Turn-based Game in Reaction Engine
by Alex \"bathala\" Rufon · in General Game Discussion · 11/21/2003 (9:38 pm) · 5 replies
Hello Everyone.
Before you proceed, please take a moment to read this post:
How do I make a turn-based game on Torque?
The reason I'm posting here is that I have this nagging feeling that porting my game from GapiDraw to Torque Game Engine is a bit of an overkill. I'm wondering if Reaction Engine is enough.
So what are my requirements:
1. The game area is in 3D and the camera is not bound to a player unit. Instead, the player can move the camera around the game area.
2. The game area is a fixed sized 36x36 "unit" square area. What I mean is that the area should be divisible by 36 and I would be able to draw grids signifying the 36x36 boxes.
3. I should be able to pick-up and drag player units around the world. Of course there are constraints and I should be able to implement them.
4. Particle effects. Nuff said.
5. I should be to highlight selected items.
6. I should be able to implement a sort of digital measuring tape. So as to allow the player to check a units distance to a point in the game area.
7. Multiplayer. Although I can live with a hot-seat type of game though. :)
About me:
1. Im primarily a VB developer.
2. Not very good at C++, although I know enough use GapiDraw.
3. I know GDI but I'm a little clueless with OpenGL and DirectX.
4. I'm pretty bad with Math.
So what do you guys think? Should I jump ship to Reaction Engine?
Alex
Before you proceed, please take a moment to read this post:
How do I make a turn-based game on Torque?
The reason I'm posting here is that I have this nagging feeling that porting my game from GapiDraw to Torque Game Engine is a bit of an overkill. I'm wondering if Reaction Engine is enough.
So what are my requirements:
1. The game area is in 3D and the camera is not bound to a player unit. Instead, the player can move the camera around the game area.
2. The game area is a fixed sized 36x36 "unit" square area. What I mean is that the area should be divisible by 36 and I would be able to draw grids signifying the 36x36 boxes.
3. I should be able to pick-up and drag player units around the world. Of course there are constraints and I should be able to implement them.
4. Particle effects. Nuff said.
5. I should be to highlight selected items.
6. I should be able to implement a sort of digital measuring tape. So as to allow the player to check a units distance to a point in the game area.
7. Multiplayer. Although I can live with a hot-seat type of game though. :)
About me:
1. Im primarily a VB developer.
2. Not very good at C++, although I know enough use GapiDraw.
3. I know GDI but I'm a little clueless with OpenGL and DirectX.
4. I'm pretty bad with Math.
So what do you guys think? Should I jump ship to Reaction Engine?
Alex
About the author
I am an independent game developer who's never going to make it in the industry because I'm color blind and has absolutely no imagination.
#2
im working on the same type of game, i think. have you ever played final fantasy tactics? i am making a game (for now) with the same design features as fft. later on when i got all the main points down, ill start modifying to my own desires.
anyways, if thats the kind of game you are talking about, its VERY doable, infact, i found it the best option. re has everything you need, and nothing you dont. and if its not everything you need, re has enough to get you started on what else you want to add.
me and my partner have written a complete network component for re. we made it VERY simple to use (our demo is but a few lines) and it plugs in very easily to re. we dont mind giving out the fully functional libs, so if anyone is interested you can email me.
were also about 80% done on a complete re particle engine. look for that soon.
my answer to you... if you want to make a game like this and dont want to mess with vb anymore and you want to start getting into c++. this is the best 3d engine i can think of for you to use for your game.
/me wishes he had a 3D modeler at his disposal
11/22/2003 (2:11 pm)
Alex, im working on the same type of game, i think. have you ever played final fantasy tactics? i am making a game (for now) with the same design features as fft. later on when i got all the main points down, ill start modifying to my own desires.
anyways, if thats the kind of game you are talking about, its VERY doable, infact, i found it the best option. re has everything you need, and nothing you dont. and if its not everything you need, re has enough to get you started on what else you want to add.
me and my partner have written a complete network component for re. we made it VERY simple to use (our demo is but a few lines) and it plugs in very easily to re. we dont mind giving out the fully functional libs, so if anyone is interested you can email me.
were also about 80% done on a complete re particle engine. look for that soon.
my answer to you... if you want to make a game like this and dont want to mess with vb anymore and you want to start getting into c++. this is the best 3d engine i can think of for you to use for your game.
/me wishes he had a 3D modeler at his disposal
#3
Best of Luck,
Jeff "Sanguinus" Peck
11/22/2003 (2:35 pm)
I'm no great C++ programmer either mate, and RE was easy enough for me to delve into... in fact, I had a working particle engine that I ported from an example tutorial I found on the net (somewhere). I would advise you to definately consider RE even though you aren't very good with C++. The math part, however, may be a little bit more difficult yet still definately doable.Best of Luck,
Jeff "Sanguinus" Peck
#4
11/22/2003 (8:26 pm)
I'm curious why you didn't go with VB since you know that language? You don't really need the extra horsepower of C++ for a turn-based game. Might not be any decent 3D engines for VB out there for all I know.
#5
Its a policy I implement. I usually do consultation and contractual projects besides my day job. Early on, I found out that its better in the long run if I do my side project in another programming language from the one I use in my day job. It solves a lot of mental, social and legal problems in the long run. :)
@Jeff
When I was still taking my BSBA in Economics ... there was a required course called Quantitative Calculus offered in during the second semester of my second year. So after mid-terms things were so bad for me that the professor advised me to drop the course and retake it later on since failing it means I'm going to loose my scholarship. So when I was in 3rd year, I took it on again ... same thing.
Then its my 4th year. The only reason I couldn't make dean list is because I kept dropping the Quantitative Calculus course. Unfortunately, I didn't have any choice ... if I dont pass the course I dont graduate. So after the final exam, the professor called me to her office to inform me that I failed the course. Since she knows my situation (she was the only professor teaching that course), she asked me to review again and she'll let me retake the exam the next day. She gave me a totally different exam and ... I still failed it. Wow that was the lowest point in my life. I almost went down on my knees asking her to give me another chance. She did and told me to come back the next day. The good thing was she really did took pity on me. What she did was she took all the question I got right in the first 2 exams ... of course I got everything right. She gave me a grade of 75% (barely passing) and I graduated that year (1994). :)
@Anzor
Yes, I'm aware of final fantasy tactics and I am making something similar but more of a mech variety. I own a GBA and a PS2 (which I can't use since my son is hogging it). Im planning on getting my hands on an XBOX when I get my 13th month pay this year.
I'm doing a direct and strict translation of the MechWarrior: Dark Age game by WizKidsGames. I wasn't saying before what the game was because of legal reason. You see, I know for a fact that I could never release this game because if I do ... WizKidsGames and Microsoft would sue me for everything that I have and more.
I'm building it since I'm always on the road I its impossible to practice this game on my own. Another thing is that I'm planning on using this to try out/formulate new battle plans without being laughed out of the tourney.
@Tom
Thanks for the heads up. I actually thought that RE is somewhat similar to Torque. From what your saying, its more similar to GapiDraw that just exposes standard classes and encapsulates the techi stuff.
Still, I believe I have a realistic view into this. I believe that RE doesn't support all that I need out of the box but it would allow me to do so (just have to sit down and sweat it out). The only question is how difficult it would be for me to implement what I need. :)
@Everyone
Thanks for the info. With this, I'm already convince that I should use RE for my game. I'm still planning on using Torque but that would be later on when I finish it (or atleast happy in the implementation) with RE.
I'm getting RE after this month's pay day so wish me luck. ;)
Alex
11/23/2003 (7:12 pm)
@ThomasIts a policy I implement. I usually do consultation and contractual projects besides my day job. Early on, I found out that its better in the long run if I do my side project in another programming language from the one I use in my day job. It solves a lot of mental, social and legal problems in the long run. :)
@Jeff
When I was still taking my BSBA in Economics ... there was a required course called Quantitative Calculus offered in during the second semester of my second year. So after mid-terms things were so bad for me that the professor advised me to drop the course and retake it later on since failing it means I'm going to loose my scholarship. So when I was in 3rd year, I took it on again ... same thing.
Then its my 4th year. The only reason I couldn't make dean list is because I kept dropping the Quantitative Calculus course. Unfortunately, I didn't have any choice ... if I dont pass the course I dont graduate. So after the final exam, the professor called me to her office to inform me that I failed the course. Since she knows my situation (she was the only professor teaching that course), she asked me to review again and she'll let me retake the exam the next day. She gave me a totally different exam and ... I still failed it. Wow that was the lowest point in my life. I almost went down on my knees asking her to give me another chance. She did and told me to come back the next day. The good thing was she really did took pity on me. What she did was she took all the question I got right in the first 2 exams ... of course I got everything right. She gave me a grade of 75% (barely passing) and I graduated that year (1994). :)
@Anzor
Yes, I'm aware of final fantasy tactics and I am making something similar but more of a mech variety. I own a GBA and a PS2 (which I can't use since my son is hogging it). Im planning on getting my hands on an XBOX when I get my 13th month pay this year.
I'm doing a direct and strict translation of the MechWarrior: Dark Age game by WizKidsGames. I wasn't saying before what the game was because of legal reason. You see, I know for a fact that I could never release this game because if I do ... WizKidsGames and Microsoft would sue me for everything that I have and more.
I'm building it since I'm always on the road I its impossible to practice this game on my own. Another thing is that I'm planning on using this to try out/formulate new battle plans without being laughed out of the tourney.
@Tom
Thanks for the heads up. I actually thought that RE is somewhat similar to Torque. From what your saying, its more similar to GapiDraw that just exposes standard classes and encapsulates the techi stuff.
Still, I believe I have a realistic view into this. I believe that RE doesn't support all that I need out of the box but it would allow me to do so (just have to sit down and sweat it out). The only question is how difficult it would be for me to implement what I need. :)
@Everyone
Thanks for the info. With this, I'm already convince that I should use RE for my game. I'm still planning on using Torque but that would be later on when I finish it (or atleast happy in the implementation) with RE.
I'm getting RE after this month's pay day so wish me luck. ;)
Alex
Torque 3D Owner Tom Bampton
Looking at your list, everything you have stated you would have to write yourself. Most of it is pretty easy, but it really depends on your experience with C++.
T.