Axis Game Factory's AGFPRO v3

Game factory does not make games. It is a level / world design tool. A really good level / world design tool for Unity based games. You see everything in real time. You can play test your levels, run around and stuff, but its not a stand alone game game engine, just a level / world design tool. However, calling yourself Game Factory was slightly misleading, but whatever. On the forum, the developers hint at wanting to one day make it a stand alone game engine, but I'm not sure if its a hint or misleading. Since they call it Game Factory, I have to lean toward the potential of misleading here. It is now a few months later and people are still asking if AGF is a game engine to make standalone games: http://ctrlv.in/399649/annotated You can make some really great looking, lush environments. The tools are easy, robust and look fantastic. The video tutorials are great and explain a lot, even if they could get sped up a little for more advanced users. The problem is there is nothing out of the ordinary from the default Unity 3D level editor. So if you're already developing for Unity, why not just use Unity? This is still a better editor to make levels and it will take you less time to make better levels. The DLC packs offer a lot of variety. The FPS add on offers lots of great features, but there are already a lot of great FPS level editors out there. Game Factory FPS DLC expedites level creation with prefab rooms ala the Elder Scrolls editor. Instead of having to make every wall like Source, Unreal and even the Doom 3 editor. With all that said, the DLC is not free. It is just another add on to buy when Unreal 4 and Cryengine have plenty of free examples for every type of game. Plus they're cheaper and they are stand alone engines. Game Factory is worth it if you're a level designer for Unity, but to the average kid expecting to make a big game, nope. Look at actual game makers, Unity, Cryengine and Unreal Engine. As for Unity, its simple enough to pick up and design for, so this is a great benefit. I have respect for the developers and respect for the tool, but I'm just warning people. It's not what you think it is.

Software is great! Love how easy it is to use! It's more of a Unity map maker than anything else though. And the Zombie DLC, sadly, can't be sold for commercial purposes. Either way, I simply love this software!

TL;DR: You cannot create your own gameplay. If you're completely new to game design, AGFPro is a nice starter package, but you'll have to learn to use something else to really create your own games. If you're already familiar with using a game engine like Unity3D, you won't need AGFPro, but maybe you'll like it. I personally didn't. When I first had a look into Axis Game Factory, I had a negative feeling about the whole thing. As I looked a little more into it recently, I found out that most of my problems were because of its presentation. To start with this first: Like others stated already, the term "Game Factory" can be confusing. Unlinke Unity3D, the tool this tool was made with, you cannot create your own games with it. What you CAN do is create Landscapes with a lot of ready-to-go assets. Buildings, textures for your terrain, extra shaders, everything there. The editor also comes with some features that may or may not make level design easier or faster than with Unity. When you're done, you either put one of the AGFPro Players into your level and play around a bit, or you import your level to Unity3D, where you can build a game upon what you designed. This feature was in beta while I tested it and crashed while importing. But right here's another positive thing: The developer is constantly trying to improve this tool. I personally couldn't really warm up to Axis Game Factory. I'm able to do pretty much I can do with it in Unity, and with that I don't need a second tool for level design. Also, the UI of AGFPro felt unintuitive to me, but that's subjective as well. If you're able to use Unity or something alike, I don't recommend this tool, since I didn't see much use in the features that it adds to what Unity already gives you, or is available for Unity. Maybe, for you, it's different, so you might want to take a look anyway. Also, I do think that beginners with no experience with other tools can get a nice starter package here to have a first look into level design and if creating games could be something for them. Just keep in mind that, to make your own game idea reality, you WILL have to learn to use another tool.

EDIT: This is a more updated review than my previous one. I've used AGF for a while now and I have a lot more experience using the tools. I like the accessiblity of this program, as it is quick and easy to make complex landscapes and basic buildings and structures. They have also greatly increased the amount of different terrain textures and objects that you can place into your world. If you want to make anything fantasy medieval, there are plenty of objects and prebuilt buildings for you to use. I have yet to check out the added DLC, but it is still a great tool regardless. Personally, I only use the tool to make the terrain and put in buildings, then I just export it to Unity 3D and it usually works ok. The only problem can be when they update the program, you have to put in the new exporter tools into a new Unity project. Other than that, it is a great tool for both beginners and the more experienced.

This is a Level creation Tool, that being said it's easy to use , not that expensive for the Basic pack. If you are looking for a tool that makes all aspects of a game, this is not it. not to say this is a bad piece of software. I found it easy to use and with out things getting overly complicated.

I've been dabbling with Unity for close to year and have tossed a lot of $$$ on the asset store - a significant percentage on terrain assets and tools. Had I known about the capability of AGF, I could have saved a lot of money. Simply put, this tool takes one of the biggest headaches out of Unity: that of sculpting realistic-looking terrains. I have spent countless hours on creating, deleting and re-creating outdoor environments in Unity. AGF makes it easier than pie. The asset base is not very big yet, but for me, that is not a problem. I need AGF to build my base terrain on, sort out my vegetation, my lighting, better-looking fog effects, etc. Once happy, I can import my scene into Unity and add the rest of my prefabs to it. This tool is a timesaver and for someone who constantly nit-picks over silly stuff like 'that mountain just does not look right!', AGF helps a lot. The developers are active in responding and assisting with issues and I really appreciate that. I certainly look forward to seeing how this product further develops and recommend the investment for anyone looking for an edge in their terrain creation. (And yes, AGF can now do a lot of other scene activities, but I can only talk about what I’ve been using this tool for :) )

Great Product. I got the 15$ version, and I just use it for fun. Pros: -Very easy to learn, PLUS the developer has plenty of helpful tutorials on youtube as well. Also, customer service is great and if you're having any difficulty with anything, you will get a response quickly. -Graphics look great on my PC -Alot of objects/materials/vegetation come with 15$ version, and if you want more I've seen the developer post more asset packs on the forums -I had no problems setting it up on my PC -Inexpensive (I got the 15$ version since I'm not a developer) Cons: -Seems to be missing some minor features (testing the game if FPS or adventure mode is limited), but the devs have promised to release more content/features in the future. Overall, I would highly recommend the product if you find this kind of stuff interesting. Try the demo out for yourself, and make sure to check out the tutorial videos if you decide to try the demo. They are easy and will help alot!

Developer no longer supporting and updating the software. It's It's just DEAD, DEAD, DEAD. With that, pretty useless as (Unity3D engine) terrain development tool. I'd much rather recommend GeoVOX instead (also from this developer), but then again that tool is also dead when it comes to development :'(

To everyone that says the Dev abandoned this product, Matt McDonald didn't abandon this, he passing away November 9, 2019.

If you didn't buy this in last month's AMAZING deal from a certain sight *mumble-mumble*, you might agree with some of the people who review this software line as a money-grab. Check out the store page in detail, and you'll wonder why they don't just give everythig to you for the base-software price, right??? However for each DLC pack, there are new royalty free assets, new setups for game genre building/testing, and some have new tools for streamlining design using different methods. These all took more time and work for the developer to finalize, and he might not be in the wrong asking for payment for the content. New features cost more money for people who already bought the software? I believe that is the concept in any add-on DLC. I did indeed get this and many of its DLC at a steep discount- so if this does peek your interest, I advise to look around for a deal on it. Earlier this year, I'd seen the base AGFPRO on sale for about 5 dollars, on three seperate retailers, on different weeks of software sales. So, take the people who complain about having to pay premium for other people's work with a grain of salt. If you want to see what it's about, there are videos explaining the features and UI online you can watch for free. Personally, I find it a designer's time-saver. I haven't actually exported anything yet, as I'm still feeling out the interface, so I can't personally vouch for how well all features work; but the expedited world/scene creation is preferrable. Matt McDonald (and family) have put bounds of work into creating a seamless game-world design tool. They also personally run support, which makes them super-busy, but since they do make themselves available, it's admirable IMO. Original assets can be imported, custom textures can be used, and there are quite few cool things you can do with them in the standalone AGF engine. If you want to work on this quality-level, without the pricetag on the full package, you should get Blender and Unity 5 Personal (those are both very powerful and free, and useful with or without AGFpro), and learn how to make 3d environments using them; but I feel this tool's well worth the dinero, expediting the building of environment and basic game-mechanics which would take many more hours and headaches to accomplish (especially if you aren't a schooled and seasoned game designer). Now, I don't care for some of the DLC packs, but only because I feel personally about using mass-produced free assets and game-mechanics. That doesn't mean they're bad-- and the developer did put a seperate allotment of time and focus on building them for add-on content. If you want to benifit from them, you have to buy them. I do think it's well worth the price for AGFpro PREMIUM, since the point here is to design a beautiful, yet un-finished game world, complete with scenes/stages, and set up basic features like lighting, day-night cycles, parallax textures; then export them for use in building a polished current-gen game in the Unity3D 5 engine. After looking at the add-ons for Unity, from many various coders and publishers, I think AGFpro PREMIUM is not really over-priced at all for what it can do. Of course, that's coming from a guy who got this at a mind-blowing, STEAL of a price! ;) To conclude; PLEASE understand I'm not saying that this is the BE-ALL/END-ALL of game design tools. It is very easy to run into moments where you're probably wishing for features, and you absolutely can suggest them to the dev team, although their main focus is creating more expansions for now, since the 3.0 update. It can tend to be constrictive for game design since game and story features are built-in and can't be tweaked beyond what options are made available. However, that's what makes this tool unique; to set up a project that can be used to build onto and polish using other tools and the Unity 5 engine (AGFP Premium), I definitely must recommend it.