Description

GAIA (c) is a data-oriented game engine by Spicy Noodles Studio (c) designed with simplicity in mind, so that anyone can begin creating new games and experiences with some basic C++ knowledge without worrying about the boring stuff.

We give you the tools to render 3D models and worlds, to implement animations and effects, to set up blueprints and components, to use your favourite game controllers... Everything ready from the get-go, with no additional coding needed. But check for yourself all the features that GAIA Engine puts in your hands.

Features

• 3D rendering system complete with shaders and textures.
• Support for animations and particles, including trails.
• Full physics system with rigidbody support, triggers and colliders.
• A gameObject-Component structure designed for ease of use.
• Input system with keyboard, mouse, controller support and event-handling.
• A complete sound system that offers both 2D and 3D audio with reverb and effects.
• It supports blueprints.

How to Install

• Download GAIA.
  • Download the most recent release version. DO NOT download the master version, only release versions are stable.
• Set up GAIA:
  • Inside 'Dependencies', use CMAKE to install the following tools: Ogre3D, FMOD, CEGUI, SDL2.0, Bullet Physics.
  • Go to the properties of GAIA, get into 'Configuration Properties >> Debugging >> Work Directory' and change it's value to $(TargetDir) in debug and release.
  • Inside GAIA, run the DLLCopier, both in debug as in release, to install the necessary tools for the engine.
  • Now compile GAIA both in debug as in release. Debug is used for code / game testing purposes, and release for the final stable version of the game.
• Set up your game Project:
  • Create a Visual Studio project in c++.
  • Inside the folder with your .exe, create a 'Gaia' folder and move inside your compiled GAIA project from the previous step.
  • Create a main.cpp file. It should look like this in order to start and employ the engine:

#include <GaiaCore.h>

#ifdef _DEBUG
#include <cstdlib>
#include <crtdbg.h>
#define _CRTDBG_MAP_ALLOC
#endif

#ifdef _DEBUG
int main()
#else
#include <Windows.h>
int WINAPI
WinMain(HINSTANCE hinstance, HINSTANCE prevInstance, LPSTR lpCmdLine, int nCmdShow)
#endif
{
#ifdef _DEBUG
	_CrtSetDbgFlag(_CRTDBG_ALLOC_MEM_DF | _CRTDBG_LEAK_CHECK_DF);
	//_CrtSetBreakAlloc(94345);
#endif	

	GaiaCore* g = new GaiaCore();
	g->init("4 Pong Arena");
	g->run();
	g->close();
	
	delete g;

	return 0;
}

How to Use

• Next to the executable you should have:
  • Assets folder (just like in the Gaia project)
  • window.cfg file
  • plugins.cfg file
  • resources.cfg file
  • resources.asset file

We recommend to copy the files given in the Gaia version downloaded.

• If you do as recommended, you should only navigate through the Assets folder and place in its place all kind of resources you need.
• To create a scene, you just have to go to Assets/Scenes, create a <YourSceneName>.scene and go to Assets/Files/scenes.asset and write scene location on it. (Remember that the order matters, the first written path will be the first scene to initialize).
  • Scenes are defined in plain text with the following format:

     "SceneName": "Game",
     	"SceneObjects": [
     	{
         		"ObjectType": "BLUEPRINT",
         		"ObjectName": "name",
         		"Tag": tag
         		"BlueprintPath": "blueprintName"
     	},
     	{
         		"ObjectType": "GAMEOBJECT",
         		"ObjectName": "name",
         		"Tag": "tag",
         		"Components": 
         		[
             		{
                 		"ComponentName" : "name",
     		"ComponentProperties": [
                     		["attribute" , "value"],
                     		["attributeVector" , "value1 value2 value3"]
                 		]
             		}
         		]
     	},
     ]
    

• To create a blueprint, you have to go to Assets/Blueprints, create a <YourBlueprintName>.blueprint and go to Assets/Files/blueprints.asset and register the blueprint location on it.
• To create a component, in your own game project, create a class that inherits from UserComponent. There you can define for your game logic:
  • awake()
  • start()
  • preUpdate(float deltaTime)
  • update(float deltaTime)
  • postUpdate(float deltaTime)
  • more
• Once you create a component, remember to register it using 'REGISTER_FACTORY(YourComponentNameID);' on the .cpp so that Gaia recognizes your component.
  • You need to include the following header into the code in order to access the factory: #include <ComponentRegister.h>.
• To create a sound, save any kind of sound file (.mp3, .wav, .ogg, etc) in your Assets/Sounds folder, and register it's location on Assets/Files/sounds.asset for it to be loaded into the project.
• To create an interface or menu, you have to create a .layout file in the Assets/UI/layouts folder. It will be loaded automaticaly so that you only need to call it's route inside the code.
  • The Interface System is a wrapper of the CEGUI library. For further refining, documentation, tutorials or guides, you can check the CEGUI wiki.
• To load meshes and skeletons, you can create them from an external tool such as Blender, and then store them in the Assets/Meshes folder.
  • Animations are defined within the .skeleton and are called from the program via the Animator component, pre-built into GAIA.
• To load textures, save the image file (preferably as .png) inside Assets/Textures.
• To create materials, shaders, trails and particles, GAIA follows the OpenGL/Ogre3D standard, which can be checked in the Ogre3D wiki for further reference. To load them, just save the .material, .particle, .trail or shader files (.glsl, .compositor, .material) inside of their respective folders in Assets.

Licenses

GAIA has been designed and created by Spicy Noodles(c), all rights reserved.

GAIA Engine is powered by the following tools:

• Ogre3D (Copyright (c) 2000-2013 Torus Knot Software Ltd)
• Bullet Continuous Collision Detection and Physics Library (Copyright (c) 2003-2006 Erwin Coumans)
• FMOD Studio (Copyright (c) Firelight Technologies Pty Ltd.)
• SDL 2.0 (Copyright (c) SDL Community)
• CEGUI (Copyright (c) The CEGUI Team)