Hi,

I just found out about EE2. It looks really nice and seems to offer a lot of bang for the buck.
I want to make a game very similar to the original syndicate, but in real 3d. Gameplaywise it should be very similar however. I have evaluated a few engines before, like T3d (seems to complicated to create new objects not provided by the engine), Unity3d (too expensive as it seems only pro is useable), UDK (too complex to get into, absurd royalities), Neoaxis (lacking docs and forum activity) and LE3 (got LE 2.5 and with the move to 3 I feel they ripped me off, plus visuals are very bad).

- What have been the main reasons you Chose EE2?
- Is development of EE2 still going on as fast as it used to be?
- Are further updates (things listed on the roadmap) free or will there be paid updates?
- How many AI can I have in a Scene with decent performance? For my game, i want to have around 50 to 100 pedestrians next to my 4 agents
- As I won't have a single Player character, but rather a squad controlled by the Player, would I benefit from the RTS sample that can be bought additionally?
- Are effects like rain/snow easily done?
- How good is Performance (specifically with lots of bone animated models?
- Is the art Pipeline really as hassle-free as advertised?
- Are there any things that must be fixed/improved in the engine?
- how fast are bugs fixed if they are reported?
- Is the script language very different to c++? Does one need to be a really experienced c++ programmer?

Think that's it for now. Hope to get some answers soon, meanwhile I continue my test drive ,-).

well i can not answer all questions but here are the main reasons i choose Esenthel over the others:

at first: money
- you buy your license and that`s it. No yearly fees, or what ever.

Next: community and support
- the community you find here is active, friendly and helps with ideas, solutions and such so that`s one point
- Esenthel provides a really good support and he is also active in the forums always checking for new things

About Updates:
- well as always "it`s done when it`s done" but updates are there even though there can be some updates in quite a short time and then for a longer period no updates.

About the RTS demo:
- i think you would benefit from the RTS but as always you have to find your own solution or way to go. All demos and source codes you get are hints and yeah they help a lot if you are stuck with a certain problem.

About the c++ thing:

- I am a total beginner at c++ as well as modelling and animation, etc. But with the tutorials you get there are plenty of examples how to do something. I mean for example when I started I just changed the camera tutorial plus other tutorials from mouse control to touch screen control or just made a dummy model, animated it and implemented it into the MMO Demo. I also got a test world (small world with a river, some trees, a house) working with my dummy character playable. (everything through touch screen).

So all in all it is not that hard if you are determined to do it and with a bit patience you`ll get it in no time.

About the other questions - I can not answer them for 100% since I am still at my games concept (again -.-) so I leave them for the others community members which are more experienced.

Anyway hope to see you maybe soon with your own license,

bye for now =) and enjoy your time with EE

*cracks knuckles*

- What have been the main reasons you Chose EE2?
Easily the best flexibility, features, and performance for the price. It would still be a good deal for $500 for a license.

- Is development of EE2 still going on as fast as it used to be?
It hasn't slowed down yet!

- Are further updates (things listed on the roadmap) free or will there be paid updates?
The change from 1.0 to 2.0 created a unique situation where the licensing structure fundamentally changed. In this situation, people would have to pay to go from 1.0 to 2.0-unless Esenthel gave them some kind of deal(at his discretion). For users of 1.0, the engine is still updated, but the tools only get bug fixes.

- How many AI can I have in a Scene with decent performance? For my game, i want to have around 50 to 100 pedestrians next to my 4 agents
This depends on your programming. Esenthel doesn't have an AI system, only a pathfinding system.

- As I won't have a single Player character, but rather a squad controlled by the Player, would I benefit from the RTS sample that can be bought additionally?
Definitely. Each example shows different techniques and features.

- Are effects like rain/snow easily done?
There is no weather feature, but I'm pretty sure I saw it on the roadmap.

- How good is Performance (specifically with lots of bone animated models?
I made a stress-test of 900 little green animated aliens that were glowing and shooting lightning. I was getting just under 30 fps. (with above average spec system)

- Is the art Pipeline really as hassle-free as advertised?
Pretty much drag and drop. There's a few lines of code and/or object properties to adjust and you have a usable object.

- Are there any things that must be fixed/improved in the engine?
There's always room for improvement, as you can see by the roadmap and the "Feature Requests" forum.

- how fast are bugs fixed if they are reported?
Sometimes, within an hour of being reported. Most of the time by the next SDK release, which is usually at least once per month.

- Is the script language very different to c++? Does one need to be a really experienced c++ programmer?
Esenthel scrip is basically C++, but FAR easier on the noobie than regular C++. You will still need to learn, but after you do, you can transition quite smoothly into standard C++.

Edit:
P.S. Let's not start the LWE topic again here. Your experience is not unique, as is well-documented on this forum. D:

Thanks for the input guys. Sorry didn't want to start a flame war regarding LE, I haven't seen the thread before.

Welcome andy!

Yes, lets not re-open that thread (although it was very enjoyable )

"- What have been the main reasons you Chose EE2? "
When you compare all the "indie" engines together, to me it was no brainer. I did not want a "script your game together" engine but I also did not want to have to write low level C++ for graphics and networking. I also wanted multi-platform and device. EE has that and WAAAYYY more. It is by far the most flexible and is so well put together. The support is amazing and new features are being added all the time. I also really like the tools. It takes some getting used to, but after that, it feels very natural.

for the other stuff, what Rubeus said

I just bought EE2...waiting for the mail with the keys now. Now on to brush up my C++ ;-)

Welcome to the club.

(05-18-2013 10:33 PM)andy_s Wrote:  I just bought EE2...waiting for the mail with the keys now. Now on to brush up my C++ ;-)

Hello!
Congrats on making the purchase
The license keys are not delivered through mail.
They are available in your Esenthel Store account (just select the item you've purchased, and go to download section, the files for download and license keys are there)