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Exceptional Journals (in no order): [Eliwood] [Steve Healy] [Ravuya] [Mark the Artist] [Scet] [Ysaneya] [Mayan Obsidian]
My Personal Website
| Saturday, October 29, 2005 |
 Star of Shadows RPG release! |
Posted - 10/29/2005 10:51:36 PM | The last few days were spent on finishing up and releasing (finally!) the 0.02 internal release of the RPG I'm developing at GU, Star of Shadows. The release shows off the nifty scripting engine I've written, and a fun little test town with a couple of mildly entertaining quests/NPCs to show off its capabilities so far.
The release post can be found here. And a direct download here.
Any comments, ranging from finding it amusing to downright abysmal, are welcome. I see the viewcount go up on my journal, but not many comments lately to support it. ;)

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| Wednesday, October 26, 2005 |
 Level generation 'theorydemo' |
Posted - 10/26/2005 3:26:51 PM | I've already acknowledged that level generation for DoA9 (Downfall of Argos 9 -- new project for those of you tuning in :P) will be one of the most difficult systems of the game. The levels must not only be random, but interesting. That key requisite will probably prove to be the most challenging part of the whole game, since it will rely on it to truly be 'fun'.
Today (in class, mind you!) I wrote up some nice pseudo-algorithms for the generation of rooms. It's based off of some methods I've seen used in roguelikes frequently, but with its own unique features that will hopefully conquer the boring, empty dungeon rooms that traditional roguelikes face.
This hurdle of level generation is going to be tackled before starting on the actual game programming, since I want to be sure of this method before I engrave it with C++ code. Over the next days (weeks, years; however long it takes) I'll be writing a theorydemo -- not a techdemo :P -- with C# of my level generation method. It will encompass far less detail than the actual game, but from its output I'll be able to see how I can improve it to make levels genuinely interesting to explore, and evade the pitfalls of monotony.
When I have something functional (and thus visible) I'll post some screenshots from the theorydemo and explain how the generation will work. I'm sure that if I were to post politely on the forum I'd be able to grab the interest of veteran level-generator-programmers lounging about GD.NET, and get some feedback for improvement.
To the IDE!
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| Tuesday, October 25, 2005 |
 Big update. |
Posted - 10/25/2005 7:59:28 PM | Big update. Lots to talk about. :)
(Oh, and I've removed the reddish template. I just wasn't enjoying it much on my eyes, and I'm sure that I wasn't alone. :P)
//------------------------
The Movie
Going to go see DooM this Friday (or Saturday) with Dean "Draffurd", after his long months spent at university. He's the artist behind all of our games, and keeps the team afloat. I've heard lots of good things about the movie, so it's bound to be a blast.
//------------------------
The FEAR
After hearing much raving (yes, I hear a lot of stuff :P) I finally downloaded the demo for F.E.A.R., and I'm massively impressed. The game looks gorgeous, and the gameplay is quite impressive as well. It's nice to notice and identify 3D graphical effects from a programmer perspective after a couple of years using OpenGL, such as the awesome shadow volumes, specular highlighting, bump mapping, and other beauties. FEAR manages to put this all together and also bring an enticing storyline (thus far!) and plenty of interesting gameplay quirks that have made the (rather short) demo a wonderful experience. It's a bit sluggish on my 1.8ghz, but once I get myself a new computer I'm going to head out to the local EB Games and nab myself a copy.
//------------------------
The Game Project
With Magma Duel hitting the backburner, a new project is hitting primetime. Me and Draffurd have been mauling over the idea of this game since February, and it's about time to bring it into creation. The title is 'Downfall of Argos 9', taking place in an underground complex on a remote planet fairly far from earth. Here's the overview of the game:
Quote:| This game will take on the form of an overhead 2D shooter with the style of an action game combined with the seldom seen elements of a roguelike game. More specifically, every level in the game will be generated randomly, as well as nearly every item/weapon/object assigned random effects and values. This will create a twitch game with a high replayability, which will be 1-2 players. |
This is only the story's first revision, so excuse some excessive lameness:
Quote:| The year is 2029, and you are an elite member of the government covert/assault ops team, codenamed the ‘Black Cats’. The distant planet of Argos 9, on a research complex, has been pushing out marvels of technology in secret for the last 14 years. Then the unthinkable: a secretive artificial intelligence research experiment gone wrong: an AI finally capable of self-thought has been created, powered on a massive supercomputer created and funded by the Earth government. Realizing its ideal goals achievable through destruction of other intelligent creatures, the AI adopted malevolent intentions immediately and seized control of the various security/maintenance robotics in the facility and killed off the bulk of the members that were not scientists, and began on advancing its own power by using the remaining scientists. Using its power, the AI dug the facility underground by a hundred kilometers and solidified itself there to ensure its own safety. Then it began the process of creating an army by both genetically engineering soldiers, as well as tricking humans into joining its side. Not to mention cultivating other humans to use as bases for its genetic creations. It is now known that the AI supercomputer wishes to assume power over Earth after its power has fully taken Argos 9, and so you – among the other Black Cat members – have been sent into this facility to neutralize the threat covertly. Or noisily with brute force if all else fails. The facility has a massive variety of areas within it, being as it was generated by a computer, so be prepared to encounter anything. |
As indicated by the last sentence implies, most of the game content will be procedurally generated on the fly. Levels will be created randomly, for a unique experience every time. A summarization of the game clarifies this:
Quote:| Nearly every aspect of the game is generated on demand by the various generators inside the game. Maps will be created and populated with enemies, items, and features as they venture down future into the seemingly endless structure. All items in the game will be flexible, in the sense that the user can interact with them on a physical and dynamic level. For example, a player (or enemy) could pick up a table and throw it at someone else, or use it to block a door from opening (or closing). Obstacles such as locked doors, unique enemies, and mechanical hazards will slow down the player(s) progress while adding fun elements to the game. |
The design document is somewhat vague at this point, but it will progress as the game's own development does the same.
DoA9 (Downfall of Argos 9) will be written in C++ using SDL for input, sound, and graphics initialization, and OpenGL for the game's graphics. I'm aiming to keep the system requirements down, so no fancy shader effects and the likes will be present. I'll manage to keep the game graphically enticing, however, by other means. :)
//------------------------
The Conclusion
Kudos to anyone who bothered to read the whole thing. Any general interest expressed for DoA9 is both appreciated and inspiring. This will be easily the largest project I've ever taken on, and motivation is a commodity that will be in high demand. I hope I can end up offering a game project to the community that will earn some hype with the locals 'round 'ere. ;)
| |
 One down, more to go! |
Posted - 10/21/2005 10:17:13 PM | Phew! Finally got a new version of Magma Duel uploaded to the showcase; ready to rumble. The lack of online play is sort of a disappointment, but I'm not labelling the game as 'complete' just yet. I would really like to get a functional online play feature going, even if you're forced to have to enter the server player's IP address. :/
Additionally, I should have the 2nd (internal) release of GURPG: Star of Shadows done in the next few days as well. It will showcase the map engine, scripting system, and functional character animations. I'm really looking forward to when the artists get the combat sprites going so I can get cracking on that. :D
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| Wednesday, October 19, 2005 |
 Magma Duel 2nd release! |
Posted - 10/19/2005 10:22:54 PM | I've finally decided to release Magma Duel, with all of the bells/whistles that have been added. It's a big step from the first release, and has a lot more functionality. I'll upload to the GD.NET showcase and post in Your Announcements tomorrow at some point.
Online play is not included. Apologies. It finally dawned upon me that I have no way of hosting the master server in a dedicated manner for a long-term basis. My computer crashes rather frequently, and the connection isn't too great, so I can't even host it on my box. :/ The actual network code is pretty far, just lacking a few additions (game options & powerup spawning), but this issue cuts out the possibility until some solution arises. Maybe when I get into Uni they'll let me use their servers, heh. ;)
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 ATi!? (And other oddities) |
Posted - 10/16/2005 4:49:13 PM | In the land of development, I've curbed some frusteration on Magma Duel network programming by getting some work done on the RPG I'm coding with some friends over at GU, with them supplying the artwork/story, Star of Shadows. If you've played any RPGs on any of the 16-bit systems back in the day (SNES/Genesis) you'll know what we're aiming for. :)
Right now the map editor is completed, along with the game's map handling system and actor management. I'm currently implementing the quasi-flexible scripting engine that the game will use for events, triggers, and the likes that controls the beefy things that happen in the game. It's a homebrewn variety, but it feels like BASIC all-around. Here's a code-exerpt from a villager:
[onCreate]
Debug "Creating villager.."
CreateActor Villager_1, V1
SetScriptActor V1
SetTimer 1000
return
[onTimer]
V1.WalkRandom
return
[onQuery]
V1.DoSpeech "Oh, hello there. I'm just wandering about minding my own business."
return
I'll post some screenshots once the game starts to become more intruiging. Somehow the barebones of an RPG engine don't look as appealing when there's no combat or menus about. ;)
----------->
Regarding the ATi reference: let me set up the scenario for you all. I'm currently graduated from highschool, and have returned for a year to buff up my mathematics/computers credits+marks before heading off to university, and I need to take a few 'filler' courses in order for the school to allow me to be considered a full-time student. So the first semester I'm taking Computer Engineering and a dinky Grade 11 University math.
On friday I approached my CE teacher -- who is a really great guy, BTW -- and asked him if I could give him a hand teaching the second-semester Computer Science course (helping out students, etc) to get a credit instead of taking another filler course. It turns out, better yet, that he could probably hook me up with doing co-op at ATi, which totally blows my mind. :D
So I'll be sending him a list of stuff I've done pertaining to programming and graphics, and he's going to forward it over to some of his friends there. I'm exorbitantly excited to see where this leads, as having ATi listed on a resumè is golden. ;)
| |
 Online play and more CSS fun.. |
Posted - 10/14/2005 11:50:06 AM | Alright, I'm a bit more satisified with this template, although it's still got a shimmer of ugliness in its wake. I can't figure out for the life of me how to change the images for the gamedev.net logo and the blue lines along the top. Ideas?
----
Yesterday the first EVER online game of Magma Duel took place between me and two others in my Computer Engineering class whilst other work was supposed to be being done. ;)
All in all, it worked pretty nicely. The only bug (big one, however :P) are that players can sometimes die on one client's screen, and then come back to life if they are still alive on another client's game, resulting in an 'undead' stick character beating on everyone, invincible to their attacks. Doh!
Much more work to still be done, it seems.
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| Wednesday, October 12, 2005 |
 CSS! |
Posted - 10/12/2005 8:41:37 PM | Welcome to another fun round of: "Why I'm not in Webdesign". :)
Suggestions please. :P
----
Additionally, the networked movement/action system is in place. The game runs fine if I play two clients locally on a game, but I have yet to host it and play with another (intelligent) being. I'm really excited to have the game at this stage, as little else remains before the game can finally be proudly labelled, "complete".
If anyone has MSN and is willing to give me a hand with this testing, it would be most appreciated. Drop a comment.
| |
| Tuesday, October 11, 2005 |
 Tedium galore! |
Posted - 10/11/2005 11:43:46 PM | Networking is not that much fun, folks. At least it isn't when you have bugs, and aren't able to pull anyone off MSN to help you test stuff. :/
Today I rewrote the whole game handling (server/client) from UDP to TCP, due to the unreliable nature of UDP. I'm absolutely not relishing the thought of writing my own reliability layer, so Magma Duel will be using TCP for its networking. I can only hope that TCP will be fast enough to prevent the game from being unplayable from lag. Interpolating projectiles/players via timestamps is going to be an important step later on to keep things in sync across all clients.
Also fixed up a few minor bugs that were lingering about, and got game ping implemented finally. Now you can deftly evade the slow servers and jump right onto mine, which is pretty low considering its local. ;)
Aye! So the non-game portion of the networking is finally complete -- huzzah! Now I need to write the in-game networking, doh. I don't know where I'm going to get testers..
If any Magma Duel enthusiasts pass by here reading this, and have got some free time during the day, and (preferrably) MSN, give me a poke. (via PM or at hopedagger@gmail.com) ..Of course the final credits will reflect your heroic effects. ;)
----
BTW: How does one go about setting a custom journal template? I've noticed that several users (EDI, H_o_p_s, Laz, etc) have nifty custom templates that are certainly drool-worthy. How do I go about doing this?
| |
 Networking mayhem! |
Posted - 10/10/2005 12:12:14 PM | The last few days have been crowded with woes and worry on the network programming of Magma Duel; hopefully an addition that will give the game a boost of popularity for those who don't always have a friend nearby they can grab. :)
I'm happy to announce that I'm almost ready to write the network code for the game itself. All of this time/agony has been spent on the other major online stuff, the lobby and gamelobby system. If you've played Half-Life/Counterstrike, you already should have an idea of how this'll work:
-> The player hits "Play Online", and is connected to the master server. The master server holds a list of all games being hosted at the time, and sends this list to the player when a) he first connects or b) he requests it (via refresh).
-> In the lobby the player can chat with other players in the lobby (via TCP to the master server), or he can join/host a game.
-> If the player wants to join/host a game, he does so and is brought to another lobby, the game lobby, which each game being hosted has their own. They can chat in there (via UDP to the game host), and select a 'Ready' checkbox to indicate they want to join when the host launches the game.
-> And finally, when the host launches the game, all 'ready' players will join in, and the actual fun begins. :)
Right now I'm just about onto the last part. :P I just need to finish up some game listing maintenance, ensuring the player always gets a proper up-to-date listing of the games being played at the moment. Not to mention ping updating.
Phew, it's been a lot of work, and there's plenty more to come. I really hope that Magma Duel will get some players as a result of my efforts. It'll crush me when I complete all of this and nobody plays. :/
| |
 More progress stepping stones to online play! |
Posted - 10/7/2005 10:20:55 PM | Magma Duel is still trucking along, speedily and steadily. I intend on continuing my full-force development speed until this game is finished!
Got all of the pre-online-play work done. Stuff like setting/saving your online handle/alias and RGB colour for your stick fellow, ending the game if no players join into the next round, and everyone's favourite: ensuring that players spawn on a platform when a round begins. People don't seem to take kindly when they start a round falling into the firey depths of magma. :/
Draffurd, the enigmatic artist mastermind behind Magma Duel, has finished the new spritesheet for our bold stickman character. He looks absolutely bitchin', and I'm a very seldom user of such a word, proving my amazement. Here's a side-by-side view of the old compared to the new. I think the difference is very much akin to night and day:


Anybody who says they can't tell the difference (sarcasm or not) will be shot on sight. :P Programmer Art vs. Pixel Art IS night and day!
The server, tentatively named 'Magma Server' is now functional. It spews out nice little debug messages periodically to let me know just what's going on, and sports its nice TCP message queue that I <s>struggled</s> swiftly implemented.
On the client-side of things, you can now make use of the 'Play Online' button and connect to the Magma Server and exchange lobby chat messages with anybody else who happens to be connected. The listing of currently running games is also shown, and is refreshed periodically by the server. You can additionally join these games and chat in the game-lobby until the host launches the game. Anything after that is unimplemented. ;)
Lately progress has been in the networking department, and screenshots aren't too interesting there. Hopefully a release within the next week or so will quell your screenshot-anxiety.
Also, I feel lame for nitpicking about it, but would somebody mind rating me up 2 points? I've been sitting here at 1198 for about a week, and it's driving me nuts. ;) I just want to get a nice round number and call it a day. :P
---
EDIT: Oh, and Happy 1000 Views! :D
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| Thursday, October 6, 2005 |
 Rules and progress.. |
Posted - 10/6/2005 12:55:52 PM | Rule #1: Don't update your devlog immediately after a coding session. You'll sound dull, vague, and tired. See below entry. :D Give yourself some time to regain consciousness, and allow your semicolon key on the keyboard to stop vibrating from its frequent usage. Aaaah, much better.
Yesterday I got a sack-of-onions worth of progress on Magma Duel. In fact, just about everything -- except online play -- has been implemented. Post-Round and Post-Game scores are completed and functioning flawlessly. The biggest pain was probably aligning all of the text properly so nothing was offsetted wrongly. If you spot an imperfection, let me know so I can rave about it, and my foolishness for not making a text-position-handling system originally:


In addition, my artist, Draffurd, has begun work on a new character sprite. That's right -- no more of my hideous programmer artwork will shame the screen! With all of their nifty (shaded!) colours, what isn't there to love?

And so work on online play will begin today. I'll be pulling on random people on MSN for the time being, and perhaps pester folks in #gamedev once it gets to a playable state to help me unveil bugs. ;)
(Note: These features aren't in the currently uploaded version. I'm waiting for online play to get done before bringing out the next release!)
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| Wednesday, October 5, 2005 |
 Magma Duel progressing.. |
Posted - 10/5/2005 12:05:35 AM | Got plenty of work done on Magma Duel tonight. Fixed a number of bugs, added the beginning of network support, and a few headaches on the scoring system.
I had a particularly nasty time getting the scoring screen to fade in properly. You see, Magma Duel wasn't coded in a very 'clean' fashion, so there are many hacks throughout the code. This makes for a lot of difficulty when I haven't touched the code in 9 months and have forgotten where the hacks are. Let's just say that I'm glad the nightmare is over. ;) Sure, more messes will be made, but that's what programming is all about!
Also had to rewrite the 'Switch Places' powerup, since it only originally accounted for swapping locations of Player 1 and Player 2. Now it swaps the acquirer of the powerup with a random (alive!) player. Previously you could swap places with a player who had fallen into the magma, thus killing yourself instantly. I feel much better now that that one's out of the way. :)
You can see the online play starting to take form in its basic stages:


And of course my proud scoring system, showing myself (Mr. Red) kicking the butts of the mindless dummy characters. Woot!

If anyone is interested in offering their aid in helping me test the network play (as it develops), give me a poke. :)
| |
 Magma Duel going primetime! |
Posted - 10/2/2005 10:11:04 PM | Judging by the feedback I got upon releasing Magma Duel, I've decided that there's a whole lot of work that can be done on it before I can truly call it a 'completed' project. Thus, I have concluded to pick up my copy of Delphi once more and dub Magma Duel my primary project. ;)
Plans for improvement include:
-> Online play! This will be both the most enticing and difficult part to code
-> Score reports between rounds, including how many kills each player got, and what killed them (if they died)
-> Score report after a game (set # of rounds), including how many kills/deaths each player acquired, how many rounds they won, and their most commonly used powerup during the game. Also awards will be distributed (most kills/deaths, most falls into magma, etc)
-> An AI player for offline play (will also be quite difficult) (may abandon this one :P)
-> Joypad support (yes, bust out those Madcatz controllers! :D)
-> Onscreen indicator of current powerup
The work on online play has begun, and I've already implemented the game to allow multiple characters in a game. They can't be controlled right now, so they are essentially dummies that you can knock around without fear of retaliation. Sort of weird, but sort of amusing:

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| Saturday, October 1, 2005 |
 Musings and preparations.. |
Posted - 10/1/2005 5:07:02 PM | Yesterday I placed Magma Duel on the GD Showcase after having it sit around on my harddrive for 9 months. Hopefully I'll get some pleasant feedback, or some people will gain some enjoyment out of it. :)

Additionally, a project has begun its undertaking! More information as the game begins its development. I've got high hopes for this project, and an iron determination. Quite excited to start digging elbow-deep into code!
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"Good night, Monster Land."
"Good night, brave warrior."
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