Jwrac's Technological Developments! Stupendous!

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Jwrac, May 29, 2013.

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  1. Jwrac

    Jwrac Member

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    ~~~~~~~~ [​IMG] ~~~~~~~~
    Jacob Cronnelby and Noel Craigsborough are proud to bring you the latest in their technological astonishments!
    Greetings to adventurers and gentle nobles alike! This thread is to showcase some of my content for discussion, there will be much more coming soon I can assure you!
    _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
    [​IMG][​IMG]
    "IsomEngi" - "A work in progress"
    I have always wanted to make an isometric role playing game, that of a similar taste to Arcanum. Sadly, I can assume there will never be an "Arcanum 2"...
    IsomEngi is my attempt at developing a foundation for which I can make isometric games later on with greater ease.

    I hope to achieve fantastic things in due course with my engine. Things like a "World Editor" to allow the technologically untrained the ability to manipulate the core mechanics.

    Images:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    Features:
    - Automated top-down to isometric view wrapping. (the world is built and programmed from birds eye, and any flat texture is displayed isometrically.)
    - Automatic tile-adjustment. (tiles change themselves to "edges" or similarly, mid-point tiles can vary.)
    - Basic Scenery implementation. (with dynamic 'depth' and 'layering'.)
    - A wide range of support for image handling. (both isometric and flat.)
    - Movement and collision detection.

    Development Images:
    [​IMG]
    Much more info coming soon on this endeavour!
    _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
    [​IMG][​IMG]
    "Unworldly" - "World Map Generator"
    'Unworldly' is my attempt at designing a dynamic, random world map generator.
    The original idea was to make something that could spit out maps for role playing/fantasy games that needed things like areas with varying climates, and randomly placed towns and landmarks.

    Download WorldGen: http://bit.ly/WorldMaker

    Images:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    It is also equipped with another program I wrote, which spits out a randomly generated "Word" for the name of the map.
    This 'word generator' I dubbed so far as "YunikeName" uses and exploits single and multiple combinations of vowels and consonants to invent new 'names' for things.

    Download for "Yunike-Name": https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/63581599/programs/YunikeName-v001.exe
    Since everything is purely random, results may vary from English to un-pronounceable words.

    Features:
    - Purely random landmass sections, of varying random shapes and formations.
    - Multiple climate 'biomes'. (from deserts to alpine forests bordering marshlands.)
    - Interactive display, scrolling view system and object movement.
    - Ability to implement 'date and time' mechanisms.
    - Ability to allow "travel time" and "travel friction". (climbing mountains or moving through swamp is slower)

    Much more coming soon!
    _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________



    Thanks for reading about my developments.
     
  2. ytzk

    ytzk Well-Known Member

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    This is most impressive. You are clearly a wizard.

    Not that I understand the first thing about how you did it, but I'm assuming it was a lot of hard work, possibly magic.

    The wordly thingamajig is an excellent invention too. I know several [strike]old[/strike] accomplished pnp rpg [strike]whores[/strike] enthusiasts who would have much use for such a thing... amajig.
     
  3. Jwrac

    Jwrac Member

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    Re: Ytzk

    Thanks Ytzk! Ah the wonders of technology, but I can assure you it is not of magickal origin.
    Yes the world+word generator... I can see how this might be useful to some, but sometimes imagining your own worlds can work out better than a computer-generated map. A hand-drawn map adds a lot more depth and history to your games.

    I was actually inspired from my pnp times to actually make the Word/World Generator.
    I'm glad you like the look of them, I'll probably be uploading them -somewhere- for download soon, so others can use them as such.
     
  4. Zanza

    Zanza Well-Known Member

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  5. Jwrac

    Jwrac Member

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    Re:

    I whole heartedly agree.
     
  6. werozzi

    werozzi Member

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    And this, gentlemen, is the reason why technological oriented characters provide a better Arcanum experience.
    My hat is off to you, Jwrac.
     
  7. Smuel

    Smuel Well-Known Member

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    What programming language(s) are you writing all of this in?
     
  8. Jwrac

    Jwrac Member

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    For 'programming'? Hmm, well... I'm not a 'real' programmer, I'm more of a 'scripter' of sorts. (-and I'm more of an artist than I am a coder)
    I use certain scripting languages to achieve things, for now let's assume JavaScript and LUA, since I actually know a bit of those.
    I honestly don't want to go into much detail, since I'm not a 'real' programmer, saying I use a certain IDE might come off as a little unprofessional right now.

    It's not hard to work out what I'm using, and sorry for being cryptic- I just don't want to sound like an idiot at this stage.
    But rest assured I have a good knowledge of what I am actually doing. :) [having 'scripted' plenty of things in the past, including almost-entire games]
     
  9. Smuel

    Smuel Well-Known Member

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    If you're producing screenshots like that, I doubt there's any danger of you appearing like an idiot.

    What's the output file format? Is it something XML-like, or binary?
     
  10. Jwrac

    Jwrac Member

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    Alright then, I'll tell you.
    For development I use "GameMaker Studio".
    [​IMG]

    It's a software IDE that lets you make games or similar apps for various platforms (Windows, MacOS, HTML5, Ubuntu, iOS, Android), you can code in a scripting language called 'GML' and achieve all sorts of fancy things, in a small amount of time.
    The software itself set me back about 200 bucks.

    Despite using it for everything code-wise, I have a love-hate relationship with it.
    I actually have more than a few years experience using the GameMaker Legacy IDE, hence having more than an adequate knowledge of the scripting language.

    I made a zombie shooter game that won me $1000 in a competition, using GM, here: http://clay.io/game/deadbase (buggy, unfinished, works only on Chrome)
    I plan to patch it later but it was mostly for the competition entry.

    You can build things quite quickly in it, but for achieving complex things you'd need to have a decent understanding of GML.
    If you wait a while you might be able to pick it up on sale if it interests you, but it isn't for everyone.

    It is what it calls itself, "game maker", hence why I ever started in the first place.
    I've actually wanted to make games ever since I was 13, hence the efforts.
     
  11. Smuel

    Smuel Well-Known Member

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    Interesting. Though actually I meant how is the level data stored? I mean - you design a terrain using your editor - how is that then persisted to disk? Perhaps Game Maker Studio has its own proprietary format for such things, but I'm not familiar with it.
     
  12. Jwrac

    Jwrac Member

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    Currently the level data is stored within the single runtime executable, then loaded on run time, I haven't gotten around to writing 'level/map files' yet.
    It probably wouldn't be too hard, if so they'd be saved in a custom format, using standard ascii text most likely.

    I probably wouldn't get into writing a level/map file system yet anyway, since the engine is in its early stages and I wouldn't want to spit out overly large maps with lots of detail, especially if the I/O needed drastic changes, because you'd end up with lots of inconsistencies later on.
    But to answer your question, "no file system yet", and if I were to make one, think "custom ini files".

    EDIT:
    In fact, making one is actually a grand idea, and I was thinking about this earlier for a custom "World Editor" as such. But not sure one would be a good idea this early on at least.

    Also, GameMaker must store its own "room data" within the executable/cab, from my speculations.
     
  13. Smuel

    Smuel Well-Known Member

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    The reason I'm asking all these questions is that I'm working on a similar project of my own (isn't everyone...) and there may be some scope for collaboration, especially since I'm more of a programmer than an artist, so our skillsets may be complimentary. PM me if you are interested in a possible team-up.
     
  14. Jwrac

    Jwrac Member

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    Unfortunately I work best alone, or with one partner.
    Since all code is done in GML/GM IDE I don't really have much need for another coder, sadly.
    But thanks for the offer, what kind of coding do you do anyways? :)
     
  15. Smuel

    Smuel Well-Known Member

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    I work best alone too. To be honest, I wasn't really going to contribute much to your project, I just want to use your art and world editor for mine...

    I used to write in C and Assembler. These days it's mostly C#.
     
  16. Jwrac

    Jwrac Member

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    Wow, old school languages. C Sharp seems nice, haven't gotten into it though.
     
  17. Smuel

    Smuel Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, it's the best language I've ever used. Though there are still some things I would change, such as lambda notation for LINQ, which makes my head hurt. I mean, seriously, why do I have to write "x => x.Position" when it means the same thing as "Position". Putting the x in there doesn't add anything except confusion.

    Anyway, if you're not going to give me access to all your art for nothing in return, then we're back to being nemeses. Have at thee, brigand!
     
  18. Jwrac

    Jwrac Member

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    How am I the brigand? I'd lend my art assets if you had something promising.
     
  19. Ruda

    Ruda Active Member

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    Because you won't give everything you own to Smuel immediately whenever he asks!

    You're a bloody bastardly brigand and I will gift my finest elephant gun to Smuel if he decides to duel you!
     
  20. Jwrac

    Jwrac Member

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