Not really, Panda just needs one that actually works.
Here is a thread that lists 3 separate ‘world builders’. That’s not counting CMU’s apparently old one, even though the manual lists it like it’s the premier scene editor. That is the only one I can even get working. It might be because I use 1.7.0, but it works like crap. It saves broken files. After saving, I need to add 3 lines of python code to the file before it will work right. And the editor itself is broken. The new scene button doesn’t work, half the properties panels doen’t either. If it’s not the latest-greatest scene editor, than why is it still the only one on the site?
If we can consolidate 4 projects into ONE scene editor that can actually function, and maintain it to make sure it works with the SDK builds as they come out, we’d be in much better shape. Then hopefully after that we can get it to the level of Neo Axis’s editor, which isn’t nearly as slick as Unity’s, but it’s entirely functional.
Then THAT editor should be on the site, and easily locatable, or distributed with the SDK. And a good Python equivalent to Pview, with a more friendly GUI interface would go a long way too.
And I am not saying unity level stuff, and I’m not saying something that is ‘one size fits all’. A programmer could always make the right custom tools for a project. But a lot of the ‘little guys’ or people who would use Panda for now (beside Disney) are hobbyists and indie devs, and that is downright basic functionality for a pipeline.
Then more artists need to be attracted, but without reasonable tools that an artist can really use, it doesn’t happen. Like I said, it’s a vicious cycle. But Panda needs a push somewhere.
I personally am willing to help with modeling and texturing. We need a project thread, and maybe spruce up the whole Demo Master, and make a list of demos we need to show Panda’s capabilities. Any suggestions which section of the forum is most appropriate? General Discussion, Scripting, Showcase?
Hopefully we could do some sort of thing like Ogre where instead of 20 different little scripts you run, it can open a main script that can access all 20 from within the single program.
One major problems here is that we could make the most awesome demo the world had ever seen, but it won’t do us much good siting on the forum, like Demo Master. All the while the website still makes Panda look like it’s crap. Not to mention that it can be downright tricky to find where to download things like Demo Master. What would we have to do to get control of the website’s homepage and be able to display more fetching demos? And to make new demos and examples more accesible? Idk if Disney or CMU has control. But either the site needs to change, or Panda needs a fan site that can actually show this stuff.