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WILL
17-06-2011, 07:26 AM
This thread is made if you have any questions or need clarification of the rules/theme or if you have to ask a judge something about his system to ensure that your entry will run on all our systems.

If you don't know and you need a question answered, ask here. We will try to help you as best as we can.

Ñuño Martínez
17-06-2011, 08:19 AM
Rules says
All competitors must register to compete.That means PGD registration, doesn't it?

WILL
17-06-2011, 09:13 AM
Rules says That means PGD registration, doesn't it?
In this sense registration means the uploading of your information in your readme file.

paul_nicholls
17-06-2011, 09:23 AM
Question: I'm curious, would programs written using Pascal that then run in a C64 emulator (provided of course) be considered a valid competition entry for this compo?

cheers,
Paul

WILL
17-06-2011, 09:27 AM
Question: I'm curious, would programs written using Pascal that then run in a C64 emulator (provided of course) be considered a valid competition entry for this compo?

Everything must be included to run on a Win32 or Mac OS X system. You would need to include an emulator to run your game, but at that point so much is not your own work and it would be a needless step when you could just make a game that is native to Windows or Mac.

paul_nicholls
17-06-2011, 09:37 AM
Everything must be included to run on a Win32 or Mac OS X system. You would need to include an emulator to run your game, but at that point so much is not your own work and it would be a needless step when you could just make a game that is native to Windows or Mac.

Cool, no worries...I was just curious :)

paul_nicholls
17-06-2011, 09:39 AM
In this sense registration means the uploading of your information in your readme file.


So, do we have to do this before we start?
What has to go in the registration readme file?
Do we just upload it to the ftp site?


cheers,
Paul

WILL
17-06-2011, 10:02 AM
So, do we have to do this before we start?
What has to go in the registration readme file?
Do we just upload it to the ftp site?


Sorry for the confusion. I have updated the rules under the term REGISTRATION.

It now also reads...

To register all you must do is include a simple readme file in your submission archive or installer. It should contain your name and contact information (email address) and a basic set of instructions on how to play your game. You can include any other information you deem fit with regards to your game as it will be visible to others who try your games after the competition as well.

As long as this readme file is included with your submission at the end of the competition, you are fine. You can however post whatever project plan or design documents you like online in this forum as inspiration or a means of showing off your own creative process.

Ñuño Martínez
17-06-2011, 10:06 AM
That clarifies the process. Much better. :)

paul_nicholls
17-06-2011, 11:08 AM
Thanks Jason, that is definitely much clearer :)

cheers,
Paul

WILL
17-06-2011, 06:29 PM
I'll be around tonight, but I'll be gone all day Saturday (going to see Green Lantern and X-Men: First Class in the city) so if you have any dire questions that need answering sooner than later, be sure to ask away tonight. :)

Cybermonkey
19-06-2011, 04:41 PM
Just a question for how to use an engine. I developed an engine which is rather for general use. (Based on SDL). Now I made every function accessable to Lua. So the engine is written in FreePascal. Can I commit a game which is entirely written in Lua except the engine? If not, it's also possible to use the engine in Pascal, but development is a bit slower ... ::)

WILL
21-06-2011, 02:26 AM
Just a question for how to use an engine. I developed an engine which is rather for general use. (Based on SDL). Now I made every function accessable to Lua. So the engine is written in FreePascal. Can I commit a game which is entirely written in Lua except the engine? If not, it's also possible to use the engine in Pascal, but development is a bit slower ... ::)

Well how thick is your Object Pascal layer? If we are talking just mapping the Lua language to the same command for Object Pascal, then I'm not sure, but that would feel like a bit of a cheat.

Cybermonkey
21-06-2011, 10:01 AM
Okay, posts seem to work now. Thanks a lot.
Yes, it is a layer, so all functions are actually implemented in Pascal (but they are themselves a layer to SDL ;)). But anyway, I will do the game in Pascal using my engine ... (Well, at least I can do the prototyping via Lua and port it to Pascal).

SilverWarior
21-06-2011, 06:09 PM
Where can I found some free decent sound effects for my game. Mostly I would need sounds for tanks, jeeps, various weapons etc.

Ñuño Martínez
22-06-2011, 08:17 AM
Just to be sure: Sources should be written in English?

Also: I plan to use the engine used by the Allegro's demo game with a lot of changes. Any problem with it?

WILL
22-06-2011, 01:12 PM
Where can I found some free decent sound effects for my game. Mostly I would need sounds for tanks, jeeps, various weapons etc.
There are lots of places online, just give a google for "free" or "royalty free" sound effects. SoundDogs.com (http://www.sounddogs.com/) is a good one. If you need music there is also RoyaltyFreeMusic.com (http://www.royaltyfreemusic.com/free-music-loops.html) and incompetech.com (http://incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free/). Which I've used myself for a few of my own projects. Don't find anything there, just keep looking for other sites. There is a whole bunch of them just make sure you have the rights to use it by contacting the owners of the music you download. Oh and don't forget about SoundCloud.com (http://www.soundcloud.com/) too!


Just to be sure: Sources should be written in English?
Well if you want to release your source with your entry to increase interest in Object Pascal games or your Allegro.pas library, I'd suggest it. Otherwise all your comments in your code can be Martian for all the judges will care. ;)


Also: I plan to use the engine used by the Allegro's demo game with a lot of changes. Any problem with it?
That's fine. I consider this kind of like reusing an existing engine written in Object Pascal and modifying it to become your own game anyhow. The rules allow for such development.

Ñuño Martínez
22-06-2011, 01:39 PM
There are lots of places online, just give a google for "free" or "royalty free" sound effects. SoundDogs.com (http://www.sounddogs.com/) is a good one. If you need music there is also RoyaltyFreeMusic.com (http://www.royaltyfreemusic.com/free-music-loops.html) and incompetech.com (http://incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free/). Which I've used myself for a few of my own projects. Don't find anything there, just keep looking for other sites. There is a whole bunch of them just make sure you have the rights to use it by contacting the owners of the music you download. Oh and don't forget about SoundCloud.com (http://www.soundcloud.com/) too!
Also OpenGameArt.com (http://www.opengameart.org/) has some music and sound effects.

I can't find a lot of MIDI music. I know, it's obsolete blah, blah, blah... but MIDI is cool: you can change a lot of parameters while playing (including the instrument!) and I love all that old beeps and fussss... I think I need a MIDI sequencer.

SilverWarior
22-06-2011, 02:39 PM
Guys thank you for your quick replies.
I did tried to search the web for some free sound effects but I didn't find a single page wich would provide me with decent sound effect wich are free. Currently I'm not prepared to pay aprox 3$ just for a single sound effect, maybe later if I decide to make this game comercialy available.


I can't find a lot of MIDI music. I know, it's obsolete blah, blah, blah... but MIDI is cool: you can change a lot of parameters while playing (including the instrument!) and I love all that old beeps and fussss... I think I need a MIDI sequencer.

I partially agree with you. MIDI's alows you to quicky get something compleetly different just by changing a few parameters, disabling a chanel etc. But the one thing I don't like with MIDI's is that they doesn't sound the same when played on some modern computer that they sounded on some old computer. So if I'm gonna include some music in one of my games I will probably use module music files like Impulse tracker music files.
The base concept in moodule music files is very similar to MIDI files except that instead of unstruments smal sound samples are used. And by changing sample's playing frequency you get similar effect than different tones of instrument. Also the module music files support a bunch of different effects wich can be easily used for each sound your need whenever you need.
For playing module music files in delphi there is a verry powerful component named BASS wich not only supports playing of module music files but also most other popular music files like MP3, MP2, MP1, OGG, WAV, AIFF etc. There is posibility to extend support to other formats with the help of plugins. The component itself has multiplatform support (Win32, OSX, Linux) and comes with C/C++, Delphi, Visual Basic, and MASM APIs.
For more information on component visit their homepage at http://www.un4seen.com/

Cybermonkey
22-06-2011, 02:43 PM
Where can I found some free decent sound effects for my game. Mostly I would need sounds for tanks, jeeps, various weapons etc.
I can recommend (if you want to have some retro sounds) the software on this page: http://www.drpetter.se/project_sfxr.html
Absolutely easy to use and creates some nice effects.

paul_nicholls
22-06-2011, 10:48 PM
I can recommend (if you want to have some retro sounds) the software on this page: http://www.drpetter.se/project_sfxr.html
Absolutely easy to use and creates some nice effects.

AMEN! :D

cheers,
Paul

SuperMaximo93
23-06-2011, 03:09 PM
This might be a silly question, but does the game have to be able to run on all of the judges' systems?

Traveler
23-06-2011, 07:49 PM
Having been a judge in a previous competition and a competitor in others I would say that each judge needs to have the possibility of judging an entry on at least one configuration owned by a judge. If is it not possible for a judge to play an entry at all, then that entry would not be scored by that judge. (This in fact has happened in previous competitions.)

WILL
23-06-2011, 08:04 PM
This might be a silly question, but does the game have to be able to run on all of the judges' systems?
All, no. At least one per judge, yes!

We have all the available systems for you to target as a convenience, but you really only have to make your game for at least one that each judge will be able to play so that we can score the games.

If you do make more than one port (Win32 and OS X just for example) it might help should one of our systems have an issue with a version of OpenGL that you are using or something like that. If the other port works fine for that judge with the issue, then the other port kinda saves you. So it can help, but it's not necessary.

I'd however, like to offer should anyone be unsure and concerned that one of our systems might not run your game. Upload it somewhere and ask me to try it. I'm sure Stoney would mind either as long as it's not several versions from everyone. That might be a bit time consuming. :P


Also we shouldn't have to install anything other than your game it's self to be able to play it. This last part is so that it's fair for the judges who have to play 10 or 20+ games and don't have a huge mess on our systems at the end of it. Doesn't hurt to keep the judges happy with a friendly installer or simple zip file either. ;)

SuperMaximo93
23-06-2011, 09:27 PM
Cool, just the answer I was hoping for :) Thanks!

Ñuño Martínez
24-06-2011, 08:44 AM
Also we shouldn't have to install anything other than your game it's self to be able to play it. This last part is so that it's fair for the judges who have to play 10 or 20+ games and don't have a huge mess on our systems at the end of it. Doesn't hurt to keep the judges happy with a friendly installer or simple zip file either. ;) This makes me think.

Actually I decided to work in Windows so I'm sure the judges will be able to play my game (even Linux and MacOS can run Windows applications using WineHQ (http://www.winehq.org/), and Allegro does work using Wine with almost no problems). So my package will include the DLL file used by Allegro, no problem about this.

But what about Linux systems? POSIX systems "needs" to install and configure the libraries to make them available for applications. Allegro includes optimizations for a lot of different system configurations so the best is to compile and install it instead of just copy some "dot s o files".

It isn't a real question, just a comment.

Ñuño Martínez
24-06-2011, 08:54 AM
The base concept in moodule music files is very similar to MIDI files except that instead of unstruments smal sound samples are used. And by changing sample's playing frequency you get similar effect than different tones of instrument. Also the module music files support a bunch of different effects wich can be easily used for each sound your need whenever you need. I have an advantage: Allegro includes it's own MIDI driver (http://allegro-pas.sourceforge.net/wiki/doku.php?id=digmid_driver) (was added because Linux' sound drivers have native MIDI support only if the sound card supports it). The advantage is that this driver needs sound samples to work, so it's similar to the MOD you're talking about, so it sounds the same in all computers, you can configure Allegro in a way that it overrides the system's MIDI driver even if it has "native" MIDI support. Also you can define your own "sound palette" just modifying the samples to use.

That's one thing I love. :D

Stoney
24-06-2011, 10:08 AM
But what about Linux systems? POSIX systems "needs" to install and configure the libraries to make them available for applications. Allegro includes optimizations for a lot of different system configurations so the best is to compile and install it instead of just copy some "dot s o files".


Since I'm the only judge with a Linux partition: I actually don't mind compiling a few libraries or compiling your game on Linux if needs be. (But there should be some kind of makefile or build script.)
If you decide to package an additional Linux version I'll definitely try to run your game and "compiling something" won't be an obstacle.

WILL
24-06-2011, 01:38 PM
But what about Linux systems?
I do not have Linux installed so you wouldn't get any points from me if you make it Linux only unfortunately.

This is also part of the problem I've found with Linux, it's not very user friendly despite the Ubuntu team's best efforts it's still just a very polished version of an OS designed for programmers and network geeks. Most people will not use Linux even today because of this and I've lost interest in it since I've come to discover how nice Mac OS X is. I'm not saying that Linux is bad, just that I have no personal interest in it because of it's design issues.

code_glitch
24-06-2011, 03:24 PM
Ah. Hem. This is a problem: what if your game used to run on windows but now runs on anything except windows?

A latest code hack in the engine to do with threading and arrays has had no effect on the breed of nix based operating systems Mac OS, Ubuntu etc. However windows seems to manage memory in a more illogical way and now refuses to run - gdb says nothing is wrong except for the 400 odd runtime and memory access violations per second. The worst part being GDB is anything but helpful in diagnosing anything...

Traveler
24-06-2011, 06:01 PM
Ehh, that is a rhetorical question right? ;)

WILL
25-06-2011, 12:39 AM
Could always just install Lazarus on a Windows machine. That's what I'm practically forced to do with the poor state of Object Pascal development on the Mac.

code_glitch
26-06-2011, 07:50 AM
Wait a sec there will, you do know that the largest (historically speaking) user of pascal and longest time supporter is Apple right? I mean, object pascal was their main implementation language for one very long time indeed.

WILL
26-06-2011, 07:13 PM
Yeah well look that Apple has done for Object Pascal lately? :P

I agree that Apple was the mecca of all Pascal coding back in the early 80s, but things have changed. Now it's a royal pain. I'm hoping that with the announcement from Embarcadero's next Delphi version and the efforts of the Lazarus team this changes drastically in the next year or so.

Ingemar
01-07-2011, 02:10 AM
Yeah well look that Apple has done for Object Pascal lately? :P

I agree that Apple was the mecca of all Pascal coding back in the early 80s, but things have changed. Now it's a royal pain. I'm hoping that with the announcement from Embarcadero's next Delphi version and the efforts of the Lazarus team this changes drastically in the next year or so.

I enjoy my FPC programming on the Mac these days, but that is, of course, thanks to the FPC team, not Apple. I even enjoy Cocoa programming now that I don't have to use Objective C!

But for the challenge, that doesn't matter, I don't use any (visible) Cocoa at all so far. I work though GLUT. I intend to switch to my own Cocoa-based API when I have time, but that won't happen until after the challenge has ended. Not much time left but I am still trying.

WILL
01-07-2011, 03:46 AM
I enjoy my FPC programming on the Mac these days, but that is, of course, thanks to the FPC team, not Apple. I even enjoy Cocoa programming now that I don't have to use Objective C!

You know, it would be really nice to have some kind of tutorials or a column or a blog dedicated just to Mac programming for Object/Objective-Pascal programmers. Maybe you'd be up to writing something for the rest of us converts and newbies after the challenge too? I know I'd be more than happy to publish a series of articles dedicated to Mac development with FPC in Pascal Gamer. :)

Ingemar
01-07-2011, 07:55 AM
You know, it would be really nice to have some kind of tutorials or a column or a blog dedicated just to Mac programming for Object/Objective-Pascal programmers. Maybe you'd be up to writing something for the rest of us converts and newbies after the challenge too? I know I'd be more than happy to publish a series of articles dedicated to Mac development with FPC in Pascal Gamer. :)

I have lots of material for such a column. I would love to give that a try.

If I'm productive enough now, I might even finish my challenge entry and then I can write about that as a start.

WILL
04-07-2011, 11:53 PM
Here is a change. I have a question for everyone; Is the July 10th going to put anyone in trouble of finishing their entry?

I noticed a few people have mentioned that they thought they'd have until the 17th instead of the 10th. Does this mean you've cut your time too short? Would an extra 7 days make all the difference? Please let me know what the difference means to you.

dazappa
05-07-2011, 12:11 AM
Here is a change. I have a question for everyone; Is the July 10th going to put anyone in trouble of finishing their entry?

I noticed a few people have mentioned that they thought they'd have until the 17th instead of the 10th. Does this mean you've cut your time too short? Would an extra 7 days make all the difference? Please let me know what the difference means to you.
I'd be able to finish by the 10th, but an extra 7 days won't hurt. It'd let me design more levels (and a new level type or two) and some additional effects and baddies. I haven't yet designed an in game tutorial, and I don't know if I can fit that in the current deadline.

(Also, happy independence day to any other american folks!)

paul_nicholls
05-07-2011, 12:21 AM
Here is a change. I have a question for everyone; Is the July 10th going to put anyone in trouble of finishing their entry?

I noticed a few people have mentioned that they thought they'd have until the 17th instead of the 10th. Does this mean you've cut your time too short? Would an extra 7 days make all the difference? Please let me know what the difference means to you.

The 17th would make a huge difference for me...anything I produce by the 10th will be very simple and not have much besides some gameplay :)

This is just because I have been very busy with life (work, family, trying to sell house to buy other house) + getting over a nasty cold, not because I thought it was the 17th and not the 10th as the competition ending date ;)

cheers,
Paul

pstudio
05-07-2011, 12:31 AM
I originally had the 17th as the deadline in my head. An extra 7 days would definitely make a huge difference for me, but if 10th is the date then that's just how it is.

paul_nicholls
05-07-2011, 01:36 AM
I originally had the 17th as the deadline in my head. An extra 7 days would definitely make a huge difference for me, but if 10th is the date then that's just how it is.

Yeah, if the 10th is it then it is it :D

I can live with that...

cheer,
Paul

Traveler
05-07-2011, 08:21 AM
I'm good for the 10th. Additional time would go in more gameplay features, more enemies and levels. Perhaps a different score system

cairnswm
05-07-2011, 05:05 PM
The very original post said the 17th. All other posts have said the 10th. (The 10th is tight for me due to other commitments but I'll do my best)

pstudio
05-07-2011, 05:56 PM
So can we get an official decision from Will? Will it be the 10th or the 17th?

WILL
05-07-2011, 09:55 PM
Ok, I'm going to extend it until the 17th. It seems that it would benefit most of the teams working on games.

This gives you all 1 extra week to complete your entries. Don't waste it! :)

Speaking of which, has anyone tried to connect to the FTP server to see that it works for them? It would be a shame to not be able to upload your entry after getting an extra week to complete everything.

paul_nicholls
05-07-2011, 10:22 PM
Nice! Thanks Jason :)

I did connect to the FTP the very first day and it seemed to work for me :)

I didn't upload anything though to test that...

cheers,
Pau

WILL
05-07-2011, 10:26 PM
I'm glad you connected to the FTP ok. Just the same I'd be happy to see something uploaded to be sure it's working. Maybe a simple small text file from a couple of people as a test?

paul_nicholls
05-07-2011, 10:39 PM
I'm glad you connected to the FTP ok. Just the same I'd be happy to see something uploaded to be sure it's working. Maybe a simple small text file from a couple of people as a test?

I just uploaded a test.txt file and it seemed to work :)

cheers,
Paul

WILL
06-07-2011, 02:05 AM
Seems to work ok.

Ñuño Martínez
06-07-2011, 07:46 AM
So I think I can finish the game (by July 10th I can finish only a demo concept). Yahooooooo!!! :D

Traveler
06-07-2011, 07:54 AM
Nice! One week extra. :)

SuperMaximo93
06-07-2011, 10:31 AM
Another question, does a pause button count towards the eight button limit?

WILL
06-07-2011, 12:11 PM
Another question, does a pause button count towards the eight button limit?
Yes. Assume you are using a controller with only a d-pad and 4 other buttons. You may assume they are laid out any way you want however. So it can be like an old NES or Genesis controller if you like. But only 8 buttons total, d-pad included.

code_glitch
06-07-2011, 03:46 PM
OMG thanks a ton... Lately I've had little time to do squat, block days, german exchange students, particle physics talks, music showcases, end of year work, coursework. You name it :)

dazappa
06-07-2011, 06:40 PM
How should we submit multiple builds of our games via the FTP? I need Mac/Win builds minimum (because I don't know if I can trust your netbook to run my entry decently, Will! [and you don't have Windows installed on your Mac]). Should I create a folder and the archives per platform inside? Or have them all in one archive?

Ingemar
06-07-2011, 08:50 PM
So I think I can finish the game (by July 10th I can finish only a demo concept). Yahooooooo!!! :D

I have the same problem, but I might have to finish on or near the 10th anyway, for holiday reasons, so it will probably be a demo/proof of concept/alpha kind of submission. All games I ever made needed a lot of afterthoughts and redesigns anyway.

WILL
06-07-2011, 09:27 PM
How should we submit multiple builds of our games via the FTP? I need Mac/Win builds minimum (because I don't know if I can trust your netbook to run my entry decently, Will! [and you don't have Windows installed on your Mac]). Should I create a folder and the archives per platform inside? Or have them all in one archive?
If you want to release 2 ports of your game then just upload one archive for each of them. The nice thing about Mac is that you can make virtual disks that zip up great. ;)

Just name them like so:
dazappa_win32.rar and dazappa_osx.zip

...for example. Use whatever compression or naming convention you feel works best.

If you want the judges to try out a copy before hand you could even add on X_win32_testbuild01.zip to the filename for example and then put X_win32_final.zip for your last one. This way if you forget to remove your previous one, we know which to judge for the final.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You can delete any of the files on the FTP, however I would warn against deleting files unless it is absolutely nessissary due to the off chance that you or your FTP client makes a mistake and deletes someone else's files. You cannot replace those for them and it causes trouble for them to re-upload another copy.

dazappa
06-07-2011, 10:37 PM
Hm, I think I will probably try to put up a test build on the 10th or so then.

Ingemar
07-07-2011, 05:17 AM
Another question, does a pause button count towards the eight button limit?

This is a problem, but logical. A problem since it is a drawback to make a game that can't be paused. Should I give up some of the bonus points for that? Tricky.

WILL
07-07-2011, 07:20 PM
This is a problem, but logical. A problem since it is a drawback to make a game that can't be paused. Should I give up some of the bonus points for that? Tricky.
Take into account the categories that your game is scored on too. A part of the scoring will be on effective use of controls as well. :)

Traveler
07-07-2011, 08:12 PM
You know, you can easily solve this problem by using a menu with a resume option.

WILL
10-07-2011, 09:44 PM
I guess I should note that the highest OpenGL my Mac supports is 2.1. I can only support some of the features of 3.0. I used GLview and it told me a few things. Such as 8196x8196 sized textures are A-OK on my iMac rig. :)

Ingemar
10-07-2011, 10:28 PM
I guess I should note that the highest OpenGL my Mac supports is 2.1. I can only support some of the features of 3.0. I used GLview and it told me a few things. Such as 8196x8196 sized textures are A-OK on my iMac rig. :)
I hope that will change in 10.7, but for now we have to use 2.1. It is possible to code very 3-ish on 2.1 though.

WILL
11-07-2011, 03:13 AM
Well I can tell you that I am able to execute some buffering commands from 3, but it's only a small handful of functions.

Actually, here is the full report...

Ingemar
11-07-2011, 06:32 AM
You know, you can easily solve this problem by using a menu with a resume option.

But not mouse-driven, right?

SuperMaximo93
11-07-2011, 06:59 AM
I guess I should note that the highest OpenGL my Mac supports is 2.1. I can only support some of the features of 3.0. I used GLview and it told me a few things. Such as 8196x8196 sized textures are A-OK on my iMac rig. :)

What about your XP partition? I might be able to compile for Mac but I won't be able to test it (but one day... one day... :P)

WILL
11-07-2011, 12:09 PM
But not mouse-driven, right?
Nope, no mouse. :)

The 'PGDmC Entertainment System' doesn't support a mouse accessory at this time. And like the Wii U, will only come with 1 controller. :P


What about your XP partition? I might be able to compile for Mac but I won't be able to test it (but one day... one day... :P)
Well it can run games quite well for win32. I'm able to have a nice session of Age of Empires III on it without issue for example. And it's not really a partition as it's a VM running via Parallels 6 for Mac. I guess I should give GLview a run on it too, maybe after I get home from work.

Ingemar
14-07-2011, 01:48 PM
I just ran into a question. My game now includes a level editor, so I can interactively edit some aspects of the game (checkpoint placement, additions objects). The game itself, including game menus, is controlled by a bare minimum of controls, but the level editor uses a number of extra keys.

My question: Do I need to disable the editor in order to qualify for the lower number of keys?

paul_nicholls
14-07-2011, 08:45 PM
I just ran into a question. My game now includes a level editor, so I can interactively edit some aspects of the game (checkpoint placement, additions objects). The game itself, including game menus, is controlled by a bare minimum of controls, but the level editor uses a number of extra keys.

My question: Do I need to disable the editor in order to qualify for the lower number of keys?

My guess is that if the level editor is completely separate from your game, then that is fine - as long as the game itself uses a minimum number of controls :)

Still an official answer would be good too LOL

cheers,
Paul

WILL
14-07-2011, 10:06 PM
I just ran into a question. My game now includes a level editor, so I can interactively edit some aspects of the game (checkpoint placement, additions objects). The game itself, including game menus, is controlled by a bare minimum of controls, but the level editor uses a number of extra keys.

My question: Do I need to disable the editor in order to qualify for the lower number of keys?
Well most game developers make an editor to develop their game's content. This is ok, as long as the 'game' conforms to the rules. So the editor won't be considered in the scoring of the final entry as long as it's separate from the game executable it's self.

However for the sake of sharing, we will not penalize you if you include it with your release so that others may try it out and play with it.

Ingemar
14-07-2011, 10:30 PM
Well most game developers make an editor to develop their game's content. This is ok, as long as the 'game' conforms to the rules. So the editor won't be considered in the scoring of the final entry as long as it's separate from the game executable it's self.

However for the sake of sharing, we will not penalize you if you include it with your release so that others may try it out and play with it.

Well, it is not separate from the game executable, but then I guess I have my answer.

Ñuño Martínez
15-07-2011, 07:45 AM
Another question about buttons. My game is an arcade, I mean that I design it as it will run in one on those coin-eater machines. Does the "Insert Coin" and "Player 1/Start" button count as "button"?

I think I can't finish the game so I'll not add a "Player 2", but if I add it, does it count?

Ingemar
15-07-2011, 09:00 AM
Another question about buttons. My game is an arcade, I mean that I design it as it will run in one on those coin-eater machines. Does the "Insert Coin" and "Player 1/Start" button count as "button"?

I think I can't finish the game so I'll not add a "Player 2", but if I add it, does it count?
From what has been said above, I think should count. I am controlling my game menus by the same keys as I play the game just to keep the count down.

WILL
15-07-2011, 03:33 PM
Another question about buttons. My game is an arcade, I mean that I design it as it will run in one on those coin-eater machines. Does the "Insert Coin" and "Player 1/Start" button count as "button"?

I think I can't finish the game so I'll not add a "Player 2", but if I add it, does it count?
To be honest I didn't think about a 2nd or even 3rd and 4th controller for extra players. Wish I did. :)

The concept is that your game should play as if it's running on a custom made console and there are only a set standard of buttons on the controller that you can use. So your game has to function as this fictitious console is designed based around it's controller. Hence all the buttons you have are on the controller it's self this includes all the ones you need to run the game.

What you could do is, in true arcade form, just have the 2nd player take turns with the 1st player in trying to complete levels in your game.

WILL
15-07-2011, 03:36 PM
Well, it is not separate from the game executable, but then I guess I have my answer.
A simple solution to this is to have the editor disabled for the competition version. Or you could have it activated via a DOS-style parameter or whatever is similar on the Mac.

Something important to note is that we are judging how the entires function or preform, not how you coded them. You can have all kinds of disabled code in your entry as long as it "functions" as specified in the rules.

After the competition, we all highly encourage each team to re-release your games with whatever missing features you would have liked to put it due to rule restrictions. I personally highly encourage you to put in a little label for the games you'd like to continue developing as a "PGD Challenge Version" or some-such. This allows you to clairify to those fan of yours that this was specific version was made for a competition and any future versions are completely of your own design and vision. :)

Ingemar
16-07-2011, 09:20 AM
I just tried the "Ascii3D" game by Peter Hearnshaw. Very retro, works perfectly... but is there a thread for that game? I don't know where to discuss it.

Ingemar
16-07-2011, 07:52 PM
Exactly when is the deadline - I mean, in what time, so I can translate to swedish time?

Winwardo
16-07-2011, 08:15 PM
I just tried the "Ascii3D" game by Peter Hearnshaw. Very retro, works perfectly... but is there a thread for that game? I don't know where to discuss it.

On this, Peter is a friend at my school, I don't think he has an account on the website, so a thread would probably have to be set up for him. He built the game over last weekend because he was bored and he finally caved in to us bugging him to enter this contest.

WILL
16-07-2011, 10:06 PM
Excellent! It would be great if Peter were to join the community as well. Your teacher speaks so highly of you guys. :)

What do you guys think of these competitions anyhow? Any ideas for us to help attract more 'younger' minds to the Pascal game dev community?

Ingemar
17-07-2011, 07:01 AM
What do you guys think of these competitions anyhow? Any ideas for us to help attract more 'younger' minds to the Pascal game dev community?
That is important, and tricky, but maybe making entries that are good examples and sharing the code?

I am fairly experienced, and a teacher myself, so I hope I can rather encourage than outperform the young participants. Participating is important for me too, I want to make sure that I know the subject well enough to do what I ask my students to do. (I only feel sorry for them that they don't know FPC. It is so much easier with a good language.)

Ingemar
19-07-2011, 07:14 AM
The FTP site seems to be closed. Pity, I wanted to get the games that arrived at the end. So, how many submissions were there in the end?

Ñuño Martínez
19-07-2011, 08:31 AM
Will announced here (http://www.pascalgamedevelopment.com/showthread.php?9122-Article-1st-PGD-Challenge-Simple-Controller&p=59784&viewfull=1#post59784). ;)