Hmm... sorry though I dont have the time as such to join your party but I will try to help as much as I can (have made a game once )

1. For a list of free game engines along with their reviews look here

2. As far as 3D modelling tools are considered, if you have big bucks you can go for the professional tool 3ds max or Maya. A free 3d modeller is Blender and has the features which match the professional ones (though its a bit tough to learn it).

3. Level editors are also aplenty out there but sadly they require you to pay for using it. A free one is Deled

4. Good sound libraries are:
Fmod: http://www.fmod.org
OpenAL: www.openal.org

5. Network API's
RakNet: http://www.rakkarsoft.com
Zoidcom: http://www.zoidcom.com

6. Physics Libraries:
Newton Game Dynamics: http://www.newtondynamics.com
Novodex: http://www.novodex.com
ODE: http://ode.org
Tokamak: http://www.tokamakphysics.com

As far as my experience and persoanl recommendation is concerned go with Irrlicht

Reaons:
1. Supports a lot of file formats
2. Has a level editor and support for .NET languages.
3. Has a very active community.
4. You can start being productive in a week or so.

IF you are really up for a challenge and want to do some serious development go with Ogre ( which is a free professional level engine ). And believe it or not , it has got a book written on it (by Apress ), so if you really serious about it, consider buying the book.
Performance wise Irrlicht is nothing compared to Ogre but the tradeoff is the level of complexity.

The only problem methinks you will encounter in this project will be the artwork, coz programmign without good artwork sucks realtime.

Hope I was helpful here, bye.

thats good. i got Microsoft VC 5, VB 2003 and the 2005 express editions. i also have a linux box

Im going to borders bookstore at the weekend and i have 49.99 so i may buy a book that comes with software (by the way, should i go with OpenGL, Directx or independant?)

The API ( Here Ogre ) takes care of it. It makes all the DirectX and OpenGL related calls transparent to you, so you need not worry. And btw professional engines like Ogre make use of both DirectX and OpenGL underneath. THis all will become clear to you once you start studying the engine -- but be warned Ogre *is tough* so unless you take it seriously, it wont take you seriouly .

And btw Ogre3D is free to download, its open source.

im getting it working now
damn VC++ 5 says "we have detected you are running windows NT4, please install the new internet explorer" - anyway it tries to install like version 2 or something of IE and then it crashes and says "necessary components could not be installed"

grrrrrrr

im gonna get my NT4 cds out if i have too lol

I can help you, i have some skills is C++ just contact me at thomasdholter@hotmail.com

NT4? IE2? How old is your computer?

If you just want to get your idea out and not worry about all the picky details of coding an engine, take a look at darkbasic:
http://darkbasicpro.thegamecreators.com/

Since you said you were pretty good with VB, I assume you'd be able to pick up DB fairly quickly. It's really capable of a lot more than people give it credit for. I also happen to have written a tutorial for creating an RTS with DB.

It uses DirectX 9, and supports many other 3rd party libraries through wrapper dll's various ppl have written. I'm working on an FMod wrapper myself.

The thing to keep in mind with fmod though is its licensing. IF you never plan to sell your game, then you got nothing to worry about.

I know a few guys that use the Torque engine and they really like it, it costs $150. (pretty cheap compared to most game engines)


Google's modeling program:
http://www.sketchup.com

open-source 3d engine:
http://irrlicht.sourceforge.net/
has a java binding as well

nio monety for4 darkbasic

I'd like to help with graphics (I can also do web design and some C#, but don't know if needed).

maidomax@yahoo.com

well, ive made a start. Ive used VB.NET and GDI to draw a grid on the screen so it forms isometric tiles. Each of theese tiles is a class object and is held in an array and has properties like tilex.owner = xxx . Ive also made a character (welll, a red cirlcle) that can move from tile to tile using the mouse.

Suppose its a start at least.