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Thanks!
So that one is for the ideas and such?...
Lads, I've not had a chance to read all your comments since I went away, but I've got something more important to say.
My name is Pedro.
I am looking for a job.
I have a breakdancing chicken, a cow, and a donkey that can talk to cats.
I hope to be taking refuge in McDonalds.
*acchem*
Hungary is cool. So are the women ;)
Plend me old mucker!
You seem eminently qualified for a job at McDonalds. Overqualified some might say!
I hope you're behaving yourself in Hungary.
Second thoughts.... make a mess!
Jotaf,
Yeah, the other thread is for discussing ideas and thrashing out algorithms and the like.
Nah to be honest I dont think I'd be qualified enough to work in McD's. The skills required for that job....
McD's $k1ll$ 0wnZ my skills.
Aaaaaanyway. Did ya check out Craft 1.0.15 ?
Not yet - I've had a very busy weekend!
I shall this evening.
Do I need anything other than whats on your home page?
Thats all you should need.
There's just loads of code optimizations, though I'm real chuffed with the error detection for the level loading.
mmmmmmmmmm
i would like to know how the game is and what problems you all r having with it. i would like to be of some help with anything i can.
Hiya Wazup!
Well, the game is coming along swimmingly and can be downloaded at www.btinternet.com/~bstap (the file is GameDev.zip).
At the moment, the best thing you can do for us is to play it! Once you've had a play you can then tell us of any problems you've had, any bugs you've found and what you think we could do to improve it.
All comments and suggestions are gratefully received!!!
also hows the webpage coming i havnt heard anything about it. you should have a link to your signiture.
The web page is on hold at the moment as we're trying to put as much into the game as possible.
A locally stored copy is available as the documentation, accessible within the game.
The website proper is available through Behemoths signature (as it's his baby) but no work has been done on it in months.
Have you downloaded the latest copy of the game and had a play?
Anybody got any preferences as to what they'd like to see in the next version?
For starters there's going to be the ubiquitous bug fixes and also sensible wall and road drawing.
No longer will there be cheesy brown lines drawn on the floor!
So, what else would you all like to see?
porno porno ;)
I thought you were smoking pot and doing lines in Holland?
Hungary actually ;)
And I'm uploading the newest version of my website.
Next version of craft will be along shortly too :)
PlenderJ,
Well, I won't download it until you give me the nod that the latest version is uploaded.
Behemoth,
When are you getting those new and improved road graphics to me?
Ah well 1.0.15 thats up there is very new.
With 1.0.16 I'm right in the middle of putting the commodities trading back in. So I'd grab .15
Hmmm..... I'll consider it. ;)
Have you beaten the computer AI yet on Sentience?
Well I've been away so I havent had a chance to play around with it. I was off in hungary, and then the last few days I was doing a network installation in a school, then this week I've to study for college exams ....
I'll squeeze in sentience though I'm sure :)
Good man!
Okay, one quick suggestion... I haven't read through the rest of this thread, so I'm not too sure if this has been brought up before...
Include FM20.dll in the package download, as it is a pain to have to go search for missing dll s on the internet
also, I get a "Runtime Error 7:" "out of memory" error whenever i try and start the program, and it quits straight away at the splash screen... I'm running with 512meg of ram, so i'm not too sure where that is cropping up ;)
Hi Tanus,
Thanks for having a look.
Could I just ask what FM20.DLL is as I don't use it to my knowledge. :confused:
You can get out of memory errors no matter how much RAM your machine has if it's been running for days on end without a restart.
Try restarting the machine and then running Sentience again.
It should work. Let me know if that solves it...
Thanks again!!!
Ben
I rebooted my spectrum a number of times and it still doesn't load ;)
Hmmmm....... :rolleyes:
Interesting point you may all wish to note is that Sentience will run on any machine capable of running Win9x.
The lowest I've tested it on was a P133 with 16mb RAM. Runs fine (including animations). Computer AI takes a while thinking after about 30 turns though....
Hey Arbiter, what are you implementing next in Sentience?
Oh, don't forget to make the road the fastest terrain of them all ;)
Jotaf me old bean!!!
The road functionality's been right since the beginning (if you notice -the pathfinding AI will normall follow roads where possible). We're only making the graphics decent...
Terrains have a movement modifier attached to the (from 1.2 to 2) but if there's a road on the square then it's 1.
Cool as!
So, what would you like to see implemented besides pretty roads?
Hum... recovering components from destroyed mechs? They could be added to the list of built components ;)
Still doesnt like me after a reboot... maybe i downloaded the wrong fm20.dll? Could someone here possibly post theirs so i can see if it is that causing the problem?
Jotaf,
The current plan is that when a mech explodes, bits and peices of it are strewn everywhere, increasing the amount of raw resources on the squares around it. This will mean that battlefields become a pretty cool place to mine as they're rich in all sorts of materiels. Does that sound ok to you?
Tanus,
I have absolutely no idea what that fm20.dll is, nor do I have any idea why you're getting an out of memory. You don't have two billion things running in the background do you (like loads of tripe in the system tray)?
Thanks for persevering with it.
Anyone else got any ideas what the problem is?
Heh, guess what, I have that DLL, but it's overe a megabyte in size so I can't post it here :(
Try reinstalling DX, maybe it'll help since Sentience uses DX for the sound?...
Arbiter: yes, it sounds ok, but you could also have components there :)
Also, how exactly do you intend to show the raw resources on the map? :D
Jotaf,
The resources aren't shown on the map (unless there's a particularly high concentration of a particular type - in which case there will be a graphic to represent this - in the next version ;) )
The framework isn't set up to support storing components peices on the floor, so I'd have to rewrite huge sections of the code. I'm not sure it's worth it. Also, how many components are likely to be intact after a mechs fusion reactor goes critical? :p
Tanus,
Any luck yet?
All,
Does anyone have any idea what this fm20.dll is? I haven't the foggiest!
I had to register my fm20.dll which was on XP, not 98 when I ran Sentience. Strange Arbiter that you don't even know what dll's your game is using :p
Is there a new version I should download`?
Ked,
Not just yet matey. Should be one coming soon though.
I really don't know what the DLL's for.
I don't it use it to my knowledge...
Weird.
(PS - Did you ever finish that 'thing that could also be a load/save game editor')
Check your project references, should be showing up there if anywhere, otherways some of your third party controls might be using it :p
The thing never got finished, basically because I got into C++ by that time and totally forgot about VB projects i had at that moment. Now when I look back at that project I see 8000 lines of really heavy code and I'm just saying, no way I'll do that again.
It should work though, except fixed strings and fixed arrays never got supported, you could though emulate them easily, or make them dynamic.
Third party controls..... huh , I'll kick your arse! :p
I keep doing that with Sentience. I'll look back at a function I wrote ages ago and just gaze at it blankly thinking "I wrote that?".
Ho hum.
I knew what I was doing at the time.
(I think)
That's what happens all the time, you write something, you do something else, you learn something, you look at the code again and feel you're going to throw up.
That happened to me too, I was one week in that encampment, then I didn't open VB for another week, then I was at my cousin's for 4 days - now I opened my Tyrian project and after I added a parameter in the "LoadSurface" function to load an image as 8-bits, I couldn't remember where I needed it :)
(PS: It's over 10,000 lines of code, with more than 15 modules, a class and a form :D )
Anyway, you don't need to make a new unit type or something, you just have one more parameter in the Pods, like "NoBox", and it would be drawn with a small component graphic instead of inside the box graphic :)
Doesn't sound too hard to me... :rolleyes:
Well, found out that FM20.dll is used by Microsoft Forms 2 controls and as I have a scrollbar in there it need the dll.
Whoops. :rolleyes:
Hey Arbiter, didn't you see my reply? :rolleyes:
Btw I was wrong, it's 15 modules, 4 forms and 2 classes :p
So, anyone managed to beat the computer AI yet?
I think everyone's busy helping design the game ;)
First the fm20.dll is an enhance form control that support more options (from the properties menu) that the old one (that load first when you create a new project) have not.
Secondo if you'd like to know which dll ocx and all required files your games need you can know it with the installation wizard.
In the tools in the Microsoft Studio Folder you'll find the wizard for deplying your applications (which is very un appropriate cause it have some bug)
1- Select a standard application with your projetcs
2- Ask for a stardard installation
3- Follow what's mark on screen and at some point you'll come to a page that tell you to add your own files to the project (the one for the graphics, sound, manuel, everything that's not dll or ocx) cause all the dll and ocx are listed there! so you write them and you'll know exactly with dll and ocx you need for your program.
4- You cancel the installation after you've written which files you need
I know it's a bit long to do but with the installation setup that I use it don't tell me which dll and ocx I need
you can take a look at the installation package that I use (which is very good)
http://www.jrsoftware.org/
and now you can distribute your game and you'll know that everyone will have everything to make it work!
No more dll hunting on the net ;)
Thanks Megistal.
I had already realised which DLL it was, I'd merely forgotten to include it. I changed the scrollbars within the game and forgot I'd had to use forms 2 in order to do it.
Simple oversight.
So, have you played it then?
ARBITER!!! ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!
I hate it when people ignore my posts :rolleyes:Quote:
(About the components that appear in the ground when you blow up a mech)
Anyway, you don't need to make a new unit type or something, you just have one more parameter in the Pods, like "NoBox", and it would be drawn with a small component graphic instead of inside the box graphic :)
Doesn't sound too hard to me... :rolleyes:
Yes I've try it!
I was very stun by the graphics! They are great!
Also the game "mode" like "civilisation / outpost" is a genre that I like :)
I like the whole aspect of the intro and game (I've not play with it. I've juste went through the program without playing a "real'' game)
In general, it's well started.
But some changes may be made...
major:
1- my taskbar appear when the game is playing :/
minor:
2- the scroll bar for the volume and/or panning of music is in the window color instead to be black or the color of the game
3- the loading time is very long :/ (I have a 200 Mhz and 64 ram) and I don't want to test it on my 25Mhz lol!
Personnaly:
4- If you have time you can change the cursor to be more appropriate for your game ;)
If it were my game I would be very proud of it! keep up the good work!
Are you alone for this game? I mean are you the one you made all the graphics, sound and coding?
Megistal,
Glad you like it. :)
Answers to your comments.
1) DAMN! Someone else had reported that but I've never had the problem before. I wonder why it's doing that.
2) Yep, that screen's not finished. If there's any bits that look too 'VBy' they'll be work in progress bits.
3) Funny you should say that. I'm working on a solution to that very things as we speak. When I upload the next version, you'll only have a long load time the first time the game is loaded. After that, it should be pretty fast load time. --- Also, just remember that good things come to those who wait... ;)
4) Yep, I'll Behemoth to look into that - which brings me nicely to number 5.
5) Nope, I'm not alone in creating the game. The coding was done solely by myself, but the graphics were all done by my partner in crime Behemoth. Also, the people inhabiting these forums have be invaluable in providing ideas, support and testing the game.
Thanks again, and I look forward to more comments from you!
Jotaf,
I didn't ignore your post. I thought I'd already responded to your suggestion. However, here's a more detailed reply.
I don't think it's going to be practical to have components lying around on the floor for a few reasons, which are:
1) The framework doesn't support it. Those pods aren't pods, but buildings (or so the game thinks), they merely belong to player 9 - a fictional player. When they're interacted with they are removed and something happens ( a unit is spawned, energy increases etc).
2) How would you get the components back? You'd pick them up with your 5ton scout mech (with no arms) and then? You'd have to kick them all the way back, or we'd have to come up with some type of mech which goes along gathering things up. I thought this would be a bit too much work for only a little extra functionality.
3) What's going to be left of the components after the mech goes critical? There's going to be a few globs of metal lying around which an RMV could collect, but nothing vaguely recognisable as a component.
4) The graphics. Currently we have no component graphics that would look sensible at the kind of size required (20*20). Behemoth would have to draw a whole new fleet of graphics to support such a small amount of functionality.
Now, don't get me wrong I LIKE the idea, but it's just not feasible. If'd I'd have been planning to put it in from the beginning I'd have probably structured the game differently. I had to cheat in order to get the pods in!
Because there's only 1 coder for Sentience and 1 graphic artist we have to weigh very carefully all the pro's and con's of adding new stuff. We might like the idea, but if we put in all the cool ideas that we heard of you guys then we'd never finish the project.
Do you see what I mean?
Still getting the out of memory error when loading the sounds :/
System :
Duron 800
384 RAM
Kyro2 64mb
SBLive value.
tis very bizzare :o
Beats me.
Maybe one of the sound files is corrupt. You could try downloading it again.
You do have directx 7 or above don't you?
For the taskbar, you could remove it when your game have the focus and make it reappear when your game lost the focus.
(If you need to know how I'll try to make a small example next time if asked)
And I envy you! each time I start working on a project everyone that I had convince to work doesn't do anything :/
One problem with that idea, if the game locks up, it will disapper until you do one of the following: A) Reboot your machine, and B) start up a program which does the same thing, and pray it doesn't lock up.
Yes that's a point, then make your application to be visible on top (use the api always on top)
so when the game will crash the taskbar will be visible and when the game is running nothing will come over the game.
If you lost focus you turn off the "always on top" and when your app gain the focus ou turn on "always on top"
Better like that?
hehe yeah, i've done the complete driver reinstall just to try and solve it... 4in1s, dx8a, latest kyro drivers... IT JUST HAAAAEEEETTSSS me ;D
just so i know... does it use ddraw or d3d or is the only component dsound?
Guys, oh guys, oh guys!
The latest version is now uploaded (but it's nothing special). Fixed some more of the faults pointed out by Plend and increased the speed of the startup.
Tanus,
I'm intrigued by your problem. You're the first person who hasn't been able to get it to work at all. Well done!
Could you narrow it down to exactly where it happens. Walk me through the process of running the game please.
I'm going to create a special version for you which will report out all the problems in the startup to a text file which you can then send me.
Megistal,
Do you have your start menu set to something odd, like autohide?
What version of Windows are you running?
double click the icon, up pops the splash screen, does the 'Loading' in green letters, then 'Loading Sounds' which is where it pops up the error.
I've attached a jpg of the screen when it crashes, but hopefully having a debug version will help a bit more :)
Also, i imagine there would be but i've never looked, are there programs available to monitor memory accesses? Cause if there is, i'll run one and try to start sentience up and see what/where its trying to access illegal memory.
Edit : One thing it may have something to do with is the fm20.dll thing. The version i downloaded is 1.07MB, and is from 1996 :o if you're going to upload a debug version, can you put your fm20.dll in there too so i can try that ?
The only thing I can think of is that one of the sound files is corrupt.
try this
open the Sentience directory, open the scripts directory and copy in the attached options.ini. It will prompt you to overwrite.
It's called options.txt - rename it to .ini before you copy it in.
This will disable the sounds meaning Sentience won't even bother loading them.
See if that helps...
nope :o
There's a copy of fm20.dll uploaded at
www.btinternet.com/~bstap
It's the same version as the one I have, but it's only for scrollbars and if it didn't work, you wouldn't be getting that error.
Try the options.ini and see if that works.
For the sake, of the future, of all mankind - it MUST work!
What?
It didn't work?
Rats.
Try redownloading the gamedev.zip and extracting it.
Then dowload the update and copy the contents over the stuff in the Sentience directory.
You could also try stabbing ctrl+alt+del and killing everything that's running in the background.
Then run Sentience.
Oh, and what version of Windows are you on?