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Defold: cross-platform game engine

defold.com

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Re: Defold: cross-platform game engine

#121

Post by britzl »

japhib wrote: post #81
bentt wrote: post #31

I remember when Unity first appeared and what it felt like to read its materials, its pitch. It was like... whoa, this might actually be something. This feels similar. Sometimes you can just tell by the communications and the spirit of the language that the team has the goods. The fact that they have such comprehensive multiplatform export right now is big. One of Godot's biggest hurdles has been console support. My…

They recently added C# support: https://forum.defold.com/t/defold-c-support/79479

C# support is still experimental and under development, but it is at least ready for testing for those that are curious. Note that it is C# with Native AOT so it's compilation and linking involved, not "scripting and hotreload".

Re: Defold: cross-platform game engine

#122

Post by britzl »

japhib wrote: post #82
xandrius wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly, read Lua and got out instantly. Games are complicated beasts, something along the lines of C# help massively the development and the avoidance of bugs. Python, Script and Lua are not languages I'd wish to switch to from the coziness of C#. I'd consider Go or Java (although not as hip as it used to be).

If you just want static typing, you can write Typescript and compile to Lua: https://typescripttolua.github.io/

Also https://ts-defold.dev/

Re: Defold: cross-platform game engine

#123

Post by britzl »

vunderba wrote: post #42
nunodonato wrote: post #8

I'd love to see a more in-depth comparison in terms of features with Godot. Seems the latter is much more advanced, at least in 3d capabitilies.

Defold isn't really intended for 3D games at all. It's got a much stronger focus on 2D mobile/web.

Not entirely true, but sure, there are fewer bells and whistles in Defold compares to Unity, Unreal and Godot when it comes to 3D.

Here's a recently released 3D game made with Defold: https://forum.defold.com/t/cashchubbies-island/78183/22

Re: Defold: cross-platform game engine

#124

Post by britzl »

jsheard wrote: post #19
vlovich123 wrote: post #17

Am I correctly understanding that this is a for-profit endeavor that’s relying solely on donations?

Looks like they offer paid support, and the console branches obviously aren't public so you'd have to make a deal to access those.

No. Wrong. Console branches are available for free if you are approved by the vendor.

Re: Defold: cross-platform game engine

#126

Post by britzl »

ksymph wrote: post #64
383toast wrote: post #49

Does anyone know if Defold can be used without the UI? Eg. just running it as a library or using scripting to do everything the game engine UI can do. Purpose is just to try to get an AI to generate code with it.

In theory yes, data is just stored in json and there's a CLI utility [1] for building. It's pretty awkward though. [1] https://defold.com/manuals/bob/

No, data is stored in protobuf text format (and at runtime compiled to binary protobuf files ofc).

Re: Defold: cross-platform game engine

#127

Post by executesorder66 »

all2 wrote: post #105
executesorder66 wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You can make proprietary changes to the engine without releasing them (unlike GPL). Why is that a good thing? >You can freely monetize games built with the engine, You'd also be able to do the same if it had a GPL license >and they make some assurances that there won't be a bait-and-switch. If it was licensed under a GPL license you wouldn't need to rely on "some assurances"

>> You can make proprietary changes to the engine without releasing them (unlike GPL). > Why is that a good thing? Game dev at the top tiers is an arms race. Being able to do proprietary things is attractive to big players. >> and they make some assurances that there won't be a bait-and-switch. > If it was licensed under a GPL license you wouldn't need to rely on "some assurances" Multiple projects have gone closed-s…

> Game dev at the top tiers is an arms race. Being able to do proprietary things is attractive to big players.

Yeah, so I don't see how helping out the big players and not everyone else is a good thing.

>Multiple projects have gone closed-source from open source. Assurances are a nice thing to have (but certainly no guarantee).

Yeah but the open source ones ARE guaranteed. Even if they later become closed source, the code up till that point will remain open source forever. So it is guaranteed whereas "some assurances" mean nothing.

Re: Defold: cross-platform game engine

#128

Post by britzl »

ksymph wrote: post #67
vlovich123 wrote: post #17

Am I correctly understanding that this is a for-profit endeavor that’s relying solely on donations?

It's also being funded by a number of corporate sponsors. As I understand it, a studio or publisher will fund the development of a specific feature, while general development is mostly just spare time and donations.

No, Defold is developed by six full time and two part time developers. All developers are fairly compensated. Most of the work done on the engine is "general development" funded by corporate partners, studios and publishers. There is quite a bit of overlap between the needs of specific partners and the general development roadmap.

Re: Defold: cross-platform game engine

#129

Post by seba_dos1 »

sarchertech wrote: post #107
seba_dos1 wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Godot's user base is already bigger than Amazon Lumberyard's (now O3DE). Unlike Defold, both Godot and O3DE are actually free.

You can’t really look at overall user base, you have to look at the number of users making enough money off of Godot that they’re willing to pay for commercial features. That number is vastly smaller. If Godot games were making anywhere near the revenue that Untity games do, I’m willing to bet they’d there would be an Amazon fork.

It's you who brought user base size in.

(and it's still bigger for Godot)

Re: Defold: cross-platform game engine

#130

Post by all2 »

executesorder66 wrote: post #127
all2 wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> You can make proprietary changes to the engine without releasing them (unlike GPL). > Why is that a good thing? Game dev at the top tiers is an arms race. Being able to do proprietary things is attractive to big players. >> and they make some assurances that there won't be a bait-and-switch. > If it was licensed under a GPL license you wouldn't need to rely on "some assurances" Multiple projects have gone closed-s…

> Game dev at the top tiers is an arms race. Being able to do proprietary things is attractive to big players. Yeah, so I don't see how helping out the big players and not everyone else is a good thing. >Multiple projects have gone closed-source from open source. Assurances are a nice thing to have (but certainly no guarantee). Yeah but the open source ones ARE guaranteed. Even if they later become closed source, the…

> Yeah, so I don't see how helping out the big players and not everyone else is a good thing.

If you want your stuff to be private, you have a legal option.

> Yeah but the open source ones ARE guaranteed. Even if they later become closed source, the code up till that point will remain open source forever. So it is guaranteed whereas "some assurances" mean nothing.

I guess? Is that not the case here as well?

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