How is your 07 app coming along ?

Well... my current app has been kind of a 05/06/07 app, which started in B3D - semi worked - hit limitations - changed to BMax - and NOW nevertheless:-

Just finished populating a script within InnoSetup to install my app with enough of the necessary files for execution.....

To Do's:

+ Iron out minor functionality niggles
+ Source a decent artist to provide me with 'polished' graphics
+ Re-work the 400 or so sound files
+ Polish the sub-game......

So, who reckons I'll be finished by this summer.... If it reaches autumn 07 then it will have been two years in the making ! Quality not quantity {;->

BPlotter.

My project is being held up by the sequal to Oblivion not being anywhere near complete. Bethesda are somewhat dragging their heels - it goes to show how a AAA professional development team can hold back a lone indie coder. I may consider dropping Bethesda as co-developers.

Well, in my case there's some good news and some bad news. The good news is I had an epiphany when it comes to the design of my MUD - which makes it less MUD like and more...well, you'll see in time. This epiphany is going to result in the game differentiating itself from others in the market and should result in it having much more market impact potential, something I was concerned about before considering I would like to make some money off of the project. The other good news is that this epiphany pretty much destroyed the few major roadblocks I had with the question "where do I take this design." So now, my enthusiasm has been greatly re-ignited.

The bad news: This change in design is going to make the game even more of a monumental project. I'm almost sure I'm going to need to enlist others, eventually. [EDIT]: Not that enlisting others is in and of itself a bad thing. It'd be a good thing I'm sure, as long as I can find people who are interested and dedicated to the project. The downside is - this raises some rather serious questions like - While it'll be easiest as a lone wolf coder to implement my server in lisp I'd no doubt be able to get many more coders to help out if I went with C++ or C#. Hmmm. A question to ponder.

The other news:
I've decided on a company name I really like and have done some (imo) really cool art for the site. I am finding some weird latent artistic abilities emerging in myself and have really been enjoying drawing lately. I found the "perfect" logo to represent my company and my goals - at least it's perfect to me.

Also, I've managed to adopt (for better or worse) the mindset of sticking with what I feel is right for my game/company without needing to confirm that what I'm doing is right with my peers. I'm no longer worried about acceptance because doing so tends to lead to the dilution of ideas and concepts to reach a "wider" or "more casual" audience base. I know my goals and my market and I know what I'm doing. I hope. ;)

I'm going to try and be a bit more like Grey Alien who always tries to see the light in every situation. I really admire his outlook.

Thanks dude, I'm flattered, honestly! :-) People who think positive get stuff done and make great achievements. Negativity just hinders people, so yeah do your thing and I hope it goes well for you.

BP: Common man you gotta get this done this year for sure :-) Maybe work to releasing an Alpha demo on the forum so that you can get fired up about doing it.

As for me, well Feb will be "buy a Mac and convert the framework" month. And Mar/Apr will be work on new game with it running into May no doubt. But must be done by June so I can enjoy the summer. Then, hmm poss. another match-3, poss. a cute platformer and after that perhaps Holiday Bonus Gold (more features and levels and a Mac version). Oh and along the way a few money making ideas I have. Wish me luck, it's gonna get busy :-)

Well my main "app" is in hiatus. Been working on it off and on forever. Just feels kind of
futile atm. So I decided to take a break and work on something fun, different, and just a breathe of fresh air. A pascal compiler! I guess you can call it my '07 app. Started it in blitz, but blitz is the wrong tool for it, so its in python now =)

http://www.deviantmachine.com/snakepascal/

{ Tests various language constructs. }
program MyTestProgram;

var
	{type is required, but not recognized yet}
	a1 : integer;
	b : integer;
	c : integer;
	fat_cat : animal;
	
begin
	{ if statements currently do nothing, but if you use them they must take this form. }
	if true then ;
	if false then ;
	
	a1 := 64;
	
	{ nested begin/end blocks are in now }
	begin 
		b := 9;
		
		if true then ;
		
		begin
			c := a1 * b;
			fat_cat := a1 + b + c;
		end;
	end;
	
	{ ghetto print operator, until procedures are in }
	? fat_cat;
end.

So far it seems to be moving about nicely. I have a goal of constantly making small improvements. I don't do too much on anyone day, and just work on it in small bite sized chunks. Actually helps alot with the motivation :)

@puki... try giving them a deadline whilst in the mean time shop around for some serious alternatives - that might light a fire under them....

@Sculpture, those requirements do have a funny way of just getting bigger and bigger - all the best with it. Glad to hear you sorted a company name and logo for yourself, I've been thru' a couple of iterations on that process alone myself!

@ Grey.... yeah, I'm getting close however I've heard of the saying 'you can make time for something if you really want to do it', however achieving balance in your life means some things have to take a back seat for a little time. I agree with you, try and steer clear of negativity - it doesn't get you anywhere.

@Orca... yeah, bite size chunks is the way to get there sometimes - stops that indigestion thing putting you of altogether.

My new year's resolution: try not to scald the coffee {;->

@Blitzplotter: He's not actually affiliated with them. He just steals/rips their content and then makes a wannabe Oblivion in B3D.

In 2007, I had hoped to start work on the core 3D rendering engine for a casual action RPG I’ve been designing for years, and prototyping in Blitz3D. However, since the official 3D module for BlitzMax is still unavailable and probably won’t be for a long while yet, I’ve had to reassess my direction.

I had planned for a sci-fi game set within procedurally-generated alien landscapes. Each landscape would require 30 to 60 minutes to ‘complete’, the player’s basic motivations being exploration, ‘treasure’-hunting, character-upgrading and unlockable ‘achievements’, all tied into a scoring system.

I wanted to use BlitzMax + Max3D. Since Max3D is not available, I’m currently considering MiniB3D, which does not include a terrain system. This means I’ll have to either code my own terrain system (possibly beyond my abilities) or change the setting somewhat.

To that effect, I’ve written some code for procedurally-generated ‘dungeons/complexes’ and I’m investigating techniques for object placement, enemy AI, etc, but I’m a long way from the ‘mindset’ I’ve already evolved for a landscape environment.

Why don’t I use Blitz3D for the actual game, you might ask? Well, without encapsulation, local arrays and lists, the SuperStrict option and various other BlitzMax niceties, I quickly become overwhelmed once a project reaches a certain size.

And then there’s that other non-coding project I should be working on: the ‘companion’ novel to my Axiom novel. The first draft has been marinating in digital dust almost for a year. Maybe one day I’ll clean it up and send it to my editor.

For now, I'm too hooked on Blitz to do anything else...

My '07 app?????


Well, my '03 app is still in the works XD

My 06/07 project is almost there. I started it around April 2006 in Blitzmax, and due to the learning curve involved I've rewritten several parts of it numerous times.

I've just finished bolting the front end and the game together today. There are just a few rough edges to tidy up and it will hopefully go beta in the next week or two.

I've also seen my projects go through several revisions in the past year. Each of them has built upon stuff I did before and learned up to that point, adding expansion into a certain new area. Then I see how I can do something bigger/better and it's time for an new `higher` incarnation of the basic vision, drawing on some of the previous code but making it more advanced. So now I'm working on a more complete `engine`, since the previous level of evolution wasn't really a generic engine and was somewhat specialized. At this point it's not a `be everything and do everything` engine but it should be at least complete enough to have all the parts to make a hand-full of games that I want to do. Those games are largely based on my favorite games over the years, building upon those themes and taking them further. I figure it might be easier to start with something based on some existing ideas than to try to jump right into something radically original. That can come later when I've put together more of the necessary code and learned better techniques.

In a way I still don't know what a full engine is going to `look like`, as I am building it as I go along, but I do have some vision as to the kind of things I want it to be able to do. So for now that's my main focus programming-wise for 2007. I am pondering loosely making it into a set of modules or standalone `engine` or layer on top of BlitzMax as a product in its own right, but that wasn't my original intention. I want to get things working well first, and perhaps do a game or two with it, to give it some `reputation`, before releasing it as a public development thing. Hopefully I can focus on getting the engine `finished` to a reasonable point. At the moment there is still a lot to do and I don't have much time to spend programming. I tend to take moments here and there thinking about what the best approach is going to be, to work out design issues and refine the vision, before sitting down to code the next part.

So far I haven't released anything since `Mildred for Blitz` on the Amiga several years ago, so when I do finally get something finished it'll be exciting :-)

GfK: Lookforward to seeing it. If it's cool (it will be right?) I could affilaite it for you...

Good luck with your project man. I'm writing a 3d world editor, for use with the game you'll no doubt have seen Tilers(scribbla's) graphics for. Been at it for about a year. Just can't seem to find the time these days...

Of course! Probably won't post it on here though. You know how unnecessarily negative people can be. ;)

I'll be in touch.

GfK: OK cool, I look forward to it.

@impixi: sounds like quite an ambitious project, good luck, I fear I could never finish something of such magnitude.

@ Malice: So... finished by end of Feb then ?

@Gfk congrats {;->

@AngelDaniel: Thats a good long term plan you've got there, I suppose I've been creating an engine .. of sorts. So far only thing I'd 'released' if you could call it that was a cycling training app I developed in Blitz on the AMiga, made it onto a CUAmiga CD.... Woow!

@Ross C ... I Soooooo empathize. Time what time!


@Grey, My app wouldn't have crept, stuuttewred and staggered to this point without your game framework, it would have been consigned to the 'never enuf time bin' Long ago, thanks for keeping my 'habit' alive {;->

Tonight I ironed out a cheeky path finding gremlin that would've reared its ugly little head after a 'new install'. I'm at v0.94, might go for a beta release at v0.99... then I'll find out just how appealing the thing is ... gulp ?

common, keep going :-)

> Of course! Probably won't post it on here though.

Sensible idea. :)

really well actually! Doing a platform game for a uni project. I'm working on it has hard as I was over summer which is great (and necessary!)

I'm just going through the process of trying to animate all of the enemies. It's taking ages but hopefully it'll will be worth it.

My TODO list consists of 15 A4 sheets stuck to my wall around the PC, so I wont post it ;)

hehe, try an excel spreadsheet then you can optionally write a few tasks down daily from the high priority sections, then tackle them and update the spreadsheet and make a new min-task list ;-) works for me anyway

i dunno, the act of physically crossing things out with a pen kinda makes it a bit more satisfying, having the deadlines in my face at all times helps as well ;)

@Chris-M, count me in on the pen front, I like to scribe out my conceptual ideas in pen/pencil first then batter my fingers/keyboard once I've suused where I think I want to go. Not to sure my wife would wear 15 A4 sheets posted round the dining room however, I've gotta try for the paperless development area - I reckon a paperless development area would be more workable with a second monitor.

@Grey, I've been making my 'todo in a word doc for the last year or so - its a bit more like a diary now... Excel sounds like a good option. thx for encouragement.

Nevertheless, ironed out a post innosetup gremlin last night, not the most inspiring/rewarding of gremlins to resolve. but it's all necessary polish! {;->

Another 90 mins or so polishing one of my user interfaces.... the alpha version creeps ever closer... The sun is out - going out to play now {:-)

Now that I have the Dark Messiah character meshes and all of the animations, I am laughing.

The Dark Messiah character meshes are easy to work with as they are whole models - not like Oblivion's which are in pieces. Plus, the Dark Messiah ones have a lovely skeleton and the animations just paste into place.

The Dark Messiah characters plus the Oblivion geometry mean I have one of the nicest looking RPGs in history.

All this for about £60.00 - not bad at all.

bargain Puki....