Long term success versus short term glory..
Author
Okay, so I have this dilemma. I am producing a 3d engine on my own, I've been working 2 or so months. I have about 4000 lines of usable, perfectly orchestrated object oriented code. I have the following components.
I have a resource manager, which allows me to keep any type of resource ONCE in memory, no matter what it is, and constantly re use it.
I have a scene graph, a small one, but one that can create a scene and produce a few cool effects.
I have terrain, I can load heightmaps..
I have model support for MS3D, no animation yet.
I will soon have an editor as well..
Okay, now here is where the dilemma part comes in, my friend, who has been working along side me on a breakout game, he is close to being done, it looks polished, looks great actually.
He has..
A toaster stroodle of code mashed together to make the thing look cool and playable.
Aside from that, he DOES have sound support, collision detection, particle effects.. breakable blocks.. um.. yeah..
But the thing here is, that he almost has a freakin sweet cool breakout game that is almost a finished project, and I'm stuck here hard coding 3d scenes with a few models here and there, that doesn't really DO anything yet, heck, it isn't even that fun to look at.
Should I succumb and start rapidly firing out code to make a cool looking game, or should I keep meddling with this thing until I can do it "the right way" ???
You are working on an engine, he is working on a game. An engine would take longer to make than a breakout game. So I think you should stick to doing it "right".
mash it together - if you want a well orcastrated engine, you already made the mistake of assuming yours would be better than the ones out there already. I would personally finish up your code to include animation, collision detection, and sound in your nice object orientated format. After that keep this as your base engine for other projects. But after that "slop" together your game. You will get something accomplished and still have a solid backbone for futre projects. If you do come up with a "really cool" added (and useful) feature, recode it and put it into you backbone. But beside that code away - or else you will just get feature creep and an unfinished project.
So in short: add a few more things and then make a game (since your goal is not to write just an engine others can use - they would probably use orgre or others out there anyways)
So in short: add a few more things and then make a game (since your goal is not to write just an engine others can use - they would probably use orgre or others out there anyways)
No, don't rush it. Build up your foundation with confidence and honesty or you'll find your house crumbling next year. But then, you already knew that was the answer.
A one-shot breakout game can be hacked together, a re-usable library should not be.
A one-shot breakout game can be hacked together, a re-usable library should not be.
Quote:Should I succumb and start rapidly firing out code to make a cool looking game, or should I keep meddling with this thing until I can do it "the right way" ???
yes u should. the painful fact is hes accomplished something whereas youve done bugger all that is tangible :),
a finished product (even if its pretty crap) is worth far more than an unfinished demo.
it shows you can pace yourself better + have an idea of your capabilities/limitations
Quote:A toaster stroodle of code mashed together to make the thing look cool and playable.the end user doesnt give a monkeys about how it was coded they only care about if it works or not.
trust me (if u continue coding) in a couple of years time youll look at the coding of this 3d engine + shudder + say man i was naieve, ie something that takes a month to do nowadays u will be able to knock out in a couple of years in half a day.
hope it doesnt sound to harsh.
Author
I'm beginning to believe, due to mixed reviews, it is really just a matter of programming style.
Stick with it; working on the engine will pay off with a good game; it rather boils down to do you want a game or a bunch of crappy little clones that do almost nothing. I suggest not to quit; you'll regret it if you do, in the long run.
In my view, it all boils down to exactly what it is you want to do. Do you want to learn how to make your own engine, and not really care that much about making a game? Then keep plugging away at it. Do you want to make a game and not care about the engine? Then mash together something using your engine (or using someone elses).
It sounds a bit like you're somewhere inbetween (which makes sense!), so figure out a balance that suits you. If you're wanting to make a game then maybe there's something you can think of that suits your engine in it's present state. Maybe you could treat the game as a test of your present engine, and use it to suggest what features you should be working on next.
It sounds a bit like you're somewhere inbetween (which makes sense!), so figure out a balance that suits you. If you're wanting to make a game then maybe there's something you can think of that suits your engine in it's present state. Maybe you could treat the game as a test of your present engine, and use it to suggest what features you should be working on next.
Quote:Original post by Shamino
Should I succumb and start rapidly firing out code to make a cool looking game, or should I keep meddling with this thing until I can do it "the right way" ???
Is this your own project, and not a commercial one? If so, stick with it. Then when you decide to write a quick and dirty program later, it'll be both quicker and less dirty.
Besides, it's not like you're empty handed; you just don't have a whole game yet.
Author
Yeah, this is my own project, something to do during senior project time for about an hour and a half a day.
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