Linux

[muxec]

Would it be portable to Linux? Is it OpenGL?

[jimmyh]

Neither Linux or OpenGl is currently supported and would only be some thing for the future, all development is being done on Windows using directx

[LeeW]

Currently the engine is Windows specific and is based on DX9.

Porting the library to Linux and Mac (and as such creating an OpenGL render library to allow that) has always been in the pipeline, but is something I do not have a timescale for.

Time permitting, I would love to complete the port over the summer (way in time for the Humanitas release date) but I personally cannot see this happening, for numerous reasons.

I appreciate a lot of people out there would like Humanitas ported to Linux (and a lesser extent to the Mac), so would I.

Unfortunatly, I don't and can't work on the the Mary Engine more than I already do, so Humanitas, for the time being, is Windows and DirectX only I'm afraid.

Lee
The Mary Engine

[muxec]

Isn't SDL simplier to code due to it's intuitive API?

[LeeW]

Originally posted by muxec
Isn't SDL simplier to code due to it's intuitive API?

Do you mean use SDL instead of the Mary Engine, or use SDL as the OpenGL renderer.

I'll answer both those questions, so it leaves no-one in any doubt.

Using SDL Instead of the Mary Engine
Using SDL instead of the Mary Engine would not be easier. SDL, which is a wrapper for OpenGL and has support for music and input, does not have the feature set of the Mary Engine.

The Mary Engine covers all the basics like sound support (using FMod and when they get into gear OpenAL), input support using the native system controls, rendering using DX (and as i said OpenGL in the future).

But the Mary Engine also has solid debugging tools, excellent support (with bugs being fixed within the hour in most cases), additional features such as an entire GUI set, texture and model viewers, heap management, all which make life easier for the programmer.

The interface is also pretty intuative, with standard naming convensions, standard ways of working etc.

While SDL is a solid wrapper for OpenGL, and is more than suited for people beginning to programmer, it doesn't, in my opinion, have enough features for a more advanced, or more complicated implementation.


Using SDL Instead of OpenGL in the Mary Engine
SDL is a wrapper for graphics, sound, input and more. The Mary Engine is a high level wrapper for graphics, sound and input.

Using SDL instead of OpenGL would lead to a whole world of toe stepping, and would increase the run time size of the Mary Engine an unacceptable amount.

SDL also covers a lot of the low level implementation, which the Mary Engine needs to access.


Hope that answers any questions

Lee
The Mary Engine

[JoeyLemur]

I have to say that your decision to use an engine that has no real content on their website, no documentation, and no downloads doesn't inspire confidence...

[LeeW]

Originally posted by JoeyLemur
I have to say that your decision to use an engine that has no real content on their website, no documentation, and no downloads doesn't inspire confidence...

Since I am the creator of the engine, it makes sense that I respond to this.

Firstly, can I say that I have seen many websites (in fact they appear 10 to the dozen) that are full of content. Beautiful screen shots, plenty of 'downloads' etc. In my opinion, most of them are not worth the web space they take up. Of course, there are exceptions (Ogre would be a good example), but I am trying to point out that a web site doesn't relate to the quality of the engine it represents.

The reason there is no 'real content' on the site is because I (unfortunatly) simply do not have the time (or the artistic skill) to complete it. The Mary Engine has not been 'officially' released yet (hence no downloads for the public or public documentation) because it has not reached version 1.0 yet.

It is currently at verison 0.6 (though I tend to think version numbers are irrlevant, but most people seem to like them) and will not reach version 1 until I have an OpenGL renderer.

Humanitas is the first external project to use the engine, that is true. But Jimmy will more than testify that it is up to the job. I have been programming for 9 years (most of that game related) and Jimmy for longer so please don't think that this engine (and to a lesser extent Humanitas) is badly programmed, badly maintained and prone to being canned every other week.

I hope that puts any issues you have to rest, but if it doesn't please don't hesitate to send me a private message, or post a message on here.

Thanks
Lee
The Mary Engine

[Kaak]

There are people that use linux???

[Verto]

I'd rather time be spent working on the engine than the website for it. No sense putting all your effort into that until the engine is ready for public implementation.

[zenja]

It is a big mistake to leave porting to other platforms for a later date. I am working on another game called History of the World (http://members.optusnet.com.au/hotw), and from the very beginning it targets 2 systems, Windows and BeOS (Haiku/Zeta). It uses OpenGL. This design is forcing me to seperate the platform code from the game code, and use an proper interface between them.

As a result, the framework is now portable, and it makes no difference under which platform I develop, since it compiles/builds under both without issues. But to get to this stage, I had to set up an initial framework and use it. If you leave porting until after the Windows version is done, you will never actually do a port since it will be too timeconsuming, since assumptions you made are no longer valid, etc.

BTW check out HotW, there are regular screenshots. Porting to MacOSX/Linux/whatever will be definately more easier since the platform interfaces are already specified and the code already uses it.

[LeeW]

The Mary Engine has been designed from the ground up to be cross platform, and as such is structured to make portability as painless as possible.

All code that is platform specific (of which there is very little apart from the DX render code of course!) if factored off already, and all the dll's are interfaced to allow code to be easily siphoned off.

Download the code and have a look for yourself., it is freely available.

I do admit I would love to be porting the engine as I go along, but thats just not possible (I havn't been able to have a Linux based machine for 6 months for a start!) for another few months at least.

Lee
The Mary Engine