Engine that´s as easy as AGS but 3D?

[lennon]

I hope I'm not posting in the wrong forum.
Being an artist ( http://www.duval.vg/foro/index.php?topic=786.15 ) I really like how easy AGS is: I can do something great without knowing much about programming.
I'd like to make something short witht the funcitionality of sierra's old games, but from the graphic perspective I'd like to use 3D characters in a pre-rendered background (think about tunguska files or Black mirror). I could pre-render the characters animations but that wouldn't give me a propper response to the lights. Is there any other engine as easy to use as AGS but with a 3D funcionallity that you could recommend? At work we use Unity, but I don't know how to make an inventory or any of those things and it could turn to be more than I can handle.
I'm looking for something with lots of tutorials avaiable and a large comunity where you can ask questions and such.
Maybe WME?
Thanks a lot.

[Crimson Wizard]

I think someone was making an Adventure Framework on Unity: http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/202293-Adventure-Game-Framework-AGF
Never used it myself and can't tell how easy that is. Also, it is not free.

[mitlark]

Yeah, maybe Wintermute, though I don't think it's easy to use, I think you should consider either getting a programmer/scripter or learn by yourself. If you continue being limited by an engine's features you will have short space to work on.

[Problem]

I'd like to use 3D characters in a pre-rendered background.

I think you already answered your question. WME would probably be a good choice for you, if you want to go 2.5D. I've played around with it some time ago, and it wasn't too difficult to use. But of course you'll have to do some coding, you won't get around that.

[Sslaxx]

Dunno if it's exactly what you want, but maybe Dagon - http://www.senscape.net/dagon/ - could do some of it?

[Dualnames]

There's an AGS 3d plugin.

[Armageddon]

There's an AGS 3d plugin.

It's 100% broken. I'd suggest just learning Unity, it's very easy and it's cross platform and as far as game engines go it's very cheap.

[LimpingFish]

Wait...AGS is easy?!

[mitlark]

Wait...AGS is easy?!

Comparatively speaking (? if that's a correct sentence/word), yes. From all things I've tried, AGS is easier to learn than most of them. The only thing easier than AGS I can remember right now are the RPG Makers, and that's only if you don't make your own scripts (XP and onwards).

Obviously, I say all of this based on personal opinion and experiences.

[monkey0506]

Wait...AGS is easy?!

Easy as childbirth!

[Secret Fawful]

Wait...AGS is easy?!

Easy as childbirth!

As easy as birthing you at your current age!

[David Ostman]

Yeah, AGS is very easy if you want to make a point and click adventure game because it helps you along the way with almost everything.

I can easily create a playable point and click game in AGS, but if I were to use plain Unity to make one I really wouldn't know where to begin.

There's the Adventure Creator framework for Unity which I have purchased, at this point mainly to show my support and encourage him to keep working and updating it, but I haven't made anything with it yet so I can't speak to its ease of use.

(My only worry there is he will release a 2.0 version that I have to pay for, before I've even used 1.0 )

[lennon]

Thanks to everyone... one of the best things AGS has: it's community!
While WinterMute is really easy to use and similar to AGS, after trying it I can say it's 3D aspects are not very good (it doesn't allow normal maps, it can't handle a high poly count and may not be very good in the shadow & lights department).
Adventure Creator for Unity seems really robust, specially since you can do 2D, 2.5D and 3D with all the funtionality of Unity and it's portability. For what I've seen it's very intuitive, it even allows you to set triggers an actions in a visual way. You have to pay though (even if it's not that expensive), wich is an important downside for someone that is there just to give it a go; but it looks like the best option. I think I may go with it.

[KodiakBehr]

Good luck, and keep us posted of your progress!

[qptain Nemo]

lennon, if you decide to buy it and try it out after all, please then tell us about your experience with it.

[Gribbler]

(My only worry there is he will release a 2.0 version that I have to pay for, before I've even used 1.0 )

According to FAQ, all future updates are free for those who bought the asset.

[jwalt]

You might take a look at this one:

http://castle-engine.sourceforge.net/engine.php

By its nature, your models will be "exposed" to any and all, and I have not been overly impressed by the few animations I've seen in the examples, but I just started playing with it. I'm not able to give it a thumbs up or down, yet. It's Pascal based, but using the Lazarus IDE does a good job of hiding that fact. Copy/paste operations between Begin and End statements in the various classes available through Lazarus has, so far, made it simply a matter of changing text entries to point it to the model you want to use. At some point, it will involve coding in Pascal, I have no doubt.

Irrlicht also looked good, but I don't have VC++, and I'm reluctant to try and get it. If you care to, take a look at CD3D:

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=40123.0

If you can figure it out, you're smarter than I am, but the demo knocked my socks off. CD3D may be too limited for what you have in mind, however.

[Monsieur OUXX]

Don't forget that there was an extensive thread in this forum listing all the existing modern point n click engines out there. I'm sure some of them are not listed above.

The thread's name was something like "why isn't there a modern..."

[Theme]

Unity is the best alternative to AGS. But it's not as easy as AGS.
But you can buy many modules and plugins from the Unity Store.