Welcome to Gamestudio! The purpose of this program and the included lite-C programming language is the quick and easy creation of interactive 2D and 3D applications, especially computer games - with or without programming. You can use it for:
Ready for a little overview of what you can do with Gamestudio? Ok, let's go:
| Script | Script Type | Remarks |
| clothdemo.c | Pure lite-C | A waving flag that can be shredded by cannon balls. |
| knights_on_wheels.c | Pure lite-C | Simple script to control a car. |
| physXtest.c | Pure lite-C | Physics engine test with thousands of objects. |
| infinite_terrain.c | Pure lite-C | Render engine test with ten thousands of objects. |
| reactiontest.c | Pure lite-C | Choice reaction time test. |
| quadris_puzzle_game.c | Pure lite-C | Tetris clone by Hendrik Felix Pohl. |
| augmented.c | Pure lite-C | Augmented reality demo (*). |
| crowd.c | Pure lite-C | Mass scene test with thousands of animated actors. (*) |
| clock.c | Pure lite-C | Simple analog clock. |
| digital.c | Pure lite-C | Simple digital clock on a non-rectangular window. |
| earthball8.c | Pure lite-C | Basic example of a lite-C script, heavily commented. |
| sound_test.c | Pure lite-C | Sound cones and environmental sound effects. (*) |
| water.c | Pure lite-C | Simple shader effects. (*) |
| particle_trail.c | Pure lite-C | Ray effect. (*) |
| particle_test.c | Pure lite-C | Comparison of normal and sprite particles. |
| weather.c | Pure lite-C | Simple snow effect. |
| shadowmapping.c | Pure lite-C | Simple shadowmapping from Shader Workshop 8. (*) |
| D3DLesson1-6.c | Windows C | The first 6 lessons of the Microsoft™ DirectX SDK. |
| triangle.c | Pure lite-C | Direct call of DirectX functions in a script. |
| A7_Screensaver.c | Pure lite-C | Screensaver example (requires command line parameters). |
| spot.c | Pure lite-C | Spotlight without shader. |
| Flower.c | Windows C | Simple graphics example using the OpenGL API. |
| OG_Harmonic.c | Windows C | Yet another OpenGL example. |
| OG_Cube.c | Windows C | Yet another OpenGL example. |
| OG_Peaks.c | Windows C | Yet another OpenGL example. |
| notepad.c | Pure lite-C | Shows how to control other programs with lite-C. |
| mandelbrot_pure.c | Pure lite-C | Mandelbrot program, using engine functions. |
| mandelbrot_legacy.c | Windows C | Mandelbrot program, using Windows API functions. |
| pong.c | Pure lite-C | A Pong game. |
| pong_multiplayer.c | Pure lite-C | Pong game for 2 players over the network. (*) |
| pi.c | Windows C | Print the first 1000 digits of Pi. |
| imageviewer.c | Windows C | Image viewer, using the Windows API. |
| mci.c | Windows C | Video/audio file player, using the Windows API. |
| HelloWorld.c | Windows C | Just prints a message, using the Windows API. |
| HelloWorldPure.c | Pure lite-C | Just prints a message. |
| projects\shadertest.c | Pure lite-C | Shader viewer, for testing the included standard shaders. (*) |
(*) Some features, such as plugins, shaders, multiplayer, or environment sound, are not supported by the free edition.
'Real' gamestudio games can be downloaded from the Gamestudio website, or purchased from Valve Steam or other online publishers. The online magazine AUM contains one game in every issue.
This manual is not a starting point; it's rather a reference to all functions of the editors, the engine, and the language. For learning how to start and continue with Gamestudio, try this:
Gamestudio contains
If you only want to create 2D applications, you only need SED and lite-C. A 3D game however consists of one or several virtual environments, called Levels. A level itself consists of architecture (Blocks), landscapes (Terrain), actors and objects (Entities), as well as special items such as light and sound sources and actor paths. All those objects can be created with Gamestudio's level and model editors.
Everything moving within your level, like a door or a monster, is under control of a lite-C script. Scripts are also responsible for the user interface and for special effects, like dynamic lights, flares, particles, fog, or shaders. A collection of basic scripts - the templates - is included. They can be used to create simple games without any programming.
The lite-C language was developed by Conitec in cooperation with Atari, Inc. Its purpose is the quick and easy creation of PC programs, especially multimedia or graphics applications or 2D / 3D computer games. The syntax is similar to C. So the source code of a lite-C program can theoretically also be compiled with other C/C++ compilers like Visual C++®. However, due to its implementation of a game engine and its native support of multimedia objects like sounds, images, movies, panels, 3D models etc. you can achieve results with a few lines in lite-C that would require hundreds of source code lines with other C/C++ compilers. Lite-C is ideal for programming when you don't want to concentrate on programming but on the content. It's also ideal for learning programming. Lite-C supports DLLs and COM (Component Object Model), the Windows API, OpenGl, and DirectX.
You'll find the following folders in the Gamestudio installation directory:
| data | Configuration files for WED |
| wads | Default textures for WED |
| prefabs | Prefabricated blocks for WED |
| ged | Files for the GED editor |
| templates | game templates |
| wed_plugins | WED plugins |
| med_plugins | MED plugins |
| sed_plugins | SED plugins |
| acknex_plugins | Engine plugins |
| external | External codecs, libraries, licenses etc. |
| ms | Import/export filters, Milkshape compatible |
| include | Include files for lite-C |
| code | Shaders in .fx format |
| samples | Small lite-C sample programs |
| projects | Sample projects: shader viewer |
| sdk_engine | Engine SDK for C++ |
| sdk_plugin | Plugin SDK for C++ |
| tutorials | Tutorials (on CD)* |
| levels | Game levels (on CD)* |
| textures | Textures (on CD)* |
| models | Models (on CD)* |
| sounds | Sounds (on CD)* |
| goodies | Additional software & artwork (on CD)* |
| deutsch | German documentation |
When working with Gamestudio, visit http://www.3dgamestudio.com frequently! Every few weeks you'll find new updates, tutorials, artwork, tools, workshops, useful links, the official Gamestudio magazine and the user forum where professionals will help you to let your game ideas become reality.
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Manual and Software are protected under the copyright laws of Germany and the U.S. Acknex is trademark of Conitec. Any trademarks mentioned in this manual are trademarks of their respective owners. Any reproduction of the material and artwork printed herein without permission of Conitec is prohibited. We undertake no guarantee for the accuracy of this manual. Conitec reserves the right to make alterations or updates without further announcement.
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