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FPSC Classic Product Chat / FPS Creator Reviews

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RickV
TGC Development Director
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Posted: 14th Feb 2005 18:25
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Hi FPS Creators!!! The development team are excited by the response so far and would like to know more about your thoughts on the product. So if you would like, could you write your own personal review of FPS Creator on this thread. Pretend you are writing a review for a PC magazine, what would you tell the readers?

Commercial Director
TGC Team
[Read "The POWER of NOW by Eckhart Tolle". There is no past or future, only NOW!]
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The Nerd
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Posted: 14th Feb 2005 18:32 Edited at: 16th Feb 2005 02:05
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Mod Edit by Rich - this wasn't a review. Keep the subject on-topic.


looking for Royalty free 3D objects?
then Check PanzerGames at this link : http://www.freewebs.com/panzergames
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Shadow Angel
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Posted: 14th Feb 2005 18:34 Edited at: 14th Feb 2005 18:42
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An Exciting, Fun, Easy-To-Use, Piece of software!
No bugs for me whatsoever!
I would like to thank Lee, Mike, and you RickV for making
this exciting product for FPS fans and game creators that
are interested in making FPS Games.

I myself is working on a game called Future Rebel, (the storyline is in this forum somewhere, scroll back a couple of pages ) and when it's done, there will be a demo on the nukesoft website and I'll possibly send it here.

Very good and well done

SCORE : 10/10

Ali M - Nukesoft

P.S - Not really of a PC Magazine review, but hoping this will do

-- 1LL K1CK UR 455! --
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Jiffy
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Posted: 14th Feb 2005 18:43
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My experience with FPS Creator has been an extremely enjoyable one. The program is simplistic, and anyone can get use to it in a matter of minutes. It provides a wide variety of rooms and objects (entities), so you can make many different scenarios. The ability to add scripts to entities is definetely one of the great aspects. Lightmapping makes your games come to life by shadowing certain areas and adding different glows to your rooms. You can create 'waypoints', which are paths that enemies with matching AI will follow, so you can create areas were certain people guard. The graphics are rich, and detail is perfect. The program has so many different options that you can virtually create whatever you want. One other important aspect is that you can import your own models and textures, allowing variety between different people's games. I literally created a simple map in 5 minutes, and a few hours later I had an extremely complex map, with many different rooms, lights, enemies, items and more.


Pros:

- Simple Interface, Very user-friendly
- Variety of options to choose from
- The option of importing your own models and textures
- You can quickly build an executable to share with your friends and family
- Many scripts to add to entities, plus you can make your own
- Wide community (already!), so if your stuck you can get help

Cons:

- No avi support (to my knowledge)

Overall:

An amazing tool. I reccomend this to anyone who enjoys making games.

100/100

Last night I was looking up at the stars and said "Where the hell is my roof?!"
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ngin
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Posted: 14th Feb 2005 19:06
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My very short review:

Got already the same day. One bad thing happend though (since I was very very eager to get it), the download files where corrupted, however it turned out soon to be my own fault.

The editor is very nice and slick, you can create maps in matter of minutes. Graphics are very nice, speed can sometime be a matter of machine specs, but on my it crawls (Asus MN6800, 1.6GHz PM, ATI Radeon 9600, WinXP SP2, 512Mb DDR, 60Gb HDD (5400 RPM)). But in all it's a very great product.

My pros/cons:

PROS:
- Very slick interface, easy navigation
- Nice to actually be able to do some programming
- Lot's of stuff to play with
- Great community

CONS:
- Can be slow from time to time
- No AVI support
- Lack of being able to create great menues
- Should be able to compress and protect your resources (not just the levels)
- Should be able to UPX the "gamefile.exe" (compress it)

But all in all a great toy to play with, now we only missing physics, network play and real outdoor climate

Cheers
ngin
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Chimera
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Posted: 14th Feb 2005 19:31
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OK, my English is bad but to keep this topic on topic I'm going to make something review-ish...

I was suprised by FPSC's easy way to use, I can do almost everything I want to do and all within a couple off minutes. You get used to the controls very quick and if you get stuck you can always look it up in the manual. Making games of these quality was never easier before and NO coding at all is needed. For the coders there are scripts you can add to entities for some more control. You can give your games really the mood you want them to have trough the particles effect and lightning. Importing your own models is a good thing if you want to make things unique. Which is a big pro of this program. If things begin to look the same bacause users keep on using the textures, models, ... which came with the package then just make your own or just import the ones you downloaded and make your game stand out.

10/10

Don't eat yellow snow!
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Logan 5
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Posted: 14th Feb 2005 23:58 Edited at: 14th Feb 2005 23:59
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Here's my quick, stream-of-conscience, draft of an FPSC review:


Sure, much of our lives are spent playing games but, for most players, actually making games is just a dream. Who wants to learn the intricacies of Lightwave or 3DS Max? Who wants to spend months creating their own levels? And learning about C++ pointers? Forget it!

But now game making is in the reach of anyone, thanks to a new product from The Game Creators, a UK company best known for DarkBasic Pro, a 3D game programming language.

First Person Shooter Creator is the latest – and maybe most significant – product from The Game Creators. FPSC allows for the creation of first-person-shooter games in just minutes. Its drag-and-drop level editor is easy to learn, and an entire level can be created in just a few mouse clicks.

Need to add enemies, weapons, ammo, furniture, teleporters, even elevators, to your level? Again, this is just a simple drag and drop operation. You can even customize these objects, as many properties of the enemies, weapons, etc. (such as speed, level of AI, respawn capabilities) are easily modifiable through a properties box a la most programming IDEs available today. But, if you’d like to add more customization to your in-game objects by, for instance, increasing the AI level of an enemy, you can do that by modifying its script, a small text file containing simple lines of FPSC’s built-in scripting language.

An astonishing amount of artwork is supplied in FPSC, most of it themed to make a sci-fi or World War II game, so there’s no need to create your own art. But, if you’d like to pull out Blender or Maya or most any other 3D art creation software, it’s easy to add your own art to the games you create. For that matter, it’s easy to add your own music and voice, too, just in case you aren’t satisfied with the massive amount of resources already built in to the software. And The Game Creators promise even more art and more themes in the future.

There are some drawbacks to FPSC: it’s in an early iteration, so bugs have been reported in much of the system, but The Game Creators have been about as responsive and customer-friendly as one could ask, listening closely to would-be game creators for bug reports and suggestions for future enhancements. [I should note that, although I did have a few suggestions for improvement of FPSC, the software ran great on my system, and, though I was able to recreate a couple of the reported bugs, none of the bugs got in the way of my game creation efforts.]

Also on the downside, FPSC doesn’t easily allow for outdoor levels, contains only weak AI capabilities, and doesn’t allow for multiplayer or online play, but I'm sure that the good folks at The Game Creators already have designs on improving these minor drawbacks.

You certainly won’t be using FPSC to create Half-Life 3 or Doom 4, but creating professional games is not out of the question, and creating excellent-quality amateur games is downright easy. At a price of only $56 US for the Early Adopter version, this is a must-buy. If you’ve dreamed of easily creating your own first-person shooters, guess what? Your dreams have been answered.

Basically dark.
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Ali
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Posted: 15th Feb 2005 00:11
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I agree with most of what's been said here.

But here are some downsides that need to be worked on.

1. The AI is bad. And I don't mean the AI scripts, because they can be optimised. I think the single thing that's causing the problem is the follow player command. I believe that it would be fixed if it was set so the baddie moves to the last place it saw the player before following the trail. Also sides of doors need to be taken into account, because the baddies think that they can walk through the side of a door and they can't, so they get stuck.

2. Another bug: putting something on the very right or very bottom of the map doesn't work. It doesn't show up in the game.
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Ominous
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Posted: 15th Feb 2005 03:28
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FPS Creator allows the user to develope his own First Person Shooter game without requiring him to know any programming, though knowing how to write scripts does help. The program is versatile in that you can add music, your own load screens, and eventually more models into the program. Almost everything about a level can be customized, from enemy AI, to how much damage weapons do.

The positives are as follows:
-You can make a FPS without having to know programming.
-4 words: Fully Automatic Sniper Rifle (the Tavor)
-I find the UI, while somewhat clumsy, is easy enough to figure out without needing to consult the manual.
-Did I mention you could make an FPS without having to know programming?
-The AI isn't completely idiotic. I actually had a German soldier hiding behind a desk in my first level. I was just expecting them to run around and shoot without any brains at all. Plus it's something I can fix to make it better.
-While there is a shortage of weaponry and enemies, there is a better selection of placeables (beds, chairs, switches, generators, etc.)

The negatives are as follows:
-Most of the music and Sound Effects aren't any good. This is a personal opinion and is easily fixable by importing my own music.
-The AI stinks, which is, like the music, something I can fix.
-A lack of water. Not a major drawback, but some of us enjoy using water, toxic goop, and lava in our levels.
-Not much when it comes to how many weapons or enemies there are. This like the other two before it will be (hopefully) fixable in v1 when you will be able to import more models.
-I've experienced some serious lag with a 128MB Radeon 9700 Pro, 1GB DDR, and a 2.4GHz AMD Processor. So I have to assume it either doesn't like AMD or 2.4GHz isn't good enough (which suprises me somewhat considering RAM has a bigger influence than processor speed).
-No body part specific damage. (I knew this going in and was fine with it, but it's still a negative)
-Not much focus on the outdoors.

I give FPS Creator a 7 out of 10. After version 1 comes out and a few people finish their games and show us all it can do, it will probably be in 8-9 out of 10 territory.

Disclaimer: I reserve the right to change my opinion and edit this post anytime without warning (unless of course the mods or admins change it for me or keep me from changing it.

Now is the winter of your discontent.
-Stewie from Family Guy
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Nosce
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Posted: 15th Feb 2005 04:21
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Fantstic program, it's what I've always wanted. A simple, affordable, flexible game creation app that idiots like me can use, but is still flexible enough to be worthwhile when I know what I'm doing (which was very quickly might I add).

The supplied media is fantastic (unfortunatly not enough as I would hope for), anda simple procedure to adding in your own content.

Things that we be good for v1:
-More variety of .fpi scripts for AI behaviour.
-"Fake" doors don't have textures.
-Game preview could be streamlined (memory leaks?).
-Lower CPU usage for map editor (I have to close down all my apps to use it smoothly).
-An objective window for easier manipulation.
-mp3 or ogg support.
-The ability to display 2D graphics onscreen at trigger points (messages and letters).

Aside from these things and a few bugs, a great program. 8/10.

temet nosce
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MaddA ChieF
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Posted: 15th Feb 2005 06:41
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Fpsc is very easy to get the hang of. I made a cool little game in about five min. The only bad thing is that I only was able to use it for a hour or so Because every thing started messing up. (see thread:I have problems with FPSC)

.:pros:.
1* graphics are nice
2* great gun models
3* very self-explanitory
4* almost everything is customizable

.:cons:.

1- all automatic guns by default have the same sound
2- it sounds a bit cheesey when you pick up an item or gun
3- AI is kind of wierd (I played the sci-fi demo that came with FPSC and the enemy followed me up the stairs and to the the end of the whole level! about every 3 sec. he shot at me! )
4- on a level that I made the enemy had no clip in his MP-40
5- exposions are 2D
6- no melee attacks
7- cant have two enemies attack each other


All that I want V1 to have mainly is better AI and melee attacks. that would make me satisfied.

In V2 I really want driveable vehicles and be able to make landscapes!

Oh ya. another pro. You don't have to code either!
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Crelus
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Posted: 15th Feb 2005 11:00 Edited at: 15th Feb 2005 11:03
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I'd break it down like this:

Level creation GUI/Functionality: 8.5 out of 10. Very easy, quick to create levels. The level editor is really well done. There's a few quirks, a few items missing of various importance, but overall it's very solid. There should be the ability to rotate the view 90 degrees, perhaps the ability to onion skin other levels, etc... but even as it stands today, the quality of the levels I can create with FPSC right out of the box blow away anything I could do with any other editor like unreal/id/etc... If this tools exported the levels for use with DBPro and that's all it did I would still think it a great price and ready for prime time.

Scripting: 3.0 out of 10. Functional but little else. I'm not sure what the VM is that is running your byte code, but it is just too basic. I don't mean to sound critical, and I'm still able to perform some interesting functions with what I have today, but what we are programming is direct byte code and it's like a one register processor and that register is CS.

I can understand the need to keep the number of cycles per entity per pass through the game loop to a minimum, but there needs to be at least some extra registers, operator comparisons other than "=", some kind of global variable/data pool that the script can use to save the values of various information between loops, and possibly some flow control statements.

Product Manual / Support: 9.5 out of 10 for an EA release. There's still a lot of ground to cover, but for an EA release this was very nicely done and did a good job covering an awful lot of new material. I've still got to poke around in the dark a bit, but at least I've got a big stick to help me.

Tools: 0 out of 10. Without the level editor, which is covered above, there's nothing else left to talk about. There's lots of room for tools like a HUD editor, script compiler,entity manager, conversation manager, etc... Maybe even some room for 3rd party support products if we are allowed. But right now there is nothing there and these gaps will have to be filled eventually one way or the other.

One tool that I'm currently working on to address this is a utility that would allow you to generate an AI script based on answering a series of personality profile like questions. That way you could come in and create a new NPC, answer a bunch of questions about them, and then get an AI script generated on the fly. I'd love to see at least a little more functionality added to the scripting engine before I finalize the design on this so I can make it even better.

Over all I'm very pleased with the purchase. I can see that there is still a lot left to do, but if done right this product could easily be the next-gen game creation tool that blows by things like torque, unrealed, etc...
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Chimera
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Posted: 15th Feb 2005 14:28 Edited at: 16th Feb 2005 02:44
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IN addition to my review: The AI really needs improvement...SO that's a contra.

Don't eat yellow snow!
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The Nerd
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Posted: 17th Feb 2005 06:37
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My Review:

The first time i opened up the program and saw the nice user-friendly inter-face i though to my self "WOW" I mean this peace of software is so easy to use and yet you get a really good quality of games.

Then after i played with it i thought that it would be a good idea to read the manual. I opened it up looked quick at it and though "No... Im gonna figure it out myself" all i really wanted to was playing with fpsc!.

Well here is what i like:

The ai:

I find the AI good. They can chase you through rooms and corridors, up and down from stairs. It have some small issues with the pathfinding sometimes but that is no big deal.
I find the use of waypoints very easy to use. They follow the waypoints without problems and it works really good.
I think the AI fits very well into fpsc.

The interface:

I find the interface very nice and user-friendly. You can quick and easy select things and quick add new things to your libary. So the interface is nice and good design.

The lightmapping :

The lightmapping in fpsc is very good and works very well and gives a good atmosphere to your game. Altought there is problems when using non-static lights in EXE mode but it has been confirmed as a bug and will get fixed.
But the lightmap is really good.

The player controls:

A very nice feature in fpsc is that the player control is fully costumeable wich gives the user the exact control he want.
A veru nice and very well working feature.

Models:

With fpsc you get loads of models to choose from and they all very good quality.

The script:

I havent tried the script myself but after looking at some others work with script it looks very easy to learn.
The script is a good and well working feature in fpsc.

Other things:

If you didn`t know a very good feature is that you can rotate an object very good. select an entitie and then you can rotate it theese ways:

shift + 1
shift + 2
shift + 3
shift + 4
shift + 5
shift + 6

These gives you a very detailed rotation if you need it.



Fpsc is an easy to use and very fun peace of software.


Regards

The Nerd


looking for Royalty free 3D objects?
then Check PanzerGames at this link : http://www.freewebs.com/panzergames
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schmind
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Posted: 17th Feb 2005 09:26
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It is very good. But i would like more control on objects. in other words great program
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00bk
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Posted: 17th Feb 2005 19:14
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Just a few pointers - good/bad:


Bad (save best till last)

- Multiple installation flaws
- Unable to create menus to my knowledge
- Unable to create cutscenes or add text


Good

- Easy to get used to
- No knowledge of scripting really necessary
- Great skins, items and weapons


Overall

I'll give this 9/10 - I'm sure that the full version will be a 10.


the apocalypse is coming!
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gpx
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Posted: 18th Feb 2005 13:32
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I played with it for a few hours last night (okay, I went to bed at 2am).

Pros:
1. Really easy to get started.
2. The level editor is very easy to use. Limited, yes but with my modelling skills it's perfect for me.
3. Nice and cheap, since I don't really anticipate releasing a commercial games.
4. Runs on surprisingly low spec hardware (GeF 3).
5. Bundled models etc are pretty good.
6. Docs/demo are good for an EA release (or any release actually).
7. A good example of what can be done with DBPro.
8. Very intuitive (expect clones).

Cons:
1. Died a few time (when building an exe).
2. Sometimes the map doesn't display after returning from test mode.
3. Would be nice to have some clarity on the commercial version.
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Opus
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Posted: 18th Feb 2005 21:46
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I'm writing this based on being a consumer only, as I have decided to stick with DBPro for now. I've downloaded several beta games produced by FPSC users. From what I can see a beginner can produce stuff in the professional range from day one so far as quality of gameplay and atmosphere is concerned. I suspect that there is going to be something of a gaming community revolution when FPSC users start giving their products to the freeware game sites. Whammo! Suddenly a huge number of quite good First Person Shooter games are available. People are going to sit up and take notice . . . at least people with broadband connections are. The large size of the downloads seems to be the only drawback at this point.

Okay, some background. I can hardly be called a gamer. I bought DBPro because I wanted to relearn coding and expand on my antique knowledge base and abilities. I play games when they are well made and not a hassel to learn the player interface. Based on what FPSC can do and on the fact that I am not a real gamer, were one of you guys to produce a game with at least ten or more interesting levels then I would be tempted to purchase it. [I am not going to, but I WOULD be tempted] I am speaking from the perspective of Joe Average consummer here, not a real gamer. I am certain that a serious gamer would be able to find all sorts of flaws produced by the FPSC package, but the average consumer would not. Just something to think about there.

Finally, since now a beginner really can produce something in the professional gaming range right out of the box and from very nearly day one, what is going to distinguish the good games from the boring games is story telling ability. Does the player have a sense of mission or quest? Do you feel that it is actually important to get from point A to point D aside from simply killing everything at B and C? Do you know how to set up the player so as to continually produce startling surprises? Do you know how and when to switch fromm atmospherig and moody stuff to light and airy stuff just to set up the player for a shock? In other words, do you really understand the nuances of entertainment?

When very nearly everyone can do what you are doing the winner is going to be the ones with the most original ideas and the best story telling ability.

Okay, after re-reading the above I see that there is still room for gaming improvement from the users who are also accomplished coders. If you can really think your way through the scripting process and are excellent with moddlers and other tools then yes, you can still win by producing unusual gaming effects and items and scenes, but I still think that on the whole what's going to count the most now is story telling ability and general creativity or imagination.

In any event the FPSC coders did produce what they advertised. Speaking strictly as a consummer, FPSC is an outstanding product.

Eternal student in search of knowledge. But will settle for the occasional epiphany.
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JerBil
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Posted: 22nd Feb 2005 07:47
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Just my 2 cents worth. It looks like the success of FPSC rises and falls on the quality of the AI, more than anything else. This is a fine product, and just needs some tweaks.


-JerBil

Ad Astra Per Asper
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GameKing
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Posted: 22nd Feb 2005 13:14
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Ok here is my Review of FPS Creator.

I have not used it except for running the tutorials.

GOOD points:

1) For the new person that wants to program their own 3D shooter FPS game then this is the software to do it!

2) The interface is well written and very easy to learn and use.

3) The system is easy to expand using an AI Script Language.

4) Comes with to complete game sets SiFi and WW2.

5) Lots of pre-built entities Prefabs etc.

This is one of the best FPS game system that I have ever seen but look who the Ceaters are.

Over all this one excellent gaming system for a new person to get started writing their own FPS games.

BAD Points:

Please remeber that this is still a beta version and that most of these BAD Points will be addressed in the Final Release.

1) The Game menu system needs to be addressed. the user should be able to have these menu selection items.
Game Setup. Video, Audio, Keyboard, mouse and controls.
Load and save game levels.
High Score List.

2) The AI still needs lots of work.

3) Sounds are real bad.

4) The lighting system needs work.

5) Large levels take forever to load in the editor.

6) FPS speed really needs to be increased.

7) needs to let the user add there own message screens.

I am an owner of DP Pro and I must say that this is another excellent product for The Game Creators.

Buy IT! you wont be sorry.

Abit IC7-G Max II, P4 2.5 gig, 1 gig DDR Ram, 80 gig Maxtor HD, NVidia FX-5700 128 DDR, Sound Blaster Live! Digital.
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Smiler
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Posted: 28th Feb 2005 14:20
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I am trying to import my own segments as per instructions in manual (p76) but cannot find FPSC-SegmentEditor.exe in menu's or files associated with FPS Creator. Can someone please explain how I can access this exe or a tutorial.

Thanks in advance

Smiler
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Briere
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Posted: 1st Mar 2005 09:43
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I thought I would love this, and there is still a chance that I might, but i doubt ill ever find out.

When ever I try to test my game, one of three things happen.

1.)I get an error saying the program needs to shut down

2.) It takes about 5 minutes to build portals, and anywhere from 5-30 minutes to build light map.

3.) everything completes, but tons of walls, doors, windows, ceilings, lights and so on are missing.

I have a Celeron D 2.66 GHZ processor, 512 mb of ram, it meets the minimum specs, i would understand problem number 2 to visit me, but not problems 1 and 3.

I dont plan on buying this unless there are either:
1.)Fixes to the program that are causing the problems

or if its me
2.) I am able to fix the problem.

I think Id rather spend the time coding my games by hand with DBP.
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Music Man
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Posted: 4th Mar 2005 15:25
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Now that I have had a really good opportunity to use FPS Creator, I have the following to say:

The GUI is ingenious. So good, in fact, that you forget you are using it. So simple to use, anyone can pick it up at almost any age level, yet so sophisticated that any level of game creator, from amateur to professional can create amazing things.

I LOVE the use of layers in this game. Never before could I figure out how to make upstair/downstair and other height levels and now it is literally a breeze. Lifts, elevators, etc - just as easy to create and use.

The graphics that come with FPS Creator are excellent as are the prefabs, segments and entities. Are there enough of them? Nope! On the other hand, that's the point - YOU will be making your own entities, prefabs and segments eventually. This version just gives you what you need to get good at learning the interface and options.

Open ended - yes indeed, this is one open-ended package. Youc an script everything and that means ANYTHING is actually possible. All it takes is some great coders and imaginations. Share - everyone shares their coding and secrets so all get to learn the ins and outs of the program. Of course, once corporate pricing structures are in place (I for one will be buying an unlimited license when and if it comes available), that's when people will become more secretive and hopefully WOW the world with their custom creations.

The AI is good - VERY GOOD - for an out-of-the-box (I did nothing but drag and drop) gaming experience. In minutes I was being chased by bad guys weilding sophisticated weaponry. After I destroyed these villians, their guns and ammo became mine. Yet, all I did was drag and drop. Simply put "AMAZING".

I think the really breath taking factor is when you lay down a few prefabs, segments and entities, put a player start and end pointer, add some lights and do a simple light mapping test and play the level you created simply tem minutes prior - and IT PLAYS LIKE A GAME YOU PAID $50 FOR. That says a LOT! Remember, games off the shelf at your local computer supercenter took hundreds and hundreds of hours to create - with FULL TEAMS doing so. And what did you do? 10 to 20 minutes of dragging and dropping!!!

With the advent of possible inclusion of physics, DBPro functionality and other goodies, I cannot see any downside to FPS Creator. On the surface it is a fun tool to create simple or complex games, but from a deeper inspection, it is an AWESOME toolset to create really complex, layered and gorgeous games that lops off thousands of hours of programming time otherwise spent creating a core engine and level editing tools - all the way to compiling you game to an executable (.exe file) for final production.

Tons of time went into the planning and development of this program - and it shows. And I don't just mean the programming of it. It is OBVIOUS to anyone even vaugely familiar with gaming and programming that the simple GUI and level editor sat on the drawing board for a huge amount of time while all angles were considered.

Remember, this is a tool for kids and adults (and everyone in between) - from people that have NEVER created a game in their life - to some of the best and brightest coders and artists trying to figure out how to use this amazing tool to their advantage.

Congratulations The Games Creators - you achieved what you set out to do.

Oh, and this reviewer has never had a crash yet - or a slowdown. And you want to know how I create my games? On the road on my LAPTOP!!!! Imagine, I'm in my hotel room, bored out of my goard. I whip out my laptop and fire up FPS Creator, to create some levels or games simply for the fun of it. And what amazes me most is that it is equally as much fun to PLAY THE GAME as it is to CREATE THE GAME!!!

Mike Felker
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Acolyte Entertainment
19
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Location: Oregon, US
Posted: 24th Mar 2005 07:57
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My review:

In my opinion this is the best peice of software I have every come across!

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2kilo
20
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Location: London
Posted: 6th Apr 2005 03:25 Edited at: 15th Apr 2005 18:30
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I really am in two minds over this software, I want to love it and I do in a totally biased fashion. Looking at FSP logically I should be "pulling it apart" but I can't, why? I guess because I love all software devoted to games creation..?

FSP is made for and targeted at the novice games maker [OK] and requires no programming skills to get started [cool]. This is a fine concept although it has the obvious outcome of games revolving around similar media, scripts and functions. For the novice, FPS is in danger of becoming a mapping "cad like" program, the only creative aspects being what kind of level can you build with the supplied blocks...

So, to increase the creative options FPS allows you to make your own scripts and segements [cool]. But do I like segments? Yeah it's great to "paint a level". Although the level building editor is stunning software you are again constrained creatively to "tile" based construction. Yes complex segments, tubes, cylinders etc are possible but the process of building in your 3D package, splitting and exporting destroys all the speed and elegance that FPS gave you, resulting in the feeling that a normal editor [such as GameStudio or Reality Factory] would actually be quicker for developing original levels and media.

Then there's the license, [hmmm] I'm still not sure about this. I guess I don't like the fact that my time has been invested in a project yet I don't have the full rights or control over it..? I hear a commercial license will become available, this I would buy without question, control your own destiny...

Now speed and frame rate had me stumped. It seems that you would need quite a high end machine to run FPS comfortably. I suspect the software could not have been released any earlier, the PC's did not exist to cope with the requirements..? But why so slow? Is it the segments? Does having a room made from 20 segments mean a hell of a lot of repeated tiles, where other software would use [maybe] just one hollow cube and be faster for it..?

A few years back I used GameStudio [yuk] and hated being stuck making levels in their editor, I wanted more freedom, wanted to build levels in other packages [including the lightmaps]. Then I mucked about with Reality Factory, which seems to be closer to the FPS ethos, a fixed game framework. Being free software was a bonus but more importantly it had particle effects, mirrors [great for water] fog and could import your own character models [quake I think] and use the motion blending and bones. But being open source it felt a bit "ropy" and still constrained to there editor [better than GameStudios at the time]. The point being that back then the software was capable of impressive results and good effects at usable speeds on old machines [850 Duron] so why is FPS so heavy on the computer? Could it be the media? Is the high media quality seen as wowing customers? Doom3 still uses an enhanced BSP system [I'm told] and looks stunning, while GameStudio's System requirements are only P3-500, 128 MB RAM and that's with 70fps...?

The media quality, textures, segements, and characters are impressive, if fact they are so good that they can make other aspects of the software seem poor. It may be my machine, but the character animations/animation blending seem amateur compared to high standards set by the textures supplied.

The quality of games made with FPS judged by gamers who are non-users, who will "tell it as they see it" without knowing or understanding the limits of the software will be harsh, always comparing FPS's game quality to AAA titles. While the FPS community/users will always give a brighter response... It is a hobbyist tool, it does not [at present] stand a chance against the AAA list.

I still feel far more creative freedom could be gained by opening up the camera view options, 3rd persion, platform or side scrolling [to name just a few] would expand the software into a more complete creation package. I fail to understand the ethos behind limiting this great software to First Person perspective, an old and often tired game style, with the best game titles in todays market surviving by adding unique features, cool effects, strong stories, etc which FPS cannot [at present] do...

I believe FPS is easily capable of making a game of the same standard [if not better] than Doom II. Yes this title must be 10yrs old, but [for me] that still seems kinda impressive for consumer software under £100...

Yes I keep telling myself this is not even version one, just wait until they hit 3,4,5... I still love to tinker with FPS, I think I know why now, game making can take so long, FPS allows instant satisfaction, you can actually finish something...
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The Nerd
19
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Joined: 5th Jun 2004
Location: Denmark
Posted: 19th Apr 2005 05:35
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NEW REVIEW FROM ME

Hi

I know i have already made one review but since i have tried some more things i would like to give your all a new review of fpsc

THE REVIEW:

If you ever wanted to create your own fps game without using programming fpsc is something for you!
Although if you wanna program there is the fpi script wich lets you add more "features" to the game(More about this a little longer down)


The IDE:
The IDE is really easy to get used to. It is easy to use and you should get an idea of how it works really quick.
It also have a nice design. But there still are some small bugs that should get fixed.

The IDE gets : 5 out of 5 stars

The FPI script:

The fpi script is a really flexible language you can use to fpsc. You can nearly make anything you wan't with it for your fps games!
It is a pretty much completed script and also it is still pretty easy to use! But it is quite hard to get into it. Also you really can't find any tutorials for it and there should be.
I also recommend "FPI Maker" wich is a very nice script editor for you to program the fpi script in. You can read more about it and download it here: http://www.fpscreators.com/utility-tools.htm

The FPI script gets 3 out of 5 stars
The reason it gets 3 stars is because the lag of tutorials wich really destroy a good piece of the else so nice script.


The segment editor:

The segment editor in fpsc is really nice! You can "paint" your maps just as you wan't. It is easy to use and you gonna use it in almost all levels you gonna make.
As far as i have tried i haven't seen any bugs with the segment editor so i would say it is bug free.
There is ALOT of stuff for you to chose for the segment editor. Like stairs, platforms, tunnels and ALOT LOT MORE.

The segment editor gets 5 out of 5 stars.


The light mapper:

The ligt mapper in fpsc is really good!
The quality of the shadows is really good and with all the difrent light colors(You can even chose your very own color!) you can create a very dark and scary atmos.
You can chose between quick lightmapping and full lightmapping.
You should use quick lightmapping when you testing the game and full lightmapping when you're totally done with the game.
Also full lightmapping takes a very long time.

The lightmapper gets 4 out of 5 stars
The reason is that the lightmapper still could be a bit better.


The texture quality:

In fpsc you can chose between difrent texture qualitys. Normally you have the lowest when testing the game and then when you wanna build the final game. When the texture quality is on the highest i can tell you.. It is VERY VERY good!


The texture quality gets 5 out of 5 stars.


The enemy AI:

The enemy AI in fpsc is ok. But it could be ALOT better. It is still pretty stupid... But still it is clever enought so you can get a hard time completing a level. Here the FPI script comes in You can write your own AI! It maybe sounds abit complex but after what i have seen it looks pretty easy! And you not gonna use many lines on it.

The enemy AI gets 2 out of 5 stars
The reason is the lag of intelligence
But if you write your own AI and you could make a 5 stared AI And then share it with other fpsc users

You can find scripts on : http://www.fpscreators.com


the music and sound effects:

The music and sound effects in fpsc is pretty good You can make a creepy atmos with the horror music loops and you also have pretty many sound effects to chose from!
And if that's aint enough you can import your OWN sounds and music to fpsc! It's really really simple and easy to do.

The sounds and music gets 5 out of 5 stars


The graphic quality:

The graphic quality in fpsc is good
Although it still could be a bit better.
But since this is an drag and drop game maker the graphic is REALLY GOOD! The graphic makes you able to make scary and dark games.
And can't really find any games to compare with. But the graphic quality is good and better than i expected it to be
still there are some bugs. But there comfirmed of tgc and should get fixed for v 1.

The graphic gets 5 out of 5 stars


So are there more?:

There is ALOT LOT more i could say about this really fun piece of software!
But it would take some pages

So im just gonna say some other quicks things about fpsc:

There ALOT of enteties to chose between and if that ain't enought you can import your own models.
Also you can control pretty much everything like: The menu buttons position(And the look, since you can create your own ). and the backgrounds is also able to change


Well i think i have to stop now

Hope this review helped


Maybe i will update the review if i get something to write about

*************
*panzergames*
http://www.panzergames.tekhawk.com
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granada
21
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Joined: 27th Aug 2002
Location: United Kingdom
Posted: 19th May 2005 23:57
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Hi,I dont get a lot of time to play with this at the moment due to my workload,but what i will say is that whenever i start it up i can get strait back into it .Another thing is its great fun just to play with,i will get into it more when work slows down a bit.

dave

Windows XP Home 2002 Service Pack 2,1AMD Athlon(tm)XP 3200+ Barton 2.20 GHz ,1 GB of RAM
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 256MB DDR
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Dory The Cable Guy
19
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Joined: 23rd Apr 2005
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Posted: 21st May 2005 02:41
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I have been verry excited about FPSC ever scince it was anounced, and now that i'm running the full EA version, i am extremely satisfied and think my money was rightly spent.


Overall product rating: 9/10
Ease of use: 10/10
Reliebilty: 7/10
Flexibilty: 20/10
Inclusion of media: 6/10
Use of computer resources: 4/10
Download size: 3/10
Final product: its to good to be rated




yours truly,
an amercain idiott

i don't siggy my message
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Dory The Cable Guy
19
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Posted: 5th Jun 2005 03:39
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oh yes, i forgot, i give the inclution of media a 6/10, but i'd say the inclusin of sound is a 2/10, but that doesnt matter as you can import almost anything you want

i don't siggy my message, lol
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Zaphod Beeblebrain
18
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Joined: 2nd Jun 2005
Location: Essex, UK
Posted: 6th Jun 2005 05:11
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FPS Creator really is the program I have always been waiting for - the halfway point between 3D gamemaker and Darkbasic - AND its in windows!

The level editor is just - 'ahh!' and everything else is set, positioned, edited and created in just the way you would want it to be.

However, I am having serious problems with my trial version at the moment and I can't actually test my levels, only view them in 3d.

Additionally there seems to be literally millions of little annoying bugs and errors (the most irritating one for me at the moment is the 'undo' tool - you call THAT undooing? Since when did I say I wanted another wall there?)


I know if everything worked how it should I would not hesitate to give this thing 11/10!

"Smoke me a Kipper, I'll be back for Breakfast!"-Ace Rimmer
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Pantaloon
18
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Joined: 14th Jun 2005
Location: About two blocks East
Posted: 20th Jun 2005 08:48
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I have many ammends each paragraph is a new one


I think there should be an ability to design outdoor terrain thats smooth and flowing (like in TRibes:Vengence, Gothic, and other games that have rolling hills) you could save the the land and import it as a prefab (if the it is made as a seperate program instead of an option). You could then easily place it and possibly blend it into buildings. the terrain shold be able to exceed one block high infinately or as far as the world template goes

.speaking of maps the templates shold be much larger. its reallY annoying just continuosly building upwards. Most games have maybe 3-5 levels(as in height NOT GAME LEVELS) and span great distance

there should be constant upgrades and packs (other than Version 1)preferably free but i can understand you need money so at the least make it really cheap (think of the audience, not all of us are old and skilled programmers with money)

There should be a way to make weapons with different basic weopon skins like pistol, auto-pistol,automatic, rifle, shotgun, balistic, grenade, sword, bazooka
. there could be a grabbing tool to stretch, shrink, smeer, twist or enlarge portions
. also cut parts off (like a sawed of shot gun)
. change colors
. have a few dozen parts to add on or take off the basic skin (for example a three barrel shot gun, you can add onather barrel) or(add a scope,trigger, handle(s) tracking device, laser, shoulder rest, clip size, and just bulke and image to make them seem more futuristic, scifi, ancient(really oldlike a present gun just not used in a long time, looks worn) or mystical like some kind of wand or rod of a god or something
. should also be able to animate the guns, adding different kinds of particles and reaction with objects, blast radius, ability to explode or penetrate some object while doing nothing to others( this could be applied to the system Red faction had where you could destroy all the natural terrain

another thing is a red faction like system that allows realistic destrucion of walls and terrain, by doing this you would have to have a solid ground peice to place on the map, and the terrain builder would have to allow either a skin mode where its not destrucable and a full mode where it can be destroyed

the ability to make decent cut scenes

event mode and event options like in RPGmaker. this will allow us to have more control of AI and allow things like trip mines or trip door or lets say a character walks into a room, suddenly a bunch of gaurds come in or trigger a boss battle or something

i would like AI similar to Jedi Knight II : Jedi Outcast
its not the greatest ai but i think its pretty dang good for any game. it would certainly be better than the zombie like non strategistic AI that's currently in use.

there should be ropes that dangle around while you climb them and the ability to swing on them to get to other ledges like in half life or alice (very basic)

there should be a tool to cut out peices of a terrain for example:
you throw a switch and a big metal draw bridge opens but comes down so hard it breaks the edge off the cliff. an event could be placed on tthe normal peice and when the switch is thrown and the bridge falls the normal peice will be switched with a broken peice an even better thing would be allow it to make a dust cloud when the draw bridge falls and even the peices should be seen falling into the precipice

adding to this physics system different map peices should be able to be set to allow different sounds and particle kick up (like dust dirt, fire if walking in lava, water splashing, wripples. it should all depend on impact speed and size so a bullet may kick up as much dust as a foot step

character modification should be included just like clothing, faces hair, hats, muscle tone, skin color, jump height and size. sort of like a sim's character or in some rpg's
and definately a size tool>>>> if you wanted to change a bossyou could face some sterioded up dude thats 20 feet tall all hulk looking that pounds you with his fists

there should be a fog system so you cant see infinately out word
and there should be a more advanced atmosphere mapping like sky and backround perhaps layering a mountain backround over a sky backround
or change color of a sky to purple or something if on an alien planet

when selecting sounds and animations i had no idea what i was selecting because the titles were completey un informative basically the enterface needs some improvement

i have a 3 GHz computer and it took 2 hours to render the level to play the level wasnt even complete and want that big, i have a good graphics card and memory, what sup with that

we should be able to link seperat maps togethor so we set victory zone or something and were given an accuracy rating secrets found and get points or something than we get a loading bar and we begin at a new map

if you read do any of you agree with these?

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Disturbing 13
19
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Joined: 12th Apr 2005
Location: Murder Capital of the World
Posted: 30th Jun 2005 06:47
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My Story so far-
I've use allot of engines since the creator of PieInTheSky3DGCS abandoned his work. I've owned every piece of software Pie has ever created simply because its ease of use. And bar none it was the easiest first person shooter creator in existence. Why am I telling you this? Well, The members of the forum for Pie stuck together and kept up the tech support for each other long after the Creator of Pie abandon us. I created o 'bomb shelter" forum for the members, for the eventual demise of the Pie forum. My self given primary mission was to find a new engine for my people that's just as easy to use as Pie. I've tried just about every engine that boast 'no programming necessary' only to find out that it only applies to basic level design. God forbid you try to make a door or have a special lighting effect. Well now, I believe my search has come to an end. I can honestly say First PersonShooter Creator is exactly what I was looking for. The results achieved combined with the simplicity and ease of interface is astounding! I've said this on the board I run and I'll say it here now-'When using pie I felt I was competing with the likes of quake2; When using FPSCreator I feel I'm more on par with what Doom 3 may be able to do.' I may be a bit exaggerative with my statement, but It's how I feel when using it. I fully endorse this engine and can't wait for its official commercial release. I urge everyone interested in FPS creation to try this engine.


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SarusX
18
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Joined: 21st Jul 2005
Location: Behind u- thats where a rangers gonna be
Posted: 26th Jul 2005 09:22
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My Review of FPS Creator-

Presentation- The menu system works really well, and I love the level grid- so easy to use. Lighting effects and such have never been so easy to use. The entity bank organization can be a little confusing, though. Score: 9/10

Graphics- If I could give this an 11, I would. Truly fantastic. Incredibly detailed architecture, character models, and guns. And judging by the V1 teaser, explosions will also be great.
Score: 10/10

Sound- Everything sounds great, from footsteps to tbe selectable backgound music included. Gun sounds are repeated over weapons, though. Score: 9/10

Gameplay: You really do have the option to make fast-paced, exciting shooters. The best thing short of programming it yourself, and even then you probably couldn't get the great graphics.
Score: 9/10

Overall- 93% A Fantastic Buy
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Colonel Cool
18
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Joined: 3rd Aug 2005
Location: Somewhere
Posted: 5th Aug 2005 14:58
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Fun and easy to use I only tried the EA Trial. I have DarkBASIC Classic now see. Anyways it's a good handy tool and very easy to use and have hours of fun. But the 3D Models are low poly but they are very nice looking for low poly, and the games you create are kinda like Serious Sam. Still a great buy and well worth your money, this is a great product.

8 out of 10

Ogre Software - RPGs and Tools Made In DBC
Current Game - Mystic I: Quest of A Lifetime
Current Tool - DarkTile V1.0
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