Leadwerks Game Engine 5

Great software to learn game development and programing

Instructions are excellent . I haven't seen any other 3d game making software that has so much information available at the editor level and readily able to access while you are working. Most 3d engines require a lot of time to find precise information. So yes this approach I like very much.

[h2]Introduction[/h2] Leadwerks is a user-friendly game engine with LUA scripting and C++ in the Pro version. At the time of this review, I've held Leadwerks in my Library since 2021. However, I cannot recommend this game engine for anyone who is actively attempting to make a game. From the lack of transparency from the developers to the strange design decisions that do not allow developers to pursue the avenues they want; it's a game engine with potential but crippled by design. To understand why I have given a do not recommend, we need to discuss the following topics: [list] [*] Documentation and Examples [*] Compiler & Platform Dependency [*] Cross-platform Limitations [*] Miscellaneous [*] The Positives [*] Conclusion [/list] [h2] Documentation & Examples [/h2] Leadwerks documentation is not the worst compared to other game engines. The online documentation contains the basic information for understanding the class you’re attempting to use. There is a lack of examples for majority of the classes and the basic examples that exist do not cover the most basic use cases. When asked about this on the forum or official Discord, you will be redirected to download the examples that are available on the website or through the engine’s download manager. There’s a very limited number of examples in the download manager and nothing to show you the possibilities in the engine. One of the most important factors when developing a game engine is to use the engine to document and display information. For example, many modern engines have a “Examples room” that shows every possible node, entity, or lighting that is available in the engine. In that room, it will display on the floor or wall “this is a light probe, press x to change the type” and with those probes a code example accompanies the display. Allowing the user to both experience that feature and dive into the code in one go. The primary problem with these examples is blatant code-heavy nature. When learning a game engine, you’re instructed on learning the fundamentals of workings with the engine; this may include drag-and-drop sequences, editor functionality, and scripting basics. Leadwerks throws that out the door and tells you to immediately code, in Lua, all the functionality immediately. Want a camera pointing at a 45-degree angle with an orthogonal perspective? The example will show you how to do that with code only. It will not mention you can right click on the entity list and create a camera and handle it from there. C++ documentation is almost non-existent; the developer of the engine seems focused on developing Lua section rather than the C++ section. When faced with this dilemma, you will be told to take a look at the Lua examples and translate them to equivalent C++ version. [h2] Compiler & Platform Dependency [/h2] Leadwerks heavily relies on the MSVC compiler, and it shows. I understand that it’s the most popular compiler for Windows operating system; however, I’ve been developing software for Windows for many years and have almost exclusively used the MinGW32 & MinGW64 compilers. Never once ran into performance issues, limitations, or anything the developer mentions for choosing MSVC as the primary compiler. I’ve successfully used MinGW to develop Rendering Engines, Emulators, Game Servers (Client-Server Architecture), and a few other projects. Additionally, this means you will need to download a 30GB compiler with a specific toolset in order to use the C++ side of Leadwerks. MSVC is Windows only as well, so development on other platforms is null and void. [h2] Cross-platform Limitations [/h2] If your goal is to ship a game to more than Windows and Linux, I highly recommend you look the other way. Leadwerks does not support any platforms beyond those two, and there are no plans to add additional platforms. There’s no Console support, no Android, no iOS, and no Web. The most basic platforms are not supported and there is no way for a developer to add the platform themselves since the source is not available for modification. Source availability allows the developer, under the provided license, to add, modify, and remove code from the engine and build their own copy under the premise the developer does not claim to own the engine or the code in it. Unreal engine is source-available, Unity is source-available, Defold is source-available, just to name a few. All it requires is a Non-disclosure Agreement and a good lawyer and this engine can become source-available. [h2] Miscellaneous [/h2] Editor extensions are non-existent, according to the developer it is possible and exists in the engine files and you can use that as an example to make your own extensions. Why isn’t it documented? The rendering system is locked, and you can’t change that. You’re allowed to create Fragment and Vertex shaders, that’s it. Geometry and Compute shaders are not allowed to be created, this hinders creativity of the developer, specifically with those who want to create their own tools and functions. According to the developer it’s because the engine is asynchronous in nature. That is an excuse, most game engines are asynchronous, what is done is all the shaders are loaded on start-up and the shader program is saved to use later. Even Vulkan does this. Blackboxing is the way of the engine, just like Game Maker Studios 2, so you will be using functions without ever knowing what they do. This leads to the same problem I mentioned above with the rendering system, you cannot change the way the engine flows because the developer wants to keep you on the train tracks they’ve built. Any attempts to derail will break the engine. You may create your own functions for your game specifically, such as character movement, but if you want to mess with the physics engine or modify it? Nope. Want to change the rendering pipeline? Nope. Want to change or remove the Entity system? Nope. Want to change or add to the terrain system? Nope. This can go on for a while, so I will end it here. When asking if a certain bug or feature was fixed because you had problems with it, most of the time you will just be redirected back to the online documentation; as if that answers the question. Take a look at the Discord and you will see this happening often. [h2] The Positives [/h2] The Leadwerks Engine has a smooth UI that is highly responsive and pleasing to look at. The build tools included in the editors are some of the best I've seen in any game engine. They're smooth and easy to work with, support Boolean operations, can be textured and painted, and overall can be used to create a solid base for you game levels without ever needing to leave the editor. The Discord and forum have a lot of useful information and you’re always welcome to have discussions about the engine and its features. However, be warned the forums do contain a lot of legacy information that may not be relevant anymore. [h2]Conclusion[/h2] Leadwerks is a game engine that has potential to rival other engines in the industry but is pushed back by the decisions made by the developers. The ease of use and asynchronous nature does provide performance boost and sustainability and yet hinders modification of the rendering pipeline, extensibility, and creativity. The inability to port directly to other platforms using the editor and the inaccessible nature of the source code prevents developers from reaching a broader audience; losing possible sales. The dependency on the MSVC compiler forces users to download a 30GB compiler to simply compile their C++ scripts for better performance.