The Current state of affairs (pics inside)
by Vince Gee · 03/27/2006 (1:33 am) · 1 comments
Hey all,
I know I've been quiet for the last few weeks. I've been working on a project with a friend and we have been going pretty damn hard of late. What originally started out as a toolkit for TGE/TSE has become a game development effort in TSE.
Yeah, I know TSE has bugs, not ported to other platforms etc... I'm being as careful as possible to make sure that I can upgrade my code as releases are pushed out.
Before you get all excited about TSE, I've had to use a great deal of TGE stuff mainly due to the fact that I'm a programmer and not a artist, and the guy who is doing the artwork (my Partner), (God Bless his soul for learning this stuff in a few weeks) still is quite new to it.
A majority of the code is handle with C++ helper classes. They handle everything from repeatitive database calls to number crunching. The rule of thumb I was following was, "If it bogged the server down as script I move it to C++". This has been helpful on many fronts, but most importantly it has allowed me to prototype complex systems in torque script and then just port them to C++ for performance.
Well, to summarize the work up, the current build has:
1) Persistent Player Enviroment. - I actually have the system saving the players back to the database regularly, and with several of us hammering it, it doesn't seem to choke this includes their stats as well as inventory.
2) Drag and Drop Inventory and Hot Bar - This one took some time. I actually set it up so that you can drag inventory items to other defined slots on your character and each slot can be defined so that only certain items can be placed in them etc. Of course my favorite item is the hot bar, where you can drag inventory items onto and using the 1-9 keys fire either it's fire or use command and it's smart enough to know that if you are using a weapon to start firing it versus a health pack which is just one use.
Since all items are actually defined items in the TGE/TSE world, you can define their onclick event to do things like modify attributes, skills, hitpoints etc. I don't have the framework all done, but it's sure alot simpler than my previous attempts.
3) A crappy skill and Attribute system - Basically it allows me to define skills for a player and link it to the players attributes for checks and such. Most of this is done in TorqueScript except the more intensive math. This thing still needs a ton of work.
4) A currency system base on Platinum, Gold and Silver coins which are objects which reside in your inventory. Most of the bugs seemed worked out of it atm, but I never know what suprises are buried in the code.
5) Vendors - Yes, I finally got vendors working where you can buy and sell items. To be honest I got tired of loading up the map and putting the item on the ground etc so I could test them. Now, I just throw it onto the vendor from the database and restart the engine.
I've put a couple screen shots up for those who like pretty picutes :)
A picture of the inventory system:
A picture of the Vendor Buy Window
A picture of the Vendor Sell Window
I think this week I will focus on bringing containers into place like backpacks etc. My partner who is my artist as well appears to be gone for the week. So... maybe just maybe I'll get lucky and actually finish up Containers, Banks and Player to Player Item trades.
Wish me luck!
Vince
I know I've been quiet for the last few weeks. I've been working on a project with a friend and we have been going pretty damn hard of late. What originally started out as a toolkit for TGE/TSE has become a game development effort in TSE.
Yeah, I know TSE has bugs, not ported to other platforms etc... I'm being as careful as possible to make sure that I can upgrade my code as releases are pushed out.
Before you get all excited about TSE, I've had to use a great deal of TGE stuff mainly due to the fact that I'm a programmer and not a artist, and the guy who is doing the artwork (my Partner), (God Bless his soul for learning this stuff in a few weeks) still is quite new to it.
A majority of the code is handle with C++ helper classes. They handle everything from repeatitive database calls to number crunching. The rule of thumb I was following was, "If it bogged the server down as script I move it to C++". This has been helpful on many fronts, but most importantly it has allowed me to prototype complex systems in torque script and then just port them to C++ for performance.
Well, to summarize the work up, the current build has:
1) Persistent Player Enviroment. - I actually have the system saving the players back to the database regularly, and with several of us hammering it, it doesn't seem to choke this includes their stats as well as inventory.
2) Drag and Drop Inventory and Hot Bar - This one took some time. I actually set it up so that you can drag inventory items to other defined slots on your character and each slot can be defined so that only certain items can be placed in them etc. Of course my favorite item is the hot bar, where you can drag inventory items onto and using the 1-9 keys fire either it's fire or use command and it's smart enough to know that if you are using a weapon to start firing it versus a health pack which is just one use.
Since all items are actually defined items in the TGE/TSE world, you can define their onclick event to do things like modify attributes, skills, hitpoints etc. I don't have the framework all done, but it's sure alot simpler than my previous attempts.
3) A crappy skill and Attribute system - Basically it allows me to define skills for a player and link it to the players attributes for checks and such. Most of this is done in TorqueScript except the more intensive math. This thing still needs a ton of work.
4) A currency system base on Platinum, Gold and Silver coins which are objects which reside in your inventory. Most of the bugs seemed worked out of it atm, but I never know what suprises are buried in the code.
5) Vendors - Yes, I finally got vendors working where you can buy and sell items. To be honest I got tired of loading up the map and putting the item on the ground etc so I could test them. Now, I just throw it onto the vendor from the database and restart the engine.
I've put a couple screen shots up for those who like pretty picutes :)
A picture of the inventory system:
A picture of the Vendor Buy WindowA picture of the Vendor Sell Window
I think this week I will focus on bringing containers into place like backpacks etc. My partner who is my artist as well appears to be gone for the week. So... maybe just maybe I'll get lucky and actually finish up Containers, Banks and Player to Player Item trades.
Wish me luck!
Vince
About the author
Torque Owner Dave Young