I need some help from anyone who can share. I love Gal Civ II and other strategy games but the game I really want to play just does not exist and i am tired of waiting for it. As a result, i have decided to start down the long path of learning how to create my own game. This will be a huge project in that I do not program and really have very little experience in 3d art. However, I have time and really look forward to actually creating something of my own...regardless of how my first tries really come out. It may be a piece of poo but it will be my poo!

In any event, I am struggeling a bit in trying to find a 3d gaming engine that is meant for the indie developer. I am about to purchase Torque but based on my 3d modeler program (XSI 5 and zbrush) it does not have a direct importer for XSI yet. So...is there a better engine out there and if so, what and where do i find it. Remember of course that i will be learning programming and script language from the beginning so i am not an expert...yet! Is Torque the best solution still? Do any of you have any experience in this area? I would LOVE to hear from some folks from GalCiv BTW...I would really value your input as well. Thanks so much and I hope to hear from someone soon.