I'm going to post this here to be a statement of purpose (more or less).
This editor will be "The Ultimate" Flash 3D Game editor. Not because we want to make a ton of money, but because we are hardcore gamers ourselves and we know what gamers want, plus the online web experience is opening up more and more for this kind of thing. We could easily code this in a standalone language (C++, Java, etc), but Flash is (for now) the most web-friendly and socially oriented interface to date which makes it more fun for us.
I personally consider this a lifetime dream to be in possession of a powerful tool that will allow me (and anyone) to create whatever we can think up and it will be ready-made for the web to share with everyone.
Our first steps here are very promising and I'm making a nice wish list of utilities that this editor will include.
1. Drag N Drop - SUPER EASY interface that will allow users with no experience in sandboxes to quicky create maps
2. Edit Anywhere - The ability to edit maps from the 2D mode (above view) where you can simply draw lines and click the line objects to bring up a dialogue box that displays all attributes of this wall/object. Also, the ability to walk-through the 3D mode (in player form) and simply click anywhere and drag and drop a new object be it a tree, car, enemy, etc. and edit it's properties "real-time".
3. Save, Load, or Delete - Upon entering the map editor the user will find a complete list of all maps (loaded from the database) with thumbnail view and map name and description. When a new map is created the user will be given the ability to name and describe the map, and a thumbnail will be created (somehow we'll have to figure this part out [probably using php]).
4. Behaviors - We plan on creating a library of behaviors that the user can simply add to an object model: sound triggers, voice overs, animations, event triggers. Since each map will run independent of other maps this will mean that we can minimize the loading of the actual engine and load only those materials that are used for a particular map.
5. Cameras - We will utilize multiple cameras for cinematic effect (like in Left4Dead when your character is under attack by a special monster the camera switches to 3rd person). We can create these as behaviors as well.
6. Multi-Player - We already have working socket server code that is very efficient and will be utilized in the engine to test player versus player and cooperative gameplay. We will create methods to make it as efficient as possible.
7. Mission Editor - To date all the big named companies sell a story, using their same engines. You're buying a story each time you buy a new game, that's it. With our engine you'll be able to create your own story(ies) and share them with everyone.
8. Utilize Non-3D Methods - Flash can load in other swfs which means we can go just about anywhere with this concept. You could enter a 3D room somewhere and it triggers a 2D game to load that is part of a broader mission. "Beat this challenge" and it might unlock another 3D area, mission, or reward.
Right now organization is key to this project and that's why I posted this so we can keep focused on what this engine needs to be successful.
