Qt

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    • Actually, its very applicable if you want to make cross-platform games.

      Recently they have added an OpenGL library (which although I haven't used personally) look fantastic and easy to use.

      Im using it for a server project im currently working on, and so far, it has proved fantastic for most of our needs.

      Even if you didnt use this in your engine or game, it would still be very useful for tools, especially if they (once again) need to be cross-platform.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Lordcorm ().

    • Most companies I've worked for use Scaleform to enable the usage of Flash assets in the game. The integration is dirt simple and UI artists tend to love working in Flash. What would you say the advantages of QT are over something like Scaleform?

      -Rez
    • Yes, it in-fact has. They just dual licensed it so you can use it under the LGPL, so use of Qt in commercial projects is now free.

      Nothing wrong with using SDL or any other median library. If you where to use SDL and boost it would be almost identical to using Qt.

      Qt does not have a large scale track record for games, but this is due to fact that (like you said) Qt used to have very harsh licensing, and because they only recently added 3d support.

      One game off the top of my head that uses Qt is Star Wars Galaxies.
      They use Qt for their in-game strategy card game, and from what Ive read, they used it for several tools server-side (but im not particularly sure if they used it for the actual server itself).

      In the end, it comes down to what your preference is.

      Edit:
      If your interested, here is a page with a list of applications that use Qt: qt.nokia.com/qt-in-use

      The post was edited 2 times, last by Lordcorm ().

    • Originally posted by rezination
      Most companies I've worked for use Scaleform to enable the usage of Flash assets in the game. The integration is dirt simple and UI artists tend to love working in Flash. What would you say the advantages of QT are over something like Scaleform?

      -Rez


      This really isnt just a UI library. People tend to get mislead when they look at the front page and see "A cross-platform application and UI framework", followed by putting to much emphasis on the UI portion of that title. Qt has much more to it then just the UI portion (which frankly I dont use at all because im using it for a server).

      Ive never used Scaleform, so I cant make a comparison, but I can guarantee that small scale projects would never be able to afford it. From what Ive seen though, Scaleform would easily beat out Qt in the ease-of-use.
    • I'll admit, I didn't look beyond the front page and assumed it was just more UI middleware. ;)

      Scaleform is definitely too expensive for small projects, though it seems pretty standard in a professional setting (the last three companies I worked for all used it).

      -Rez
    • I don't want to change the subject too much here - but I thought I'd offer a warning to anyone out there thinking of using GameSwf for a game UI.

      Basically - the memory usage footprint and behavior are both completely inappropriate for games - the ActionScript implementation in GameSwf allocates tiny little bits of memory like CRAZY, and your UI system will gobble up 10+ Mb.

      So, seriously, tread very carefully with any Flash-based game UI.

      I haven't evaluated Scaleform yet to compare how it may or may not have solved the memory problems. Anyone else????
      Mr.Mike
      Author, Programmer, Brewer, Patriot
    • Originally posted by SakirSoft
      I would not use Qt for game development.
      Rather i would use it to create a nice editor for your game.

      That would be my first choice too, but of course it depends on the language you and your team knows. If everybody is experienced in a higher language, than it'll be faster to program the editor in that language instead of C++.


      You can easily write a syntax highlighter for you script system etc.

      For syntax highlighting I would just use a customizable editor like Notepad++, it's very easy to add syntax highlighting for new languages (if they're not tooo complex).
    • Originally posted by mrmike
      I don't want to change the subject too much here - but I thought I'd offer a warning to anyone out there thinking of using GameSwf for a game UI.

      Basically - the memory usage footprint and behavior are both completely inappropriate for games - the ActionScript implementation in GameSwf allocates tiny little bits of memory like CRAZY, and your UI system will gobble up 10+ Mb.

      Funny, I bet they have garbage collection for the resources allocated by action scripts :D
    • Originally posted by mrmike
      I don't want to change the subject too much here - but I thought I'd offer a warning to anyone out there thinking of using GameSwf for a game UI.

      Basically - the memory usage footprint and behavior are both completely inappropriate for games - the ActionScript implementation in GameSwf allocates tiny little bits of memory like CRAZY, and your UI system will gobble up 10+ Mb.

      So, seriously, tread very carefully with any Flash-based game UI.

      I haven't evaluated Scaleform yet to compare how it may or may not have solved the memory problems. Anyone else????


      Scaleform is MUCH better about memory usage than GameSwf, although it is built upon the same technology. Anything using flash is going to have a pretty hefty cost just for the flash overhead so if you can't afford the memory overhead, it's not the tool for you. You can give it a memory budget to conform to, which is nice for games with limited memory.

      At Planet Moon, we used it on Drawn to Life for the Wii for the drawing tool and a few other things because of the ast iteration time and the fact that we could afford the memory overhead since they weren't displayed at the same time as the game world. I don't recall if the in-game UI was scaleform or not (that wasn't my system). On Rat Race (a PS3 game I worked on Super-Ego Games), we used scaleform for everything except the minimap.

      I'm a big fan of Scaleform for games that have a complex enough UI design to make it worth the cost.

      -Rez