Star Trek Fan Games
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Developer Journal and Screenshots [14 October 2006]
http://bote2.square7.ch/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1154		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  mstrobel [ 10 Jun 2006, 02:58 ]
Post subject:  Developer Journal and Screenshots [14 October 2006]
14 October 2006

It's been a couple months since my last update. Work on the game has continued, usually slowly. This past week has been more productive than usual, and I've made a lot of progress on the UI. I've got the basic galaxy screen mocked up, though some of the statistics are just placeholders. This evening, I implemented fleet route selection with a new pathfinding algorithm. Most of you will be pleased to hear that I have included support for waypoints, so you can Ctrl+Click in multiple sectors to send your fleets on specific routes. I've uploaded a screenshot that shows a fleet route with multiple waypoints that take it through multiple star systems. You can tell by the shape of the route. Note that this UI is not final, and I might change the lines indicating fleet routes to make them more aesthetically pleasing.

Click for Screenshot

---

21 July 2006

It's been a while since I posted an update, so I figured I'd do a quick one now. Since my last post, I spent some more time working on UI components, including the Galaxy Grid control, of which there is a downloadable test in this forum. I then took a couple weeks off to do some brainstorming and re-evaluate some design decisions. I've changed several of the in-game data structures in an attempt to minimize the amount of data that needs to be sent to each player in multiplayer games, thus (hopefully) lowering the multiplayer turn processing time. I started working on the project again last week, though my day job will be keeping me pretty busy until the week of August 21. Still, I hope to spend a lot of time working on the project during the next couple weekends.

---

9 June 2006

I figured I should start a thread to keep people apprised of my work. At the moment, I'm mostly working on backend code, so there's not much to see. However, I have been working on a couple UI elements, including a new map grid. I've included a sneak preview in the screenshot below. Note that this is a work in progress, and it is only meant to demonstrate what the new galaxy grid will look like--the other components (planet view and ship list) are only there for my testing purposes.

Image
Author:  Eon_Janus [ 10 Jun 2006, 03:48 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
beautiful work man...honestly :)
and to think it's not ready yet :P
Author:  Mastermind [ 10 Jun 2006, 16:26 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
That looks very cool!!!

When will be the game already finished?

Mfg. Mastermind from Austria :D .
Author:  panic [ 12 Jun 2006, 01:51 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
Too bad, I liked the hex map from your original work. Looks good, though.
Author:  Matress_of_evil [ 12 Jun 2006, 09:09 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
The hex map was visually nicer, but MStrobel changed it due to overwhelming popular support for the old BOTF square-map.

It may be possible that he could release two versions, (One hex-map, the other the square-map) but this would probably take a lot of work, and would likely make multiplayer impossible.
Author:  mstrobel [ 12 Jun 2006, 13:18 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
Not going to happen, Mattress :). As you said, it would cause too many complications.
Author:  Azhdeen [ 12 Jun 2006, 13:41 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
panic wrote:
Too bad, I liked the hex map from your original work. Looks good, though.


I thought this very same thing since it makes travel a bit more realistic (I can go due north/up the same amount of squares that I can go north-east?). However, from a gameplay standpoint, the squares are a bit easier to work with and do allow for more direct travel paths.

Thanks a bunch for an update, I was really interested in seeing where it's at.
Author:  mstrobel [ 12 Jun 2006, 14:16 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
I liked the hex map as well, but there was a lot of demand among the staff for a square map like the one in the original BOTF. There are benefits to the square map, though--it's easier and faster to draw, pathfinding is slightly simplified, and it's a bit cleaner. I'm trying to make it as visually pleasing as possible so that noone will long for the old hex map :).
Author:  iwulff [ 12 Jun 2006, 14:19 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
Well normally i would like a sector would be rectangle. Also i think hex would make the map smaller. You will have 6 options to go to, instead of 8 with a rectangle setup. I think this is an important issue for any turnbased game with a grid and will affect gameplay. But at the moment i prefere squares over hex's, visually but also in gameplay and because it's a bit more easier to program (i think).
Author:  mstrobel [ 12 Jun 2006, 14:37 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
Having a hex grid would not affect the size of the map in terms of total sectors in the galaxy. I actually used the same coordinate system as I am for the square grid. The only changes were to the function used to calculate the distance between two sectors, the code used to enumerate neighboring sectors, and the UI code. As for movement options, the differences tend to cancel out because of the shifted offset of every other row. The reasons for going with the square grid were strictly aesthetic. And they threatened my family :(.
Author:  iwulff [ 12 Jun 2006, 14:41 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
i was not implying to the size of the map, but merely that it would make the gamestyle more compact. Which is something i don't like. I want to have a feeling that it's a big place out there when playing your game :o .
Author:  dafedz [ 12 Jun 2006, 19:14 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
Lovely work Mike. Would you like the star list so you can get some proper names (and Trek names) in there..? 8)
Author:  mstrobel [ 12 Jun 2006, 19:29 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
dafedz wrote:
Lovely work Mike. Would you like the star list so you can get some proper names (and Trek names) in there..? 8)
Sure. It's still using the galaxy generator from the old Supremacy game right now, but I'll need the new names eventually.
Author:  dafedz [ 12 Jun 2006, 19:48 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
I've got a list somewhere, I'll sort it out and post it ...
Author:  panic [ 12 Jun 2006, 22:02 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
Who would've imagined that Star Trek fans would be so conservative as to demand a standard old square grid... Ahh well, when I get home from work tonight I'll hoist a brew to the brief glory that was the hex-based future! :cry:
Author:  panic [ 12 Jun 2006, 22:07 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
PS - Quick question, mstrobel, are you writing OOP or traditional code?
Author:  mstrobel [ 12 Jun 2006, 22:08 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
panic wrote:
PS - Quick question, mstrobel, are you writing OOP or traditional code?
100% OOD/OOP :)
Author:  iwulff [ 13 Jun 2006, 08:39 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
dafedz wrote:
Lovely work Mike. Would you like the star list so you can get some proper names (and Trek names) in there..? 8)

you mean the 500 names i did with help from som and others? Because that list is still around :wink: .
Author:  dafedz [ 13 Jun 2006, 12:37 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
Yeh where is that? Can't find it anywhere...
Author:  mstrobel [ 13 Jun 2006, 15:55 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
500 names is about how many my current list has, so that's good. Note that it should *not* include the names of any races' home systems. But if it does, you don't have to bother removing them--I can simply remove them in the game code.
Author:  dafedz [ 13 Jun 2006, 18:53 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
Ah right - well I couldn't find the list iwulff mentioned, so this is one I compiled earlier, 700 names roughly - virtually all canon names from Star Trek, plus ones that also appeared in Botf1. Sorry, yes, there are minor race system names included in the list, but they stand out in yellow. I presume there will be a separate list for them, for a number of them do have unique names for their systems which do not reflect race name, ie Beta Renner for the Brekkians etc...

http://www.trekmania.net/temp_files/starlist.htm
Author:  mstrobel [ 13 Jun 2006, 18:59 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
The Home System for each race is defined in the race database. You must define a star name, and you can optionally define the star type, planet names, sizes, and types. If you don't define any planets, they are all randomly generated. Any details that get left out (size/type/etc) get chosen at random. So you could go as far as to define the entire system (like Sol for Humans), or you could simply specify the star name.
Author:  panic [ 13 Jun 2006, 22:55 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
What language/environment are you using?
I just got ahold of the latest blooshed/devc++ distribution; although my c/c++ is rusty, its seems like a good pacakge.
My only problem is how annoying the windows API calls are.

mstrobel wrote:
panic wrote:
PS - Quick question, mstrobel, are you writing OOP or traditional code?
100% OOD/OOP :)
Author:  mstrobel [ 14 Jun 2006, 00:14 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
panic wrote:
What language/environment are you using?
I just got ahold of the latest blooshed/devc++ distribution; although my c/c++ is rusty, its seems like a good pacakge.
My only problem is how annoying the windows API calls are.
I'm using C# with the .NET Framework v2.0 (no native Windows API calls). The graphical client is written in C#/XAML with the Windows Presentation Foundation (formerly code named "Avalon").
Author:  panic [ 14 Jun 2006, 03:52 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
Is all of that software freely available?
Author:  mstrobel [ 14 Jun 2006, 03:59 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
Visual C# 2005 Express Edition is freely available. However, I'm not sure if that is capable of loading the WinFX/WPF extensions. It may require Visual Studio 2005.
Author:  iwulff [ 14 Jun 2006, 08:59 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
Here is the list:

http://www.botfii.armadafleetcommand.co ... topic&t=27

BUt there is a bug with the klingons...
Author:  panic [ 15 Jun 2006, 06:07 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
OK one last thing. I've been browsing around for a good C/C++ development environment that is:

1. Free
2. Well-supported
3. Able to develop cross-platform

and I think I've found a good combo.

If you get the lastest Bloodshed DEV-CPP C/C++ distro (available here: http://www.bloodshed.net/devcpp.html), and then you combine it with the latest version of wxWidgets (available here: http://wxwidgets.org/), you get an integrated development environment which can complie cross-platform GUIs to Windows XP, Linux, and Mac without the need for any runtime libraries or .NET mumbo jumbo. Now you don't get a WSIWYG type environment for building your interface, but alas, you can't have everything.

Thoughts?
Author:  mstrobel [ 15 Jun 2006, 16:41 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
I think there are Qt toolkits for multiple platforms (Win/Mac/Linux), and there's a good UI designer available. You could take a look at that. My knowledge of this area is quite limited, however--I'm mostly a .NET guy.

And, of course, there's always Java/Eclipse, but that's not a C/C++ platform.
Author:  dafedz [ 20 Jun 2006, 16:35 ]
Post subject:  Re: Developer Journal and Screenshots
Star list updated in the database. Now the total is about 850 stars - should be enough. All new entries are at the bottom in a new list, coloured in light blue. A few corrections have been made to the spelling of names previously listed, also in blue...

All new entries taken from the Trek encyclopedia and a few from astonomy books...


cheers
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