Looking for advice on engine/mod Thread

Hi All!

Hope I have the right forum here - I am hoping for suggestions on a mod program, or game engine. I've spent hours looking through the database of engines, and just can't seem to find the answer I'm looking for, and would hate to spend a lot of time and money on a program only to find out in the end that it can't do what I want.

About me: I have been modding one game or another for many years, but am not a programmer. More like a persistent, patient amateur. I don't mind spending months on a project, but do have a "day job". I'm not looking to sell a game, but if the community has fun with it, that's great.

What I am looking for: Probably something between a mod program and a real engine. For example I have played around with the GECK editor for Fallout 3, and could build rooms and such, but in the end everything looks like a post apocolyptic game. So I am hoping to find a "genre neutral" FPS/Adventure type mod/ game engine. Flexibility, and a large library of objects (active user community) are much more important than state of the art graphics, etc.

I really enjoy telling stories, scripting, and random or logical events - e.g. if the following conditions are met, the story moves forward in a plausable manner. If condition x is met, and condition y is not met then there is a 40% chance of event z. Missions should be richer than finding keys and killing a few monsters

I was hoping for something that would allow me to design landscapes, buildings, etc. without having re-invent the wheel. Creating buildings as quickly as Sketchup would be great! I don't want to draw every tree and rock, or animate the way people walk. I want to edit in a few details key to the story. I would also like to be able to edit various game factors like damage, healing, parameters of objects, etc.

I would like to set up dialog between characters, with logical conditions (e.g. "I heard you asking around about the old mine -the real story is xxx"), and other interactions like trading, but would be fine with "simple" graphic that could be improved later if the story is working out how I want (adding in complex lighting, custom skins, etc)

My current "idea" would be set around 1900, so objects and weapons from that era would be a plus.

Don't mind learning a more complicated program (not everything can be as easy as sketchup!) as long as you can work quickly once you know it (again, don't want to spend hours drawing rock, streetsign, and NPC.)

Thanks in advance for all suggestions!

If you are doing it alone, I don't think you will be able to do much as you want. Although it will be easiest to create a game with Unity3D
It is very simple to use but also pretty powerful. Unreal engine is VERY difficult to learn it's full potential, but it works for an instant little fps, just change game mode to deathmatch. Tuturials here:
h tt p : //w w w.y outu be.co m/w atc h?v=BgdpfheROxU

Good luck!
If you want to join a game development team, I am the lead dev of one.
Visualistic Studios
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email me at info@visualisticstudios.com if you are interested!

Thanks for the hint! I was honestly hoping for a possibility to use assets from multiple games - for example I thought that fallout 3 and one of the elder scrolls games had very similar engines, and I was hoping there would be a way to work in one of the development kits, but use assets from both. Oh well!

I'm surprised that there isn't a way to effectively reuse existing resources, considering how many 3d games with excellent graphics have been developed over the years.

Thanks again, and I'll look into unity and Udk.

I would not regard Unity an easier alternative to UDK but it's a matter of approach and mindset.

What was wrong with the skyrim toolset? I would have thought it was the closest one even if it suffers from lousy UI.

Hello again!

Thanks for all the advice. I downloaded UDK, and have been learning it for the past several weeks. I've done a couple of small test levels, can do simple kismet, matinee stuff and I'm pretty confident I can do what I want to, except for the following:

I am still looking for a more complete catalog of objects/assets. Most especially non-futuristic, household objects (stuff like furniture), and NPC's. I am not planning on making a commercial game, and would not even mind paying a (reasonable) price for good collection. Working alone, I want to spend most of my time on level design, kismet, etc. and not having to model every table chair and Barkeeper the player might run into. Any ideas?

Even if I find this I will probably still have to do some 3-D modeling (especially static meshes). It seems the most popular 3-D modeling software is 3-Ds Max/Maya However I noticed the price on the software at about 4000 seems a bit steep for a hobby project is there a recommended 3-D modeling software for a "reasonable" price (blender??)

Thanks in advance !

Blender is the best free 3D software for sure. Also there are a lot of tutorials for Bender to UDK so that should help.

Finding free models isn't he hardest thing its sorting through the junk. Meaning there are a lot of ways a model can be messy or wrong. Unreal can get "upset" and explode bad meshes... you'll see. The hard part is finding characters b/c you'll need them rigged and animated most likely. Chairs and tables are easy.
Search turbosquid first for the free stuff, then try googling free 3D model chair, or whatever you want.

Scifi3d.com Lots of free models from popular sci fi, I had a few more in my bookmarks but can't find them now.

Sorry, to tired to read all of the post, and the replies -.-

I have dabbled in building games, and have found that the combination of the following make for a good setup:

-CryENGINE 3
-3DS max/ maya
-Blender

there are also LOADS of compreensive tuts on the internet, youtube and the like, but this is a setup that i have found and ejoy using, oe his helps!