ZFGC
ZFGC.com => Updates => Topic started by: Cassyblanca on August 10, 2008, 06:53:13 pm
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For a long time, Garage Games has been bolstering the independent game development fields with their powerful Torque Game Engine toolsets. From Torque Game Engine to Torque Game Engine Advanced, from Torque Game Builder to Torque X, and even into Torque Wii, Torque 360, and Torque iPhone, Garage Games is dedicated to providing indie game developers the tools they need to reach out to whatever platform they wish, even next generation home entertainment consoles through Torque X, Torque 360, and Torque Wii (bearing in mind that, in order to access Torque 360, or Torque Wii, you must be a registered developer with the company behind the console).
With Microsoft's release of the XNA Framework and XNA Game Studio Express, which essentially equates to an easier-to-use DirectX system (don't get me wrong, XNA is not DirectX, but it is very similar to many of the styles used by DirectX), Microsoft reached out to independent developers, and made the XBOX 360 the first console system to officially support development (I say "officially" because there has been homebrew games for consoles for years) for their system, and even provides a means to distribute the games over XBOX Live Arcade.
So what point am I trying to make when I mention both Garage Games and Microsoft? Of course, Torque X, which is essentially the proven Torque game engine technology put into a form that is used alongside Microsoft's XNA Framework. In place of Torque's usual use of TorqueScript, it now focuses on programming gameplay systems using C# and XNA. This isn't really a negative aspect, because now you can use proven Torque technology with a language you are likely already familiar with (if you are a C# developer), and one that you can go on to use in other areas of development, and away from Torque.
Torque X carries the same powerful features you're used to from other Torque products, save for compatibility with Mac and Linux systems (unless those systems now have an unofficial way to run XNA products). Currently, it features a two-dimensional editor (be aware, however, that you must own Torque Game Builder, or purchase a copy of Torque X Builder, in order to use it past the thirty-day trial), hardware rendering, a powerful lighting system that include normal mapping and refraction, swept polygon collision detection, a powerful physics engine, and more. For those of you who aren't aware of what swept-polygon collision detection is, I'll offer this small explanation. Most collision detections are two-step systems; first, a broad sweep is done to find objects that are possibly colliding, using collision rectangles that are usually the size of the object. Then, it sweeps through all of these possible, and does collision detection based on collision polygons defined in the editor by the developer.
All-in-all, Torque X is a powerful tool for those who are looking to get into game development, those who wish to develop quickly, and those who wish to develop for the XBOX 360. There is currently a three-dimensional editor in-progress, but the three-dimensional features of the engine are already available. Anybody interested in developing should head over to Garage Games' website (http://www.garagegames.com) and check this, as well as other Torque products out.