5 ms·

Stellar - PyGame/Python Game Engine

22 points by klrr 14y ago

snoonan 14y ago
I'm evaluating Python game frameworks and tools right now, so this is very welcome, Thanks! I'm likely going down the road of the cocos2d lineage, though. It seems to be the smartest choice if you hope to port your game to mobile platforms as well. I would strongly recommend removing the Apple Game Center logo, though. It's not ok to copy anyone's logo.
- roryokane 14y ago
  I agree that they shouldn’t use the Apple Game Center logo. Not only is it unethical, it is also confusing. The use of that logo made me think that Stellar made games that only worked on iOS. That confused me when I read further in the README. The Game Center logo also doesn’t mesh well with the name Stellar – there’s plenty of potential for a logo with a cool-looking starfield, spiral galaxy, or rocket ship.
lysol 14y ago
You should probably mention this is Windows only on the README.
- joshuafcole 14y ago
  Just saw your comment, turns out just the setup.py is. Try installying pyscintilla2 and then running it directly with python Stellar.pyw.
  - lysol 14y ago
    Thanks for the tip!
GuiA 14y ago
Game Maker is a fantastic tool for beginners in the world of game programming; an open source alternative is always welcome, especially given the crap it has become in the recent versions.
krapp 14y ago
This is too cool... there's just no way i'm not learning Python next year...
jiggy2011 14y ago
OT: I'm looking at Javascript game engines/frameworks. I want something simple. The only one I can find that looks promising is ImpactJS but it costs $99. Anybody know if it is worth the money?
- jroblak 14y ago
  Check out MelonJS (built in Tiled support out of box) or Crafty as free alternatives. Both very good.
joshuafcole 14y ago
Just to clarify a few points about it from poking around: 1. It is _not_ windows only, but the setup.py _is_. Ensure you have the requirements listed along with pyscintilla2 and then execute Stellar.pyw directly (python Stellar.pyw). 2. Very little is currently functional. This appears to mostly be a QT GUI inspired by Gamemaker. Certain aspects of the UI are also currently nonfunctional (e.g. right click menus on folders). 2a. There appear to be some small issues with windowing (e.g. opening a sub-window fullscreen (in this case a sprite) and then opening a new window (in this case an object) leads to the new subwindow being minimized by default. So, I didn't spend a lot of time reading the code (just enough to get it running actually), but this is definitely more of a call for assistance than a call for beta testers. When finals have wound down I'd like to spend more time with the code and see if this would be a good project for my Christmas pull requests. As some of the other commenters have mentioned, Game Maker was a great product, but it certainly showing its age. I'd love to see something that improves on what we've learned from Game Maker to help train the next generation.
tlarkworthy 14y ago
GPL
z3phyr 14y ago
It doesen't look like a game engine. It looks more like a game development framework, using SDL, and PyGame.

22 points by klrr 14y ago

I'm evaluating Python game frameworks and tools right now, so this is very welcome, Thanks! I'm likely going down the road of the cocos2d lineage, though. It seems to be the smartest choice if you hope to port your game to mobile platforms as well. I would strongly recommend removing the Apple Game Center logo, though. It's not ok to copy anyone's logo.

roryokane 14y ago
I agree that they shouldn’t use the Apple Game Center logo. Not only is it unethical, it is also confusing. The use of that logo made me think that Stellar made games that only worked on iOS. That confused me when I read further in the README. The Game Center logo also doesn’t mesh well with the name Stellar – there’s plenty of potential for a logo with a cool-looking starfield, spiral galaxy, or rocket ship.

lysol 14y ago

You should probably mention this is Windows only on the README.

joshuafcole 14y ago
Just saw your comment, turns out just the setup.py is. Try installying pyscintilla2 and then running it directly with python Stellar.pyw.
- lysol 14y ago
  Thanks for the tip!

GuiA 14y ago

Game Maker is a fantastic tool for beginners in the world of game programming; an open source alternative is always welcome, especially given the crap it has become in the recent versions.

krapp 14y ago

This is too cool... there's just no way i'm not learning Python next year...

jiggy2011 14y ago

OT: I'm looking at Javascript game engines/frameworks. I want something simple. The only one I can find that looks promising is ImpactJS but it costs $99. Anybody know if it is worth the money?

jroblak 14y ago
Check out MelonJS (built in Tiled support out of box) or Crafty as free alternatives. Both very good.

joshuafcole 14y ago

Just to clarify a few points about it from poking around: 1. It is _not_ windows only, but the setup.py _is_. Ensure you have the requirements listed along with pyscintilla2 and then execute Stellar.pyw directly (python Stellar.pyw). 2. Very little is currently functional. This appears to mostly be a QT GUI inspired by Gamemaker. Certain aspects of the UI are also currently nonfunctional (e.g. right click menus on folders). 2a. There appear to be some small issues with windowing (e.g. opening a sub-window fullscreen (in this case a sprite) and then opening a new window (in this case an object) leads to the new subwindow being minimized by default. So, I didn't spend a lot of time reading the code (just enough to get it running actually), but this is definitely more of a call for assistance than a call for beta testers. When finals have wound down I'd like to spend more time with the code and see if this would be a good project for my Christmas pull requests. As some of the other commenters have mentioned, Game Maker was a great product, but it certainly showing its age. I'd love to see something that improves on what we've learned from Game Maker to help train the next generation.

tlarkworthy 14y ago

GPL

z3phyr 14y ago

It doesen't look like a game engine. It looks more like a game development framework, using SDL, and PyGame.