Cubme (COPY)

David Ball, the creator of 3DGS Easy Scripter, kindly took the time to answer the questions for this month's interview.

Q: What is the purpose of 3DGS Easy Scripter? How can it help us?

A: 3DGS Easy Scripter is an all-in-one IDE to build lite-c applications quickly and easily. It provides a set of tools to create different engine objects visually. This allows a game to be developed faster, as the user doesn't have to remember each and every parameter of a function or engine object. There is a lot of validation included to make sure that few errors occur as possible. One thing I've noticed about using user contributions is that sometimes not all the required files are included and hence the contribution doesn't work properly. 3DGS Easy Scripter solves this issue by using a 'Resource' system, where every resource like images, sounds, models, etc is embedded into the project file, guaranteeing that you have everything that you need.

Q: Will it be possible to create an entire game using your visual editor?

A: Absolutely. 3DGS Easy Scripter provides everything you need to create full 3D applications. The only thing it lacks at the moment is a level editor, which is planned for v2.0. You can do everything you can using lite-c, but using a clean, friendly interface.

Q: How much code will we have to write by ourselves?

A: The majority of the game can be built visually. This is usually done for components such as Panels, Fonts, Particles,etc. A major feature of 3DGS Easy Scripter, is that it allows you to 'click' together Actions using a set of predefined events and behaviours each with their own set of configurable properties. Functions are written using lite-c although this is made much easier with features like syntax highlighting, intellisense and code snippets.

Q: Do you plan to bundle Easy Scripter with a library of predefined scripts?

A: 3DGS Easy Scripter will come with a range of templates for different genre's of game such as FPS, Platformer, etc. These provide the 'backbone' for the user to further develop. Furthermore users can create their own templates and distribute them to others. Different editors of the program will come with predefined settings, eg. The particle editor will include a library of built-in particles to use in the game.

Q: How hard it will be for us to add our own functions, routines, etc to Easy Scripter?

A: It is very easy, now that a plugin interface has been developed. There is a built-in plugin editor which allows users to write their own behaviours to use in Actions. These are in the form of C# classes, so a little knowledge of the language may be required but a generic template is provided so that it is very easy to see how it works. Once you've built your plugin, it is dynamically compiled into the .3dgsp format and then you can give this to others and they will be able to use your creations.

Q: Somebody has tried to create a similar product (“The Universal Script Creator”) several years ago but he didn’t manage to finish the project. Can you estimate the date for the first alpha or beta release of Easy Scripter?

A: I was unaware that anything like this had been attempted before as it is quite an ambitious project. It is hard to estimate a date because new things are being developed all the time. I originally set a target date for late November but external factors have slowed my progress. If I had to have a guess, I would say sometime in early 2010. That should give me enough time to squash any remaining bugs and do my own testing.

Q: Did you think at a price range for Easy Scripter yet?

A: Not yet. I need to actually get the product finalized before I decide how to license it. I'll talk more about pricing nearer the completion of 3DGS Easy Scripter.

Thank you a lot, David!