For Game Programmers... - Page 2

DaphydTheBard · 21 November 2005, 13:33

Hey Again!

For those of you who want to dive straight into my engine before I've had the time to post details of how each class works, here's a little treat for you all.

Here is the COMPLETE source-code for the engine, and my asteroids clone.

Obviously you will need VB6 to load and run the project.

I've had to cut the computer voice samples from the project in order to keep the zip file within the size limits, but the code is still there - just commented out.

There is no EXE (again for size contraints) so you'll have to fire up StarForge.VBP in the IDE and compile it from there.

Whilst this game does not use ALL the classes, it uses a lot of them, and they are all included.

The ONLY restriction I impose on use of this engine is that, if you decide to make use of it and actually write anything with it, list me in your credits for writing the engine!

Other than that, feel free to use it as you see fit. If anyone has any problems getting it running or has any general questions on it's use, feel free to post them here, and I'll answer them when I get time.

However my code is well-written

and easy to read, and I've commented as much as possible.

Have fun!

Asteroids.zip

Oh yeah....how to play!

Arrow Keys left/right = steer ship.

Up/Down = thrust / reverse.

Spacebar = Fire! Hold down for super charge.

Tab = Fire special (when you have it!)

Enter = emergency brake!

Shift = strafe mode.

Destroy the rocks, and collec the crystals.

10xBlue = recharge shields.

You can spend blue crystals to use your hyperspace (H).

10xGreen = Repair Hull.

10xRed = Powerup weapon.

Shoot the UFO's to drop a load of crystals!

The more accurate you are in each round, the more bonus crystals you get at the end of each round.

Different "grades" of asteroids require more hits to break up/destroy.

Once you've passed level 4, you get MOTHERSHIP UFO's!

Have fun, ya'll let me know what you think now.

Marcuz · 21 November 2005, 15:18

sorry for having miss this post, i'll check it better this evening, but in the while, welcome here

DaphydTheBard · 21 November 2005, 15:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by marco pedrana

sorry for having miss this post, i'll check it better this evening, but in the while, welcome here

10Q

gimbal · 22 November 2005, 00:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by gimbal
seasoned Java / C# developers can without a doubt create a 3D engine that rivals the speed of an engine written in C++

I've coded in Java, C#, C++, C and dozens of other languages. In short: So very very wrong.

Just because you can't do it, doesn't mean that it isn't possible. From what I've seen, for example Quake 2 ported to java and .NET with very respectable framerates, it is very possible when done by the right person.

http://www.bytonic.de/html/benchmarks.html

This doesn't prove that Far Cry, Quake 4 or FEAR are possible using Java, but at least it shows that more is possible than most people seem to think.

Quote:

LOL, sorry my dear Gimbal, didn`t mean to catch a nerve.

You didn't strike a nerve

I was simply making a point. My apologies if I sounded like a java bitch for a moment there, it's so hard to give pure text the right tone to get a point across

demoniac · 22 November 2005, 07:56

Just grabbed the files. Need to work on this later, probably next week as it's the holidays here. Thanks for the code!

DaphydTheBard · 22 November 2005, 10:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by demoniac

Just grabbed the files. Need to work on this later, probably next week as it's the holidays here. Thanks for the code!

No problem.

Let me know how you get on or if you need any help with any of it.

I've decided that rather than posting individual instructions for each class, I'm going to put a manual together in Word format which I'll post here when it's done.

In the meantime, as anyone can download the engine now, if anyone has any specific questions on it's use or how a particular function works, just ask and I'll be glad to help.

I'll check back a couple of times a day so I will answer any questions eventually.

By the way:

My first "serious" project with my engine, ie. one I intend to complete fully

is going to be a sequal to Xenon 2.

I've called it Xenon III: Gygablast, for lack of a better name.

I'm going to try and capture the feel of the original, but add some new weapons in addition to the existing ones, maybe update a few (I never liked the standard weapon, the bullets looked lame IMHO) and I'm going to include a level editor, and random level generator that creates maps from segments (which can be created by the user).

I'm also going to include a "proper" 2 player mode where both players can be on-screen at the same time.

I've got all the sprites and sound effects I need, so I'm going to sink my teeth into this project now as time permits. I'll start a new thread in a couple of days called XenonIII:Gygablast or somesuch and post screenshots and updates as the project comes together.

I've spent all this time putting my little retro-engine together, it's time I used it!

Once the game is complete, I'll package it with an installer and upload it to the zone for all to see.

NOB · 22 November 2005, 19:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zetr0

I dont hate C / C++ but...

char *(*(*Bezeichner)())[22]

^__ ^ ^ ^___ ^ ___^_^
7 __6_ 4 2____ 1___ 3_5

Bezeichner(1) is a pointer(2) to a function(3) returning a pointer(4) to a
field of 22 elements (5), these are pointers(6) of char values(7)!
Lots of c/c++ lines look similar to encrypted MOSSAD messages!

mr_0rga5m · 22 November 2005, 20:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by NOB

char *(*(*Bezeichner)())[22]

^__ ^ ^ ^___ ^ ___^_^
7 __6_ 4 2____ 1___ 3_5

Bezeichner(1) is a pointer(2) to a function(3) returning a pointer(4) to a
field of 22 elements (5), these are pointers(6) of char values(7)!
Lots of c/c++ lines look similar to encrypted MOSSAD messages!

Hehe .. You might as well code in Brainfuck

Here's the famous "hello world"<cr> in Brainfuck =

++++++++++[>+++++++>++++++++++>+++>+<<<<-]>++.>+.+++++++..+++.>++.<<+++++++++++++++.>.+++.------.--------.>+.>.

Zetr0 · 23 November 2005, 00:52

Mr O, that is most definately Awesome, imma so off to write my very own Operating system in BrainFuck

))... o wait.... bill beat me to it.... but i dont think he got the gist of it though.... its supposed to be small..... well it gives me somthing to do on sunday.

Urban Muller..... where do i know that name from,.... its gonna bug me.....

was it aminet?? or some wb on amiga..... hmmmmm

Oh and NOB.... dude.... simply classic!!!....

Oh and Daphyd, hmmm programming god eh? .... thems some big trousers to be wearing in this forum missy

theres some damn good coders here.... most of them eat high level languages like C, C++ 8703ASM and Java with thier cornflakes for extra fiber...... not to sure about Visual Basic though.. i am sure it will stump 'em for a bit..... i generally have to choke that one down

..

But seriously Awesome work, I really love asteriods

*hehe* still chuckling over what NOB said.... funny.... now i am going to play with my calculator to make it say boobies after a 25th Reduction of N squared by some scaling vector.... *hehe*

PS:

Nice shades Daphyd.... nice shades.....

DaphydTheBard · 23 November 2005, 15:22

Hehe...

I meant the whole "programming god" as a bit of sarcasm really.....I'm good, but I'm not *that* good.

So Zetro, you played my asteroids game then? You like it?

Personally I love VB over other languages because it's rapid, easy to read, and very flexible.

I taught myself C, C++, and Pascal years ago, but when VB came along I never looked back.

I've recently made the switch (at work) to VB.NET, which is nice, as it's now a fully OOP language with some pretty powerful features.

Still, you learn to get around things like the absence of inheritance and overloading in VB6. Sure, you have to adapt your programming style a bit, but I can easily switch back and forth between approaches when I'm coding at work, and coding at home.

I'm a Database Programmer professionally, so I spend most of my time buried in SQL queries and ADO.

Games programming is "light" relief by comparison!

3D programming....now that scares me.

I wrote my own raycaster engine a while back, worked pretty well and looked quite nice, but beyond that, I get a bit lost.

Besides, working as a one-man team, attempting to write something like Quake would take me the rest of my life!

It's all about the retro, in my opinion.

One of the best games to come out recently was StarScape - a fantastic looking retro-style space shooter from Moonpod Games. If anyone's looking for a decent, modern retro-shooter I highly suggest you check it out. You can download a demo for free from moonpod games' site to get a feel for it, and it's not really that expensive to buy, anyway.

Anyway, I've rambled enough. Better do some work, as that's where I am.

And I've demoted myself to Demi-God.

Zetr0 · 23 November 2005, 21:38

LOL, hey demi-god is good

Yeah i have to bitterly admit for microsoft environments, VB has come on a very long way.. *was using it at work a while back too... * especial ASP.net etc and i find its in the adaption of multiple language that truely makes a programmer

taught myself C about 15/16 years ago *was taught pascal at school *yuck*. then a few years after that whent and got a company qualificaion at MicroTech in Sys Analysis, program design methodology, C/C++ and some other stuff lol... and been using pretty much commercailly ever since...

*HEHEH* all about the retro... yeah.... i love that.... but you need not fear the 3rd dimesion my friend.... the best way to license / reuse multiple sources for 3d engines... and the more i think about it, it would be nice to re-engineer a vecorised version of a few yummy amiga games.... maybe even make 'em multiplayered *hehe*

mr_0rga5m · 23 November 2005, 22:01

Pascal *yuck* ?!?!? .. wtf .. *shakes head*

Zetr0 · 23 November 2005, 22:05

indeed Mr O, yuck to a whole new dimension, almost as yuck as COBOL which really sux lol

mr_0rga5m · 23 November 2005, 22:17

I'm sorry Zetro .. I mistook you for a programmer :P

Doc Mindie · 23 November 2005, 22:25

A quest for you guys......make a multiplayer Pool of Radiance-type game

demoniac · 24 November 2005, 01:44

I tried some stuff using VB.net and C# for a few weeks last year. I ended up getting stuck, not bz of programming issue, but bz I didn't click on some icon on the VS interface. I ended up aborting the project as I got sucked in back into the hardware side of things. I still have some desire to finish the ASP.net/SQL project that I was working on, but I rather do some game programming first.

DaphydTheBard · 24 November 2005, 10:20

Unfortunately, games programming doesn't pay the bills (yet

).

It's amazing how "serious" programming and games programming can actually help each other out though....

For example, I only started learning DirectX because of a work project I wrote a few years back (and still support) which was a music sequencer for crematoria (don't even ask (although this project still brings in the money)).

From there, I then expanded into other areas of DirectX and got hooked on using it for writing games instead of using API calls.

And I started using a class-based approach at work, and then re-wrote my engine to be class-based.

I'm pretty much self-taught - no qualifications in programming, but I've been doing it professionaly now for nearly 7 years, which is as good as a degree when it comes to getting a job. When I left my last job I had numerous interviews before I got the job I do now, and I always made it through to the final 2 or 3 candidates, and it was always due to my experience and hands-on, real world approach to programming.

I just wish I had more time for games development. I have a 12 hour working day by the time I get home in the evenings, (leave the house at 6:30am, don't get home till 6:30pm) and once you've had tea, put some washing on, fed the cat, and pampered the missus for a bit, there's precious little time (or brain energy) left for "fun" programming.

When I was single I used to sit up all night with a bottle of scotsmac, a four-pack of beers, 20 marlboro lights, and code into the early hours.

Admittedly I had a hangover most mornings

but they were fun times.

keropi · 24 November 2005, 10:25

yeah, what is crematoria ???? eh?

woody57 · 24 November 2005, 10:30

Your reality is a common one DaphydTheBard few who have family & morgages to support seldom get to work in what makes them the most happy.

Which is a good reason to share the load in creative projects with contacts of a simlar passion & mindset.

I think you can tell your work and reporting here have been very well recieved & I certainly would NOT be suprised if 2006 spelt out a new resurgence of interest & combined creativity in the making of at least one or two NEW multi level games from your inspired contribution

Thankyou for making the efforts

DaphydTheBard · 24 November 2005, 11:45

Thank you for your kind words Woody, and yes, I can feel a little prickle of excitement about finding and joining this community.

I'll wait to here back from Marco about the AGF - that sounds promising!

23 November 2005, 15:22	#30
DaphydTheBard AGF [PC] Games Developer Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Birmingham, UK Age: 46 Posts: 58	Hehe... I meant the whole "programming god" as a bit of sarcasm really.....I'm good, but I'm not that good. So Zetro, you played my asteroids game then? You like it? Personally I love VB over other languages because it's rapid, easy to read, and very flexible. I taught myself C, C++, and Pascal years ago, but when VB came along I never looked back. I've recently made the switch (at work) to VB.NET, which is nice, as it's now a fully OOP language with some pretty powerful features. Still, you learn to get around things like the absence of inheritance and overloading in VB6. Sure, you have to adapt your programming style a bit, but I can easily switch back and forth between approaches when I'm coding at work, and coding at home. I'm a Database Programmer professionally, so I spend most of my time buried in SQL queries and ADO. Games programming is "light" relief by comparison! 3D programming....now that scares me. I wrote my own raycaster engine a while back, worked pretty well and looked quite nice, but beyond that, I get a bit lost. Besides, working as a one-man team, attempting to write something like Quake would take me the rest of my life! It's all about the retro, in my opinion. One of the best games to come out recently was StarScape - a fantastic looking retro-style space shooter from Moonpod Games. If anyone's looking for a decent, modern retro-shooter I highly suggest you check it out. You can download a demo for free from moonpod games' site to get a feel for it, and it's not really that expensive to buy, anyway. Anyway, I've rambled enough. Better do some work, as that's where I am. And I've demoted myself to Demi-God. Last edited by DaphydTheBard; 23 November 2005 at 15:37.

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21 November 2005, 13:33	#21
DaphydTheBard AGF [PC] Games Developer Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Birmingham, UK Age: 46 Posts: 58	Hey Again! For those of you who want to dive straight into my engine before I've had the time to post details of how each class works, here's a little treat for you all. Here is the COMPLETE source-code for the engine, and my asteroids clone. Obviously you will need VB6 to load and run the project. I've had to cut the computer voice samples from the project in order to keep the zip file within the size limits, but the code is still there - just commented out. There is no EXE (again for size contraints) so you'll have to fire up StarForge.VBP in the IDE and compile it from there. Whilst this game does not use ALL the classes, it uses a lot of them, and they are all included. The ONLY restriction I impose on use of this engine is that, if you decide to make use of it and actually write anything with it, list me in your credits for writing the engine! Other than that, feel free to use it as you see fit. If anyone has any problems getting it running or has any general questions on it's use, feel free to post them here, and I'll answer them when I get time. However my code is well-written and easy to read, and I've commented as much as possible. Have fun! Asteroids.zip Oh yeah....how to play! Arrow Keys left/right = steer ship. Up/Down = thrust / reverse. Spacebar = Fire! Hold down for super charge. Tab = Fire special (when you have it!) Enter = emergency brake! Shift = strafe mode. Destroy the rocks, and collec the crystals. 10xBlue = recharge shields. You can spend blue crystals to use your hyperspace (H). 10xGreen = Repair Hull. 10xRed = Powerup weapon. Shoot the UFO's to drop a load of crystals! The more accurate you are in each round, the more bonus crystals you get at the end of each round. Different "grades" of asteroids require more hits to break up/destroy. Once you've passed level 4, you get MOTHERSHIP UFO's! Have fun, ya'll let me know what you think now.

21 November 2005, 15:18	#22
Marcuz Registered User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: . Age: 48 Posts: 5,562	sorry for having miss this post, i'll check it better this evening, but in the while, welcome here

22 November 2005, 07:56	#25
demoniac Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: - Posts: 1,696	Just grabbed the files. Need to work on this later, probably next week as it's the holidays here. Thanks for the code!

23 November 2005, 00:52	#29
Zetr0 Ya' like it Retr0? Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: United Kingdom Age: 49 Posts: 9,768	Mr O, that is most definately Awesome, imma so off to write my very own Operating system in BrainFuck ))... o wait.... bill beat me to it.... but i dont think he got the gist of it though.... its supposed to be small..... well it gives me somthing to do on sunday. Urban Muller..... where do i know that name from,.... its gonna bug me..... was it aminet?? or some wb on amiga..... hmmmmm Oh and NOB.... dude.... simply classic!!!.... Oh and Daphyd, hmmm programming god eh? .... thems some big trousers to be wearing in this forum missy theres some damn good coders here.... most of them eat high level languages like C, C++ 8703ASM and Java with thier cornflakes for extra fiber...... not to sure about Visual Basic though.. i am sure it will stump 'em for a bit..... i generally have to choke that one down .. But seriously Awesome work, I really love asteriods hehe still chuckling over what NOB said.... funny.... now i am going to play with my calculator to make it say boobies after a 25th Reduction of N squared by some scaling vector.... hehe PS: Nice shades Daphyd.... nice shades.....

23 November 2005, 21:38	#31
Zetr0 Ya' like it Retr0? Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: United Kingdom Age: 49 Posts: 9,768	LOL, hey demi-god is good Yeah i have to bitterly admit for microsoft environments, VB has come on a very long way.. was using it at work a while back too... especial ASP.net etc and i find its in the adaption of multiple language that truely makes a programmer taught myself C about 15/16 years ago was taught pascal at school yuck. then a few years after that whent and got a company qualificaion at MicroTech in Sys Analysis, program design methodology, C/C++ and some other stuff lol... and been using pretty much commercailly ever since... HEHEH* all about the retro... yeah.... i love that.... but you need not fear the 3rd dimesion my friend.... the best way to license / reuse multiple sources for 3d engines... and the more i think about it, it would be nice to re-engineer a vecorised version of a few yummy amiga games.... maybe even make 'em multiplayered hehe

23 November 2005, 22:01	#32
mr_0rga5m Tik Gora :D Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Round yo momma's Posts: 1,273	Pascal yuck ?!?!? .. wtf .. shakes head

23 November 2005, 22:05	#33
Zetr0 Ya' like it Retr0? Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: United Kingdom Age: 49 Posts: 9,768	indeed Mr O, yuck to a whole new dimension, almost as yuck as COBOL which really sux lol

23 November 2005, 22:17	#34
mr_0rga5m Tik Gora :D Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Round yo momma's Posts: 1,273	I'm sorry Zetro .. I mistook you for a programmer :P

23 November 2005, 22:25	#35
Doc Mindie In deep Trouble Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Manchester, Made in Norway Age: 51 Posts: 841	A quest for you guys......make a multiplayer Pool of Radiance-type game

24 November 2005, 01:44	#36
demoniac Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: - Posts: 1,696	I tried some stuff using VB.net and C# for a few weeks last year. I ended up getting stuck, not bz of programming issue, but bz I didn't click on some icon on the VS interface. I ended up aborting the project as I got sucked in back into the hardware side of things. I still have some desire to finish the ASP.net/SQL project that I was working on, but I rather do some game programming first.

24 November 2005, 10:20	#37
DaphydTheBard AGF [PC] Games Developer Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Birmingham, UK Age: 46 Posts: 58	Unfortunately, games programming doesn't pay the bills (yet ). It's amazing how "serious" programming and games programming can actually help each other out though.... For example, I only started learning DirectX because of a work project I wrote a few years back (and still support) which was a music sequencer for crematoria (don't even ask (although this project still brings in the money)). From there, I then expanded into other areas of DirectX and got hooked on using it for writing games instead of using API calls. And I started using a class-based approach at work, and then re-wrote my engine to be class-based. I'm pretty much self-taught - no qualifications in programming, but I've been doing it professionaly now for nearly 7 years, which is as good as a degree when it comes to getting a job. When I left my last job I had numerous interviews before I got the job I do now, and I always made it through to the final 2 or 3 candidates, and it was always due to my experience and hands-on, real world approach to programming. I just wish I had more time for games development. I have a 12 hour working day by the time I get home in the evenings, (leave the house at 6:30am, don't get home till 6:30pm) and once you've had tea, put some washing on, fed the cat, and pampered the missus for a bit, there's precious little time (or brain energy) left for "fun" programming. When I was single I used to sit up all night with a bottle of scotsmac, a four-pack of beers, 20 marlboro lights, and code into the early hours. Admittedly I had a hangover most mornings but they were fun times.

24 November 2005, 10:25	#38
keropi . Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Ioannina/Greece Posts: 5,040	yeah, what is crematoria ???? eh?

24 November 2005, 10:30	#39
woody57 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Manchester Posts: 801	Your reality is a common one DaphydTheBard few who have family & morgages to support seldom get to work in what makes them the most happy. Which is a good reason to share the load in creative projects with contacts of a simlar passion & mindset. I think you can tell your work and reporting here have been very well recieved & I certainly would NOT be suprised if 2006 spelt out a new resurgence of interest & combined creativity in the making of at least one or two NEW multi level games from your inspired contribution Thankyou for making the efforts

24 November 2005, 11:45	#40
DaphydTheBard AGF [PC] Games Developer Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Birmingham, UK Age: 46 Posts: 58	Thank you for your kind words Woody, and yes, I can feel a little prickle of excitement about finding and joining this community. I'll wait to here back from Marco about the AGF - that sounds promising!

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