Looking for these functions

[CreativeSolutions]

Hello there. I am new here to these forums. A group of us have just started our own Indie game company. We currently have 7 members on the team. And we are recruiting members for translations in the near future. But this is a discussion for another day. I am currently the teams primary programmer and am also responsible for research and development for our projects. Our first game we wish to publish is a Third person, point and click adventure game in the style of Space Quest or Monkey Island, etc...

We have been searching the web for a while now to find an engine that will be suitable for us. Although one issue is that no single engine supports what we need completely. Now of all the engines available, AGS and Wintermute seem to be the best ones. I have tried Hungry Software's Sludge, I have tried Agast. I also tried MAD and some other engines that I fould on sourceforge.net. We even looked into Visionaire.

Problem is we couldn't find one that is feature filled or free to do what we wanted it to do. So far its come down to AGS and Wintermute. We are leaning toward AGS. We like the system. We are amazed at how many developers have developed games for AGS. It seems to be a nice community. And personally, I feel its very well documented. Plus with the addition of plugin support and modules, this really has many features we could use. Although we wanted to ask if there is anyway we can request or inquire on the status of a few functions.

My first question is, does AGS support 1024x768 hi-res graphics? If not, is this a possibility? If it is, what is its current status for it? AGS uses directx, correct? Shouldn't it be quite simple to implement? This resolution was not an option and nowadays, many hardware devices support it and can create quite a wonderful gaming experience. This is probably the most important feature we need. Its really the only reason that Wintermute could be our engine of choice.

Of course going with what is mentioned above, and not necessarily too important because it obviously can be done with an add-on or plugin, but what about Parallax scrolling and particle effects? Though it would be possible for us to do by coding it, it certainly would save time and create ease if these functions were already a possibility.

Just two more requests and status'. And this is probably up there with the hi-res graphics capabilities, which is what I am wondering is why is it that the Windows version of AGS not match the MAC or Linux version? IS there any status on this becoming all even, or atleast catching up with AGS for windows? Is there anyway my team can help? Me and two other programmers on my team can possibly finish porting AGS to Linux if its well commented.

My last request, which we can do without, but would still be a nice feature is that we would like a way to import 3ds, .x, .dxf, .md3 models into AGS for characters and objects. Is this something we can expect?

We would like to thank you so much for your time in responding. Though AGS may or may not be a choice in our game creation, rest assured it will be for my own leisure and free games. Thank you in advance for your kind reply.

[Pumaman]

My first question is, does AGS support 1024x768 hi-res graphics? If not, is this a possibility? If it is, what is its current status for it? AGS uses directx, correct?

Currently the maximum resolution AGS supports is 800x600. Originally this was due to performance problems but nowadays those concerns don't really apply.

The thing with resolution is that it's a bit like the advertised Top Speed of a car -- it looks good on paper, but in reality how often do you drive at 155 MPH?
The reason for there being no pressing need to add 1024x768 is simply that very few, if any, games have actually been made at the 800x600 resolution which is supported. The vast majority of people choose to use 640x480 or 320x240 for their games, once they realise how much longer it takes to draw good quality artwork at higher resolutions -- it's a lot more pixels to fill!

It would take some work to add support for 1024x768 to AGS but not a huge amount. And it is something that has been requested by people from time to time, but usually when they're at the initial stages of a game and thinking "wouldn't it be cool if we did this"; once the reality sets in about the effort involved in drawing 1024x768 backgrounds and sprites, they usually downgrade their needs.

what about Parallax scrolling and particle effects

I believe there are modules/plugins available to do both of these, check out the Modules/Plugins forum.

what I am wondering is why is it that the Windows version of AGS not match the MAC or Linux version

See this thread:
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=34369.0
for latest discussion of the Linux port.

The Mac port has recently been suffering mainly from the fact that the port maintainer simply hasn't had the time to update it.

Me and two other programmers on my team can possibly finish porting AGS to Linux if its well commented.

In a sense, there's not really any work to be done to finish porting AGS, as it has already been successfully ported to Mac and Linux. However, those ports have limitations and it's more the continual requirement to rebuild them against new versions and associated hassles that holds them back.

My last request, which we can do without, but would still be a nice feature is that we would like a way to import 3ds, .x, .dxf, .md3 models into AGS for characters and objects. Is this something we can expect?

At the moment AGS does not support, and I have no current plans to add, support for "2.5D"-style 3D characters. If this is essential to your game, then Wintermute is probably a better option; although in theory you could export various angles of the model as sprites and import them into AGS.

[GarageGothic]

As much as I love AGS, I think Wintermute definitely sounds like the engine for you. It supports higher resolutions, has built-in particle system and parallax scrolling, and allows you to import 3D models for the characters. If you have talented artists, you can definitely create gorgeous visuals. Just check out Jonathan Boakes' latest game, The Lost Crown which was made with Wintermute.