Wazup guys - would you prefer to be that or something else?
Same goes for you Norman_Nomein, if you're still going to do some concept art.
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Wazup guys - would you prefer to be that or something else?
Same goes for you Norman_Nomein, if you're still going to do some concept art.
I still want to help! :D
Perhaps by writing a usable graphics engine, instead of the admittedly-snazzy-but-as-of-yet-useless 3d engine? No offense to the guy writing it, it's impressive - but 3d engines are far too much work. I think you'd be better off creating a 2d renderer first and writing a 3d one after the game works.
Zaei's already worked far too hard on his engine... However I see no problem if you want to help him =)
Update : A forum!
Here is a preview of the forum browsing page:
I didn't say to abandon his engine, I said to develop the RTS in a 2D engine until the gameplay is working. That way you can get started without waiting for the 3d engine. (3d engines normally take a year, if not years, to develop. Unreal, Warcraft 3, etc.)
sas i would like assasin
umm webpage looks nice but it takes i while to load.
i will talk to normein when i see him tomarrow.
Yay! :D
I've gotten my database to *finally* allow me to write to it! It's great! So the website may be up sooner than I had anticipated. I'll have time to do lots of stuff with the forums right now, and then a bit later I'll start on the file upload system and MIDI/MP3 streaming (even from a ZIP file ;)). But this is all up on my local computer, don't try to go to the website until I tell ya to =)
Ok, guys, I am back, and everything is much better.
3D engines don't take a year. Companies writing 3D engines with the backing of a publisher takes a year. There is no reason (exept to waste some time) to write a 2d renderer. Anyway, I think that most all of the graphics functionality is already there (I dont know if textures work yet, never tried them). I need to plug in an existant particle system module, add 3 functions to the scripting language, and it's all pretty much in buisiness. Then, I start re-writing the loader (remember, the game is to be written as a mod =), which is partly done already, embelish the map code, design a skeletal animation system (fairly easy), plug that in, wrap up FMod for sound, and the engine is complete. Then comes gameplay, AI, and the like (the Game). Oh, and add UI at the top of the list up there (you guys deserve to see something new =P).
Anyway, Back to work. I am busy Saturday, and Sunday is my b-Day, and cleaning later today, but I will get some work done tonight, tomorrow night, and the next night (I hope =). Check you all later.
Nice lookin' forums, Sas!
Z.
Hehe thanks, but right now I'm changing the format a wee bit... just to make it a bit easier to find anything... more like a VBW style. Also, I have polls at our website (which isn't up yet...), a download system, and streaming music. I'm using SA-FileUp and SA-Archive, so you don't have to zip files when you upload them... they will be zipped automatically =)
This should prove at least a bit more user-friendly...
http://www.vbforums.com/attachment.php?s=&postid=570132
Hey wow =) Your birthday is on thanksgiving weekend, cool :D
My birthday is sunday =).
Forums looking nice, Sas. I cant wait to log on to them.
Z.
CANADIAN Thanksgiving =)
Right now I'm using SQL and it's about 500% faster than straight ADO... plus I can do the post & thread counts much easier... and I'm glad you like the style! I hope I'm not being a bit too ambitious with the site but ASP is really a dream come true... you won't have to ZIP the files first cause I have the SA-Archive, you can listen to music from inside the ZIP files, and lots more.... Within a week it will all be enjoyed =D
Wonderful. I think my plan for the weekend is integrate strings into DScript, and work on the UI.
Again, I am thinking of redoing the map. This time, I am thinking of a giant sphere (planet). Then, the player can walk a unit all the way around the world, we can have sky, etc. For the moment, I can keep the current implementation, and in my spare time, research this new thing.
I have been reading my new book, and that is part of the reason I have not done any work. The ideas are so good that I dont want to do any work until I have finished at least some of it.
Anyway, I am going to be gone all day tomorrow, so i will check in tomorrow night.
Z.
Sas man that site (the small piccy u posted) looks so ****ing nice, as i type this im trying to think if there was a side menu or not. But it is very nice design the colors are a good match too. Now all you need is a game better than the site and your all set (and the game looks to be going well).
Thanks Psy! There is no sidebar but there is a menu at the top... right now I'm adding a precache of all the menu graphics. Also, I can make you an Admin if you'd like so you can post in the ToW development thread.
Zaei, what book is it? What's it taught you? The globe idea is a good one, in my opinion. Just as long as it's big enough so it never actually LOOKS like a globe... =)
Anyways I'm back to working on the website!
The book is called "Design Patterns". I am learning how to implement good, re-usable, OO code. For an example that correlates directly to gaming, one ide ais to encapsulate states into objects with a standard interface. Then, to create a new state, sub-class an Abstract State object, and implement new OnEnter(), OnExit(), etc.
Z.
That's excellent!
Okay I'm back to me forums... Only problem is something's not working =)
It doesn't seem to be able to pick up a post/thread count!
I've finally made the first page of the forums work... that's only the first page too :eek:!
Anyways, I'm going on the the Sub-Forum view =)
Wish I knew OLE Automation in C++, then I would be able to use it =).
Z.
Well Zaei you can use the real thing =)
Yepper! Yeah, Im hittin' the Renaissance Festival today, so ill be back late.
Z.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Zaei!!
I'm back
Happy...:)
Next week, I'll be going to the hospital awfully lot. Don't wanna talk about it. Anyways... Good Work, Everyone!
Thanks, Igor. Hope everything is ok.
Z.
im not shur if this is late or early but happy birthday.
sas what do u need help with.
Right on time, wazup. Thanks =).
Through gifts, I have added 2 new books to my library, one of them being Code Complete. Just thought Id let everyone know =).
Oh, and Sas, will we be able to create directories, etc, on the web site?
Z.
Happy birthday, Zaei!
Zaei - I think it's best if I don't allow that -- could be abused. I wouldn't think there would be any need to do so, what were you planning on doing?
I was out for thanksgiving today so I haven't got much done. Heres the scoop on the website:
* We have the Administration sector, and from here you can upload a ZIP file or multiple files. Afterwards, if it isn't already zipped that is done on the server, and it is also encoded (decoded when being downloaded). This is to protect documents inside of it from being maliciously used.
There's also an ADD NEWS section - really easy to use. Just put in some HTML (doesn't have to be necessarily, just text if you want, and line breaks are automatically converted to <BR> statements) and click Post News.
* The add art section is the same -- only JPEGs and GIFs are the only types allowed. You also have to add a Title to the picture.
There's also a poll section - polls for developers. Don't get this confused with the Forum Polls, which are actually ON the fora. You can make polls, edit them if they're yours, and vote on them - once.
There's a Newsletter Dispatch station, where you can send a newsletter to everyone. You can also check previous newsletters to make sure you don't send something twice.
* I've made a forum that's specifically for us -- only VIP members (Psyvision you will be one of them) and Administrators (us) can post in it. This way we can have all of the different strands of ToW for discussion, not just in a huge thread.
The forums aren't complete yet, sorry!
* = Incomplete.
I was thinking about personal pages for us developers, but no matter =). I should be able to get some work done tomorrow after school, and possibly some done during first period. I am thinking of adding an OpenGL type interface to the rendering portion of the Engine. I think it will make some things easier.
Adding strings and function interfaces to DScript will require som minor rewrites, but, since there havent been any scripts written yet, this is ok =). Does anyone have a use for calling functions within scripts from another script? Once the string functions are written, I will finalize DScript, and finish the documentation. This sounds to be at most, two weeks of work.
From now on, I will try to give you guys a timeline for what I am doing. If at all possible, it would be great if people could drop in at least once a week, and let us all know what they are working on, updates, etc. I know stuff has been kinda slow for the past few weeks, at least for me, and I am still trying to get myself back in gear. Im sorry about that, but I really am trying my best to get some stuff done. This weekend was busy, as was last week, but I am really hoping to get some major work time in the coming weeks.
Anyway, I think that's everything for now, check you all later!
Z.
Well I don't see any point on calling things from other functions, unless their is a file size limit, or it is faster. And don't say sorry so much, you're doing a great job!! =)
I sketched a drawing today (in pen though, ack) of what ToW may look like when it's done... Thinking of that, would it be possible to have real "strands" of grass that can actually be processed in real-time? I don't know how we will do the it, but it'd be neat to see some grass swaying in the wind!
Anyways, onto phase #3 of the ToW forums -- the Thread view page!
If there's anything i can do for you guys, let me know, i'm not the type to go out and write 3d/script/sound/animation/ai engines on a whim. :)
Thanks for that Janus! Just got one question -- do you have 3DSMAX? If so, there are some models I'd like you to convert for me (from VRML). Zaei, what was the format you wanted them in again or were we going to create our own format?
Janus
Do you know OpenGL??
If so, could you write us the OpenGL engine, now that PsyVision is sort of... not available??
That's an excellent idea, Igor!
:D And there's more where they came from...!:D
I am going to have to write animation code (fortunately, its fairly easy). I have been planning an idea for a while that will require a higher quality animation. So, I will have to write a simple Bone system that just moves a vertex in direct relation to a bone (no weights), and a second that uses weights (smoother).
Sas, I was planning on adding grass into the game. Each strand will probably be perhaps 4, or 6 triangles (2 or 3 joints, respectivly). I will have to write a testbed app for that though, so it will be a later stage addition (like the animation).
Z.
An idea on the grass. Since it is a lot of triangles to be processed, I had an idea. Everyone likes the idea of a planet, correct? It is very easy to generate a planet from a fractal equation. Memory Requirements: 0. We will get a small speed hit, but that is ok.
Since we are generating the world from an equation, we can use the same one for the texture. So, where there is grass on the texture, we will put a swaying thing of grass. Now, the good part. Since we cannot see all of the world at once, we use a form of LOD on the grass. Only render grass if it is under x meters to the camera. Also, as the gras gets more distance, say past a threshold of y meters, the grass begins to fade into the ground, via alpha blending. This will make a smooth transition from grass to texture.
Z.
Zaei... you are in one word brilliant =)
That's a great idea for handling the grass!
Thanks much. You can build the option of to what distance does the player want grass shown to the graphics option thing =).
Z.