How do I know this is the right engine?

The right call?

Hello people whom may be able to help me, I am looking for a new engine to use and have previously dabbled in UE4 (although I am now focussing on a 2D format). It is mearly some information I need to pick from the brains of those who know the ins and outs of this program.

I'm wanting to create a game, I suppose it would be similar to Prison Arch in a way, with multiple units and the ability to build rooms and asortments within it. Would this engine be able to support a large quantity of units with seperate commands (Assuming the AI is good)? Would I be able to have seperate menus for things such as research and worlds maps? Can I set up a nice UI with the corrisponding buttons? Can the tiles be reduced in size for a smoother look? (This was mearly because of what I've seen the tilesets seems very blocky and I was after a more smoothed non-pixelated look)

Any information would be a GREAT help, I have a large document produced with a game concept and was just praying this was the right one for me due to its ease of use and decent community.

Many Thanks,

Damion

To all those who read up and help. I thank you so very very much!

P.S. If this is in the wrong section, Mods please feel free to move it and I apologise for any inconvenience.

Wouldn't it be more preferable for you to just download the free version and have a play for a day or two?

You could then prototype a few of your ideas and ask for specific assistance when needed.

At least that way you will know if it's worth your time investing further in C2.

I have taken a look at Prison Architect and read through your concerns.

[quote:1ionjnwm]I'm wanting to create a game, I suppose it would be similar to Prison Arch in a way, with multiple units and the ability to build rooms and asortments within it.

Drag and drop behavior and grid would allow modular building pretty easy out of the box but you may want to event build your own building system as well (which is totally doable in C2)

[quote:1ionjnwm] Would this engine be able to support a large quantity of units with seperate commands (Assuming the AI is good)?

Yes. The AI in PrisonArch looks like a pretty basic logic tree.. no prob in C2. Large numbers shouldn't be too much of a problem unless your launching on older mobile devices. But there are lots of tricks to keep things from bogging down.

[quote:1ionjnwm]Would I be able to have seperate menus for things such as research and worlds maps? Can I set up a nice UI with the corrisponding buttons?

Yes, and Yes.

[quote:1ionjnwm]Can the tiles be reduced in size for a smoother look? (This was mearly because of what I've seen the tilesets seems very blocky and I was after a more smoothed non-pixelated look)

I haven't used tilesets but from what I understand you can use whatever tiles you like to get whatever look your after.

I would suggest like the first poster that you play around with Construct2 event making for a few days and make sure you like "programming" in it.

I will add a personal note as well... I have used basically all game making software out there over several decades (starting with programming in Turbo basic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbo_Basic)... some examples... game salad, game maker, stencyl, craftstudio, blender, unity3-5, rpgmaker, etc. I like programming in code but I like the ease and organization provided by visual options more. I ended up in Construct2 for two reasons. I love the event making system of "coding" it is soo much easier than game makers version or stencyls visual scripting or the 2d in a 3d environment of unity. The second reason is the active community and ongoing development with very active devs.

All that said: If I was going to build a Prison Arch game I would build it in Construct2.

Thank you both for your replies, just needed to point out that I DID use the free trial version but a lot of the functionalities are somewhat restricted (Which is understandable). I just wanted the input of more proficient users before I took the financial plunge.

So thank you both very much.

• Damion