Flax Engine vs Solarus
Flax Engine
flaxengine.comSolarus
solarus-games.orgSide by side
| Figure | Flax Engine | Solarus |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Game Engine Software | 8.9 (#10) | 8.2 (#51) |
| Founded | 2012 | 2021 |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Headquarters | Poland | France |
| Launcher | The Flax Launcher can install and manage multiple engine versions, including daily builds from the GitHub master branch. | Solarus Launcher lets players browse, download, update, and play Solarus-made games. |
| Multiplayer tools | Yes | Yes |
| Privacy | The privacy policy says Google Analytics data is retained for five years for internal marketing and that private analytics data is never sold or exposed. | The engine, launcher, and editor collect no data and implement no analytics or telemetry; launcher network access is limited to checking for updates. |
| Scripting languages | C#,C++ | Lua |
| Source code model | source_available | open_source |
| Support | The feature page promises direct communication and help from engine developers, and the site provides a contact form. | The FAQ directs users seeking a quicker answer to the project forums or Discord chat. |
| Target platforms | Windows,Linux,Android,iOS,PlayStation 4/5,Xbox One/Series,Nintendo Switch | Windows,Linux,macOS; Android port in progress |
| Visual scripting | Yes | No |
Plans
In their own words
Flax Engine
Flax Engine is a 3D game engine written in C++ and C#, with visual scripting and full Editor source code available. It supports C++, C#, and visual scripting, with hot-reloading for both programming languages in the Editor. Rendering features include real-time global illumination, reflections using custom software ray tracing, and GPU lightmap baking. World-building tools cover terrain, foliage, fog, nested prefabs, level streaming, and large-world 64-bit coordinates. Multiplayer projects can use low- and high-level networking APIs. Its Online system supports services such as Steam, Xbox Live, and PlayStation Network for profiles, friends, achievements, presence, and cloud saves. Supported targets include Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, macOS, web, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series, and Nintendo Switch. Web support is experimental and lacks C# scripting, video playback, and some other engine features. NDA-protected platform support is excluded from the public repository. The engine is free for non-commercial or educational use; commercial releases pay a 4% royalty on earnings exceeding $250,000 per calendar quarter.