Projects I am working on…
3D Rad is something I have worked in for awhile, but I am reaching a point where I can build what I choose, yet there is no recent development and so I can not finish a game. As it stands, I can build a game completely, terrains, models, etc. I can also attach logic to them, but I can not save scores or compile for different OS’s, such as Android, Linux, and it can’t write to the install, the reason it can not save scores, etc. So it is great to get the idea of how to build a game, models, texture it, but as far as creating something that could be played, have continuity in the scoring (Really a simple thing, shouldn’t it be?) it isn’t there.
I see these other guys trying to re-kick the work on the engine. Angel script is still here and has been updated, and of course Direct X has moved on a few updates, but with some work it could be updated. But no one seems to want to do it, at least no one with the ability to do it, and I do not have the ability to do it or I would, because it is a good base and I invested a lot of time working on it and learning how to do it.
So here is what I have of 3D RAD. The engine with the GUI, etc
3D RAD 7.22 download – Game Demos – Script Reference
Racer.
Racer is an interesting project. It is, in some forms, free for any use, and in others licensed as non commercial, and in yet others provided as a demo with a paid version.
The basic version, with no availability for CG (Things like smoke, dust, etc. in Open GL) is version vo.6.5.5 windows . This version will adapt. In other words, you may not get the shaders available in Open GL versions, but you can run models and graphics as good as your Graphics card or cards will support. If you have a low end machine but would like to play around with Racer you can. It says it will not run in anything past Vista, but I have run it, to test it, in WIN 7 pro, so it may work for you. The license is Creative Commons and you can do as you wish with it as long as the copyright notice remains intact and you do not make the copyright holders endorsers of any derivative products.
Versions v0.9.0 RC10 – v0.9.0 RC8 – v0.9.0 RC6 – v0.9.0 RC5 – v0.8.44 – v0.8.40 All share the Creative Commons licence, even though they are derivatives of the original. There is a version or two after that that do not share the creative commons licensing. They do share the same backbone, but the demos are crippled and pretty much worthless unless you pay for licensed versions. I tried them, there is no apreciable difference in graphics, although to be sure the physics work that went into them was probably vast since they are mainly sold as physic sims.
The free versions above may or may not work on your system. You will need Direct X, but also Visual Studios redistributes to run them. Check the Website HERE .
Look around on the web, for instance https://www.xtremeracers.info/web/index.php and you will find cars and tracks, most made for the non CG version of Racer: (A note, this site is not in English, but it does offer translation through Google which worked well enough for me. It also asked me to join first before I could download anything, and so I did. Once you do join and log in it seems broken as you receive an error message, just reload the page and it will work and show you are logged in so you can download.).
Another Racer Project page of mine. That page will give you a little more information, but the basics are that you have the ability to add your own tracks, cars and set up the logic via editors.
Trigger Rally 2.6:
This next one looks very good to me. The GUI is very simplistic looking in its present form, but also very easy to customize; and you do have the ability to add tracks and cars too, and it comes with the information you need to do that. It has nice game-play, as far as I am concerned, and if you like Rally or off-road racing this is probably your game to build and customize.
This is complete open source. You can do as you please. There are old versions available at Source Forge at the Trigger Rally homepage. On that page you will find Linus, Windows and even an online version.
The car models are OBJ files. No modeler is included, but the files that are included are straight forward, follow the example cars to build and add your own as OBJ files. AC3D can import and export OBJ files. Open FX is a free modeler that can import OBJ and save to formats that can easily be converted to OBJ files.
The Tracks are XML files and there is documentation to show you how to build new tracks, layouts and how to add checkpoints and other game logic.
So, all in all, you end up with the ability to customize this engine as much as you like.
I will update this page with other projects (Non-3D RAD) soon…