Horde3D

Hello,

I am studying computer graphics since 2 years now at we started with opengl 1.0 this semester. I am also programming since 2 years now and I am not tied to a specific language. I enjoyed learning several different programming languages such as c# java scala python javascript and a little bit c++.

I want to be a hobby gamedeveloper in the near future. I already used some engines like unity udk cryengine etc but it didn't felt right. I just used the API without knowing what happens under the hood. So I want to build my own engine in the way I imagine it.

Now I am still a beginner in opengl 1 , we just started with lightning.

Would you recommend me to have a look at horde3d?

My concerns are that I have to less knowledge at this time.

Maybe there are some books that I should read before I start with horde3d?

ps: I am aware that it is "only" a graphics engine.

I would suggest to digg into shader based computer graphics, because OpenGL 1.0 fixed function pipeline is pretty much out of date. If you want to learn shader based graphics rendering, Horde3D is certainly a good starting point, as it has a simple interface that is accessible through variouse programming languages. So you don't have to care too much about resource handling, etc. but can focus on the real 3D programming.

I also saw that horde3d is built on opengl2, but isn't this a little bit outdated? I read that some opengl4 features are available as extensions for opengl2 but doesn't this limit me as a developer if I want to create some next gen graphics effects, such as realtime global illumination etc?

I don't want to be rude here, I am just a beginner with not much experience.

Probably, but since Horde3D isn't using old deprecated functionalities it is easy to port to OpenGL3 and higher.
In your case, no. All you need to do is to setup a deferred rendering pipeline (and place as many point lights as you wish) which is supported by Horde3D from day one. Important features of OpenGL3 and OpenGL4 are instanced drawing (drawing similar objects with one draw call) which I think Horde3D overcomes that by batching, and geometry tessellation which makes the life easier for artists (no need to create different LOD of same object). Speed wise, I don't think there will be any improvements.