Java Games Are Getting Better
Don't believe me? Go and check out the following link:
http://www.brackeen.com/
Yeah, you may or may not be impressed by what he has to offer, but I would say that Dave Brackeen is raising the bar for both Java and game developers using Java. Seriously... a Java, web-based, 3D, first-person shooter? The screen may be the size of the palm of my hand, but it is still a first-person shooter in Java.
Needless to say I'm impressed with the guy's work. He gets a gold star or something. You should go and take a look when you get the chance.
-Dok
[578 byte] By [
Dr-Matrixa] at [2007-9-29 20:58:08]
"are getting better"? david isn't that new, and besides that page hasn't been updated in almost 2 years...
Keep in mind that UbiSoft has released three Rainbow Six themed games for mobile phones, and they are all written in Java. Also, the same development team considered using Java networking code for Raven Shield, but ultimately decided against it because the rest of the game inherited a C++ code base.
Like Woogley implied, Java is actually a decent platform for games but the primary reason it's not used very often is because established developers are reluctant to break away from what they're used to, not because of the "limitations" of the JVM.
After all, if you write your game in C++, it's rather trivial to port it to any gaming platform, whereas Java is still pretty much limited to PCs, X-Box and mobile phones. I.e., no PS, PS2, Gamecube or coin-op arcade ports.
I will freely admit that my finger hasn't been on the pulse the entire time of Java's gaming evolution. When I saw that site, I was seeing it for the first time. And, honestly, who among us doesn't hear the comments like "Java is too slow for games" or "Java will never measure up to C/C++"? I still hear these things, and even see them in this forum from time to time. Since 3D first-person shooters are all the rage nowadays, it will take games like that to put Java on the map as a real "competitor" when it comes to game development that is on the desktop and not a mobile phone.
The other point that that site makes is that one does not need any sort of bindings to outside graphics libraries in order to make a game of that caliber. As I understand it, all of those games are pure Java (including the 3D, which, I am supposing, is not Java3D but his own implementation).
And, in my limited experience, it was the first Java game I had seen that implemented 3D that didn't have some sort of native hook. I don't much care about mobile gaming because most of it I've seen just looks like a way to remarket older Atari and 8-bit Nintendo-type favorites. Like I said, I haven't had my finger on the pulse much, and all of the games I have seen written in Java were only 2D (and good 2D games, I might add). Maybe the words "are getting better" are inappropriate, but I can't come up with anything better to supplant that phrase. Feel free to continue to eviscerate it. :)
-Dok
pretty cool, but the shooter needs a strafe key ;-)
Java in my opinion will never be as fast as C/C++. But it doesn't have to be, technology is always pushing the envelope so they can make more money. I'm sure AMD, Intel, NVidia, ATI and the like are all glad to see Java jumping into the gaming market. This means that upgrades are going to be needed because lets face it, the old pentiumIII 400mhz is going to have a hard time processing a 3D game running in a VM.
This is financially good for all the major players, just not good for the guy with 3 kids trying to convince his wife they need a new computer :-).
Java is also good for fair use. Games are a major debate when deciding on a computer for most consumers. With more and more Java applications springing up, if the trend keeps building in the future you will be able to play your favorite game on the platform of your choice, and not the choice of the game designer, because hey, I'm paying for this, and when I need a break from programming I don't want to boot out to windows for 20 minutes to an hour to shoot an alien or battle liches in the dungeon just to have to have to boot my computer again to get back to programming.
I used to buy games on the PC monthly, but in the last three years I have barely bought a game cept for the playstation, simply because there is not a port for my platform. I have passed up RPG after FPS after everything, I don't care how much I want that game, if it doesn't come allready equiped to work in linux, I just don't buy it anymore. Black Isle has made an effort, and I will be purchasing Never Winter soon. My friend allready has it working on RedHat and he says it works great!
So I hope Java keeps building steam for this particular reason. Good work Sun, contributors and community
I am currently reading the book that he wrote, "Developing Games in Java" and it is great. I have seen other fps before on java, but not as fast as that one. I am really "enjoying" reading the book. It goes through everything from 2d tile-based games, 3d graphics rendering, collision detection, and so on.
The advantage of Java-applets is that the Java is platform independent,
an applet can run on MAC OS-X, Unix, windows 9x, XP, mobiles-phones
That saves really much time implementing, against implementing the games for each different platform again.
If you to want create a fast (C++) internet (game) application, then Active X is an option, but it will only run on windows platform.
There are also Plug-ins availble, that support 3d functionality for game development, such like Flash, but others are also available. But the plug-ins must be available for every platform, to achief the platform independency.
I think internet gaming is still improving.
>> an applet can run on MAC OS-X, Unix, windows 9x, XP, mobiles-phonesMobile phones? Not exactly.>> But the plug-ins must be available for every platformThe same can be said for Java. A VM must be available for every platform.shmoove
> Java in my opinion will never be as fast as C/C++.
aside from trig, its already about the same speed according to this recent article
http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=5602
i'm taking the fact it outperforms both c and c++ with a pinch of salt for the moment - my day to day experience of java suggests its a little bit slower on average, coming up to about the same with careful programming and sceptical use of libraries (ie you can't assume something that should be cheap necessarily is without testing/reading the source)
asjf
asjfa at 2007-7-16 1:07:26 >
you are right, Java applets are running in the JVM plug-in, but this JVM is already available for every platform.
It is also possible to compile your Java code to .exe,
The differents between java syntax and C++ is slight, so it could be possible to write a class library like sun did in C++. then it would be more easy to write C++ games. To make a C++ game online in a web-brower then it need be compiled as an Active X component.
I am sure ther will be more game plug-ins available in the future.
but Java is used alot on mobiles, may be not as applet, I don't know exacty.
we will wait and see what the future brings.
bye
> The same can be said for Java. A VM must be available> for every platform.java is available for most platforms? is ActiveX?
asjfa at 2007-7-16 1:07:26 >
no active X is just (windows) machine code that runs inside internet explorer, it is actually a plug-in itself, like shock-wave, macromedia flash.
in IE, java applet runs as ActiveX
> > The same can be said for Java. A VM must be
> available
> > for every platform.
>
> java is available for most platforms? is ActiveX?
>
>
I was talking about Flash (available on most majar platforms), not ActiveX.
shmoove
> I was talking about Flash (available on most majar> platforms), not ActiveX.Who cares about Flash: it is very resolution dependant, slow, not scalable and mostly used in sites who have nothing more to offer than flashy things without inhalt.
jpw35a at 2007-7-19 17:59:41 >
> > I was talking about Flash (available on most majar
> > platforms), not ActiveX.
ah sorry :)
> Who cares about Flash: it is very resolution
> dependant, slow, not scalable and mostly used in sites
> who have nothing more to offer than flashy things
> without inhalt.
slow? it seems much faster than applets are for graphics effects etc..
asjfa at 2007-7-19 17:59:41 >
http://www.javagaming.org/cgi-bin/JGNetForums/YaBB.cgi http://www.puppygames.netLook at AlienFlux game (uses lwjgl opengl wrapper), it looks and sounds great. It is a 2D game with 3D effects.
~3 years ago, I played [http://hem.passagen.se/carebear/fraggame.htm JQuake]
and it was cool.
Alas the backend servers are down now (and have been for >1yr).
Search sf.net(down atm) for a 3D (using Java3D) RPG, it is very impressive. Abandoned a year or so ago as "deb will not include it, as Java is not "open"'.
Bloody good Java games are out and about.
mlka at 2007-7-19 17:59:41 >
