Life is feudal. Sandbox MMORPG, with full terraforming.
by Vladimir aka Bobik · 05/12/2011 (6:48 am) · 16 comments
Well, scroll through that video and you will get a catch, of where our terraforming engine gone.
In current version, besides tunnel building and expanding, you can also shape a surface of terrain:
1) raise/lower ground levels with 10cm step;
2) flatten ground for future building placements + you can flatten it with a raising or lowering angle;
3) raising/lowering gorund level can lead to sloughing, depends on material types on target and neighboring cells;
4) dig tunnnels on the surface of terrain, resulting in moats, paths or whatever.
Just decided to post that blog to show off some our development results, and, maybe, to find like-minded persons, who also like terraforming aspects.
If you need any somments, on how technicaly we're doing that - feel free to ask here.
More info about project itself at lifeisfeudal.com/index.php (we hasn't finished our site yet, so it is not published currently).
In current version, besides tunnel building and expanding, you can also shape a surface of terrain:
1) raise/lower ground levels with 10cm step;
2) flatten ground for future building placements + you can flatten it with a raising or lowering angle;
3) raising/lowering gorund level can lead to sloughing, depends on material types on target and neighboring cells;
4) dig tunnnels on the surface of terrain, resulting in moats, paths or whatever.
Just decided to post that blog to show off some our development results, and, maybe, to find like-minded persons, who also like terraforming aspects.
If you need any somments, on how technicaly we're doing that - feel free to ask here.
More info about project itself at lifeisfeudal.com/index.php (we hasn't finished our site yet, so it is not published currently).
#2
05/12/2011 (9:02 am)
Good job guys! Keep it up! 
#3
05/12/2011 (9:50 am)
That is pretty danged cool! Do you plan on having bad guys spawn in your mines, etc, based on distance from population centers and terrain type or something? I'm thinking back to the old (and new, I suppose) D&D random encounter tables, just to make things more interesting and less "safe" for players. It would also give some free form adventure, since you could have "quests" that don't require direct design - your mission is to clean up your own mines because you've let them become infested with bad guys!
#4
About resorce - we might release that as a resource, but currently it's too far from being complete to release its source to community, i believe.
About spawning - we're planning to make sandbox MMORPG with a rich player interaction, but PvE will be limited to a wild animal hunting, so only mob in your mine might be a wild bear that just wandered inside. But nothing prevents other players to dig toward your mine from another side of mountain and steal your precious ore 8)
05/12/2011 (11:38 am)
About terraforming - we use almost same tools as a world builder editor is using to shape terrain surface. And about tunnels - we use advanced data file (.ter2) to store all layers data in each cell of terrain and we use Convex shapes (sketch tool) and generate them in a runtime to represent tunnels walls, ceiling and floor.About resorce - we might release that as a resource, but currently it's too far from being complete to release its source to community, i believe.
About spawning - we're planning to make sandbox MMORPG with a rich player interaction, but PvE will be limited to a wild animal hunting, so only mob in your mine might be a wild bear that just wandered inside. But nothing prevents other players to dig toward your mine from another side of mountain and steal your precious ore 8)
#5
05/12/2011 (3:38 pm)
That is awesome! :D 
#6
05/12/2011 (6:55 pm)
really interesing! good job! 
#7
05/13/2011 (5:35 am)
That's cool Valimir. 3D version of Dwarf Fortress anyone? 
#8
05/13/2011 (1:36 pm)
Awesome ! 
#9
05/13/2011 (4:41 pm)
This is something I'm very interested in myself. 
#10
05/13/2011 (6:05 pm)
@Vladimir - Awesome! I'm interested in a resource as well! I guess with this you can also answer the question about using a rocket luncher to create craters into the terrain?
#11
05/13/2011 (11:47 pm)
Well, it is possible 8). But i believe there were an resource somewhere, where deformable terrain has been already done, no? 
#12
05/14/2011 (6:12 am)
Pretty cool. How is the new terrain data being shared between clients? Are you using something like the Collabartive tool?
#13
05/14/2011 (10:13 am)
No, we've written our own format for storing history of terrain changes since server start and transfering them to clients. So, new clients recieve these changes, when they connect. We do not us any tools for that.
#14
Well, there is no "helping hand page", so I hope the forum can suffice.
I'd love to join your project, I intended to start making my own mmo like this, but you beat me to it :)
As for what I can do, I am mainly a web developer, so I'd be happy to help finish your website(Such as that helping hands page that doesnt exist).
I'm still learning, so I'm not much good at Torque, but like my web development, I learn fast.
I intend to work for free, all I ask is that when all is done, I get to maintain my own server, or shard as UO terminology would have it. Or we can work something out, I hope to run a server, but maybe you wouldnt want me to. Either way I'd still like to be part of this project, in some way.
06/02/2011 (9:44 am)
Quote:Still, we have a lot of work to do, and will happy to accept any kind of help, you are willing to offer. Read more on our helping hand page.
Well, there is no "helping hand page", so I hope the forum can suffice.
I'd love to join your project, I intended to start making my own mmo like this, but you beat me to it :)
As for what I can do, I am mainly a web developer, so I'd be happy to help finish your website(Such as that helping hands page that doesnt exist).
I'm still learning, so I'm not much good at Torque, but like my web development, I learn fast.
I intend to work for free, all I ask is that when all is done, I get to maintain my own server, or shard as UO terminology would have it. Or we can work something out, I hope to run a server, but maybe you wouldnt want me to. Either way I'd still like to be part of this project, in some way.
#15
06/08/2011 (4:39 am)
Thanx for getting in touch with us. Actually, there is A helping hand page, which you can find in our main menu (Community->A helping hand). I would like you to write a small CV about your IT experience, age, interests, gaming experience and we will see, what we can work out.
#16
I was afraid you would ask for a CV. Since I am certain you will be taken aback by my....lack of professional qualifications, I hope a very short, informal will do.
I am 15 years of age, my interests are in scripting, mainly PHP and some Lua flavors. For my gaming experience, I have played a long list of games, and I seem to be drawn to the more sandbox ones, like Minecraft, Blockland, Terraria, and my own Lua scripted mod of WoW. To add to that, I once made my own game, a 2D MMORPG using the Eclipse Engine. I ran a World Of Warcraft server up untill a few months ago, when, having slowly lost my players to another server, I shut it down. On this server(ArcEmu Revision 3165), I used it's Lua backend to script a number of things, from dynamic teleporters, to an entire player housing system. I currently run a Terraria server, and have in the past run a minecraft server. As for IT experience, I co-own a small town computer repairs company with my father. We handle all sorts of problems, from computer set-ups, backups, stubborn unknown issues, software installation, and malware/virus removal, but our company is limited to our county.
That's my CV. Best I have considering I've never had to write one before.
On a side note, I saw on that link to the helping hands page you gave, you are looking for 3D models? I have some models, a friend of mine bought them with the rest of torque, but when he gave up on it(claimed it was too difficult for him), he gave them to me, as I had expressed intrest in it. He thought I could make use of them, thought I would actually be able to use torque. Well, I'm trying. Anyway, I have several model packs, if you have use for them. I think the castle pack and medivial weapons pack will be of most use.
06/10/2011 (8:50 pm)
As for the helping hand page, perhaps it is a browser incompatability, becuase there are no links at all on the website that I can see.I was afraid you would ask for a CV. Since I am certain you will be taken aback by my....lack of professional qualifications, I hope a very short, informal will do.
I am 15 years of age, my interests are in scripting, mainly PHP and some Lua flavors. For my gaming experience, I have played a long list of games, and I seem to be drawn to the more sandbox ones, like Minecraft, Blockland, Terraria, and my own Lua scripted mod of WoW. To add to that, I once made my own game, a 2D MMORPG using the Eclipse Engine. I ran a World Of Warcraft server up untill a few months ago, when, having slowly lost my players to another server, I shut it down. On this server(ArcEmu Revision 3165), I used it's Lua backend to script a number of things, from dynamic teleporters, to an entire player housing system. I currently run a Terraria server, and have in the past run a minecraft server. As for IT experience, I co-own a small town computer repairs company with my father. We handle all sorts of problems, from computer set-ups, backups, stubborn unknown issues, software installation, and malware/virus removal, but our company is limited to our county.
That's my CV. Best I have considering I've never had to write one before.
On a side note, I saw on that link to the helping hands page you gave, you are looking for 3D models? I have some models, a friend of mine bought them with the rest of torque, but when he gave up on it(claimed it was too difficult for him), he gave them to me, as I had expressed intrest in it. He thought I could make use of them, thought I would actually be able to use torque. Well, I'm trying. Anyway, I have several model packs, if you have use for them. I think the castle pack and medivial weapons pack will be of most use.
Torque 3D Owner Paul Yoskowitz
WinterLeaf Entertainment
how is this being done? is this something that youre willing to release as a resource?