how do i download the entire platform
What do you want to download?
Editor? It’s not open source, but Engine is.
So what does that mean? Do I still have to pay for xporting games
Depends on you.
If you using Editor, you have to pay in order to export project.
Otherwise you should use the engine without any restrictions.
The engine is opensource on GItHub.
The editor is proprietary.
If you want to export a project from the editor, then yes, you do have to pay for one of the paid plans.
However, as Mike said, you can just use the engine on it’s (as a few of the members do here) without restriction.
so what does that mean? how can i use the engine without the editor?
The same way games have been coded for centuries, without an editor.
Either way, you can build a local editor yourself if you have knowledge.
Where would I begin to build the editor myself? Would I need vast programming knowledge?
There are some examples in the GitHub repo: https://github.com/playcanvas/engine/tree/master/examples
It will take some time. @scarlex is currently making one for his own needs.
Would I need vast programming knowledge?
Yes. You need to handle both client side and server side.
In client, you need to learn math about “linear algebra” to solve most of client side problems.
In server, you need to parse variants of model format such as fbx, obj, dae, sea3d.
That’s a lots of work.
Woosh! Time traveler!
I understand the engine is open source and the editor requires payment to export and that all your private projects are locked if you stop paying. My question is do you have to continue to pay for the editor if you use it to create a game or more specifically an interactive web page that is self hosted or do you only have to pay for the time you are developing and exporting?