Zooming Game, Should I Use d3d?

Which is easier to do a 2.5d Space Harrier like game in 2d, or to use d3d and have each sprite be a flat polygon, and handle zooming just by moving forward?
 

RangerX

Member
Pick your poison! Both are hard to pull off in my opinion if you never tackled 3D before.
Going by 2D scaling though would look more authentic maybe.
 
Z

zircher

Guest
Think forward to what features and special effects you want. Some tricks are easier to do with a 3D camera for example. Or, you might find it easier to roll and dip your space harrier with a 3D model instead of a set of sprites.
 
M

Multimagyar

Guest
Which is easier to do a 2.5d Space Harrier like game in 2d, or to use d3d and have each sprite be a flat polygon, and handle zooming just by moving forward?
You should be able to simulate this without 3D. Using 3D would be easier but from there you also would have to alpha test and make sure your instance order is right to avoid alpha artifacts on your flat models.
Both would have a benefit and disadvantages.

Is it possible to render only a single 3D model 'inside' the regular 2D Gamemaker 'scenario'?
I've seen clever ways to simulate 3D models in 2D space before. Would not say it's ideal but sometimes only knowledge or lack of practice is the limit.
 

Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
Is it possible to render only a single 3D model 'inside' the regular 2D Gamemaker 'scenario'?
Yup, or multiple if you need to. It's worth noting that drawing 3D models in 2D mode can make the perspective a bit wonky (by default, stuff are just flattened, aka the z coordinate is ignored for all purposes other than depth sorting) so they might not APPEAR 2D. If you make sure to set and reset perspectives properly before drawing, you can layer 2D and 3D stuff on each other freely, to e.g. use 2D backgrounds instead of a skybox (like in SNES racing games) and stuff like that.
 
Hmm, I am currently exporting many frames from a 3D model to png sprites and cycling through them in Gamemaker as needed.

I'm guessing that displaying a 3D model isn't as simple as writing draw_sprite blah blah. :rolleyes:
 

Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
I'm guessing that displaying a 3D model isn't as simple as writing draw_sprite blah blah. :rolleyes:
It's more complicated, but not TOO much (at least not if it's saved in a format GM supports). You need to load the texture separatedly, then draw the model using the texture, but it's a pretty straighforward process. To rotate it, you need to use transforms, but it isn't too complicated either if you have a hunch about linear algebra. Basically, first rotate accordingly, then translate with the model's actual position, then draw it at 0,0,0 and it'll be drawn where it actually is after going through the transformation you set up. (Don't forget to reset the transformation afterwards, or anything you draw will also change coordinates)
 

Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
Thankyou, I will take a look and see what I can discover. Could save a lot of texture page space and memory!
And more importantly, WORK :p Having to make all those sprites is tedious, and if you'd need to make a change to the model and have to replace dozens of sprites... having a single resource and some maths is a lot easier on you in the long run even if the setup is more work.
 
Z

zircher

Guest
Yal nailed it, front load a little extra programming so you can dodge a lot of resource creation. Also 3d models give you the advantage of swapping out models when you upgrade your space harrier or picking from a pallet of skins so you can customize it without having to create another batch of sprites. It's not a silver bullet, but I think it would be worth investigating in your case.
 
I am concerned that the Z axis I need to specify with 3D models will ruin a lot of depth programming, and, I have a lot of view control code in place... and backgrounds... from what I have read thus far, I am concerned that the drawing and camera control will go nuts and totally destroy what I have so far, if I try to 'wedge in' a 3D model into what is otherwise very much a 2D game. Also, it doesn't seem Gamemaker supports 3DS MAX model formats :(
 
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