Do you know a good android rendering engine?

Question

What is a rendering engine? Is there any for Android?

Answer 1

This a list of rendering engines for Android. Some of them are C++ based therefore you're able to use C++. Some of them are Java-Based which allows you to draw graphics without the need to use Android-NDK.

Alien3D

• Platforms:Android
• Orientations: 3D
• Price: Free
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: Apache License 2.0 (Open Source)
• Language: Java

Antiryad Gx

• Platforms:iPhone Android
• Orientations: 2D 3D
• Price: Free
• Skill: Beginner
• License: Proprietary
• Language: C, C++

Ardor3D

• Platforms:Android
• Orientations: 3D
• Price: Free
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: libpng/zlib license (Open Source)
• Language: Java

BatteryTech

• Platforms:iPhone Android
• Orientations: 2D 3D
• Price: Indi:$199.95, Commercial:$799.95
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: Proprietary
• Language: C++

Catcake

• Platforms:Android
• Orientations: 3D
• Price: Free
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: MIT License (Open Source)
• Language: C++

Corona SDK

• Platforms:iPhone Android
• Orientations: 2D 3D
• Price: Trial is Free, Indie $199/Year, Pro is $349/Year
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: Proprietary
• Language: Lua

Dwarf FW

• Platforms:Android
• Orientations: 3D
• Price: Free
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: MIT License (Open Source)
• Language: Java

DX Studio

• Platforms:Android
• Orientations: 3D
• Price: Freeware Edition:Free, Commercial Pro:Free
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: Proprietary
• Language: C++, C# or VB.Net

EDGELIB

• Platforms:iPhone Android
• Orientations: 2D 3D
• Price: Free, 1 Developer: €5,000
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: Proprietary
• Language: C++

Esenthel Engine

• Platforms:iPhone Android
• Orientations: 2D 3D
• Price: Free, Personal:$150, Company:$750, Pro:$4000, Ultimate, Non-Game:$250/year
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: Proprietary
• Language: C++

Forget 3D Game Engine

• Platforms:Android
• Orientations: 3D
• Price: Free
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: GNU GPL v2 (Open Source)
• Language: C++

GameKit

• Platforms:iPhone Android
• Orientations: 3D
• Price: Free
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: MIT License (Open Source)
• Language: C++

GamePlay

• Platforms:iPhone Android
• Orientations: 3D
• Price: Free
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: Apache 2.0 license (Open Source)
• Language: C++

IwGame Engine

• Platforms:iPhone Android
• Orientations: 2D 3D
• Price: Free although requires the Marmalade SDK
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: Proprietary (Open Source)
• Language: C++

jMonkeyEngine

• Platforms:Android
• Orientations: 3D
• Price: Free
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: BSD (Open Source) Language: Java

jPCT-AE

• Platforms:Android
• Orientations: 3D
• Price: Free
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: jPCT-AE license (Open Source)
• Language: Java

libGDX

• Platforms:Android HTML5
• Orientations: 2D 3D
• Price: Free
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: Apache License 2.0 (Open Source)
• Language: Java

Linderdaum Engine

• Platforms:Android
• Orientations: 2D 3D
• Price: Free/?
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: Non-commercial/Commercial usage (Open Source)
• Language: C++

Marmalade

• Platforms:iPhone Android
• Orientations: 2D 3D
• Price: Trial:Free, Basic:$149, Standard:$499
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: Proprietary
• Language: C++

Matali Physics Engine

• Platforms:iPhone Android
• Orientations: 3D
• Price: Non-Commercial, Commercial
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: Proprietary
• Language: C#

min3D

• Platforms:Android
• Orientations: 3D
• Price: Free
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: MIT License (Open Source)
• Language: Java

MoSync Mobile

• Platforms:iPhone Android HTML5
• Orientations: 2D 3D
• Price: Free, Basic Pro: 199 Euro, Gold Pro: 2999 Euro
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: GNU GPL v2 (Open Source)
• Language: C, C++

NME

• Platforms:iPhone Android HTML5
• Orientations: 2D 3D
• Price: Free
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: MIT License (Open Source)
• Language: Haxe

openFrameworks

• Platforms:iPhone Android
• Orientations: 2D 3D
• Price: Free
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: MIT License (Open Source)
• Language: C++

Orx

• Platforms:iPhone Android
• Orientations: 2D 3D
• Price: Free
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: zlib license (Open Source)
• Language: C, C++, Objective-C

Proton SDK

• Platforms:iPhone Android
• Orientations: 2D 3D
• Price: Free
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: BSD style with attribution required (Open Source)
• Language: C++

ShiVa3D Game Engine

• Platforms:iPhone Android
• Orientations: 3D
• Price: Web:Free, Advanced:$1000, Basic:$200, Educational:$670
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: Proprietary
• Language: Lua

SIO2 Engine

• Platforms:iPhone Android
• Orientations: 2D 3D
• Price: Trial is Free, Win/Mac:$199.99, Android/iOS:$399.99
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: Proprietary
• Language: C++

UNIGINE Engine

• Platforms:iPhone Android
• Orientations: 3D
• Price: Case-by-case (about $30,000 USD/project)
• Skill: Beginner
• License: Proprietary
• Language: C++

Unity3D

• Platforms:iPhone Android
• Orientations: 3D
• Price: Unity:Free, Unity Pro:$1500
• Skill: Intermediate
• License: Proprietary
• Language: .NET (Mono)

For more info you can check: 3D Android Game Engines

Answer 2

There are two different methods for rendering objects to the screen in Android: View and OpenGL.

I suggest you check out this page that explains your various options as to how to draw to the screen. OpenGl is more powerful, but more difficult to use. You may also want to check out SurfaceView which allows you to use the built-in Android Drawable to render to the screen.

It depends on if you want to use high-end 3D performace in the end. If you do then you have to use OpenGL, otherwise you have a choice between using a SurfaceView or OpenGL.