Hey guys, I’m one of those Panda3D newbs that tries to do everything at once and ends up really frustrated! Unfortunately I’m a graduate student, and it’s all for a class where I can’t back out now, or alter the project… so I’m here to beg for help.
So first of all, let me describe all my constraints. I’m developing on MacOS, for the iPad2, using xCode as my IDE, and Panda3D is not the only external library I’m pulling in. I’m also very pressed for time, so while I understand the viewpoint that I ought to walk before I run with the Panda3D engine… well, time constraints given what they are, you have my apologies for being a hyperactive little newb.
I’ve spent about 48 hours straight doing research kinda scratching my head and unable to assemble the pieces parts I’ve been finding. I need some help to get over this paralysis; I hate to criticize the Panda manual when it was composited by a group of fine fellows whom I’m about to beg help from but… well… ahm…
Well it didn’t help very much.
It didn’t help me to the point that I’m baffled at how much it didn’t help me, and my teacher has added the documentation of my complete setup process to the list of my project deliverables for my course.
So first thing’s first, I’ve installed all of my various components, gotten Panda3D working, and played with all the samples.
However, getting information about how things work when starting my very own first project is, well, painful. I’d like to ask a number of questions.
My first Questions are:
- Linking/Size?
I’m developing for mobile platform, so obviously size is an issue and bringing in as few libraries as possible is pretty important.
I have no use for python, and would like to disable as much of it as possible.
But then of course if i simply don’t specify the paths for python, I get errors, and simply trying to #define HAVE_PYTHON false at the top of the program seems unwilling to solve the issue.
When I browse the forums for useful information, topics bring up the use of the Config.pp file, as well as tidbits about using dtools/ppremake. But as for where I get started learning about what those /are/, I can’t find the beginning of the rope, so to speak. Do these all have to do with building Panda3D from source?
If so, what are some basics I need to know about building from source? Glancing at the setup for MSVS 2010, the building was/is excruciating. Since I’m on a MAC, does this mean I’d need to transfer over to my PC, download MSVS 2008, and build from source there or…
Well is there a better way to excise unneeded libs? DLLs maybe?
So much of this question involves speculating, if you can get me started, I can conceptualize what other questions i need to ask.
- Rendering to an ios ‘View’
I’ve found some scatterings concerning how to develop for ios- in fact, Panda’s assertion that it supports ios is one of the reasons I picked the engine over unity (which was too visual for the tech demo I’m responsible for). But they seem to tend to get brushed aside. I’m /quite/ willing to fiddle with the programming, but I need some play to start, some conceptualization of what the setup would theoretically look like.
What’s the basic idea behind how one would render Panda3D into a Cocoa/ios view? Alternatively, am I to bypass Cocoa altogether? What am I even looking for in the API when I try to piece this together?
Thanks guys for any and all help, I’m sure I’ll stumble across other questions as I go. As a designer with only a minor in comp sci, I don’t have the same background as most of my programming contemporaries. It’s at least nice to know i’m working on a project with an engine that has a good community- instead of Unity3d where everyone’s ruthlessly trying to out-compete their bretheren.