Combat prototype 0.4.e

Published July 16, 2006
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Since last week, i've released the new combat prototype version, and i've been so busy making patch after patch that i didn't even find time to update the dev journals. Sorry :(

The best is, i've lost the original image (the one that i blurred in the previous update). It might be somewhere.. but i have a few hundred screenshots now, so i'll post one that is "similar":





This is a "fleet" screenshot, demonstrating a static battle between 200 ships. I'm saying "static" because there's no way i can get 200 players at the same time, so i've setup the ships statically; some of them are exploding, others are firing.. but they're not moving.

The combat prototype is now at version 0.4.e. Each patch is getting better and better. There are still some issues that i need to investigate. The two main problems are related to stability (i've recently fixed a crash bug in the server, it's now pretty stable; but there are still crashes in the client, it's related to getting NaN values in the physics, i need to investigate) and to performance (the client seems heavily CPU dependent, and there seems to be a leak, meaning that performance goes down after a few rounds). There is a third problem, which is not as urgent, but that needs to be solved one day, and that is the network interpolation algorithm. It makes ships "zigzag" when the latency fluctuates, ie. that happens often.

A contest has been started on the forums, to produce a teaser for the combat prototype. It'll get posted on many news sites, as well as gamedev.net as an image of the day (sorry Ravuya, didn't have time to submit anything sooner :)). So, in the past days, i've spent most of my time cleaning disk space, recording and compressing videos and uploading them. Hopefully this teaser will be ready early next week.



Previous Entry It's coming.. !
0 likes 13 comments

Comments

Impz0r
Absolutely beautiful pictures you've got there!

The fleet picture reminds me somehow of the TV series Battlestar Galactica. Of course the remake i'm speakin of. ;) Absolut awesome series if you ask me. Btw the "new" interface and the visual effects of the ships engines are looking realy nice!

Man i wonder what happens, if a Battleship crushes into that astroid :D


Keep up the good work!

July 16, 2006 08:20 AM
Hybrid
It's nothing short of STUNNING!

I had my doubts about the ships, as after reading infinity's forums I felt like it had become a free for all for the ship designs, and anyone (good or bad) could submit a design. Therefore, ending up with ships that dont suit the style or seem out of place... not to mention varying difference's in modelling quality. Needs a lead modeller sort of role for someone to guide all the contributor's work.

... but then looking at these screens, the ships so far suit the game well and are arguably better than a lot of the high budget space sims out there.

Nice work!!
July 16, 2006 09:13 AM
Ysaneya
Follow up: Betelgeuze has found the "lost" image:




July 16, 2006 09:19 AM
ApochPiQ
Sweet... starting to look like home [wink]
July 16, 2006 10:18 AM
Ravuya
*hurk*

You know we're in trouble when a game looks better in realtime than the original Star Wars.
July 16, 2006 11:13 AM
Gaheris
Wow, you've finally added those amazing shaders and textures to the prototype! Incredible!
July 16, 2006 01:40 PM
Jotaf
I don't usually comment on the beauty of Infinity's screenshots because most of the time everything's been said by others :) But this time it's different. Looking at these shots, it's not just a cool tech demo anymore, it *actually* looks like a game, and a kick-ass one for sure!! I keep drooling and drooling over these screenshots. I'm actually considering getting a new graphics card just to play this game. 'Nuff said =P

[EDIT] Post these in the IOTD so that others can share our bliss :D (what about starting a cult?)
July 17, 2006 08:41 AM
swiftcoder
Quote:Original post by Anonymous Poster
errr. guys. the ships dont have any shaders or textures on even..... and its already looking awesome!!!


If that is correct, I am absolutely stunned!
July 17, 2006 10:20 AM
coderx75
Incredible!

The radar in the upper right gives me nostalgia from my Elite days (er, years). I can easily tell where every ship is just by looking at it. =)
July 17, 2006 02:13 PM
Burnhard

Cool. Now we've got some eye candy in, I'm going to check out the prototype again. Hope my gfx card doesn't explode.
July 18, 2006 08:50 AM
Dirge
Thats really phenomenal looking, excellent work! Could you perhaps outline some of the specific aspects of that scene that you're especially proud of? (i.e. the bloom, planet in the background, scale, etc...).
July 24, 2006 01:54 PM
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