Ardor3D
| Company type | Open-source software project |
|---|---|
| Industry | Game engine software |
| Founded | 2003 |
Area served | Cross-platform |
Key people | jME core development team |
| Products | jMonkeyEngine game engine, jMonkeyEngine 3 SDK |
| Owner | Community-driven |
| Website | jmonkeyengine |
jMonkeyEngine (commonly abbreviated as JME or jME) is a free, open-source, and platform-independent game engine designed for creating 3D games using the Java language. It supports deployment across multiple operating systems including Windows, Linux, macOS, Raspberry Pi, Android, with iOS support currently in alpha stage. The engine defaults to the Lightweight Java Game Library for rendering but also accommodates a renderer built on Java OpenGL.
Created and maintained by the jME core development team, jMonkeyEngine is distributed under the terms of the New BSD License. It caters to both commercial game developers and educational users, powering games such as Nord and Poisonville. The engine comes equipped with an integrated software development kit (SDK) designed to facilitate and accelerate the game development process.
jMonkeyEngine 3 SDK
At its core, jMonkeyEngine is a suite of software libraries that function as a low-level framework for game creation. When paired with an integrated development environment like the official jMonkeyEngine 3 SDK, it transforms into a full-fledged development platform featuring a variety of graphical tools.
The SDK is constructed upon the NetBeans Platform, enabling graphical editing tools and supporting plugin extensions. It provides its own plugin repository alongside the standard NetBeans update centers, offering users choices between stable point releases or cutting-edge nightly builds.
Official support from the core development team for the SDK concluded on March 5th, 2016; however, ongoing maintenance and improvements are driven by an active community. The labels "jMonkeyPlatform" and "jMonkeyEngine 3 SDK" refer to the same software environment.
History
jMonkeyEngine was created to fill a void in comprehensive Java-based graphics engines and has undergone substantial development since its inception.
jMonkeyEngine 0.1 – 2.0
Between its launch in 2003 and the release of version 2.0 in 2008, jMonkeyEngine was developed by its founding core team. Although version 2.0 was not officially declared stable when original developers stepped away in early 2008, the engine’s codebase found commercial use and maintained strong community engagement.
jMonkeyEngine 3.0
After the original core developers left in late 2008, progress stalled until early 2009 when development of jME3 started as an experimental branch. The initial preview release garnered favorable feedback from the user base and was soon recognized as the official successor to jME 2.0.
Projects powered by jMonkeyEngine
- Nord, a browser-based massively multiplayer online game (MMO) hosted on Facebook, developed by Skygoblin
- Grappling Hook, a first-person action-puzzle title created by an independent developer
- Drohtin, a real-time strategy (RTS) game
- Chaos, a cooperative 3D fantasy RPG developed by 4Realms
- Skullstone, a single-player dungeon crawler with retro-style 3D graphics from Black Torch Games
- Spoxel, a sandbox action-adventure game with 2D graphics by Epaga Games
- Lightspeed Frontier, a space-themed sandbox featuring RPG elements, construction, and exploration, produced by Crowdwork Studios
- Subspace Infinity, a top-down 2D space combat MMO
- 3079 and 3089, open-world RPGs with procedural generation from Phr00t's Software
- New Star Soccer, a mobile football simulation developed by New Star Games
Reception
- Presentation at JavaOne 2008
- Finalist for the PacktPub Open Source Graphics Software Award in 2010
Ardor3D fork
On September 23, 2008, Joshua Slack and Rikard Herlitz initiated Ardor3D as a fork of jMonkeyEngine, motivated by disagreements regarding naming rights, licensing terms, and community governance, as well as the ambition to create a stable open-source Java engine supported by corporate entities.
The initial public version was released on January 2, 2009, followed by consistent updates. In 2011, NASA Ames and JPL utilized Ardor3D to assist in visualizing terrain and rover navigation for the Mars Curiosity mission.
Joshua Slack declared the project discontinued on March 11, 2014; nevertheless, the engine remained accessible under the zlib license. An offshoot named "JogAmp's Ardor3D Continuation," maintained by Julien Gouesse since 2014, has continued active development.