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Yeah, we will be doing our own format for models. It will be a simple skeleton system, with each vertex in a model mapped to a single bone (no bone weights, too much processor power per model). Do you know how skeleton systems work? If you want, you can code the skeleton editor. Let me know, I can tell you what you need to know.
Z.
Oh, and NULL == 0.
Z.
I know basically how they work, but unfortunately I dont have access to the maths behind it, let alone be able to code it, I think I may leave it up to you ;). Also, we could have models link to other models' parts (eg. LEFT HAND bone links to attached *WEAPON SLOT*'s HANDLE bone), to have different weapons for different models. Therefore we won't need to have them attached specifically to the character.
And Real Igor, what are you doing next for Chara Models? I think personally you should do a lizard-man (my drawing can be seen here at latest 12:10 GMT-5) http://times.of.war.tripod.com/art/lizardman.jpg
Eh, heres another 2 that I've done (note that the lizard champion can be sword OR bow, while lizardman is restricted to sword [basically this is a magically-created creature that evolves very quickly into its second form, about 2 days to do so. The unevolved form has very short arms and can therefore not use the bow. It may not seem like the arms are short in the pic but they should be.]) Also, I have my Swordsmaster unit pic shown, here are the three links:
http://times.of.war.tripod.com/art/swmstr.jpg
http://times.of.war.tripod.com/art/lizardman.jpg
http://times.of.war.tripod.com/art/lizardchamp.jpg
...and it doesn't work ;). Go to http://times.of.war.tripod.com/art/ directory, and just browse from there. The JPGs are full-size, the GIFs are 64x64, perfect for avatars ;).
Actually, Sas, I believe that is a quite good idea. However, it might take some time. But I will attempt to make it as soon as possible.
About the music, I can do whatever you want me to. Or I want myself to :rolleyes:. BUT your tune is, like you said yourself...Quite weird. That's why it's gonna be a tough job. But never underestimate the power of...me :D. I take it as a challenge. Do you want it to be somewhat the same..style as the previous one?
I would say no, about in the same style as the last one. Keep it upbeat but simple, thats all I can say. In your song, I liked the parts inbetween the fast, upbeat going up and down the scale parts. Those would distract the player in an RTS... those up and down scales would be great for an RPG but as I said before they may distract the player.
Ok, time to get to work on the packager. Then a new "ScriptedObject" Class. Since the OGL port has been scratched, I will be pulling in my original PSystem Class.
Z.
I'm working on a still image format similar to PNG, but this one has more features - such as no/2/4/8 bit alpha mask, a tag classification (author, title) and probably I'll be using zLib once again, although last time it didnt work out too well...
I'm just starting this one so Zaei if you don't think we'll need it tell me and we'll get rolling on something constructive >=)
We can use bitmaps, with a simple binary header. Like, a regular bitmap, then, in another file, the options we want (transparent color, etc). You can write a header maker for us =). And, see how far you can get on a Design Doc, with features, etc. Ill read it over, and see what we will use, what we wont need, and that stuff. Itll give me a good idea of what you want to see in this game, and work towards that goal.
Z.
Isnt that a coincedence? I've already started one today =).
Okay that sounds good, I'll make us a header maker :D. It'll be in a DLL form, I dont know if you can access VB DLLs but oh well.
You can, but I dont know how. Its a COM thing. Dont worry about it, we can just stick a form into another project, and call its members. Then I can just write a simple header reader in C++.
Z.
Well here it is, the Tow Image Header DLL. It's simple to use... fill out all the attributes, and write the header (the path is self-explanatory). Then, read the header (once again with the path attribute), and all of the attributes will be refilled. Enjoy!
I downloaded it, but havent been able to try it out yet. I can now add files to a package, create a new package, close and open a package, and i am working on extracting files, but there is some odd error when i write out the file size that I am trying to fix in a sec.
Z.
If possible, make an ActiveX DLL for it. I'd like to create a WinZip-style interface for the ToW pack... it'd be nifty. Also, are you using zLib or nothing for compression?
I am creating a class for the package, then, when that is solid, I will wrap it up into a regular DLL. If you want, I can see if I can get it to work with VB as well.
Z.
That's what I'm askin' for =D
Ok, Ill see what I can do for ya!
Z.
The project appears to be coming on well, good work guys.
(Jus lettin ya know im still watching ya)
what would it take for me to get a copy of all the code we have in vb so i can see it. also whos doing the engines.
So, Sastraxi (Sorry I'm not able to check the posts that often).
You're saying I should not have the fast, upbeat thing. That's what I was talking about when I said we might be unable to use the song. But it's somewhat adventure-metal, don't you think? It's an interresting genre :). If I'm using the middle part, say I cut it down to that, I'd be left with a pretty steril sort of theme, don't you think? Well, at least it'll be somewhat slow. In combat, not that much in RTS, really, more in Shoot 'em Ups, it's really good with fast music with a nasty pulse (I've leart that from playing CS whilst listening to metal/punk/symphonic stuff. It gives a rush. I could also make it a kind of slower, more cozy-type of theme, but I don't think that would be really suited in the game. But, say I keep the old song, but in the fast bit(where the drums are going mad), I might cut down on the drums, only hitting the bass-drum half the hits it does right now('cause right now it's hitting it every 32/1 of a not :D). We'll see. I'll post when I've got some progress.
Yes, that kind of music would be perfect for a shootem up... unfortunately we're doing an RTS :D. I'm just saying that a nice, subtle theme works better, stimulating creativity and critical thinking, perfect for any strategy game.
Yes, ok. I gotcha. No phat guitarsolos or anything. But how do you expect me to make music out of a band when I'm doing slow music? I'm not created for that sort of thing...:rolleyes:
Do some fast stuff. We can use them in the heat of battle. Ever played MechCommander? It had dynamic music. When you were in battle, you got some nice, fast music, and other times, you get softer, slower music. Dunno how that works from a composer's point of view, being able to fade quickly from slow to fast and back, but it should be fairly easy to implement.
The package thing is coming along well. You can Create a new pack, add files, and extract files. I am going to add a deletefile function, an extractbyfilename and deletebyfilename function. I am very happy with it. I tested it by adding one of the music files in it's zip file to the pack, and extracting it, then playing the music. It worked =).
Z.
i know how to play the drums and get a copy so u all can listen to some of it and i can write some of the parts for battle of for intros.
but i need to know if any one whants me to.
i know jazz, rock(ex. mettalica or black sabith), r&b, salsa, island music .
if u have a program that can understand writen music i can help u with the fading back and forth.
Unfortunatly, the fading has to be done in real time.
Z.
Files can now be removed from a package. Ill write up a simple text based interface for packaging files.
Z.
Well that's an interesting fact, I didn't intend for you to be making music off a band at the start! :D Well, I don't know how it'll work then, I just know that we have to have some tranquil, serene themes and also some upbeat, more viscious themes. Listen to Warcraft II, that has some awesome types of music for RTS'. I dont recommend listening to Age of Kings or anything like that, that's not really music.
Could you DLL package it Zaei? I really want to create a ToW Pack Program.
I will, Sas, I havent even started the DLL yet.
Z.
On the subject of War2, here is a remix I did of Medieval Man (track 18 of the expansion pack audio). I did it with the pinnacle of of audio mixing technolog, Windows Sound Recorder =).
Z.
Sorry, to big to upload here, Its at:
http://times.of.war.tripod.com/music/medman.zip
Z.
Wazupguys - You could make some drum tracks and then we could base the music on the changes of the beats.
I just realized some stuff. We can pack entire mods within a single package. Since I will probably be loading the mod DLL (this includes the regular game) using LoadLibrary, the mod DLL and any files it needs can go into a package. Neat, huh?
Z.
Here you go, Sas. Let me know how it works. It isnt finished (you cannot list files, for instance), but you should be able to build a pack file from it.
Z.
Unfortunatly, VB doesnt use the same type of string as C. We can send strings TO a DLL function, but we cannot get strings FROM the DLL. So, we will not be able to list files in the package using VB. I have a copy of C++ Builder 3, so, if you want Sas, you can write me a psudo-UI for the browser, and i will conver it.
Z.
ok warcraft II you say ok.
Yeah, I was getting confused that the GetFileByName had only1 parameter :D
ExtractFileByName? It should have two parameters, the location to extract the file to, and the filename within the package.
Z.
I know I'm not supposed to work on this. However, I just had to. It's the previous anthem, just a little longer, and I added some horns and a choir. Have a listen :p
Hi, sorry I am not staying in contact much but I can still help you guys if you need something, ok? :D
The song sounds good Igor. I like it =).
We can now encrypt and decrypt packages. I have it set up so that when you call the encrypt or decrypt functions, you can specify a function, that takes a single BYTE and a DWORD key. You can then encrypt the package any way you like. At the moment, I have just a simple Xor encryption sceme going, but it works. Next comes compression =P.
Z.
Use zLib, it's dead simple and fast. Effective? Not sure yet ;)
Also, Igor when will you get around to destroying the upbeat parts?
Ill check it out. And dont destory the upbeat parts! I like them. Im sure we can find some place to use them. Create something else, instead.
Z.
Well.. I would like the upbeat parts but it's not suited for a real-time strategy game such as Times of War, I'm sorry to say.
yes, Sas, I know I know...
You see? I know his is'nt "The Thing"... I can't use it, Ich weissQuote:
I know I'm not supposed to work on this.
No controversy on this matter. Lets just leave the current song on the back burner, take the upbeat parts out, and call it a new song. There will be a time when we need upbeat parts (Victory music). Besides, the player will very likely get bored without a change in mood every once in a while. I still say we will need upbeat, faster music during battle to get the player's blood moving. The slower more methodical music should be in the planning stages of the game. There should probably be some kind of fanfare music for when a player completes an objective, and when new orders arrive. Audio clues are a very important matter, And we will need both kinds of music. I want very much to have most of the game be nice, slow, soothing music (we could let the enemy AI control the music and try to put the player to sleep >=), but there has to be a chage of pace at some points.
Z.
It'd be cool to make an RPG in Dscript.. it would work, too :D
Ok, I have implemented strings into the compiler. I will implement them in the DScript DLL tomorrow. New stuff:
To use strings, you MUST define a string table. You cannot use string constants (ie, pushs "hello"). you cannot add characters to strings. That's all for now.Code:Defining a string table
StringTable
<strid> <string>
EndStringTable
movs str str
cats str1 str2 //add str2 to str1
pushs str
pops str
ints <num> //calls special intterupts that take strings
Z.
So, Now, we could make an rpg in DScript =).
Z.
Excellent...! >=)
Now you can integrate ToW Pack into DScript and we'll be rollin'!
Why? We can execute the Package statements from an interrupt if need be. It's much better if as few modules depend on each other as possible.
Z.
What I mean is having the interrupts for getting files available in DScript, eg. loading a sound/bitmap/music.
Packages should be used in code only. The reason is that, since you cannot use files directly from a package, all of the files you want to use will be extracted into "\cache", before the game even starts. There is no reason for scripts to access packages. Just put the filename in, and the interrupts can concat the "\cache\" on the front, or you can do it with the script. You will end up with something like:
Note the lack of quotes (and my filesnames taking major advantage of Long Filenames =).Code:StringTable
WizardModel Wizardmodel.model
KnightModel Knightmodel.model
...
EndStringTable
Z.
I couldnt help myself either like real igor.....I just had to have a play with your midi file.........I completley trashed it and it now sounds like some terrible techno test track by Apex Twin or someone like that.......Although it is catchy and you will remember the main anthem when the tune ends.
Nothing like yours but could be used in a fighting or racing type genre games.
Zaei: Oooh! I get it now =)
Techi: Well... uh... that's different! I never knew anyone could actually use that "bird" track for anything... odd...
Anyways, it was nice to listen to, but you're right, that couldn't be used anywhere but a fast-paced game.
:D:D:D Thanks for taking the time to do that!
Hehe. Nice, Techi, except from the fact that I hate tachno :p. Hawever, folks. Here's a new song. I think it would suit for bckground music during the game. It's ending a little too soon. Well...I'm gonna make it longer anyways. Just updating my progress...:)
You hate techno? Are you wierd, or something? =). I'm checking out the new MIDI now.
I am probably going to be removing the cats opcode. I cannot find any real use for something that will be a pain to program.
Z.
Oh, and I will probably be removing ints, as well. There is NO reason for this opcode.
Z.
Real Igor: YOUR NEW MIDI IS THE BEST I'VE HEARD FROM YOU YET. That's it :D
And some more good news =)...
Yet unconfirmed, but I may be getting a domain name within a month or so. (http://www.sastraxi.com/) We could have the Crystal-Rain productions hosted there. Also, I have gotten very far with my CR-ADMIN server application, which lets you guys post news, files, art, information pages, etc. This (if all goes to plan) will be on http://cr.sastraxi.com/.