When comparing FlatRedBall vs Blacksmith 2D, the Slant community recommends FlatRedBall for most people. In the question“What are the best 2D game engines?” FlatRedBall is ranked 44th while Blacksmith 2D is ranked 48th. The most important reason people chose FlatRedBall is:
Just check the commit frequency on github :) https://github.com/vchelaru/FlatRedBall/commits/master Plus Victor takes community input seriously and is known to shift around priorities based on the pressing needs of the community
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Continually improving and open source
Just check the commit frequency on github :)
https://github.com/vchelaru/FlatRedBall/commits/master
Plus Victor takes community input seriously and is known to shift around priorities based on the pressing needs of the community
Pro Very easy to use
Simplifies routine tasks such as adding entities and files to the game, or tuning parameters, via the FRB Editor called Glue
Pro Great community
Very active chat on gitter: https://gitter.im/vchelaru/FlatRedBall
Victor (the creator of the engine) is available throughout the day to answer questions and solve any problems that may arise, along with the rest of the community members who are ready to assist in any way they can.
Pro Extensive documentation
http://flatredball.com/documentation/
Very good documentation not only regarding the API details, but also lots of tutorials covering different aspects of using FRB, either on the code-side or on using any of its tools.
Pro Cache as bitmap
Automatically detects changes and updates bitmap cache. Allows to gain even more performance on heavy scenes and runs smoothly on old devices.
Pro Most valuable when size matters
All engine code is written in ES6, fully GCC typed, allowing to eliminate all dead code from your app.
Pro Advanced scene graph and rendering pipeline
Dirty flag tracks scene changes and avoids unnecessary calculations and context calls. If no changes were made to the scene since last frame, no rendering will be done. Battery efficient.
Pro Good performance
According to the tests on the Github page, the performance is better than in Phaser!
Pro Good and clear source code
The source code is well commented and easy to understand.
Pro Super small build size
Super small build size through dead code elimination. The best for playable ads and Facebook Instant Games.
Cons
Con The editor's UI looks dated
Although functional, doesn't look as flashy as Unity for example, which may put some people off.
Con Small community
The project is young, so the community is extremely small.