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xlnt vs swift gui, etc

Blitz3D Forums/Blitz3D Programming/xlnt vs swift gui, etc

ryan scott(Posted 2004) [#1]
i am trying to figure out what i should use if either/both?

i'll need some startup and configuration menus in my game for various settings. i want to offer lots of configuration options to my players.

then, i'll need headsup displays in the game itself. maybe some clicking on objects, etc.

Looking at them it seems like I would need Xlnt AND Swift GUI, one for the complex menus (xlnt) and swift for in-game overlays?

i cannot tell, exactly. pricing for xlnt is only $15, but swift for commercial use is $100. It seems like swift is faster, but xlnt is far more comprehensive.

Does anyone have any insight into these packages? $100 or $15 isn't really the issue, it's more a matter of not wasting time learning one to find out it's really not what I need.

thanks everyone!


Rob(Posted 2004) [#2]
xlnt is very good but suited for a wide variety of purposes, while sswifts is pretty basic and geared to in game use. It is also no way on earth on this planet ever, EVER worth $100.


N(Posted 2004) [#3]
If that's all you need, then just write your own.

Or you can try to port Stre to normal Blitz3D code (simpler than it sounds), it'd give you most of what you need to get started.

The cost of sswift's GUI makes it pretty much inconsiderable to me, but if you're freaking rich I guess it doesn't matter.

I prefer F-UI out of them all, since it's 3D (same price as xlnt too, if I recall correctly).


Gabriel(Posted 2004) [#4]
I bought SSwift's GUI system for $15. Most people aren't writing commercial games so the $100 won't apply. If you do write a commercial game, I suspect that $100 will seem inconsiderable.

I like SSwift's GUI system, despite the lack of gadgets. It links very well with his anibrush system ( free ) and it's very easy to make your own gadget addons for it.


sswift(Posted 2004) [#5]
"It is also no way on earth on this planet ever, EVER worth $100."

Well to each his own, but I have LOTS of happy customers. Plus my GUI system comes with both Anibrush and Flux, two free libraries I developed for animating textures and entities. Want your menus to slide onto the screen and slow down then stop? Flux can do that. Want them to pulsate in brightness when the mouse is over them? Anibrush does the job.

The reason my system doesn't support things like buttons and such natively is because if it did then it would limit what you could do with them. I bet you can't play a sound when the player mouses over an XLNT gui checkbox without writing new code to do it. And if you want it to glow, that would probably require you to go into the guts of the system. Coding a checkbox or a button with my system is really simple. It takes only a few lines of code.

In pseudocode:
If GUI_MouseOverObject(Button)
   If LeftMouseButtonClicked
       Button_Active = Not Button_Active
       If Button_Active 
           PaintEntity(GUI_Entity(Button), BRUSH_ActiveButton)
        else
           PaintEntity(GUI_Entity(Button), BRUSH_InactiveButton)
        endif
    endif
endif


Now the button toggles between checked or unchecked when clicked. With a few more lines of code, you can make the button glow when the mouse is over it, make a click noise when the mouse enters it, and make a click when the player changes it's state.

And you're not limited to what I choose to allow you to do. And as a result it works with both the anibrush and flux systems and the animations can be completely automated.


Rook Zimbabwe(Posted 2004) [#6]
You know what a softwar developer cost$ his code at is an interesting topic. Indeed Sswift dod a great deal of skull sweat and a not inconsequential amount of both typing and debugging to make his system work. He should be paid for that (as should any designer that does such work) but the system is pricey for individual developers...

Maybe I should say that the system is pricey for indies that are still creating a *concept game* or application...

If you are ready to finalize your project and really feel that: {a} You can make money from it AND {b} You need Sswifts GUI to make it really sparkle... $100 isn't that steep. Its a commercial license.

My only question is $100 for unlimited commerical applications??? then a GREAT BARGAIN FOR B3D USERS!!! (and I hope this is true!!!)

but

$100 for ONE TIME COMMERCIAL??? No. Then its too expensive for the indie.

IMO
-Rook


sswift(Posted 2004) [#7]
Yes, unlimited.


N(Posted 2004) [#8]
$100 for ONE TIME COMMERCIAL???


I don't think sswift is insane ;)


Rook Zimbabwe(Posted 2004) [#9]
I'm not sane. Why should anyone else be sane??? ;)

Good! Maybe I should look into it again... I like all of Sswifts stuff especially the terrain and shadows... I just wonder at the FPS in a FPS... Um... you know what I mean.

-RZ


Kanati(Posted 2004) [#10]
Sswift is insane but it has absolutely nothing to do with his gui system. :)


Hotcakes(Posted 2004) [#11]
Or his pricing. I think $15 is too cheap for some of his systems...


Tri|Ga|De(Posted 2004) [#12]
Back to topic!

Theres allso BCF 3.0 from Filax.

A nice and easy GUI.


aCiD2(Posted 2004) [#13]
BCF is atm, my favourite. If only it was 2d in 3d...


LAB[au](Posted 2004) [#14]
FUI 3D is the nicest IMHO.


Rook Zimbabwe(Posted 2004) [#15]
I like them all... And the voices in my head tell me I'm sane... except when they are speaking in Spanish. Then they talk about me... They don't know that I know Spanish and so know exactly what they are planning!!!

There are free alternatives out there as well that could probably be adapted to your purpose... Look at:
http://www.blitzbasic.co.nz/toolbox/toolbox.php?tool=80
or
http://www.blitzbasic.co.nz/toolbox/toolbox.php?tool=93
I assume the above entry is currently free since it does not mention a price... I am probably wrong on that but hey!
-RZ