Times of War Development Team

It's been a long time since we've first set out Times of War. Many things on this post were irrelevant. Feel free to skip to the last page(s) and view what's been going on with Times of War. You're also welcome to ask any questions you like, regarding Times of War.

Remember to watch the news ticker at the bottom of my signature. That's all for now, make sure to visit the website when I say there's an update. Very soon we will have a fully automated website, which I'm sure will make it a lot easier to post news, etc.

The ToW website currently is http://www.crystal-rain.com/

What? Ooops...sorry, I'm a bumbling fool :(

:p:D:p

You didnt list Gameplay, or AI, but i guess that will fit into "Putting it all together" =).

Z.

Yeah, there's another spot to be filled thanks to Zaei (I wonder who will sign up? :rolleyes: )

• Gameplay, AI, interface (training units, upgrading, attacking, moving, building buildings, etc.)

I already signed up =).

Z.

Someone to help me put the whole thing together (programming)

Shall i do that?

Bumble bumble,

Oooh, hi guys!

Ignore me - Im just a fool bumbling around. ;)

Well, I'm neither a member, nor (as explained) have the time to join, but I can hover around your thread as it's just next door to the Sentience thread and post comments and ideas...

That is, if you want me too. If you'd rather I didn't come back in here in case I'm practising industrial espionage then let me know....

Some thoughts - you may benefit from Behemoth and I's experience in working on Sentience.

You may want to create a manual as you're working on the game so when you post versions for testing (ala Sentience) people understand what's happening. I didn't and most people still don't understand what's supposed to be happening in the game.

Document everything and give them version numbers. It'll be tedious but will pay dividend in the long run.

Make sure everyone has a list of things they're supposed to be working on and they know exactly where they're up to at all times. If you ever hear the words 'I thought you were doing that' you know you're in trouble.

Make it as modular as possible. Make a general framework to hold the game together and then allow for the addition of modules to add functionality. We did with Sentience and although it took 8 months to build a solid framework, look at the speed we're adding functionality now.

Define all the variables at the beginning. Something we should have done. I find myself now with redundant variables and missing some I really would have wanted. Same with formulae.

OK, I'll leave you in peace now. Dunno if what I've said is of any help but good luck with it.

:cool:

Anoop007
I would love to have you on our team!
The part you are taking place in involves things such as making the menus and GUI functional, making sure the game works, fixing bugs, etc. If you find anything that needs to be done, but nobody else does it, that's your job. I am also a "Putting everything together" programmer, although I am also putting in the database -> UDT code, and Zaei seems to want to do the Gameplay and AI.

Arbiter

Those are the kinda things I want to hear! Thank you for letting our team learn from your mistakes. In the credits you will surely be there! I am making a manual right now to let people know how the game works. I will probably need some gfx first, but I don't know whether to go Diamond-Tile or Square-Tile. I'm not sure what to use....

Thank you all for your constructive ideas.

I have good skills in VB programming, and I'm learning Windows/DirectX programming in C++. I sure hope you can use me on your team! I have always dreamt of being a member on a game team! :)

If development is still going at mid-July then I'd love to help on any C++-related stuff :)

Okay: We've got some programmers now:

• VB programmer to do main DDraw loop. - Nobody!!!
• 3D modelers (preferably with 3DSMax) to make models from 2d unit gfx (low priority) - Nobody!!!
• Gameplay, AI, interface (training units, upgrading, attacking, moving, building buildings, etc.) - Zaei
• Someone to help me put the whole thing together (programming) - Anoop007
• C Programmer to make a DLL compatible with VB that blits on the GUI. - PsyVision

We need a VB programmer to do the graphics for in the game! I also need a 3D modeller to make some graphics for the movies, such as the intro movie, the finish movie, and the defeat movie, etc.

I am also glad to announce that we will be using WarMaster's D3D engine to render all of the frames for movies and such.

So... anyone else want to sign up? (we need a full team)

Anyways, here's what I want you guys to do in the meantime:

PsyVision - I want a DLL that allows you to input an hDC/Filename to the DLL and it will blit it.
Zaei - Since you have the database, could you make a module that calculates damage? The damage is:

Health - (Random (1/2 of Attack) to (Attack))

I know it's not much to do but it will keep you occupied for about 5 minutes.

Anoop007 - I'm going to email you a database and I need you to write some MODULE ONLY code to access the database and input it into a UDT. (no controls involved.) I'll email you also the specific details.

If I didn't mention you here, ASK ME what you are supposed to do!

[email protected]

What should I do??

What part did you want to take part in?

I would prefer AI and interface, but I'll take what ever you through at me! (if I can of course! :D)

Allright, if i'm correct (hehe) you require me to create a Dll in C++ that will aloow you to specify a hDC and a filename. The Dll should then open the file and blit it to the specified hDC ?

P.s Sastraxi - When oh when do you go on ICQ ?

Just been talking to him on MSN...you should use either that or Trillian, so you can get on ICQ, Yahoo, and MSN simultaneously.

ICQ 84479333, but I reinstalled my computer and am not gunna get it (bugs galore!), so get me on MSN:

[email protected]

Eek. I have a job. Sorry, havent been on this thing all
day.

Sas, Should the "Health" part in your algo be
TOTAL health, or CURRENT? Ive used current health in a
game before, as sort of a fatigue measurement (ie, the
player or enemy could only do damage up to thier
current health). Mind, that game was on some severe
memory restrictions (30K< Sourcecode, It was a TI 83
game =), but it works. Anyway, let me know what you
want me to do, or whatever. I can probably be more
reliably contacted at either my home email(dec-
[email protected]) or [email protected].
And that goes for anyone else on the team too =).

Z.

Oh yeah, go with Diamond tiles. Iso engines Rock =).

Z.

ummmmmmmmm
to make a lorg story short im willing to do the visual basic part if noone has signed up for it. antways someone has to do it. but i would like to have some one work with me on this if its gets really complicated
u can reach me at my email address which is
below and probaly the only way of communicating with me ecept here, and if im excepted i will never forget this
:cool: :confused: :cool:
i surf the web mostly at night and during school in comp class :rolleyes:


:eek: oh u all forgot one thing howabout multiplayer and that kind of tihs :eek:

Okay Zaei - These units are the TEMPLATES for units. Therefore Base Health values are the maximum health. I added the Max. Health because if some units were upgraded too much (not trained) they could become more powerful then other units.

When you create a unit in the game, they also have current health properties, X, Y, and several other state properties.

Wazup Guys
Great! If you are willing to do the VB Ddraw loop, then you are welcome to do so. As long as you have [at least some] experience on Game Development, you are welcome to join. Just note that you will need no VB skills if you are modelling the 3D images [also note that this is low-priority and is only used for the movies and such].

Multiplayer will be supported but we will only do that when we have completed single player. Also there will be a map editor, but after multiplayer. Users will be able to decide between Real-World, Fantasy, and their own (custom names for units and buildings) settings for the maps. There will also probably be a campaign editor, but note that this is all in the future, and is optional.

Okay... Remember Warcraft I? That's about what we're going for right now, but when it's finished it should be more or less Starcraft :D.

:) ok let me know this right now witch is more important
vb ddrawloop, or the 3d images cause i dont want to waist time if u know what i mean :cool:

:confused: let me know if i understand this right that u want 3d images to be viewed as 2d :confused:

:eek: when u said that the final product will be like star craft did u mean graphics or the over game style :eek:

I mean the whole game will be DDraw, but the Intro Movie will be rendered with DirectX (cause of all the nifty features), so that's why I need 3D models based off of 2D sprites.

2D images and the DDraw loop are more important.

Sas, I read something about Multiplayer on flipcode or
gamedev.net. Pretty much the warning that I
remember went something along the lines of If you dont
design the code from the beginning with networking in
mind, you will most likely have to rewrite most of the
code to add it. It makes sense, so if we are going to
have multiplayer, we should integrate as the game
progresses, not at the end. Just my 2 cents, but i think
its good advice.

Also, while im at it, I think that we all need to see some
design docs, as soon as possible, so we all know where
we are going, and so we all share a common vision.
WIthout that, the game will be all higgldy piggldy(ahh,
what an expression that is =). Thats 4 cents for you,
there =).

Z.

Sastraxi et al.,

I would be willing to work on the aforementioned manual if you so wish. I can also help with unit, building, and upgrade titles.

Sas, do u wish for the DLL to use direct x to blit (i hope so coz it will be quicker, i shall do the basic function then add some more to blit using a clear color (transparency) and to have fast blit as well)

Multiplay - Build it in as we go, but maybe comment out the parts until we have single player going, not sure there though.

Keep It O-O-P As Much As Possible :D

Yes, and I also want to have it so when you add an hDC or Filename, (such as BlitBottomGameGUI Pic1.hDC) all PURE MAGENTA (255, 0, 255), that colour is transparent.

Can you do that?

ok, this is what i can do so far, u specfy a bitmap file and a direct draw surface, the height, width of the image and it creates the surface from the image.

I got a vb exmaple that does CreateSurfaceFromFile and Fast blitting, i shall stick some code together tomorrow

Right, i have called the DLL System.dll :D Unreal Torny Style :D

Direct X 7 yeah ?

Yes it will be DX7 cuz I dont like the way that they do DDraw (pseudo-ddraw) in DX8. Another Q: How big should the tiles be? They are diamond-shaped, and the screen can be 640x480, 800x600, or 1024x768. What pixel size should the bounding-box be? (actual image size)

that manual to me sounds really nice when u get it i want a copy to help give me a starting point so i dont start at the wrong point

Tomorrow I will be starting the manual (Jorj too) and also be making the development notes (RTF format)

let us know when ur done;)

Was just playing around in paint, and 100x50 seems to be a good Tile BB, at 1024x768. You could scale that down for the other resolutions, as well.

Z.

i would like to know were does every body live thats working in this prog :) :( :o :D ;) :p :cool: :rolleyes: :mad: :eek: :confused:

me from Trivandrum, Kerala, India

:) i need to know the tile size for all screen resolution or a formula i can use to determan it myself. :)
:) i also need the max number of men on the screen :)
:) i also need the max number of buildings there has to be one :)
this will give me some things to play with so i can get started
i have a bunch of things down on paper id like to start on
:) i also need a shape for the tiles :)

Diamond tiles, 100x50 at 1024x768 resolution looks good. The max number of men on screen is the number that can fit =). My big question is why a max on the buildings? If its not on the screen, you could just not draw it (give each building a RECT bounding box, then use the intersectrect API to check it its on the screen).

Z.

... different scales :D

Anyway, um sastraxi, im new to Direct Draw but heres the code i have so far:

vb parameters in brackets

IDirectDrawSurface7* SystemLoadImage(IDirectDraw7 * pdd, LPCSTR szBitmap, int dx, int dy)

pdd = Direct Draw Main Thing (pdd As DirectDraw7)

szBitmap = Filename Of Image (szBitmap As String)

int dx = X Coord To Load From (dx As Integer)

int dy = Y Coord To Load From (dy As Integer)

Ok, note it returns a DirectDrawSurface7 (wahey) so in vb you need to specify a surface for it to goto :D

Then the next one still to do shall BitFast the image to a buffer.

One thing, do u need me to incorporate a CreateSurfaceFromFile function for you or is SystemLoadImage and SystemBitImage ok for you for now ??

Well in the long run, I want to be able to do something like this:

Code:

---

Sub Main()
  Set GUIBlit = New SYSTEMRESOURCE
End Sub

Function BlitGUI()
  'code to load surfaces from hDCs, get them into my own specified surfaces, and blit them to ddraw
End Function

---

Actually I'm no genius with DDraw, whatever way you have to do the thing is fine with me, as long as I am able to use it. :D

To the other team members: How is your stuff going along?

Okay wazupguys, here is some info:

:) We will be using 64x48 for 1024x768 :)
:) The max number of men that can be on the screen (cause of the tiles) is 256 (256 tiles) :)
:) Same as units, there isnt really a max :)
:) In pbrush, draw a line from the centre of the left side to the centre of the top side, then to the right side, then to the bottom side, then back to the right side, and fill the middle in with black. That is what the tile looks like. :)

To Zaei:
No there is no max, nor a max on the troops. I probably will use my own function to find if it's on the screen (cause of diamond the bounding box may be visible but no building). Unlike in games like Warcraft II, where you could have like 100 units, there is no max on troops. Though you can cap it in multiplayer, there isnt any specified max.

Ontario, Canada!!! :D:D:D:D

Actually, an update on that, there will be MORE than 256 units, more like 512 (cause that is rectangular bounding boxes i was counting)

so what have you done with the menu so far?

could you email me the start screen and the menu?

i am not a great artist.. but I'll try to bring up
something interesting!!

You could do a SC style unit cap, with supply buildings (ie protoss pylon lets you get 10 more men, TOW farmhouse leots you get 10 more men =). Or, you could get ecen more realistic, and have farms produce food, and units comsume food. Not enough farms, and units start to die, or desert, etc. Farms could have drought, or blight (or an enemy in a fantasy campaign could cast it =). Just brain storming, fedback is welcome =).

Z.

Another thought along those lines. Barracks for example, would have a training ground. Why not have a barracks "building" take up 2 adjacent tiles, but allow units to walk over the training ground. Same for a farm, but instead, say, a 3x3 tils space, with one for a farm house that units couldnt walk on.

Z.

[edit]
This is why I love working on gameplay =).

hehe... I know what you mean =) (you can tell by the text smiley that I'm talking to Zaei :D)

Anoop007 - I have also made two MIDI files - a small loading one and a small exit one - they took me about 1 1/2 hours to get right :rolleyes: but I think it's worth it!!

hey could u all email anything u have started exept c++ cause i dont understand c++ at all i start that next year :)

I suggest that someone set up a free web site account,
and pass the acct and password around. We could set
up folders for each team member(and/or section), and
they could post any code, or media that should be approved by the team. That way, we can all see what is going on at all times.

Sas could then set up another account that only
he has access to, so he could upload any approved
media for use by the whole team. That will save us
from having some critical piece of code over written, or
something like that, as well as everyone being able to
go to a central location for something.

Z.

ummm ive been trying to playaround with directx7 and it dont want to take the tiles whos up for creating the websight :o :o im trying to move a sprite aroung on it to but that will take some time.

Sas,

I'm completely talentless, and I'm busy with Sentience, but like Arbiter, I'm prepared to offer whatever advice I can. I'm kinda nifty with photoshop too - but bear in mind I don't have a lot of free time. Let me know if I can help...

:D

(Manchester, UK)

Old skool ASCII yo. *crochety grandfather voice* Why,
back in my day, when we wanted to listen to a song,
we didnt have no napsty server gizmos, we had to
browse lists of 500 hundred songs that usually didnt
have what we wanted! AND to make things worse, all
the lists copied, so broken lnks were ALWAYS BROKEN!
::waves curvy walking stink in the air:: SHOW YOUR
ELDERS SOME RESPECT, YOUNG WHIPERSNAPPERS!
*end*

=)

Z.

Ooooookaaaaaaaaaaay...........

Anyways I am getting along well with the GFX, but have a few problems. (800 / 1024) = 0.78125. This is the aspect ratio of the 64x48 tiles from 1024x768 to 800x600. This results in 50 x 37.5. Now, what size should that graphic be?

So here are the SUPPOSED tile sizes:

1024x768 = 64x48
800x600 = 50x37.5 (?)
640x480 = 40x30

I'm just not sure what do do with the 800x600 resolution. Should we leave it out?

I have about 20 tiles done, all for 1024x768, which just basically makes sure that there is no GFX. corruption when resizing them to 50x37 and 40x30.

And aboot :D the tile size thing, I think we should put it to 50x37, because it would be unfair to people that use 800x600 to give them a smaller map view. You guys get it?

I cannot do much on the website, however I am trying my hardest. Schoolwork is getting in the way.

I also got a good idea for the end credits... It should have all of us (the dev. team) being sent to be executed by the king... Kinda like a funny end like in "Whose line is it anyways?" (ever seen that show?!?!)

You could end it like they did in Civ2, with pictures, that get guillotine'd =).

Z.

Little kinda people with snippets of our heads from photos, or Serious Sam style, include us in the game as charachters ?

I got the System.dll done, i just gotta test it with vb and my vb direct x game as ****** up so i have to find a new one on p-s-c.com :D

Oh heck, i shall release it then, plus source for whom require it, along with the vb declares for yow !

Hey Sas. Could you email me the just the BG image for the title screen, if you have it separate? Ive got some ideas Id like to play around with.

Also, ill go and create a quick geocities account for us to upload stuff to, like in my other post.

Z.

Ok, I just set up the geocities account. Email me([email protected]) or Sas for the password. Should we set up the directory structure by person, or by game section? Thanks.

Z.

Zaei - It would help if we knew what the account name is, and also the pword. Or have u emailed me?

I emailed it to you. Security and all that =).

Z.