OGRE Review

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Review of OGRE powered by the Slant community.

SpecsUpdate

Supported platformsWindows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, JavaScript, WinRT

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What are the best graphics rendering engines?

Pros

Pro
Native support for multiple implementations of shadows

OGRE provides several options for shadow implementation that can be combined and customized by the user. This gives the user greater freedom to find the best settings for the needs of their scene.

Pro
Changes can be implemented without recompiling

OGRE uses scripts for many of its features, which are loaded while in use. This allows the user to modify the scripts for immediate effect without the need to recompile.

Pro
OGRE is extremely flexible and designed to be extended.

OGRE’s base design allows it to be extended, usually through plugins. Further, OGRE's conceptual design does not assume it will be used for one particular application over any other. This allows it to be a blank slate for users to adapt to whatever applications they need. This gives the user the ability to adapt OGRE to solve almost any problem.

Pro
Code can be platform/API agnostic

Interfaces in OGRE are independent of platform and API, so the code used does not need to be dependent upon them either. The user can utilize higher-level classes and allow the engine to determine the most appropriate implementation.

Pro
No licensing

OGRE is open source, so it is free to use and does not require licensing.

Pro
Cross platform support

Supports Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Android, iOS, Javascript, and WinRT.

Pro
Thorough documentation

OGRE has official support through the OGRE manual and full API documentation. There is additional community support through the wiki and active forums.

Cons

Con
Because OGRE has no inherent focus, every use case involves a lot of overhead work

OGRE is designed to be an extremely flexible graphics rendering engine, which means that there is no one test case where it excels. If the user wants to make a relatively standard first-person shooter game, a more thorough game engine with integrated physics simulation and a graphics rendering engine designed for that type of movement, such as Unity. If the user wants to have many animated characters visible at the same time, for example in a simulation or massively-multiplayer game, a rendering engine like Horde3D would be a more efficient option.

Con
Does not work with all compilers

In an effort to prevent name clashes, OGRE utilizes the C++ functionality of namespaces, which is not supported by all compilers.

Con
Not ideal for web or console platforms

While there is some community support for web deployment, there is no official support for web or console ports.

Con
Only works in C++ natively

OGRE only natively works with the C++ programming language. The use of other languages requires community made extensions.

Con
Requires advanced programming knowledge

OGRE is a C++ library that requires programming knowledge to use. Furthermore, OGRE is fairly advanced and is not recommended for users new to programming or object-oriented programming.