the right direction?[Edited by - heythere on September 14, 2007 3:59:13 AM]
  You've not stated what you need one for, what features you require, or why it might be worth $1000. It's not easy to answer your question without knowing what exactly you're hoping to achieve.   ;Quote:Original post by heythereC4 doesn't run well on my computer for some reasonour project is using c4, and i also made a demo for the creator of the c4 engine (not released yet). so i'd be curious what exactly didn't run well and what is your hardware.i'll pass the info on to eric.   ;  Why don't you check out Ogre3D ? I found it pretty nice and customizable. Community is helpful too.   ;  Jarrod.  I talked with him while back.  It has to do with my graphics card:  GForce 4 FX 5500There's something wrong with it and the game engine.  We both couldn't figure it out, and he said a few other users had the same problem.  Basically the frame rate goes to crap.And Ogre3D I can never get working.  I spend like 3 hours every couple months trying to link it up, and it never works.  I'm not going through that frustration again, so I'm making my own engine.   ;  Sense I see this engine always in threads, I thought I might as well put it out there.  How about Tourque?  Only like $100.  Very good deal in my mind.Chad;Quote:Original post by heythereAnd Ogre3D I can never get working.  I spend like 3 hours every couple months trying to link it up, and it never works.  I'm not going through that frustration again, so I'm making my own engine.i'm not sure you understand how much work it is to build one from scratch rather than get an existing one working, but i suppose it would be good programming experience.as for c4, yeah, it is probably because c4 is a next-gen engine, a 5500 won't cut it. c4 does ao, parallax mapping, soft shadows, shadow maps, and stencil shadows and a lot of material effects. all fill rate heavy, which the 5500 is weak in. a 5500 gets around 900-1000 in 3dmark01 (benchmarking program). where, for comparison, the 8800 gtx gets 50,350.for your needs, torque would do the trick.   