For school i have to work on a project that creates a browser based virtual world with java.
And i am very new to 3d, and the company i work for (i have to work at a company for school) suggest using JMonkey. After looking at it, it looks good and simple. but after searching on google i also found something called xith (xith.org). Like i sad, i am new to this, and i wonder which one would be best to use.
Part of my project is working with OcTrees, xith already has those, but Jmonkey has a much larger community and better tutorials. So i wonder, could anyone spare the time to tell me why to go for JMonkey instead of Xith?
Thank you in advance.
Pienterekaak said:
does anyone know anything else to add to the list of, things to look at when you choose a engine?
Sexappeal is important too ;) that would be something PRO-jME: }:-@
http://www.cafepress.com/jMonkeyEngine.185834039
Pienterekaak said:
API is better
That's a matter of taste imo. Usually people like the API better, if they have written it themselves or are familiar with it. So I think you cannot take this as an aspect, unless you like the API better.
true about the api :), ill think about putting sex appeal in my final report for school 
a picture of a nice lady wearing that might score me some extra points during my
end presentation (A)
woww it even has a handy fabric thickness meter!
off topic: so, anyone bought that for his girlfriend? 
On Topic: is it possible to create a applet for a website using JMonkey?
no never bought it 
jME has good applet support as far as i know. never really tried it but as far as i have read on the board jME is ahead when it comes to applets. Maybe one of the elders can explain?
if that is so, that would be a big advantage to choose for JMonkey
I can't imagine Xith doesn't support it though?
Yeah, i would love to learn alot, since im planning to do more in the future with 3d.
And this product will be used by the company i work for, so it needs to perform.
but indeed, performance should not be the main aspect to look at, API, support, manuals are
very important too. About API, on the Xith boards they say their API is better but since i am
a complete newb in all this and i need to learn everything, it might aswell be the JMonkey API.
I am thinking on making a table where i can give points to certain aspect, and then choose a engine based on that.
currently i have:
Community (support)
API
Performance
Features
Knowledge (the lack of octrees might be a good thing)
Manuals/examples
does anyone know anything else to add to the list of, things to look at when you choose a engine?
and agian thank you for your support 
glad to see newb questions are being answered here. i hope ill be able to contribute something in the future too
as i remember, we had a few benchmarks and jme turns out to be (quite a bit) faster, although i do not know how reliable/correct these measurements are. search the forum:
http://www.jmonkeyengine.com/jmeforum/index.php?topic=131.0
http://www.jmonkeyengine.com/jmeforum/index.php?topic=2597.0
http://www.jmonkeyengine.com/jmeforum/index.php?topic=1924.0
and many more
Ah thank you!
ill have a look
i think performance doesn't matter that much really, there are always ways to speed up or slow down the application regardless of the engine used.
Important is the ease of you of the API which the engine has.
Once you know how jME works, its really easy to create things.
I never used another engine so i can't compare it to others.
Pienterekaak said:
For school i have to work on a project that creates a browser based virtual world with java.
And i am very new to 3d, and the company i work for (i have to work at a company for school) suggest using JMonkey. After looking at it, it looks good and simple. but after searching on google i also found something called xith (xith.org). Like i sad, i am new to this, and i wonder which one would be best to use.
Part of my project is working with OcTrees, xith already has those, but Jmonkey has a much larger community and better tutorials. So i wonder, could anyone spare the time to tell me why to go for JMonkey instead of Xith?
Thank you in advance.
Since you're new and probably will have limited time working on this, performance differences don't really matter. It comes down to easy of use and features that you need. If you need those octrees desperatly and Xith as a good and complete implementation of them (I wouldn't know myself), that might be the way to go. However, if the objective is to learn about octrees, it might not be a bad idea to implement them yourself, or port them from somewhere else.
well, I was in the same situation as you are now. i had to choose a java 3d engine for all projects in work (quite big ones) and i chose jme for the well done demos and tests / COMMUNITY support / wiki / and just for the coolness of it.
That is why my preference is currently going to JMonkey, thank you all for your help.
ill let u know if i choose jmonkey
jMonkey has support for applets, there are tutorials on how to do it on the wiki.