Modify client to use Irrlicht?

[carlwryker]

Since the game models/meshes use Crystal Space format (.CMF), I'm guessing it's not feasible to modify the client code to use Irrlicht? Irrlicht doesn't support .CMF.

[LigH]

The game client is already being developed further to switch from CrystalSpace 3D to Unreal Engine. I doubt that a third 3D engine will be considered with the already available progress.

[carlwryker]

This was intended to be a hobby project.

[LigH]

Well, if you manage to do that, good luck; but because hardly anyone would be able to exclude the chance of implementing any unfair advantages, I believe the staff may not appreciate such a modified client logging in to the official game server.

Not a problem for the development base data on a local game server, or if you are able to create a whole own game content, so your modification becomes a separate game: Then you should be welcome to combine the general gaming engine with a different graphics engine, I believe. The PlaneShift gaming engine is OpenSource; just the game content (what makes it "PlaneShift, the world of Yliakum") is copyrighted.

[netforce10]

If the reasoning that custom clients aren't allowed to connect to the main server is that players may have unfair advantages then realeasing the client publically should remedy that. Personally I would more than welcome the ability to use another client, especially if it ends up being a decent alternative or better than the main client. Especially as the any client updates have been basically stopped both due to the move to unreal engine and the inability to compile for macs.

That said, the dev team probably doesn't share this view seeing as there is a rule against it.

[Venalan]

Well I'd like to point you towards this http://greatshift.111mb.de/ which is a modded client which is completly allowed to connect to the main server and anyone can play with it.

There are two aspects of the client code, which are the graphics engine which is crystalspace, and then the game code which makes PlaneShift. Creating a fork of the current PlaneShift client code to use another graphics engine would as far as I'm concerned be fine. You can't really get an unfair advantage from making the art look different, which is all using a different graphics engine would do. This is exactly what we are doing with the move to UE4 anyway, exactly the same game, just looking different. And in terms of creating a new client based on a new art subsystem all of the rest of the code would have to do the same job in the same way as the current code or the game basically wouldn't work. All the important aspects of the mechanics of PlaneShift are based on the server, a modded client wouldn't change any of that, as it would still have to communicate to the server in the same way and understand everything the server the sent to it in the same way. Any 'hacks' to the game code for benifit could just as well be done on the current client as any other one.

But saying all that, it is just my opinion.