C++ 3D Engine

[theopfor]

What is a good C++ 3D game engine? Preferably something that includes sound support, GUIs (or has a library compatible with it), and not limited to one style of game (as in not just for FPS games or not just for RPGs). Also, I am programming on Ubuntu so it'll have to work on that, and if possible, works on Linux distributions and Windows (Mac if possible).

Something simple would be ideal. Any help is appreciated.

 

[Baez]

Are you looking for open-sourced only?

 

[theopfor]

Open sourced doesn't matter to much to me, but if it is then that is a bonus. I don't really do to much to the source code of things.

 

[Baez]

Then Unreal Engine is probably the most supported and largest available engine that fits your criteria. They have an entirely free version available for anyone to use. I've personally used it for several projects and it's excellent for developing anything in almost any genre.

 

[theopfor]

I have tried the Unreal Engine before, and my video card (or maybe it was graphics driver) wasn't compatible.

 

[Baez]

It's very unlikely that it was the engine at fault. I haven't run into a problem with any engine not running at all due to a video card incompatibility. A few bugs here and there but nothing a new driver or bug fix can't repair.

 

[theopfor]

There are no updates for the driver. What I use is a netbook, so I am used to some things not working.

Maybe what I am looking for is a library (I don't know the difference ). Something that I have to go into my IDE to use.

 

[Baez]

What's your ultimate goal in what you want to create? Do you want to create and have control over the code which characters/models use to move and interact?

It all depends on how deep you want to go. A library is like a framework. It provides a simple base set of tools, in this case the tools are to directly interact with hardware and the OS, which you can use to create anything from. An engine, is one step further. It has defined presets and capabilities which allow for streamlined development while sacrificing some customization.

If you're interested in a multi-platform library, there is none better than SDL. Even for Windows-only projects I prefer it over XNA (Microsoft's own GDL).

 

[theopfor]

I want try a simple FPS, maybe a racing game, and a sandbox. I think a library may be what I need. I shall try SDL like you suggested. Thanks!

EDIT: Which should I download? The runtime library, development library, or the source code.