Current Projects

Just wondering what every one's working on these days...

(I'm working on my RPG Fantasy as you might already know.)

working at keeping my sanity in check... and finishing this sub game (one of those multi year obsessions i told you about in the other thread)...

and i've started some storyboarding on two other simpler games... first person type jobbies...

first one is a 1950s retro idea... men to the moon thing... with 1950s physics, moon monsters, ray guns, etc...

the second one is a lil more down to earth... actually, it's goes under the earth... an apocalyptic type thing, or a teen adventure... Beneath New York is the working title... and by mentioning it here, this serves as notification of intent to copyright :)



--Mike

well last weekend we threw a quick Aerial Antics demo together in SOW using the old blitz3D media. Proved to be a lot of fun and quite straight forward. Cygnus let me do a large chunk of the coding, and Jeremy chipped in with cleaning up the camera to be closer to the original.

SOW has come a long way and is starting to feel a bit like B3D in Bmax now. I bought the Pro version of the Ogre 3dsmax exporter which is now pretty stable, and the scene loader gives you direct access to the scene managers entity list within SOW. Making it dead easy to grab objects out of your scene and manipulate them in code.



With bloom filter




without bloom, lots of dudes flying around casting shadows

http://s93153354.onlinehome.us/aa2.wma 10mb streaming WMV

that top shot looks great E...

are yoiu guys planning on rereleasing AA... a new and improved version with a lil more hype...

Aerial Antics2!!!
---The Prequel---

:)

--Mike

heh don't know for sure yet. This was just something fun thrown together. But we are thinking of doing something with AA again now that the tech is roughly where we want it.

I'm working on a fairly simple, very addictive game that will hopefully fund something bigger next year. After the letter I wrote to my employer this morning outlining the ineptitude of their payroll department, I probably won't have a job for much longer anyway.

I'm about 90% done (with the game, that is).

I'm writing *another* match-3 game. This one has a plot of sorts, some new elements, and most importantly some top quality graphics and music made by professionals. It's already got my solid BlitzPlus match-3 engine ported into BMax, and the whole thing runs on my Grey Alien BlitzMax Game Framework. Nearly done actually, just have to keep pluggin in new media and design the levels.

@Red: Do you think that making a sub-game is condusive to helping keep your sanity in check or is it maybe the opposite?

qoob (as always - version .10 coming very soon!)
Blokatak (Tokamak based game - possibly dead project, possibly just a concept)
Glopoly (MAX screen saver - again possibly won't see the light of day)
Crazy Bean (MAX screen saver, another early WIP)
Poly (working title only, Blitz3d screen saver)
Space HiWay (Retro BBC model B game remake)

Im working on a scriptable music game where you click on circles in time with the music. We call it ClickBeat

Most of the bugs are sorted so we're almost ready for release, just waiting on a new pic to replace the one we pinched for the menu screen ^__^ and we need a few more scripts of course.

Aymes, how come I haven't seen that game before? It's really good fun.

yeah he's kept that well hidden.

IMO that's the best way to do it. Get everyone interested at the same time- Aymes comes up with some pretty awesome ideas :-)

Sperm Quest : The Fertile Race (rpg)

I'm currently working (fairly slowly) on a hybrid project that's a bit like the higher levels of an operating system in that it allows software and content to be created and experienced all in one environment. I'm currently a bit sidetracked playing around with spline rendering but I have some important pieces in place already and the rest is coming along nicely. Eventually I'll probably make some games or something with it. Mainly focussing on the graphics side of things at the moment.

Am working along at varying speeds on a hybrid retro-game. Am getting lost due to my ever evolving design... Do I envisage completion - who knows...

Guess:

the old QBASIC classic?

Yup :)

yay for gorilla! that kept me going at school for ages :D

SSS - not properly released clickbeat yet, we've got an awsome pic almost ready, but just trying to sort out a few bugs get some feedback and put a decent options selection in there :D

LMAO @ Gorillas!!!


[edit]

not many comments considering the above AA screenshots are done using BlitzMax! :)

I'm working on a game, it's got hamsters in it. And you can clear up their shit and piss. It's fun.

@Enay
That sounds REALLY fun! ;)

ENAY: Will the sequal be called "Budgie"?

A follow up to my technical demo Dragonsphere, this one is currently called "DragonSphere II - Dungeon Isle".

Very early vide can be found here: www.smartscreenuk.com/DungeonIsle_002.avi

As I said its a very early demo at the moment.

but it will be a first person viewpoint adventure game, a bit like zelda.

IPete2.

IPete2, when I try to load the early video, Quicktime tells me the plug-in has performed an illegal opperation.

At the end of the year I will be completing my 5th year of
working on TECNO
... some kind of never-ending fps game-development ... similar to the
Red_Ocktober's crazy endeavor ... :)

Paolo.

ooooooeeeer - it is an avi - which was screen grabbed by "Game Cam".

I dont know why it would perform an illegal operation.
Can you try downloading it and running it in another movie player?

IPete2.

Cool, how many levels are there?

Eurhythmy, Tecno looks great from the vids! Cant wait to try it!

Wow thats neat IPete2. Do you fight dragons in "DragonSphere II - Dungeon Isle?" :)

Damm, you've been working on Tecno before I even got into game development...! lol...

Eurhythmy:
I had no idea you were still working on Tecno!
Thought you'd disappeared off the face of the Earth or something.

Even after all these years, it looks nice.
I'm excited to see what you've done with it lately...



As for myself, I'm suffering with impossible art pipelines, Ogre and Irrlicht (still can't decide; I may do an abstract renderer and 3 seperate versions), and an idea so wonderfully weird that I am certain nobody will steal it.

Screenshots coming once I either get something from a modelling program that isn't 3ds Max or Blender (recompile the whole thing to install an EXPORTER!?!!!) into an engine that actually looks right, or design a working in-code model generator.

It's a physics-based turn-based strategy game with pretty specular maps and grass.
Some pretty complex physics are planned, such as a worms-style effect that can actually blast a hole straight through a platform. (I should be able to get nice low-level access to have objects pass right through the hole nicely, and if not I'll just teleport them to the end with a fancy effect to conceal it).
There's more than that, of course. Much more.
(Nobody will know what it is until the end).

AngelDaniel:
I've been following your open program thing project with great interest, but I have to say I'm quite stumped as to what exactly it is :P
Is it effectively an experiment similar to writing some parts of an operating system?

Paolo!!! loooong time no hear from you...

how's TECNO coming along...

i'm not surprised to hear that he are still working on it...

a lil history guys... i met Paolo (Eurythmia) on the 3DRAD boards way back in the dawn of time... i was so impressed by some stuff he did there... the way he set the mood in a first person demo he was showing...

it was the first real indie game i saw that had signs of true genius and artistry about it... it inspired me a lot...

i'm sure it'll be worth playing, just as DOOM3 was... i'm definitely gonna be one of the first paying customers :)

yeah... i'm still plugging away at my thing too... check out my thread here for some of the latest news... the whining thread about why i'm always defecting :)
i just added Cyggy's clipping code and some volumetric clouds (courtesy Pongo's code and images)...

still a lil ways to go... if i stick with Blitz that is :)

--Mike

Bubble Boy,

Well the story is something along the lines of humans break an ancient pact they had with the olde dragons, who are now in hibernation. The deal was whilst they slept the humans would look after the Dragonsphere replenishing its power once a year in midsummer sunshine.

Of course humans being humans the whole pact dies with those who made it and many years later a young boy decides to get to the bottom of why 'Dragons' are a forbidden word in his land. He uncovers the truth and you play that boy. Phew that's the plot in a nutshell.

So no you don't fight dragons really, you rescue them, but you do fight all the dark creatures who wish never to see dragons again - who are trying to stop you in your quest.

Glad you liked the video btw.

IPete2.

I've been working on this:
http://www.blitzbasic.com/Community/posts.php?topic=54961

but the project is on hold temporarily while I take care of some other stuff.

@Ipete2: ha, you kept that quiet, cool. I look forward to it.

_
Thanks for those words, Mike, Aymes, Neuro, Mr. Picklesworth ... :)

The point is... ok, I'm (also) quite impressed about all the new graphic-stuff
that has appear during the last years ... but long time ago I decided to fix with B3D
to finish the damn game ... no matter how much dated it will look or "feel" at the end.

So, the only thing I can say for sure is >I'm going to finish the game<, and one day
there will be one more news at the home page here, saying the game is ready :)

I believe the game it is coming good enough, till the point it's worth spending $20-25 to play it,
but then again, my reference to build it, is ME,
I mean I'm doing a game that ME would like to play and
this can be sometimes a not so good move, specially having in mind that "the best game-marketing-practices"
say "repeat again-and-again the same formula and forget about the rest" ...

...ok, thanks again and, now going back to my cave ...
Paolo.

i am working on a sword and sorcery game in BMAX with online modes, nothing impressive yet

just setting up the interface and controls, still need to find a spriter for graphics

I'm working on a game, which has actually been in the works on and off for the past two years. I put it on hold to do another project, but when my artist and I decided a rushed project isn't a good thing if the best idea you can come up with is stupid, we decided to resume our original project.

So now what we are working on is an outdoors FPS game, featuring a large arsenal of upgradable weapons and multiple environment types. The missions will be fairly simple, with usually one or two objectives, but will involve a great deal of firefighting and blowing stuff up.

We're hoping to have a demo version ready to view within the next two-three months, and hopefully a full release by the end of the year.

'So, the only thing I can say for sure is >I'm going to finish the game<,'

I like your way of thinking Paolo. I'm also embarked on a project that's taking years (Tank Universal), and it's only now that the end is at last coming into sight (provided I can solve some performance issues).

here's a pic from another project Cygnus and I are working on. You may recall a test build of a prototype we released a few months ago done in blitz3D. We are now using Blitzmax with SOW(Simple Ogre Wrapper)to redo it, here's a pic from our early prototype. These are the low quality graphics for non shader cards but with stencil shadows turned on.

IPete2,
Thats an awsome story line. It's very original.


JHocking,
Your current project looks fun.


Eurhythmy,
FPS games aren't may favorite, but if it's made by a you, veteran blitzer, I sure I'll love it. You must be very determined if you've been going for five years.


Link1426,
(why 1426?)
I admire anyone who creates online games. Good job.


OrcSlayer,
(I like your name:) )
I can't wait to try out the demo.


MadJack,
I can't wait to try out your "Tank Universal" game also.


Evak,
That looks great!

Evak, that screenshot looks really nice.
...Looks like some sort of modern metal sculpture thing.

What kind of pipeline are you using to get the 3d stuff in there?
A while ago I was trying to get stuff from either C4d or Wings3d (a strange couple) into SOW and I just couldn't find a nice way to do it.
Even though it's a really nice and popular engine, there don't seem to be any standalone exporters for OGRE.

Bubble Boy: why i picked 1426 is because i felt like it and i have other accounts on sites with that name

also i have just been reading up on online and network games and it looks hard, i have no server yet so i can't test it but i have worked out the map system with a global distance system that will be a piece of cake to add online with

Hmm, I'm using ofusion for 3dsmax, which is the best art pipeline I've seen anywhere. They just recently updated it to a new version which is MUCH more stable than the early one.

As for other tools. I'm not sure to be honest. There are some great exporters in the works that are similar to ofusion only for XSI and Maya.

On the cheap there is a wings3d, blender, Giles, AC3D, Sketchup, and milkshape exporter.

http://www.ogre3d.org/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=57&func=selectcat&cat=5

http://www.ogre3d.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=70

http://www.ogre3d.org/wiki/index.php/Exporters

My main reason for choosing Ogre originaly was for its exceptional Max support so I havent had need to look elsewhere.

@Grey - well its been brewing in my head since the first one, and I attempted it last year, but had to stop due to too much work! Avon has been bending my ear with encouraging sounds for a few months about it and I finally got some time to get stuck into character creating (in max 3d), so maybe the time is right! Having said that its a long term project not something which can be complete this year I think.

@Bubble Boy thanks, it has a couple of twists and turns but I am probably being too ambitious (aren't we all driven by doing a really fab complex game?). I have started to get a few systems working together. I so want to build something like the Zelda series, but alas my character modelling is pretty poor at the moment).


@Evak, in a strange way your screenshot is beautiful, that looks fantastic. I shall be interested in seeing the result. Ogre is looking very appealing.


IPete2.

.. double post

Thanks IPete2 :)

@Mr. Picklesworth. Looks like the best lowbudget tool with a good exporter is Blender.

There's also the Blender Engine in the works which is going to integrate Ogre into Blenders viewports so you can use Blender as your level editor with WYSIWYG viewport display.

My biggest beef with blender thoughm is the horrid GUI and load/save. Reminds me a little of lightwave 5.

Well, right now I'm doing a game called, "Shruiken Master." This is a game based on the "Pong" engine that's been around. However, picking up this engine, and designing a creative game of hitting a spinning star around the screen can be dangerous, but it'll make an awesome sport game. Getting a pebble ground, lava boundaries, and the temple laid out. Almost looks like an old NES sports game so far, may be worth a try with this one. Expect a beta demo when it comes into shape.

pong engine?

Actually for a second I thought you mean a Shinobi remake, now that would be cool (imho)

Hmm, well, thought I'd mix Street Fighter with Pong, and see what type of game that would make. Well, it was actually that FPS game Shadow Warrior that gave me the original influence, as well as the DOA fighter series. Still, it'll rock once everything comes together. I'm not gonna bash this project through the wall like that one project that tanked. All in all, it won't be nearly as boring as you may think.

Link1462,
Those are the same reasons I picked the name "Bubble Boy" (not because I like bubbles) and also because I used to think "Bubble Boy" sounded cool. And by the way, good luck on your game.


IPete2,
I'm in the same boat. It takes me REALLY long to model good quality models. I'm not very good at modelling characters either.


RAM Degital Media,
I like pong games.

Cool... Keep up the great work with everyone else. I'm back in the driver's seat, finally, after a month or two of sitting around eating donuts about what potentially successful project I can actually do that'll wow a big crowd.

also Bubble Boy, i love The Legend of Zelda Series and i like the number 1426

i expect to get a demo out in a few weeks, the grpahics will most likely for awhile until i can find a spriter or get some money

Ah, so there is a C4d plugin.

I did try the Wings3d one, but I didn't like it it.
It was a stand-alone command line tool, which doesn't make any sense to me since Wings3d does have plugin support.

The Blender one was even more horrible, like all things Blender. (Wonderful program, though, if you have the heart to see past its disgusting wrinkly skin). It would require me to recompile the entirety of Blender.

The C4d plugin also requires to be compiled from source (and there are no binaries anywhere!)... but I think I can put up with it.

I just found a binary for the C4D exporter at:

http://perso.orange.fr/licorna/Ogre3D_Exporter/Ogre3D_Exporter_en.html

I think I might email Brad and see if there is any chance of Ogre3D support in unwrap3D. I had some luck with .B3D support a couple of years ago so who knows.

heh, looks like it already supports ogre3D XML files, allthough you would need to use the utility to compile them to the latest formats. Don't know if you have unwrap3d?

IMPORTING
=========
Geometry, materials, textures, UV coordinates, multiple UVsets for lightmaps,
vertex colors, bones, and weighted skeletal animation can be imported.

Note that all texture files should be located in the same directory as
the model file, otherwise they may not be found.


Material File
-------------
Browse for the .material file to be imported with your mesh.


Animation File
--------------
Browse for the .skeleton file to be imported with your mesh.


Animations
----------
If a model has animation, you can select a single animation to import.

EXPORTING
=========
Geometry, materials, textures, UV coordinates, multiple UVsets for lightmaps,
vertex colors, bones, and weighted skeletal animation can be exported.

On export, four files are created:
<filename>_mesh.xml = contains geometry
<filename>_skeleton.xml = contains bones and animation
<filename>.material = contains materials
<filename>.bat = batch file that includes parameters to convert the
mesh/skeleton XML files to their binary format.
OgreXmlConverter.exe is required.

Material properties exported:
ambient color
diffuse color + transparency
specular color + shininess
emissive color
two-sided property
spherical environment mapping

Texture maps exported:
Diffuse
Diffuse + Opacity
Composite (lightmaps)

Wow, you're like some kind of helping ninja :P
Thanks again, Evak!

Also found this, for those interested:
http://david.geldreich.free.fr/dev.html
Converts .3ds files to .mesh files.

hehe, never been called a ninja before :D. But I always like to help.

Working on an odd bird right now using MiniB3D for BM. It's a hybrid game, really. A 3rd-person air combat game with RPG elements.

Frankly, because I'm an idiot, I am trying not to use any modules or direct source code from outside sources (other than the MiniB3D, of course). So far, I've found that it, if takes me an hour to learn how to use someone else's module, I can usually figure out how they did it in two or three hours (and code my own solution). I'm looking at this game as a learning opportunity rather than a commercial affair. So far I've got my art pipeline solidified, my OO GUI scripted, a tile-based 3D terrain system coded and several FX solutions coded (like a smoke and explosion particle system).

Evak: wow Aerial Antics looks well smart :) nice one

Me, Im working on pogo fred
http://www.blitzbasic.com/Community/posts.php?topic=62335

Evak: Both your pics posted are impressive eye candy....

I'm playing around with wood (one of them)...



Or for the greyscale freaks... ;O)



@Chris-M
I like your sun! :O)

@Evak
Nice and interesting screenshot (lok)! How are the game mechanics working?

haha thanks :) I like your errr... pills?

Evak: Could you us the ogre exporter for c4d to export the ogre xml files and then load them into unwrap3d to convert to b3d format because i havent found away of getting animated meshes out of cinema 4d to blitz?

if you use another way please help me out!

Pete

Pete, I know it wasn't directed at me, but i've idea about that complex ogre>C4D>Ogre XML>UU3D>B3D haha. A quick check shows it's a common problem though. One idea though- Psionic seems to do animations outside of C4D- After exporting.

I know Evak uses 3D Studio Max for modeling, and can export straight to Ogre and B3D.

However, Pete, you could try your idea and let people know if it works. One thing to note is that B3D supports less features than Ogre :)

Yeah, I only wish that I could interpret anything that Evak has done here, it seems like it's, well, probably a combination of something like TerraGen and Maya, maybe 3DS... Whew, gonna take me quite some time to duplicate anything like that without developing a migraine.

It's all 3D Studio Max (I think) And lots and lots of tallent. :)

@Chris-M
Just wooden gamestones.

Cygnus: i use pacemaker and character fx at the moment but there some great stuff you can do with cinema4d and it would be great to do it all in the same program because on my transformers project its hard going backwards and forward between programs to tweek how the robots transform.

Evak: at the moment the plugin doent show up in cinema4d. ive put it in the plugins folder and it loads it in the spash screen but i can see anything about it in the menus?

@ evak - how's it coming ?

@ taumel - sweet fx

Well, right now I'm designing a design aid in Visual Basic (yeah, not EVERYTHING can be written in Blitz), and yes, I need some of my own programs to come to my aid in other languages to design better applications/games.

Well, to put it simply, I'm doing an application that takes circles, arcs, and other round objects, and it's meant to help me to design some circular objects that I can use in games, leaving professionally rendered round objects every time, which I could never do on my own without developing stuff like this. I'll even release this to others in the future, too.

As far as Blitz projects, well, up until I develop something to make my projects in Blitz better, I can't really think of anything at the moment.