focus on a modern viewport, no need for a game engine for blender and probably drop BI all at once, so one fancy realtime engine holds hand in hand with Cycles and the future of Blender is set.
Right now to use the game engine,
you have to…
A. Dissect other games
B. ask questions on forums
C. and learn API’s
So this would be much faster if.
1.The api is included in the release, via a link somewhere in the UI
-
usage examples - “Beginner” “Complex” and “Advanced” uses of game logic and python.
-
Some things were included that you don’t have to use but are there anyway - A character rig FPS, TPS, Top down RTS etc.
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A well written game to dissect/reverse engineer demonstrating many core concepts,
Right now, game logic can do anything I want , my problem is graphical ability.
I did a tutorial for a First person mystery game, with mouselook, and the ability to return the cursor for clicking the environment, I made it in 30 minutes or so, and was documenting it while I did it,
it covers stairs, mouselook, jump, and moving platforms, and door switches in that time.
people just don’t know how to use it…
I know you really like to harp on the “people just don’t know how to use it” point but… we do. We know how to use it. It’s just not worth it, at all. In a BGE game you put in 10x the effort for 1/10 the result (hyperbole, but not by much). No one who is really, truly serious about getting a return on their time investment is going to be okay with this tradeoff. Balancing efficiency and cost of tools is the name of the game, and the scale is so out of BGE’s favor in this case that it’s almost comical at this point.
AAA devs have to develop for consoles which do require a special license from UE and I’m sure that license doesn’t come cheap. Also most likely the major studios have a different license with UE than Indies. A major studio is more likely reach $3,000 revenue in hours than an Indie dev, that means it becomes unfeasible for a major studio to start giving out 5% on a product that can potentially make millions of dollars when launched. That 5% starts to look like a bad deal then. Most likely the major studios get a different license where the cost of the engine is much higher but they don’t have to share revenue. So they pay Unreal to not have to share part of the revenue they make on their games. Also it is my understanding that Epic is no owned by a Chinese company with deep pockets, so they aren’t hurting for cash.
What they gain from this move is that they become the defacto game engine used and learned across the world. Major studios win because they have a talent pool to tap into (and screw) and indies get to use the same tools as the big boys. It then all becomes about how much effort and talent you have as opposed to how much time and money you spent on your game engine, which used to be a significant amount of time and cost to develop games. Now the cost mostly goes to asset creation. With the actual game development being the least costly thing at the end of the day. Since remade engine like Unreal this has been the case for quite some time.
Are you talking about prebuilt systems that are not included in the engine?
Pre made drag and drop assets?
These are a feature of the blender market place and should be there soon.
I am doing ok with the bge, but I had to teach myself how to use it…
Note these are gameplay mechanics, not fancy graphics, this be coder art.
@BluePrintRandom: You’ve been warned before. Every BGE thread is not an opportunity for you to promote yourself or your game. Please stop. You’re welcome to continue discussing the engine. Your embedded YouTube videos are not relevant or helpful to your argument. Leave them out.
Actually, it’s about drag and drop assets, and the bge’s capabilities,
Nothing is there until you add it,
don’t want to code it?
Well, that didn’t take long before the “This is how to make BGE relevant again” posts kicked in. Seriously, this is a major kick in the guts to the engines that relied on being “free” for adoption. That’s a lot of engines & users… and, I would posit, counts for the vast majority of BGE users.
Epic were quite smart about all this. They take a (small) chunk of any successful indie game. They take a slightly larger chunk out of things sold on the marketplace (something DAZ3D & similar companies have been profitable with over decades). And with the encouragement of the developer grants, they are providing an trained & eager workforce for the AAA titles they charge hundreds of thousands of dollars to license their engine to.
On the flip side, UE4 is a super-hungry engine. It looks very good, but it chews through CPU/GPU/RAM like you would not believe to do so. People targeting older desktops (and people do make a living through games that do) are still going to look at the alternatives. Some of the MIT/ZLIB/BSD licensed engines will still be getting a look-in (Torchlight used OGRE for instance) and commercial engines like Unity will also get some of these people. However, engines that relied on “free” to outweigh their problems are going to suffer.
FWIW, I say this as a guy who had subscribed to UE4. Kind of a little sad that money could have been saved but that said, I think I’ve got my personal inspiration now for the commercial plugin library. Epic cannot link their engine to Blender, that would violate the GPL. However, a third-party plugin written for an MIT-licensed “host” library in Blender could bridge the gap… 
Oh, ok.
Are the quirks listed somewhere?
From what I understand, it does have “quality scaling” for lower-end platforms, but that’s just for games - The UE editor seems to require a very beefy rig. So, yea, it’s great that the software is free, but there is an implicit hardware cost in using the latest AAA tools.
If you have a computer that can easily run that tech, you’re probably not in the category of people that were blocked by subscription charges.
I’ve also read of some anecdotal statements in their forums that the runtimes generated by UE4 are fairly large even for small games.
That is one thing that’s nice about Godot, it’s an engine designed to be very compact and lightweight, yet very powerful. By the looks of things, you could probably get it going on a low-end machine even.
For arcade games, the engine may be coming close to simply being overkill, but I can see it becoming a good tool for very large-scale games.
Godot is definitely looking great. I’m going to wait until joystick support is cross-platform and the code completion system works well before I use it further, though, I think.
UE’s launcher definitely takes up quite a bit of memory to just be downloading and installing UE. I’d also rather just download UE than download and install a launcher to download and install UE. It doesn’t really need to be a part of it, does it…? I’ll have to wait to try it and see how the engine and game runs on my computer. For my purposes, it’d probably be overkill, too, though (mostly low-poly / stuff with 2D in it).
Anyway, more development options is great.
@Goran - Do you plan to continue BDX with UE and Godot coming around? The engine’s definitely shaping up, but I’d understand if you’re getting tired of working on it; it’s a big job to make an engine.
For the vast majority of “arcade games”, UE4 is overkill. Anyone serious about the game they’re developing would pass by UE4 for that. Of course, those doing it for gits & shiggles might use it for that.
Of course, there are still a large number of engines between UE4’s overkill and BGE’s sub-par deliverable to choose from. Godot is one of them and, given the success of the parent company’s Kickstarter, I foresee it as a viable option into the future for such things
Your uncle is old,
you could pay to get him a new body,
or buy a new uncle.
but then … that is not your uncle.
I like everything I have, and just want a modern render.
I will say it again, what cant you do,in the bge?
what is wrong?
list the problems, then its a discussion.
I know where it needs love. however that does not mean I have the skills or the money.
render code = viewport code = needs love
animation code = needs love
logic = needs a little love and more premade examples
python = needs a little love and pre made examples
what else?
Name the dragon, and some brave knight may slay it.
I saw an indieDB page on a marble game being made with Unreal4. the video of it showed the levels dripping with so much eyecandy that you might need a high-end GPU to even run it (not to mention that it might be to the level of being very distracting as well).
It’s already a popular choice for indies who want to saturate their games with as much eyecandy as humanely possible, but to use the latest and greatest that UE4 has to offer mandates the concept of “keeping up with the Joneses” in terms of hardware.
@BPR: This is not the thread for that. No-one seriously believes that UE4 & BGE represent anywhere near the same level of functionality, performance, and commercial opportunity. Please take that kind of nonsense elsewhere. It’s just a derail in this thread.
@Ace Dragon:
Hence my comments on doing things for gits & shiggles. Quite a few interesting projects over at Polycount too that don’t need UE4 but are using it because it was cheap (now free) and easy to get their ideas off the ground in.
BGE for Learning how a game engine works: 10/10
BGE for making a commercial game: 1/10 (it has been done before, believe it or not).
UE4 for Learning how a game engine works: 2/10
UE4 for making a commercial game: 10/10
BGE is awesome for learning, I don’t think many of the artists here notice that. I’m assuming most people who want it gone, haven’t attempted past recording a rigid body animation or using simple keyboard + motion. Not only is BGE great for learning, the Game Engine support on BA and Youtube is exceptional.
Plus anything you manage to create (using BGE) is bound to get valuable feedback and recognition on the forums here.
Since so many professionals use UE4 I doubt that there will be many free learning resources, let alone recognition for anything you have made unless it is ground breaking (and hence valuable to commercial companies). As also mentioned you need a high end computer to run it. Most people here are running off laptops.
For me the point is, that unreal is still not free software, it is still proprietary, even if it is pseudo free.
You can use it, if it fits you, but you have to be aware that it cannot replace free open source software game engines in terms of user freedom.
Free (& up-to-date) Unreal Engine 4 Tutorials from Epic
Free YouTube Tutorials from Epic
Free YouTube Tutorials from Random Guy 1
Free YouTube Tutorials from Random Guy 2
Free YouTube Tutorials from Random Guy 3
… I think you get the picture.
Seriously, there is plenty of material out there for learning how game engines work (in general), how UE4 works (both in general and in regards to the internal code structure), and how to make UE4 work for you. I would posit that there is probably as many, if not more, UE4 tutorials as there are up-to-date BGE ones. Honestly, even the Blender Foundation accepts the woeful state of documentation in regards to Blender and the BGE - let’s not start pretending Epic (you know, with their multi-million dollar investment) is in the same bread basket.
Also, if the only reason you’re making games if for forum recognition, I would indeed suggest staying with BGE. However, if you’re looking to provide a resume of your skills for later employment, make a game that doesn’t look like it’s straight out of the nineties, and/or get monetary recognition from your creation - I’d suggest UE4.
If you’re after “software freedom”, I’d still suggest alternatives to BGE, but most professionals aren’t as hung up on the ideology as they are “best bang for my time/effort/resources”.
The bge is in the name of the thread,
a fair comparison, is one that uses facts.
The blender game engine is what it is, and does what it does.
To make it more usable is not a joke.
Its users dont think so either.
I want to see the BGE Fueled by blender market and steam.
I really dont care what other people think.
it is a pile of words,
in the end, like any other engine.
a clever rewrite can change its stars.
in a comparision you use actual areas of intrest.
yes, modern engines are modern.
graphics make games look good, however I can make any gameplay mechanic I want at the moment, and onlh want the raw ability to draw more polygons.
I can make and rig high poly actors baked own,
The biggest issues we face are animation hurdles, and OpenGL / instancing
issues not allowing more items per draw call, etc.
if I can do any mechanic i want , I really dont care how itlooks, but better is nice.
at the end of the day I am telling a story.
And because most “professionals” do not care about ideology they end up as slaves for big companies.
Epic for example still owns Unreal engine and they can change the rules anytime, they can dictate you what you are allowed and what not and they also could take all freedoms they have given you away from you again.