[Skeledroid]

The only programming language I'm comfortable with (I mean, making a big project) is Visual Basic 6.0. It's kind of a pain in the ass to get a decent platformer engine going with it. I've got one without scrolling already that I made by hand, it's pretty good. However, I'd like to make a Sonic-like game (or possibly a Sonic fan game) -- which would obviously require scrolling. The question is...

Does anyone know a good platformer engine or "maker" software (not Game Maker, please)? Preferably something with a map/level editor that works in tandem with the engine. I'd just like to go the easy route on this one. Let me know, thanks.

[Jayenkai]

Honestly, I don't think it's a great idea to jump into an entirely new language, and hope you can somehow wrangle a Sonic game out of it.

I've been stuck to the Blitz line of languages for a heck of a long time, now, and would highly recommend BlitzMax.
But that's because that's what I use, and no doubt every other option you're about to receive will be similarly biased.

You use what you use because you're comfortable with it. And if you're not, then you're probably not about to make the next Sonic game.

5 examples of my recent BlitzMax games
159 examples of my older BlitzBasic (2D/3D) games

This post has been edited by Jayenkai: 17 March 2010 - 05:10 PM

[Skeledroid]

Right, that's why I wanna know if anyone knows some "maker" software or something like that. Something specifically tailored for making platformers.

[Overbound]

Eh why not use MMF and Sonic Worlds engine or Game Maker and Sonic Dash engine. From the sounds of your last post you just want an all inclusive package those two are it.

[Skeledroid]

Eh why not use MMF and Sonic Worlds engine or Game Maker and Sonic Dash engine. From the sounds of your last post you just want an all inclusive package those two are it.

Can you provide links to these things?

Specifically, MMF and Sonic Worlds -- maybe Sonic Dash too.

[MarkeyJester]

It's a long shot, and I know you are looking into fangames specifically, but I'll ask anyway.

Why not simply try modifying a normal sonic rom disassembly? They are the "original" sonic engines (let along "a" sonic engine), and SonED being an application to help modify the levels more easily. OK yeah, again for the more advanced stuff, it will require you to learn MC68000 (and maybe Zilog-80, VDP and the sound chips, depending on how far you wanna go) and there are limitations, but it's still worth looking at.

As for fangame engines for the more advanced consoles and machines such as PCs, I'm afraid I don't have the experience in that department to give you a better insite.

[Overbound]

Sonic Worlds
MMF
I think its around 100$ for MMF



Sonic Dash
Game Maker Website
Game Maker is like 25 bucks or something like that.

Both of these there are "other options" for getting the applications needed.

My game Sonic Time Twisted is made with the Sonic Dash engine so you can kinda tell what Dash and Game Maker are capable of.
Some of the older builds of Sonic Nexus and Hez's Sonic Classic were made with Sonic Worlds and MMF so you can checkout those for that.

Either way both these are capable of making a decent Sonic game. You can contact via Aim or MSN if you choose Game Maker I can help some.

[Skeledroid]

File Not Found

The file you have requested could not be accessed because the file could not be found.

Requested File: Sonic Worlds Delta V1.2.rar

D:

P.S. Thanks for the fast responses.

This post has been edited by olaf: 17 March 2010 - 05:57 PM

[Overbound]

These are both game makers of sorts your first post says not game makers but then your post below says maker so I'm not sure what you want lol.

If you come from a programing background you might like Game Maker better it has a easy to learn scripting language called GML which is very powerful especially since there are 100s of expansion DLLs for it too. I know Game Maker is better with collision detection too because you can create your own collision engine which is not possible in MMF. I am bias though I use Game Maker.

[Skeledroid]

These are both game makers of sorts your first post says not game makers but then your post below says maker so I'm not sure what you want lol.

If you come from a programing background you might like Game Maker better it has a easy to learn scripting language called GML which is very powerful especially since there are 100s of expansion DLLs for it too. I know Game Maker is better with collision detection too because you can create your own collision engine which is not possible in MMF. I am bias though I use Game Maker.

Yeah, I didn't really like Game Maker when I tried it out before -- so I wouldn't want to create a Sonic engine from the ground up. However, I didn't know this "Sonic Dash" existed, so I'll probably try it out and see how it goes.

[Overbound]

Try this one http://sonicfangameshq.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5235

Its a bit older version you can contact LarkSS if you want the newer one.

[Skeledroid]

That Sonic Dash is really slow (at least on my computer). I think I may end up just making a hack or crappy VB6 engine.

[Conan Kudo]

That Sonic Dash is really slow (at least on my computer). I think I may end up just making a hack or crappy VB6 engine.

I've heard that REALbasic (now REAL Studio) is a great modern environment for VB6 users to make programs, especially cross platform game engines...

And if you are writing open source code, I think you can get a free license to it...

This post has been edited by King InuYasha: 17 March 2010 - 07:52 PM

[spidertour02]

It's only tangentially related, but have you checked out Microsoft's XNA Game Studio? It's free to use if you're making PC games, and $100 bucks nets you the license to put it on Xbox Live. Most importantly for you, the entire thing rests on top of Visual Studio and is written in VBasic.

There's also a very large community around it that you can use for troubleshooting, assets, etc.

This post has been edited by spidertour02: 17 March 2010 - 07:56 PM

[Conan Kudo]

It's only tangentially related, but have you checked out Microsoft's XNA Game Studio? It's free to use if you're making PC games, and $100 bucks nets you the license to put it on Xbox Live. Most importantly for you, the entire thing rests on top of Visual Studio and is written in VBasic.

There's also a very large community around it that you can use for troubleshooting, assets, etc.

The only large downside of the XNA Game Studio is portability.... All it runs on are Windows and Xbox 360...

This post has been edited by King InuYasha: 17 March 2010 - 07:59 PM