In-game terrain editing?
by Eric Rea · in Torque Game Engine · 03/26/2007 (12:37 pm) · 5 replies
I was thinking of a mod idea that would involve players being able to use something like the terrain editing tools in real-time in-game to alter the landscape and then be able to jump right into the action. my question is, would this be do able? how extensive would the modding be? and.. could you sell this game, which would essentialy be repackaging torques terrain editor.
oh... and i want to do it in a mulitplayer setting :)
am i mad?
thanks in advance!
oh... and i want to do it in a mulitplayer setting :)
am i mad?
thanks in advance!
#2
03/27/2007 (9:27 am)
Thanks Amr! I checked out 'shelled' and there is indeed real-time terrain deformation which shows me that it's possible.. at least to a certain degree. what i want to achieve is something more along the lines of basicaly the tge terrain editor. maybe each player would have a plot of land that they could augment in realtime and also watch the others shaping their own landscapes. so essentialy keeping the terrain editor tool from tge but making it part of the game. do you think this would be more difficult? 
#3
If that's the case, then I would imagine that doing something like you plan to do would be relatively straight forward - for example, you could find which part of the terrain the mouse is pointing at, then adjust the height depending on the mouse moving up or down.
The best way to find out Eric would be to see if the Shelled programmers are willing to share their code - the game is free, so I'm guessing they might be more willing to share their code. That way you can see how their technology works and see how it fits your problem.
--Amr
03/27/2007 (9:38 am)
Well, since I haven't done anythink like this myself, I can't give you an accurate answer. I'm not sure how the terrain modifying system in Shelled works, but I would imaging that it would work along the lines of you being able to set the height of a particular terrain coordinate.If that's the case, then I would imagine that doing something like you plan to do would be relatively straight forward - for example, you could find which part of the terrain the mouse is pointing at, then adjust the height depending on the mouse moving up or down.
The best way to find out Eric would be to see if the Shelled programmers are willing to share their code - the game is free, so I'm guessing they might be more willing to share their code. That way you can see how their technology works and see how it fits your problem.
--Amr
#4
--Amr
EDIT: Found a link to one here. I'm under the impression that there's a more advanced version somewhere.
03/27/2007 (9:45 am)
Just had a bit of a search and found this blog. It turns out that GG employee Stephen Zepp has worked on a real-time terrain deformation resource. However, I can't find a link to the resource, so try emailing him for it. Be sure to let me know if you find anything!--Amr
EDIT: Found a link to one here. I'm under the impression that there's a more advanced version somewhere.
Torque Owner Amr Bekhit
Real-time terrain deformation over network has indeed been done before in Torque. An great example of this is the free game Shelled!. I suggest you email the guys who made it for some information on that.
I do believe that it requires a fair amount of source code changing, but if those guys are willing to share their technology, it will go a lot easier for you.
Good luck!
--Amr