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BlueCat
05-11-2002, 11:50 AM
I'm working on a game project using OpenGL. I tried GLScene and although it's excellent, I wanted to understand what's going on 'behind the scenes'. At the moment it's just a partially completed game engine, and here's the link you're all waiting for:

terraqueous.f2o.org (htttp://terraqueous.f2o.org)

As you can see, it's not very far from here :D

I'd welcome any suggestions as I just can't seem to come up with a decent game idea

Alimonster
05-11-2002, 11:59 AM
Damnit man, that's the second fouled up link you've done! :lol:

http://terraqueous.f2o.org
Alternatively, have a look at this link (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0764507230/qid=1036497475/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_2/002-5716741-3744864?v=glance&n=507846) instead. :P

P.S. It's lovely.

BlueCat
05-11-2002, 12:01 PM
Ha, I knew you wouldn't miss that one! Who the moderator, YOU the moderator :P

TheLion
05-11-2002, 12:38 PM
Your engine looks very good! I'm looking forward on seeing it evolve! :)

I once tried to write an OpenGL game-engine too, however all I ever did was a terrible map editor and an even more terrible representation in OpenGL... :) I'm not very good at 3D programming! :?

However you ask for a game idea, and I have been walking around with a game-idea stuck in my mind for many many year, but I don't have the skills to let it come out... :) I don't know if you like it and if it is possible to do, but if you look at most of the 3D shooters that came out last year, they all had big battles and invasions, like the invasion on normandy, but what I have missed in all the 3D games in all those years is something like that but then with swords and stuff, like a 3D middle ages sword fighting game or something like that, with an invasion or a crusade... Like the braveheart battles on tv, but than in a 3D game! :)

Allright, keep us posted! ;)

Alimonster
05-11-2002, 03:43 PM
That would be rather cool, TheLion. Are you thinking of something like Shogun: Total War (http://images.google.com/images?q=shogun%3A+total+war&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en)? It's ambitious but certainly doable - check out this article (http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20020531/adams_01.htm) over at Gamasutra (free registration required first).


The origin for the Indie Game Jam was simple: Chris Hecker and Sean Barrett, two of its organizers, were brainstorming game ideas one day and they asked themselves a question: How many sprites can you put on a PC screen with modern display hardware these days? Even fairly aggressive games like Shogun: Total War never display more than about 1000 units at a time. What's the real upper limit? They did some research and came up with an answer: about 100,000.
:)

BlueCat
05-11-2002, 03:47 PM
I love that idea. The AI would be a challenge though, I must get round to learning about flocking algorithms. I do like the idea of thousands of 'players' following very simple rules and seeing how they interact, I think 'emergent behaviour' is the term used.

Alimonster
05-11-2002, 03:59 PM
Yeah, the AI would be tremendously hard. I guess, after a second's thought, that you could create 'groups' of many regiments. These would act "with one mind", as it were, which would take less processor time... with occasional random fluctuations (like a person running away because he's a big sissy). You could simplify the AI for regiments that aren't visible (or possibly run an algo to find the 'most interesting' units, such as those with lead characters, and concentrate on their AI). I'm not an AI guru. If anyone is, feel free to start a topic on this :wink:

I'm tripping over all these links: here's one to Craig Reynolds, the originator of 'boids' (flocking stuff). His site (http://www.red3d.com/research.html) (check out the steering behaviour (http://www.red3d.com/cwr/steer/) examples. They're very nifty.)

TheLion
05-11-2002, 10:44 PM
Yup, I was thinking about something like Shogun, however than in a first-person view, so like Medal of Honor or Duke Nukem, but then without guns and with swords in the Middle Ages or in Japan in the time of the Samurai! :)

Indeed the AI will be hard and the regiment idea would be quite good, however you can start with small groups, say 5 players on each side or even less and build it up...

BlueCat
06-11-2002, 12:19 PM
I'm tripping over all these ]His site[/url] (check out the steering behaviour (http://www.red3d.com/cwr/steer/) examples. They're very nifty.)

Excellent stuff Alimonster, I have to try some of this in my engine. I'd imagine simulating an army's movements has a lot in common with flocking.


Yup, I was thinking about something like Shogun, however than in a first-person view, so like Medal of Honor or Duke Nukem, but then without guns and with swords in the Middle Ages or in Japan in the time of the Samurai!

Indeed the AI will be hard and the regiment idea would be quite good, however you can start with small groups, say 5 players on each side or even less and build it up...

Swords eh? :twisted: Yeah you could have ranks, with you the player at the top level, and then down through the ranks the AI would get stupider right down to the man with the sword :lol:

BlueCat
12-12-2002, 07:41 PM
I've been playing with SDL and I'm using it to open a window and process mouse and keyboard stuff in the game engine.

Not had time to try any AI yet, but I'm still researching :)

I'd like to know if it works for other people so please give it a try at:

http://terraqueous.f2o.org/downloads/v0.06.zip

Thanks

TheLion
12-12-2002, 10:04 PM
I tried it and the graphics work great, however the controls act a bit funny, but that could be just me or it could be your intention...

It's really hard to explain what happens, I got dropped (start) and pressed to the front and I moved faster and faster over the scenery but forward... I don't know if you turn the view with the mouse or just the look and have a fixed moving point at the start...

However the graphics work just fine and quite fast! :)

BlueCat
12-12-2002, 10:25 PM
Thanks Lion,

It is a bit strange isn't it? I've already changed it and will be different in the next version. You can use the 'arrow' keys to move if you prefer and just use the mouse to look around. Also press 'Home' to reset the camera, and 'End' to stop moving :)

Glad it worked for you, proves SDL works if nothing else!!

LiquidIce
13-12-2002, 01:17 AM
Wow very nice!
Runs very fast aswell. Any way to show FPS? (but then agn I have a gf4 ti4600)

Useless Hacker
13-12-2002, 09:18 AM
I tried running it on the college computers (1GHz PIII, 128MB Ram, integrated graphics). It took about two minutes to load, and I got about 2 fps! I'll try it at home later maybe, though I'm hoping to install Linux tonight, so I probably won't have time.

Alimonster
13-12-2002, 09:35 AM
It ran as smooth as a very smooth thing on my kit at home (Geforce2MX 400, Athlon 1.1). Bit hard to control though.

What algos do you use for your game?

[EDIT: Integrated graphics = suck suck suck suck. Except if it's an nForce or something, I guess... but to date, every integrated graphics card I've seen has been pathetically bad.]

BlueCat
14-12-2002, 02:15 PM
Thanks for that!!! :o :o :o

I'm working on the controls!

I'm still trying to think of a decent game idea but it's not something I'm good at. Driving me a little insane at the moment :twisted:

I'll probably be using the day/night thing so you do something in the day to prepare for the night, just don't know what yet :lol: :lol: :lol:

BTW Alimonster: I don't know what you mean by algos but I'm using a frustum class that I 'converted' to delphi from a tutorial in C++ (can't remember which one, I just used the frustum maths bit from the tutorial).

And an octree class that I made in a similar way, it puts all the vertex array stuff in the leaf nodes and can either draw them and store in display lists or draw them 'live' if the terrain needs to be deformable.

Apart from that it's just a textured heightmap and more home made functions!!

Alimonster
14-12-2002, 02:51 PM
BTW Alimonster: I don't know what you mean by algos but I'm using a frustum class that I 'converted' to delphi from a tutorial in C++ (can't remember which one, I just used the frustum maths bit from the tutorial).

And an octree class that I made in a similar way, it puts all the vertex array stuff in the leaf nodes and can either draw them and store in display lists or draw them 'live' if the terrain needs to be deformable.

Apart from that it's just a textured heightmap and more home made functions!!
That's what I was asking about, but I couldn't think of the correct term. Btw, I may be able to throw a crazy idea or two your way for a game story - I'll see what I can come up with. :idea:

BlueCat
15-12-2002, 11:23 AM
Btw, I may be able to throw a crazy idea or two your way for a game story - I'll see what I can come up with. :idea:

I'll look forward to that :D