Well as you may have guessed from the lack of updates here, I haven’t quite been working on UQM:XNA too much nowadays.

Essentially the project finally ran out of steam.  Factors include: making it onto XBLCG would be complicated since its Toys For Bobs IP, there being a ton of work remaining just to get it to a finished state(not to mention my old code is not very efficient and doesnt run well on the XBOX), and not much interest on my part to pursue making a PC only version.

So what have I been doing lately?  I’ve spent the last few months finishing up what will be my first XBLCG game- Puzzwords!

Essentially it’s Scrabble combined with Columns :)  It took a while to complete but I am pretty satisfied with the end result.  I am very happy I managed to fit in online multiplayer and highscore lists, it looked like I wouldn’t be able to do it at first    I have my fingers crossed that people will actually play it online!  Most XBLCG games dont have big enough audiences to sustain online multiplayer for very long, but I am hoping the 31 player matches will help instead to just limiting it to one vs one.

Coming soon to Community Games (as soon as it passes peer review)

<br /><a href=”http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=ed43f680-9a9a-4d40-9f43-4c9205fdb3da” target=”_new” title=”Puzzwords Trailer”>Video: Puzzwords Trailer</a>

As I type this, I am downloading and trying XBLCG games from the marketplace!  Its cool!  All that waiting and now the day has finally come :)   It would’ve been so awesome to have UQM:XNA on there.  It’s kindof sad having worked on this project for so long and missing out on the big opening party!  Ah well…   : P

Nothin’ done this week!  Go look at www.starcontroller.com instead

So I’ve been working on the prototype and realized that I’ve been focusing on the details too much, not something quick and simple.  In one the prototypes I’ve made, you fly a ship around and capture points, and in the other you can spawn ships from planets and direct them around the map.

Anyway, I dont think I really need to go too indepth with this prototype.  Its a fairly tried and true game style, it has been done plenty of times by now in a variety of games: TF2, Battlefield, Undertow,  etc.  I just wanted to at least attempt doing a prototype before committing myself to the real thing. I’m also thinking at the moment that C++ is probably the best choice for development.  I tried some multiplayer browser games and I’m not totally convinced that Flash handles net games all that well.

Before I spend several months programming a C++ version, I figured it’d be a good idea to make a prototype first!  So I’ve been working on a flash mockup in between NHL09 games(addicted, argh).

Then I got to thinking, what if the actual game was done in Flash too?  Why not?  Theres multiplayer flash games out there too.  Actionscript 3 seems capable of handling it so far.

Why Flash?   ZERO porting process and instantly playable in any browser.  If my goal is to get the max number of people playing it, those are some pretty huge benefits!  However, the gameplay experience may not be the best I suppose.  When I think of it, games like Maple Story (which my cousins inexplicably keep playing) and Combat Arms seem to be quite popular despite having an install process.

By doing this mockup I should be able to see if sticking with Flash would be a good idea.  And perhaps if it turns out well, I can try implementing multiplayer in it.

The lessons in SDL continue!  I am trying to figure out the best way to structure an online game.

Ideally want to follow the structure of Quake2/3, breaking the game into specific server/client modules and allowing for dedicated servers, server mods and custom content.

I am understanding C++ more, been reading a C++ for Dummies book from the library

Also been learning networking with SDL_Net and I can now send info packets  just like I was doing with XNA.  The game will definitely be built around UDP protocol, which is generally the norm for fast networked games I gather (although maybe not frame lockstepped games such as RTS or UQM).

This C++ port looks like it will take a while, it is not going to be a small task.  But I’ve already come this far!  And learning C++ is good

http://forums.indiegamer.com - Forum for Indie Game Development

I just finished Braid yesterday and now find myself checking out peoples interpretations on what the story is about..  Like this thread!    *SPOILERS* The Story of Braid, EVERYTHING spoiled

So thats it for this week!

Anthony posted a sweet update to his Star Controller blog today! It is none other than a MP3 of Duke Nukem himself, describing why he loves Star Control!

Check it out!

http://digg.com/pc_games/Duke_Nukem_Loves_Star_Control

This week I began my learning of SDL.  My last real C programming experience was back when I first learned it while programming mods for Quake2.  I’ve forgotten quite a bit since then

I’ve also have been spoiled by how user-friendly C# is in comparison.  I spent a whole day trying to get it so I can rotate and scale an image, getting things to compile can be confusing for a newb like me.

So right now, I’m just figuring out how to best port my code over to C++.  This feels alot like starting all over again!

Guess what… Networking is hard! Nothing really new on the UQM:XNA front this week, I have just been studying up on network programming.

I think I know enough to be able to make a basic client/server system, but without client prediction or lag compensation, it would be pretty hard to maneuver in-game. So right now I’m just working on a seperate client/server test, trying to recreate how a game like Quake3 works around lag. Here’s some of the links I’ve been reading.

http://trac.bookofhook.com/bookofhook/trac.cgi/wiki/Quake3Networking

http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Lag_Compensation

http://www.flipcode.com/archives/Network_Game_Programming-Issue_07_I_bent_my_Wookie.shtml

Interesting stuff. I dont have a complete grasp on it quite yet but I’m starting to understand more.

Well, thats it for this week!

Oh yeah, the DBP contest (they are giving out free 1 year XNA trial memberships) is ending on TUESDAY. This is your last chance to sign up. Do it if you’re interested in playing the game on your 360. Personally I’m looking past the Xbox360 now and will be focusing on porting the game to SDL after I figure out this networking stuff.
https://www.dreambuildplay.com/main/default.aspx

So this week has been dedicated completely to networking. How goes the networking?

Slow!

So far:

you can connect to another person

assemble your fleet

and spawn in a ship

move it around, laggily

Initally I was hoping to get the game functional just by sending the controller inputs each frame, but its much too slow and would take alot of work to do it properly on top of that.So I dont think it is possible to get the networking fully operational by the September 23rd DBP deadline. I guess that means I can relax then! But hold on, theres a massive list of stuff to do still!

Current order of tasks:

XBOX Live multiplayer // ease the game into a networkable state

Port to SDL? // simpler install process (no .NET / C++ crap to install), ability to go multiplatform (Mac/Linux)

Non-XBOX Live online multiplayer // add internet functionality for everyone who doesn’t have a Creators Club account AND Xbox Live Gold membership (approx. 99.99999% of the internet)

Expanded online multiplayer modes // add something that will hopefully keep people playing

Expanded challenge mode capability // towards being more game level like, rather than simply a big melee battle

Story campaign mode // Hoo boy, after doing all the above, this could just be wishful thinking

O_O

Also, to be clear about the DBP deadline- I am not submitting the game to the contest since its not my game! The end of the DBP contest just means there will be no more free Creators Club memberships, leaving paying for a subscription as the only option to get the game on the xbox.