Project Orion
Simple VB.Net 2D ORPG Engine
Disclaimer: I a lazy programmer (aren't we all?) - I just copied and pasted this from my own site so some of it, especially the SFML explanation will be rudimentary to you all. I honestly won't be around to check on this topic very much, I am just here to show off but if you have questions or anything you are more than welcome to hit me up here. (http://ascensiongamedev.com)
What is it?
I want to be clear. This engine is completely based off of an old Visual Basic 6 engine release of Eclipse Origins 1.1.0 by Robin Perris back in early 2010 (https://web.archive.org/web/20101118054825/http://www.touchofdeathforums.com/smf/index.php/topic,57637.0.html).
Features:
- No Pirating VB6! - The Source can be modified freely and legally using latest express versions of Visual Studio. (http://www.visualstudio.com/en-us/products/visual-studio-express-vs.aspx) unlike its predecessors.
- Not from the 90s! - VB6 is very old. While I love the performance, Microsoft is trying to kill it off! That is not the case with .Net applications right now.
- Multi-Threading! - The client and server can handle tasks simultaneously so we can support more players and our players will suffer through less FPS drops!
- SFML Rendering Emgome - Similar engines are using DirectX8 released for Windows 2000. This engine uses SFML - obviously no further explanation is needed (see post below :P)
- Written in Visual Basic! - Look at those two beautiful words. Visual and Basic. It is great for beginner to look at, learn from, and modify. (Unless you already know another language and just don't like VB)
- Barebones - Some would say that this is not a feature, but there are a lot of cluttered engines around the net. This is a base that aspiring programmers can modify and sculpt in order to create a unique experience for their players.
Media:
Here are a few screenshots of the engine. Click for expanded views.
(http://puu.sh/eWD7r/967a3e45e2.png) (http://puu.sh/eWD7r/967a3e45e2.png)(http://puu.sh/eWDhX/4f2d2a7a76.jpg) (http://puu.sh/eWDhX/4f2d2a7a76.jpg)(http://puu.sh/eWDnT/ebdda349b2.png) (http://puu.sh/eWDnT/ebdda349b2.png)
Download:
Source Code:
The first GitHub commit is now available. (https://github.com/jcsnider/Orion-Game-Engine) For developers you can download and build the client and server yourself.
If you are interested in contributing to the engine you can view our GitHub pull request tutorial here. (http://ascensionforums.com/index.php?topic=31.0)
Binaries:
Just looking to test out the engine? No problem! Here are compiled binaries for version 1.0. (http://ascensionforums.com/resources/Orion Game Engine v1.0.rar) Only requirement should be .Net Framework 4.0!
Licensing and Credits:
- This project is derived from Eclipse Origins 1.1.0 Alpha written by Robin Perris. Distributed with the Eclipse Public License v1.1 (http://192.99.166.184/resources/license.txt). He deserves a ton of credit because this project started out as a direct port of his Visual Basic 6 engine.
- We are using SFML as the new graphic and multimedia system. It is great software and you can find the license here. (http://www.sfml-dev.org/license.php)
- Furthermore this engine is distributed with a few default graphics, these are courtesy of REFMAP - also known as Mack's tilesets. License can be found here. (Wayback Archive) (https://web.archive.org/web/20120709182546/http://www.tekepon.net/fsm/modules/refmap/index.php?mode=rules)
- Final note that I want to mention is the free Arvo-Regular font distributed with this engine, it is provided under the SIL Open Font License. (http://scripts.sil.org/cms/scripts/page.php?site_id=nrsi&id=OFL)
I am personally responsible for various bug fixes, and new system implementations that would not translate from the old Visual Basic 6 version. These new systems include but are not limited to the new SFML implementation for graphic rendering and .Net framework's System.Net.Sockets networking implementation for communication.