The best free 3D game engine is what?

[Cyberflyz]

Hello,
    My friends and I are looking at creating a 3D game, if we can we want it to be 3D. We are using blender, for the the 3D graphics. And it's my job to look for the game engine we will use. I don't have any money, so I was wondering what game engine(3D) should my friends and I, use to make our game? And if you can please tell me if there is a online multiplayer feature, or a third-party add-on somewhere.

 

[Rare]

I suggest C++, unfortunately. 

 

[GhastlyMasquerade]

Irrlicht

http://irrlicht.sourceforge.net/

Free source engine, you still need to program though (C++, etc), but very versatile.

 

[arcthemonkey]

I was always kinda partial towards Torque. I mean, as far as ease of use goes :P

 

[greenninja89]

reality factory. hands down.

 

[Kojo]

I would say Reality Factory or Irrlict (SP). Torque still costs 100$, but it is a good price for a good engine. Get ready for some coding if you want to get into 3D. Its why I got out. Python confuses me. Also, for online play you will need a big/good server with MySQL or something. Online play is just not happening. Maybe LAN play. That is much more realistic.

 

[Injury]

There is a free trial on Blitz 3D if you really don't want to learn to program in C++, and get some basic language skills down before tackling that giant C++ monster...but then again I'd suggest learning C, Basic, or Python before learning Blitz.

idk

gl!

 

[xRythx]

lol forget about microsoft.XNA.Framework.net, it is a tool designed to help market windows LIVE and xbox live. if you want good multi client management use sockets.

 

[___]

Check out crystalspace (http://www.crystalspace3d.org/main/Main_Page), it's a pretty good open-source option.  Not only that but it has an entity layer extension, which gives you the complete foundation you need for a game engine, as well as a scripting interface so you can learn something a little easier than C++.  Still lots of programming involved though.  You're not going to find anything out there that will let you just drag and drop things around like RMXP.

Crystalspace is also built to work with Blender, so there's a leg up for you.

 

[Injury]

Have any of you tried Blitz Basic, Blitz 3D, or any of the Blitz programs? They are pretty easy to use and the syntax is as easy as Ruby, if not more.

 

[kaidus]

The only 3d experience I have is that involving the source engine. If you can get passed all the bugs that crop up in hammer, the level editor (which isn't hard to do given the wealth of support available to you), it is a very sold engine. The only problem is that it doesn't entirely suit your needs, as you are of course modding an fps engine (which I'm assuming isn't ideal given that this is an rpg forum), and you of course limit your target audience to owners of hl2. Probably not what you're looking for particularly, but it's just another option.
Note: An experienced c++ coder would be required.

Also, with regards to your modelling comment:
Every modeller that I've spoken to (which is quite a lot, trust me) would reccomend xsi as their choice of modelling software. Maya and 3DSMax are very good options also, but to my knowledge these require a hefty sum of money. XSI is free (I believe), and is very user friendly despite having all the tools that you need to create extremely high quality models. Furthermore, if you DID decide to use the source engine, XSI is the only modelling application that I haven't known anyone tear their hair out on first use when trying to compile for the source engine.


Also, you will most likely need someone experienced with photoshop if you wish for your models to be textured worth a damn. It is very hard to find ones available to you on the internet that entirely suit your desire.

 

[CatKeyz]

I've used Blitz, and Blitz Plus. (Or was that Blitz Max?) I've also played a few games made with Bltiz3D. One word: INCREDIBLE!

Also, I used to own the newest edition of this book about Blitz Basic:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/bookse ... 8348&itm=9

This is the only published book on Blitz Basic that I know of. It was in a larger package which also included a book on using Visual Basic to design RPGs.

Basically, I would recommend Blitz Basic for making the kind of games that do NOT use any of RMXP's inherent strengths, such as its tile-engine, dialog system, and easy save features.

 

[___]

XSI is very, very not free, to the tune of 3k USD for the gimped up version, let alone the 5k "advanced" version, and extensions that bring it up to par with what a professional has access to can cost big bucks as well.  I have heard it is very powerful, though, and does cloth, among other things, rather well.

Blender has the distinction of being free as in freedom and free as in beer.

I still highly recommend Crystalspace for blender users interested in advanced 3d features at zero cost.

 

[GhastlyMasquerade]

actually you cannot find textures on internet, unless of course you meant textures for buildings among other things. When it comes to character modeling, you got no choice but to make it yourself using photoshop. Also when it comes to exporting into a game engine, doesn't really matter which program you used for modeling as long as you export it in the proper format and respect the polycount.