I have recently begun planning a medium scale 3D gaming project and have come to a halt because of technology decisions. I have been programming in Java for about 5-years (3-years academically and 2-years professionally) but I have no 3D game programming experience. To top it off, I don’t know any of the theory for 3D game programming. All this has got me thinking whether it is feasible to learn both 3D game programming and how to use JMonkey in about 1.5 to 2 months. Now I don’t mean becoming an expert, but at least being able to get around somewhat comfortably (i.e knowing the concepts to be able to structure the project and somewhat be able to plan how to implement components of the game). I have been told by coworkers and acquaintances that the JMonkey Engine abstracts away all the nitty-gritty details of 3D programming quite nicely, but I am still not convinced that it would be doable in my limited duration of time.
Any input would be greatly appreciated and sorry if I am missing some crucial information - I am new to all this.
More info about the game:
The game will essentially be a strategy game with some real-time elements for visual feedback, but the core mechanics for combat and management will be turn-based/sequential.
I should also note that I am fast-learner, with lots of ambition and perseverance. The reason why I am mentioning this is to emphasize that I am not the type of person to give-up when the going gets hard, I just need to know if this is at all possible.
I also understand the Java Language very well, so I won’t be lagging behind on that note.
Look over in the right bar here… go ahead… it’s just over there
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Read the first two "Drag and Drop Help" items as if they were holy texts. If at the end of those you are still "What? Huh?" then 3D programming may not be a good fit for you. The concepts of vector math and 3D scene graphs are crucial to everything... regardless of the engine used.
After that, run through every JME tutorial possible. Even the ones you think you don't need. You will learn from them anyway. For example, even the physics tutorial will teach you things about interfacing with the scene graph (controls, app states, etc.), regardless of whether you plan to use physics.
If you get through all of the tutorials and still feel totally clueless... then an engine was not going to help you. 3D graphics can be tricky regardless of engine... and especially so when trying to implement a game.
…and the forum is always here if you need to fall back on it. It’s easily one of the best JME features.
All dpends on the detail level you plan, something more simple like a singlepalyer towerdefence could be possible, more complex stuff especially networking and real physics can need tons of knowledge till they work useable
The tutorials here are very good, practice through them and do a few dummy games to get the hang of things. Reading through the forums is also crucial. I didn’t know any 3D programming, and had never made a game before, this site taught me everything i know, and is extremely helpful, i have no doubt that in 1.5 - 2 months of hard work, you can start on any type of game you want (within reason, and a bit of research before hand).
I have started doing a few tutorials and so far, everything is going smoothly. Thank you all for the quick replies and the encouraging words - I will surely be using the forum as a reference, seeing how much I’ve already learnt from it.
Cheers.