I wasn't going to do this but for some odd reason I decided to.
Now I'm not asking what is better, I'm going to give you a review between the two. And later, tell you what I think is better. I will be fair, I will not just suck up for FPSC because I use it. I will be honest.
~Silent Walk~
THE BAD
I have found that Silent Walk is actually a rather nice engine but it has its downfalls such as the UI. I was very confused with what I was doing. It's interface isn't horrible but it needs much work. I found myself having to read the entire manual to understand the interface. However, after reading the manual, the UI became very simple. But a first look at it had me lost.
What I found to be a large issue with Silent Walk was the low quality graphics. I read somewhere that it was as if remaking the original Castle Wolfenstein. Those words pretty much hit it dead on. The graphics are low quality.
The worst issue for me was the lack of media. This is where FPSC I think reigns supreme over Silent Walk. What little media is given to you is poor quality. It's media nonetheless but there is very little of it.
The Lighting seemed to be another issue for me. I could be very wrong on this and please correct me if I am wrong, but I had a limit to the lights I put on the map. I was only able to place 8 lights down. It is possible my computer is just being weird but until this is fixed it is an issue. But there is a way to get creative with this. When placing your "elements" (which would be your segments, entities, etc in FPSC) there is an option called "ignore lights." If that option is used it will be as if there is lights that cover the entire object. Though I would prefer actual light markers.
And the last issue I had with it is that it's made by one person. I congratulate the guy for making an engine by himself but sometimes I team is just needed.
THE GOOD
Those are the main issues I found with Silent Walk. Now, issues aside, let me tell you about what I found good.
The speed of the game. This was a wow factor for me. I covered about half of the map put some walls down and then I gave it a run. It ran very smooth. It had a tiny bit of lag at some points but hardly ever. Now it wasn't detailed whatsoever so I opened FPSC and did the same thing and go figure, lag. However, I'm doing this on an average computer which to you guys is VERY low end lol. But I was very impressed with the speed of the engine.
The layout of the global settings. Now this isn't necessarily a good or bad thing I just really like the layout of the global settings. In FPSC I get rather annoyed having to go through file<build game<level settings and so on. With SW it's all right there on the bottom right corner under project details. This isn't anything remarkable I just like the layout lol.
Rotating the camera in the editor. This was huge for me. This is something that I think should be put in FPSC. I know you can rotate the camera in the editor but you have to be in the properties of an entity. With Silent Walk, it's a simple right click and move. I find this a necessity because you can see every nook and cranny of your map with ease.
That is my review of Silent Walk. I will come back every now and then to update it because I haven't gone in depth with the engine yet. There are still things I need to try. I haven't tested the combat in the game and combat is a major role in an FPS. So until I test the combat, here is my FPSC review.
~FPSC~
Like I did with Silent Walk, I'm going to start off what I dislike abut FPSC.
THE BAD
The speed. This is obvious. Everyone knows that FPSC has framerate issues so I'm not going in depth with this.
The combat. Again, this is pretty obvious. The enemy is stupid and yes there has been scripts made (such as Dark AI) to make them better but they are still stupid. Now I'm not going to compare that to Silent Walk's combat because I haven't tried it.
Can't rotate editor camera. Like stated earlier in the SW review, you can't rotate the camera in the editor. This truly bugs the crap out of me and it's something I would like to see changed.
Those are the main issues
I have with FPSC. Now let me talk about what I love about FPSC.
THE GOOD
The lighting. The lighting in FPSC is incredible. Dark lights are amazing and look fantastic.
The interface. What is easier than clicking entity then conker then the map and having a fully animated character down on the map? Basically there is nothing easier. You can't be confused with the UI everything is straightforward.
The graphics. The graphics with FPSC are not next generation, but in comparison to Silent Walk they are much better. And with dark lights above the models, they look pretty damn good.
All in all with FPSC, I like the simplicity. It is extremely good for someone who doesn't know much about computers. And it is even good for those who want to do some coding of their own. Scripting is very simple, even I have made my own working script, and the source code is released for free. However, I don't know if Silent Walk releases there's for free or not.
THE COMPARISON
Now what you have probably been waiting for, or what you skipped over all the words for, what do I like better? And the answer IS...
FPSC.
Now I don't say that because I use it nearly everyday nor because these are FPSC boards. I say it because of everything stated up above. Don't get me wrong though. So far Silent Walk has been a pretty cool engine. But between FPSC's simplicity and graphics, FPSC for dominates Silent Walk.
Now, to the mods lol. Please don't lock this. I don't know why you would but this took me forever. I have checked out the Silent Walk boards and nearly everyone there uses, or at one point used FPSC. Silent Walk has taken some FPSC users. And with this review I'm sure it'll help you guys from losing anymore.
Also, if I have messed anything up, or if you have any suggestions for what can be placed under the good or bad please let me know.
