This page is part of the series that explores existing software for virtual world rendering.
Horde3D is a small open source 3D rendering engine written in C++. It is written in an effort to create a graphics engine that offers the stunning visual effects expected in next-generation games while at the same time being as lightweight and conceptually clean as possible. Horde3D has a simple and intuitive interface accessible from virtually any programming language and is particularly suitable for rendering large crowds of animated characters in next-generation quality. Horde3D requires a fully OpenGL 2.0 compatible graphics card. In terms of DirectX that means a card supporting at least Shader Model 2.0 or higher.
Since Beta4, Horde3D is licensed under the Eclipse Public License v1.0 (EPL). It is a quite liberal license and has less restrictions than the popular LGPL. Basically it allows you to use Horde3D in free and commercial projects as long as you contribute improvements like bug fixes, optimizations and code refactorings back to the community. The EPL allows static linking and is not viral, hence it does not affect any other modules of your application.
The project uses GLFW in samples, an Open Source, multi-platform library for creating windows with OpenGL contexts and managing input and events. It is easy to integrate into existing applications and does not lay claim to the main loop.
It has a forum and a wiki. An editor is also provided.
It is simply gorgeous, with a CMake based build system that builds the engine in no time. The documentation is lacking from what I can tell (the tutorial misses some important steps but the Sample directory has ready to use applications).
I have yet to read Usage Guide. It lacks goodies like integrated audio and a physics engine, from what I can tell. If I had more time this would have been my first option. Bookmarked it for future use.
