Thread: DavidP's Real-Time Strategy Alpha

  1. #1
    l'Anziano DavidP's Avatar
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    DavidP's Real-Time Strategy Alpha

    Well, after a lot of work I have decided to release a very early Alpha of my game project I am working on.

    Currently none of the art is mine, although I am having a friend draw up some animation sequences for me. At the current moment all the art I am using is from other (pirated) sources. The tree is from Age of Empires. The wraith is from StarCraft. The grass is from Civilization II.

    I started out using an isometric tile set (and you can still see evidence of that if you open up tiles4.bmp), but I have recently switched to a square tile set because the math for isometric tiles is horrid. Just converting between grid coordinates and world coordinates is horrid. I dont want to have to deal with all that. Square coordinates are so much easier and faster.

    Once my friend gets his animation sequences to me I will start implementing my own unique units instead of using art from other games. Meanwhile I am going to optimize my pathfinding. I am using A* except for one detail I took out of the end of the algorithm which helps him to find a smarter path, so the wraith doesnt find the smartest paths right now. I will add in that detail so he can find better paths.

    Once I do that I will start working on implementing buildings and more units, and also work on interface design.

    Anyways, here is the link:

    http://students.cs.byu.edu/~dprucs/alpha.zip

    Just click on the wraith to select him (a yellow box will appear under him), and the right click on the map to move him around. Left click anywhere on the map to deselect the wraith.

    Enjoy!
    My Website

    "Circular logic is good because it is."

  2. #2
    C++ Developer XSquared's Avatar
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    Cool. You may want to limit the scroll distance though.
    Last edited by XSquared; 05-18-2004 at 03:21 PM.
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  3. #3
    C > C++ duders ggs's Avatar
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    open the sourcecode dude

    just open it up. forums like these aren't a learning experience without shared source
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  4. #4
    Software Developer jverkoey's Avatar
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    hmm, couple of things:

    I can't select the wraith
    I can't exit the program without manually ending the task

    Other than that, it looks like you've got the basis of a pretty good RTS going there.

    my system specs, in case you're wondering, if they could by any chance have anything to do to make it so i can't select the wraith/exit the program:
    WinXP Home
    2.2ghz
    256 megs ram
    Sucky 16 mb "Intel Graphics Controller GM/GME" video card

  5. #5
    l'Anziano DavidP's Avatar
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    If you are having trouble selecting the wraith, try selecting it at its lower right hand corner. If it still doesnt work, then I dont know what the problem is.

    Also, did you try pressing ESC? I know that is a stupid question, but still, some people do forget. If ESC didnt exit the program then I dont know what the problem is.

    I have a feeling your 16 MB Intel graphics card might have something to do with it....just a feeling....
    My Website

    "Circular logic is good because it is."

  6. #6
    C > C++ duders ggs's Avatar
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    i noticed davidp, that you did not even bother to reply to my post. seriously, why the closed source? is this for some sort of assignment and you don't want fellow classmates to steal source code?

    usually, when looking at peer-created software, i usually read interesting source and rarely compile it. are you opposed to this kind of enjoyment of your product?
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  7. #7
    l'Anziano DavidP's Avatar
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    Sorry, man. No, I am not against shared or open source. I always freely let people view my source.

    There are two reasons why I did not include the source in that zip file:

    1. Right now I am working on two seperate computers. One computer, the family computer with the internet connection, has no programming utilities on it. The other computer, my computer, with no internet connection (as I am home from college right now), is where I do all my programming. Since my main means of transport of data from one computer to the other is diskettes (I did not feel like wasting a CD on 3 MB of data), I decided only to included the exe and all necessary data files for it to run. In fact, at first I had it under 300k until MSVC++ acted gay and wanted me to include 4 of its dll files with the .exe, which I found odd because I had compiled it under release mode and it had never made me do that before with any other of my projects.

    2. I am working with a 56k connection right now. It took 5 minutes just to upload that to my site on BYU's server.

    If you want the source I can move it to a diskette, bring it to this computer, and upload it to my site as another .zip file. However, dont expect it anytime within the next few hours. I have a job interview in 30 minutes and then I have to teach a kid piano right after that. I will upload it sometime tonight.
    My Website

    "Circular logic is good because it is."

  8. #8
    C > C++ duders ggs's Avatar
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    thanks for your time davidp, the source will be appreciated whenever you can get it
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  9. #9
    The Defective GRAPE Lurker's Avatar
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    ggs, the source is his (hopefully...we want honesty here ). If he wants to open it up to the public, the choice is his. Don't pressure him; maybe he just wanted to wait for a later version.
    Last edited by Lurker; 05-18-2004 at 04:38 PM.
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  10. #10
    The Defective GRAPE Lurker's Avatar
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    By the way, you are using SDL, right? SDL uses opengl? Just wondering.
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  11. #11
    Software Developer jverkoey's Avatar
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    yah, escape works, i was just noticing that you can't click the X button or right click-close the program. Also, I'd suggest making the click area of the units a bit bigger, because when I tried to use it the first time, I clicked in the center of the unit and that didn't work, so i dragged a selection box, and that didn't work, so I just thought there was something wrong with the game or something..

    The pathfinding seems to work nicely though, does it take in to account obstacles and things at this point?

    Overall though, I must say the the engine does look pretty nice so far. Good luck with the engine, and I can't wait to see what the end result of the game will be.

  12. #12
    Shadow12345
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    I think it looks good because although there's not a ton of functionality, I know how difficult it is to get a concise system setup...I'm sure that in the source you have things laid out such that it will be easy to build a larger system, and hopefully an interactive game with it.

    Keep up the good work d00d.

  13. #13
    l'Anziano DavidP's Avatar
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    >By the way, you are using SDL, right? SDL uses opengl? Just wondering.

    I am using SDL. I am a big fan of SDL. It is light weight, fast, portable, and simple to use. So far, as far as I know, everything I have coded is ANSI standard C++, so it should be as portable as possible. SDL is completely compatible with OpenGL. Whenever I write an OpenGL program I usually use SDL.

    >The pathfinding seems to work nicely though, does it take in to account obstacles and things at this point?

    Thanks. It does in fact take into account obstacles, however, I have no obstacles on this map. Well, I guess I do...but wraiths fly...so the tree has no effect on the wraith.

    The pathfinding I think so far is my favorite part of my engine. It is my first time to do pathfinding code, so I am proud of it and happy that it works.

    >I know how difficult it is to get a concise system setup...

    You got that right. Although it might seem simple, I think the largest problem I have had so far is simply conversions of grid coordinates to world coordinates. I have 3 coordinate systems: grid coordinates, world coordinates, and screen coordinates.

    I used to only have two: world (which technically was grid coordinates) and screen. I also used to use isometric tiles. Ugh...that was painful. Dont ever use isometric tiles. They are horrid. I have had to change the map system at least 4 times so far. Finally I got it right the last time I changed it. I decided to implement my 3 coordinate system idea and also change from isometric to square tiles. I works wonderfully now.

    There is actually more functionality then you see in this little demo. It is just hard to display a whole lot of functionality when you dont have the proper artwork and units. My friend is creating artwork for units right now, so once I get that in I can hopefully display much more of the functionality. Much much more.

    [edit]
    >so i dragged a selection box, and that didn't work, so I just thought there was something wrong with the game or something..

    oh yeah, the drag selection box doesnt work yet it draws the box but as of now i havent made it actually do any selecting.
    [/edit]
    Last edited by DavidP; 05-18-2004 at 06:56 PM.
    My Website

    "Circular logic is good because it is."

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