Ogre 3d

[black-ops]

Hello, I am studying a course which will have at some point software development for game engines. So I wanted to get a head start in the world of creating just a basic 3d game. I am not fussed about game rules just a 3d world where I can generate a camera and a toon to run around.

I am familiar with languages such as Java and understand the concepts of OOD. Sadly I am not an in-depth programmer just a web software developer (PHP etc)
However I have created some physics simulations in Processing (Java based) in the past.

Would OGRE 3D a good place to start. My c++ knowledge is mediocre at best but it would be just a matter of learning the syntax as opposed to the concepts of OOP correct?

Regards,

 

[Spyhop]

If you just want to try the basics then you could skip the use of a 3rd party engine and use straight OpenGL / DirectX to render your own scene. Like controlling a cube moving around on top of a plane, with a moving camera or mouselook.

Similarly, you could dig up some 3D model loading code without having to use an entire engine.

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Regarding OGRE, I haven't used it but I've heard it's good. See also Irrlicht.

 

[Jono]

or have a look at 3DBuzz's XNA course.

 

[manic_man]

Really, what you do depends on the expectations of your course.

At the very base level, what you are really worried about here is some (admittedly fairly simple) trig based maths, and the usual issues of simply getting your head around 3D programming. In this case, it may not even be necessary to make something appear on screen, just program a movement system in the language you are most comfortable with that allows you to capture user input, and output your results for manual verification.

Alternatively, if you are expected to gain a knowledge of 3D APIs like Direct3D or OpenGL, it might be worth getting started.

Neither are too complicated, and OpenGL can be accessed easily from more or less any language you want, there are .NET wrappers, Java wrappers, it works natively with C or C++ etc.

Alternatively, your course may actually push you towards using pre-made engines and never go as deep as API level programming (though personally I'd like to see them teaching you fundamentals too!) In which case, grab yourself a well documented SDK such as Irrlicht, OGRE or Source, and just have a play around. The problem with this is that you won't be touching on the basics of what's going on, rather just using the engines in-built character controller construct. TBH to make something simple you don't even need to be able to program.

What you do and what we suggest will change depending on what it is you want to achieve.

 

[AGD]

First of all C++ is not just OOP and has a lot more than just different syntax to java!

Secondly, OGRE is a very good rendering engine and a great way to learn more about rendering and games engines because you have all the source code. However, if you are not that strong on c++ then it might be a bit of a jumping in at the deep end kind of experience!

It really depends on where you want to go - if you want to get into proper games programming (by this I mean games engine programming) then it's gonna be a long haul and I would recommend really improving your c++ and then looking into OGRE/DirectX/OpenGL.