it sounds freaking cool man. id buy it.
RonC
Thorgal:
It does not support multiplayer, not directly, anyway. It will import Blender files, UV textured that have been exported as VRML 97(old). It respects the “Set Smooth” settings from Blender. It has its own bone system and IK that is so easy to set up it is rediculous. No need for complicated rigs, and any object can serve as a bone deformer. Imagine a system of deformers that can be strung together with springs or any kind of joint. The possibilities boggle the mind. I made the beginnings of a game featuring a giant slug that really behaved like a slithering, stretching creature with spring loaded eyeballs. Movement unlike anything I have ever seen in real time, anywhere. Stretchy limbs and flexibility, soft body like behaviors on a creature that also demonstrated collision detection - amazing.
This is a product that was available a while ago for around $600. It didn’t fly because of the high price and the fact that it was targeted toward web developers instead of gamers.
The owners are reconsidering these things. I’ve looked everywhere and I’ve never seen anything with so much functionality, so easily obtainable, so flexible, at any price. It really is not like anything out there. And the files it generates are tiny.
None of the game logic is done for you. You wire things together as a series of processes and reactions. A game is really just a synthesized kind of reaction factory, with, what seems to be intelligence built in. With this product all the brain work is still up to you, things just behave in a fashion similar to real world objects and don’t require you to set the logic up with code. And you can write your own scripts if you want to expand it.
There are so many ways to simulate the most advanced graphics with the simple set of tools that are provided, as well.
Greg Smith
What was the program called?
<3 DOOG
Doogs:
As soon as I’ve finished negotiating and it looks like I can make it available, I’ll let you know. Just really trying to see how much interest there would be before I commit to begin distributing and supporting it.
Greg Smith
i think if there would be support for external python and network capability it would be awesome…
Doogs
man i really want to talk in detail about this product, can you aim or msn me? rpc9943 on aim and [email protected] on msn messenger.
please.
i want to learn more this sounds like Virtual Reality Studio 2.0 which was an amazing engine for it’s time!
RonC
Doogs:
It was not really designed to be a multi-player system, and does not support Python. It uses javascript as its scripting language.
Greg Smith
greg any way we can chat about this please
RonC
Okay the more I hear about this the more interested I become. You say it imports blend files directly? Thats good. The logic system you’ve described sounds very similar to that of Crystal Space (and eventually CrystalBlend). The new logic brick system that will be developed for CrystalBlend may even be compatible with this engine of yours. I really think you should develop it with integration into Blender as a main goal.
The future looks interesting. I see GameBlender supporting a multitude of possible game engines that can just be plugged in. Erwin is continuing with Sumo development, Jorrit is working on CrystalBlend, and now you are working on this new engine. Interesting times… 
Keith. 8)
this engine sounds really really good.
Is it possible to actually program a multiplayer extension via the java?
can we at least see some screenshots?
is it OPENGL capable?
Are there shaders?
How long will these “negotiations” take?
Thanks
RonC
doogs:
As soon as I get an affirmative reply from the owners I will begin posting some examples and screen shots. By then, you will already know what the product is called and be able to take a look at the legacy website with its numerous tutorials, examples and its forum archives, which are rich with information and solutions. I think, if we get to this point, (through the negotiation process), those of you who are interested, will be “blown away” with the potentialities of the authoring environment.
I hate to call this an engine, because it is far more than that, it is a complete, self-contained environment for making games of incredible variety. I can’t call it state of the art for the following reasons: it doesn’t contain enough in the way of current buzzwords, and it is not aimed at producing games for computers with the newest hardware technology.
Those who try to produce development platforms aimed at current trends and technologies are constantly trying to hit a moving target. Unless the company developing such software has a dedicated staff of hundreds, they cannot hope to succeed in this pursuit. Those developing Crystalblend, by the time they release their completed “engine” and succeed in integrating it into the Blender environment, will already be far behind the “state of the art” curve. So, for the practically minded artist and game developer, one must think differently. More in a little while. Gotta go to the dentist.
Edit: At some point, the authors and distributors of Blender decided to try to play the “keeping up” game, even though the program, as it stood at that moment in time was quite capable of producing entertaining and educational content of better than average quality. Even though funding was obtained for continued development and staff was apportioned “resources” for continuing with the project, the developers of Blender have still not “caught up” with serious 3D contenders, nor will they after the next release, or the next or the next . . . and so on.
The thinking person will eventually be forced to the conclusion that endlessly pursuing the rainbow of new technological developments is wasting a lot of their time. Why not do something meaningful with the tools we have right now. And, think of those trying to develop “state of the art” educational materials for a product that is never finished, like Blender. It becomes an impossible task, because no sooner than you publish the work that has taken you months/years to complete, it no longer applies to the current state of the software. I think it is safe to assume that is why no comprehensive set of Blender learning materials has been presented to the public at this stage in history. And, it is the ability to transfer knowledge of the function of a software product to its user base that determines, ultimately, whether the product will be “successful” or not.
That is why I am presenting this game authoring product as a “finished” product. It is my belief that it contains a significant portion of functionality to equip a very ambitious game developer with the tools they need to, relatively quickly, develop the particular game they have in mind. In other words, take this powerful set of tools at a reasonable price and use them to their utmost potential to produce very interesting entertainment content.
No serious craftsman spends the bulk of his time trying to determine if he has an adequate set of tools that are as modern and advanced as the other craftsmen in his community. He simply gets to work and makes things, using all of his skill, and the tools that serve him well.
Greg Smith
i feel like youre being too salesman. its making me reconsider my excitement. And my wallet.
why don’t you answer my specific questions?
is texture blending supported?
RonC
Doogs:
It uses OpenGL and objects are rendered based on textures mapped and materials applied. No Shader support.
Greg Smith
alright please private message me the website so i can see it, dont worry i promise i wont steal your thunder in approaching these people, did you buy the copy back in the day or something?
RonC
Doogs:
No.
Greg Smith
brucegregor
Post subject:
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2005 6:01 pm
…No serious craftsman spends the bulk of his time trying to determine if he has an adequate set of tools that are as modern and advanced as the other craftsmen in his community. He simply gets to work and makes things, using all of his skill, and the tools that serve him well.
Greg Smith
MMMmmm Maybe you could add the word “all” before your terms “the bulk of his time…” OR
your craftsman will be absolutely closed in his tradition… Maybe he (your craftsman) needs to spent a little more time just dealing whith tecnology if he wants to work whith videogames… 8)
BTW i need to study more the meaning of the word “bulk” in English. Because English is not my native language (as you can see 
).
Please don’t get me wrong. If u don’t understand what the &%!* iam talking about fell free to ask, i will try to explain whith other words. 
Thorgal:
Bulk, loosely translated from this context is, “most of”, or , “the majority of”.
Not having a programmable CNC, 6-axis, lathe/milling workstation has not caused the bulk of the machine making community to be limited in their creativity or in their ability to create marketalble machine components, or even whole machines. Designers and manufacturers who lack this kind of technology are not closed in their tradition, at all. They are simply limited to a smaller scope of endeavor. True, they cannot compete with multi-million dollar corporate entities that make hundreds of thousand of components at a time and employ hundreds of workers to run the factory.
But, as reality has it, neither can you. You cannot compete with the multi-million dollar game making corporate entities because, not only do you lack the necessary advanced technological hardware and software, you lack the required number of man-years or man-hours to complete any such endeavor.
So, why do most aspiring game creators aim so high? Why not endeavor to create something that is within the realm of possibility of finishing and still has value, either pure entertainment value or, in addition to this, monetary value, as well?
I do not own a large factory or the latest and greatest woodworking tools. Yet, as a simple wood turner, I am able to make beautiful things that, not only I enjoy making, but others enjoy enough to spend their money obtaining. I am not at all “closed in my tradition”. I simply can’t afford to do otherwise, so I do with what I have at hand.
Greg Smith
Greg wrote:
Thorgal:
Bulk, loosely translated from this context is, “most of”, or , “the majority of”.
AHa! Now i get your point. Because the translation of this word in Portuguese (Webster dictionary) sounds to me like “everything whithout exception”. Gotcha?
So, thanks for you patience. By the way i like the history of Davi fighting Goliath. So i feel you are being a little pessimist when saing “we are out of competition”.
(I hope you don’t get me wrong for saing this)! I really fell very closer/atracted to subjects regarding methods. For example i’am always thinking about the question “tradition X tecnology”.
so, i see a lot of important points at your post. (To code or not to code thats the question!)
Have you heard about a writer called Robert M. Pirsig?
Greg,
I see your point… I guess I’m just a little reluctant, which I’m sure you can understand, 'cause we haven’t seen any evidence yet. But I guess that a tool of that caliber would surely come in handy. I guess I’ve just seen so many unmet claims over the years that it becomes hard to believe any more claims. Also, I think that game ‘creators’ tend to make people lazy and hinder creativity. The higher the programming language, the more restrains you typically have. That’s why most companies use lower-level programming languages like C++, 'cause then they have access to system resources not otherwise accessable. As long as it doesn’t do the thinking for you, I would be interested in this product. I’ve often thought about what you were saying when it comes to Blender. I have been searching for a finished game-creation suite that isn’t constantly changing. To be honest, at times I want to leave Blender because of that very reason. But, I’ve been using Blender since the very beginning - in fact, I was using Blender before it even had a game engine! Back in the .98, .99, 1.02, ect. …
Later,
Jared
Jared:
I am in total agreement with you regarding promises not delivered and sales hype. Nearly every software manufacturer exaggerates the capabilities and simplicity of their products. I have been a continual victim since the 1980’s, myself.
And, at this moment I have nothing to sell, so I’ve got nothing to hype. All this talk was hopefully to find support among the Blender community, in the form of interest. I’m not quite sure of the level of interest yet.
Greg Smith