5 ms·

Paladin, a new JS 3D game engine by Mozilla

95 points by bpierre 15y ago

Egregore 15y ago
Since it is developed by Mozilla - the creator of Firefox, will this game engine be cross browser compatible?
- ThePinion 15y ago
  Judging by this: https://apps.mozillalabs.com https://apps.mozillalabs.com I sure hope so!
- troymc 15y ago
  I guess they'll use open web standards whenever they can, and propose new ones where none currently exist.
- chc 15y ago
  The largest reason I can think of why it might not be compatible is that Firefox uses a version of JavaScript that includes a lot of "standard" functions not found in other implementations. If they base it on their expansive version of JavaScript, that would render it incompatible.
- azakai 15y ago
  Yes, it will use web standards. Mozilla is a nonprofit whose goal is to promote the open web.
- 5hoom 15y ago
  If they do keep it cross-browser this could be a really great thing. I for one would be very keen to use something like this so long as it has a clean, well documented API and could run anywhere with a standards-compliant webGL browser. Raw webGL is pretty low level stuff, so a good engine/library would make a world of difference. Done well this could be a good way for Mozilla to stay prominent.
netghost 15y ago
any demos up, or is it still too early?
blocke 15y ago
No demos? Isn't it a bit too early to advertise a game engine when all there is to show is a github repo? Edit: Thanks for the link to rescuefox.
- jurjenh 15y ago
  Looks like they are working on a game as part of the development process: https://github.com/mozilla/rescuefox/ https://github.com/mozilla/rescuefox/ But I haven't looked further than that, so I don't know if its anywhere near functional, but the readme does say We expect to have live instances of both the develop and master branches for playing up before too long.
- bpierre 15y ago
  Mozilla will develop small games to test and enhance the engine. You can try the first one, Rescuefox (not really a game yet, but it kinda works) [1]: $ git clone https://github.com/mozilla/rescuefox.git && cd rescuefox $ make [1] https://github.com/mozilla/rescuefox/ https://github.com/mozilla/rescuefox/
  - atomicdog 15y ago
    Can someone get this up and running somewhere? Also, what's with using "make" on Javascript projects?
    - m0dE 15y ago
      Sure. I'm uploading it.. it'll be done in 30 minutes or so. I'm doing it to test out how long it'd take to load the game when it's live online. http://www.jaeyun.ca/rescuefox/rescuefox/src/rescuefox.html http://www.jaeyun.ca/rescuefox/rescuefox/src/rescuefox.html
- azakai 15y ago
  > No demos? Isn't it a bit too early to advertise a game engine when all there is to show is a github repo? It isn't being advertised that I can see. Work is being done on github in the open, and some random person saw it and posted it. Or do you know that the poster is involved in the project? (I don't see him/her in the list of contributors, nor in the paladin IRC channel.)
tmvphil 15y ago
I'm interested in how this is going to compare with WebGL.
- bpierre 15y ago
  It is built on WebGL.
- ConstantineXVI 15y ago
  It's a WebGL framework; same as Unreal or idTech is an OpenGL framework.
  - teamonkey 15y ago
    Technically they are framework agnostic. The Xbox 360 runs on a DirectX variant and the PS3 uses an OpenGL ES variant, so in each of the engines there needs to be an abstraction layer.
    - mambodog 15y ago
      AAA games on PS3 don't usually make use of OpenGL ES, direct manipulation of the graphics hardware is where it's at (same with the Wii).
cultureulterior 15y ago
A new game engine, by which they mean a copy of two existing open source projects mashed together, Cubic.vr and Ammo.js
- azakai 15y ago
  Regarding ammo.js, I am working on it in large part specifically for paladin. But I want it to be easily reusable by other projects, hence it is separate.
cousin_it 15y ago
A game engine that's not being built as part of a specific game is bound to be worthless.
- tomjen3 15y ago
  I disagree with that. Unity3D, Cocos2d, Ogre and Corona are all game engines (or framework which contains game engines) which are not designed for any specific game but a still pretty good. Heck look at the price these things go for. Edit: speling no longer checked by the møse who bit my sister
  - cousin_it 15y ago
    Thanks, you're right.
hesselink 15y ago
Off topic: They use the Semantic Versioning Specification ( http://semver.org/ http://semver.org/ ). Interesting, I had never heard of this. Are there many projects using it? It sounds very similar to the Package Versioning Policy ( http://www.haskell.org/haskellwiki/Package_versioning_policy http://www.haskell.org/haskellwiki/Package_versioning_policy ) which many Haskell packages use, only not specific to one language.
- bpierre 15y ago
  The NodeJS community is using it, a lot! npm, the Node Package Manager, is using semver to manage dependencies.

95 points by bpierre 15y ago

Egregore 15y ago

Since it is developed by Mozilla - the creator of Firefox, will this game engine be cross browser compatible?

ThePinion 15y ago
Judging by this: https://apps.mozillalabs.com https://apps.mozillalabs.com I sure hope so!
troymc 15y ago
I guess they'll use open web standards whenever they can, and propose new ones where none currently exist.
chc 15y ago
The largest reason I can think of why it might not be compatible is that Firefox uses a version of JavaScript that includes a lot of "standard" functions not found in other implementations. If they base it on their expansive version of JavaScript, that would render it incompatible.
azakai 15y ago
Yes, it will use web standards. Mozilla is a nonprofit whose goal is to promote the open web.
5hoom 15y ago
If they do keep it cross-browser this could be a really great thing. I for one would be very keen to use something like this so long as it has a clean, well documented API and could run anywhere with a standards-compliant webGL browser. Raw webGL is pretty low level stuff, so a good engine/library would make a world of difference. Done well this could be a good way for Mozilla to stay prominent.

netghost 15y ago

any demos up, or is it still too early?

blocke 15y ago

No demos? Isn't it a bit too early to advertise a game engine when all there is to show is a github repo? Edit: Thanks for the link to rescuefox.

jurjenh 15y ago
Looks like they are working on a game as part of the development process: https://github.com/mozilla/rescuefox/ https://github.com/mozilla/rescuefox/ But I haven't looked further than that, so I don't know if its anywhere near functional, but the readme does say We expect to have live instances of both the develop and master branches for playing up before too long.
bpierre 15y ago
Mozilla will develop small games to test and enhance the engine. You can try the first one, Rescuefox (not really a game yet, but it kinda works) [1]: $ git clone https://github.com/mozilla/rescuefox.git && cd rescuefox $ make [1] https://github.com/mozilla/rescuefox/ https://github.com/mozilla/rescuefox/
- atomicdog 15y ago
  Can someone get this up and running somewhere? Also, what's with using "make" on Javascript projects?
  - m0dE 15y ago
    Sure. I'm uploading it.. it'll be done in 30 minutes or so. I'm doing it to test out how long it'd take to load the game when it's live online. http://www.jaeyun.ca/rescuefox/rescuefox/src/rescuefox.html http://www.jaeyun.ca/rescuefox/rescuefox/src/rescuefox.html
azakai 15y ago
> No demos? Isn't it a bit too early to advertise a game engine when all there is to show is a github repo? It isn't being advertised that I can see. Work is being done on github in the open, and some random person saw it and posted it. Or do you know that the poster is involved in the project? (I don't see him/her in the list of contributors, nor in the paladin IRC channel.)

tmvphil 15y ago

I'm interested in how this is going to compare with WebGL.

bpierre 15y ago
It is built on WebGL.
ConstantineXVI 15y ago
It's a WebGL framework; same as Unreal or idTech is an OpenGL framework.
- teamonkey 15y ago
  Technically they are framework agnostic. The Xbox 360 runs on a DirectX variant and the PS3 uses an OpenGL ES variant, so in each of the engines there needs to be an abstraction layer.
  - mambodog 15y ago
    AAA games on PS3 don't usually make use of OpenGL ES, direct manipulation of the graphics hardware is where it's at (same with the Wii).

cultureulterior 15y ago

A new game engine, by which they mean a copy of two existing open source projects mashed together, Cubic.vr and Ammo.js

azakai 15y ago
Regarding ammo.js, I am working on it in large part specifically for paladin. But I want it to be easily reusable by other projects, hence it is separate.

cousin_it 15y ago

A game engine that's not being built as part of a specific game is bound to be worthless.

tomjen3 15y ago
I disagree with that. Unity3D, Cocos2d, Ogre and Corona are all game engines (or framework which contains game engines) which are not designed for any specific game but a still pretty good. Heck look at the price these things go for. Edit: speling no longer checked by the møse who bit my sister
- cousin_it 15y ago
  Thanks, you're right.

hesselink 15y ago

Off topic: They use the Semantic Versioning Specification ( http://semver.org/ http://semver.org/ ). Interesting, I had never heard of this. Are there many projects using it? It sounds very similar to the Package Versioning Policy ( http://www.haskell.org/haskellwiki/Package_versioning_policy http://www.haskell.org/haskellwiki/Package_versioning_policy ) which many Haskell packages use, only not specific to one language.

bpierre 15y ago
The NodeJS community is using it, a lot! npm, the Node Package Manager, is using semver to manage dependencies.