What's Everyone Up To? (Sept 2012 Edition)
by David Wyand · in General Discussion · 09/04/2012 (8:52 am) · 13 replies
Greetings!
Over on the Associates forum I've posted every month for the last 2.5 years asking what people have been up to and what they hope to accomplish over the next month. I thought I would give it a try with the greater GarageGames community starting today!
Some examples of what to talk about:
- Write a sentence or two (or more if you're inspired) on what you've been working on, or hope to do.
- Post a link to your latest game dev blog.
- Post screen shots or links to your game's in-progress videos.
- Let us know about your change in game dev jobs or what group of people you've started working with.
If you don't have enough to write a GarageGames blog post but still want to update us about your project, let us know. Maybe after some discussion you'll be inspired to write more on a particular topic.
Some months a lot of people will respond, and other times not so much. It is the usual ebb and flow of indie and professional game development. In the end it is all about finding out what your mates are up to and continuing the discussion.
So, what have you been up to? What do you hope to accomplish this month?
- Dave
Over on the Associates forum I've posted every month for the last 2.5 years asking what people have been up to and what they hope to accomplish over the next month. I thought I would give it a try with the greater GarageGames community starting today!
Some examples of what to talk about:
- Write a sentence or two (or more if you're inspired) on what you've been working on, or hope to do.
- Post a link to your latest game dev blog.
- Post screen shots or links to your game's in-progress videos.
- Let us know about your change in game dev jobs or what group of people you've started working with.
If you don't have enough to write a GarageGames blog post but still want to update us about your project, let us know. Maybe after some discussion you'll be inspired to write more on a particular topic.
Some months a lot of people will respond, and other times not so much. It is the usual ebb and flow of indie and professional game development. In the end it is all about finding out what your mates are up to and continuing the discussion.
So, what have you been up to? What do you hope to accomplish this month?
- Dave
About the author
A long time Associate of the GarageGames' community and author of the Torque 3D Game Development Cookbook. Buy it today from Packt Publishing!
#2
I have been working on an Improved Particle System of which the free version have already been released, featuring MeshEmitters and GraphEmitters.
The IPS Pro have taken some serious steps forward, for a moment I were prepared to split it up into smaller releases due to starting at the University so having less time for developing. But now I got 7 new emitters in the IPS Pro, which I hope to have finished by the end of this month!
So exclusively for this thread here is a list of some of the new emitters that will be in the IPS Pro:
MeshEmitter - standard MeshEmitter, also included in IPS Lite
GraphEmitter - emission based on mathematical expressions, also included in IPS Lite
GroundEmitter - simply emit particles along the terrain can be limited to certain materials on the terrain, so you can draw a path through the burning ground!
RadiusMeshEmitter - Just like the MeshEmitter but has a spherical limit.
Exclusives:
MaskEmitter - Emission based on a image-based mask.
Ground versions of both Mask and Graph emitter
I will keep the last goodies to myself a little longer!
DevBlog about the RadiusMeshEmitter
DevBlog about GroundEmitter and MeshEmitter
Also:
My own little show-off thread which I desperately try to convince people to post some screenshots or videos about their use of the IPS in to no avail :(
Hope it was an interesting read! And I am very excited to read other peoples post here!
09/04/2012 (9:33 am)
Well, this seems like a great post so I might aswell throw in some exclusive information about my IPS Pro for Torque! It's not a game, but I hope it qualifies anw!I have been working on an Improved Particle System of which the free version have already been released, featuring MeshEmitters and GraphEmitters.
The IPS Pro have taken some serious steps forward, for a moment I were prepared to split it up into smaller releases due to starting at the University so having less time for developing. But now I got 7 new emitters in the IPS Pro, which I hope to have finished by the end of this month!
So exclusively for this thread here is a list of some of the new emitters that will be in the IPS Pro:
MeshEmitter - standard MeshEmitter, also included in IPS Lite
GraphEmitter - emission based on mathematical expressions, also included in IPS Lite
GroundEmitter - simply emit particles along the terrain can be limited to certain materials on the terrain, so you can draw a path through the burning ground!
RadiusMeshEmitter - Just like the MeshEmitter but has a spherical limit.
Exclusives:
MaskEmitter - Emission based on a image-based mask.
Ground versions of both Mask and Graph emitter
I will keep the last goodies to myself a little longer!
DevBlog about the RadiusMeshEmitter
DevBlog about GroundEmitter and MeshEmitter
Also:
My own little show-off thread which I desperately try to convince people to post some screenshots or videos about their use of the IPS in to no avail :(
Hope it was an interesting read! And I am very excited to read other peoples post here!
#3
Working on our first project using T3D. The blog post here: www.garagegames.com/community/blogs/view/21860
Currently working to finalize the art and getting the codebase worked out. I'm working with a number of individuals around the community Ron Kapaun, Dan Webb, and Jordan Parsons. We are really aiming to create a AAA title using T3D.
What do you hope to accomplish this month?
I hope that we are able to finish up the rest of the models in the game; or at least most. Start piecing together code and what not to get a working pre alpha game. If we do then we'll actually be ahead of schedule!
09/04/2012 (9:50 am)
What have you been up to? Working on our first project using T3D. The blog post here: www.garagegames.com/community/blogs/view/21860
Currently working to finalize the art and getting the codebase worked out. I'm working with a number of individuals around the community Ron Kapaun, Dan Webb, and Jordan Parsons. We are really aiming to create a AAA title using T3D.
What do you hope to accomplish this month?
I hope that we are able to finish up the rest of the models in the game; or at least most. Start piecing together code and what not to get a working pre alpha game. If we do then we'll actually be ahead of schedule!
#4
I have been working on getting a handle on my forward direction.
What do you hope to accomplish this month?
I am making a large amount of headway on terrain generation. I am laying the basic framework and am getting something into the hands of the community to start working with procedural content for missions. Largely focusing on the actual terrain. My goal will be to get some simple tools for working with terrain generation that can be used stand alone or in a game. Due date for action: 2012/10/04
@David,
This is an excellent idea. It gives us some community supported goal setting. We can hold each other to what we state here. Lets keep this going.
@All,
Instead of saying what you hope to accomplish. State in the present tense: "I am doing this." Not: "I will do this." It will program you into action. Yeah, the subconscious is very literal.
09/04/2012 (9:09 pm)
What have you been up to?I have been working on getting a handle on my forward direction.
What do you hope to accomplish this month?
I am making a large amount of headway on terrain generation. I am laying the basic framework and am getting something into the hands of the community to start working with procedural content for missions. Largely focusing on the actual terrain. My goal will be to get some simple tools for working with terrain generation that can be used stand alone or in a game. Due date for action: 2012/10/04
@David,
This is an excellent idea. It gives us some community supported goal setting. We can hold each other to what we state here. Lets keep this going.
@All,
Instead of saying what you hope to accomplish. State in the present tense: "I am doing this." Not: "I will do this." It will program you into action. Yeah, the subconscious is very literal.
#5
I've been spending most of my free time honing my skills with world Machine 2, the terrain generation tool. I made a lot of progress last month with texturing, and I'm happy with what I'm doing and learning to do.
Here's a very small section of a diffuse map I made a few days ago:
And here it is in-game:
I'm making really big maps here, trying to get something like the scale/detail found in Skyrim.
What I'm doing this month...
Looks like I'll be slaving away on the current map we're working on for Innovative Imaginations' game. This (Nightmare: Origins) is going to be one awesome game by the way, so do check it out as it develops.
I'm also going to drink a massive amount of coffee!
09/05/2012 (6:37 am)
What have you been up to?I've been spending most of my free time honing my skills with world Machine 2, the terrain generation tool. I made a lot of progress last month with texturing, and I'm happy with what I'm doing and learning to do.
Here's a very small section of a diffuse map I made a few days ago:
And here it is in-game:
I'm making really big maps here, trying to get something like the scale/detail found in Skyrim.
What I'm doing this month...
Looks like I'll be slaving away on the current map we're working on for Innovative Imaginations' game. This (Nightmare: Origins) is going to be one awesome game by the way, so do check it out as it develops.
I'm also going to drink a massive amount of coffee!
#6
09/05/2012 (2:21 pm)
This year I had taken some time off from game development, but now I am gearing up to build a rapid prototype game using my original IP. It is more of a research project to see how it could be done, and how it would work in T3D. More later when I have more to show. It's in pieces right now. 
#7
Right now I am focused on getting a reliable save system in place. Then I will move onto making the "actions" in the game undoable.
Note that this game is in pure Objective-C/UIKit and not any flavor or Torque
I am in the process of moving so I am not sure how far I will get this month =\
09/10/2012 (11:26 pm)
I'm working on a lightweight strategy game for iOS called Turnabout:Right now I am focused on getting a reliable save system in place. Then I will move onto making the "actions" in the game undoable.
Note that this game is in pure Objective-C/UIKit and not any flavor or Torque
I am in the process of moving so I am not sure how far I will get this month =\
#8
It's taken me quite a long time to build a Desktop computer to develop my art work on.
Still learning the curve with Lightwave 10.
Been making objects that look realistic for Photo Shoot or a magazine and recently downloaded my T3D to import my objects.
Practicing to make the Objects with various LOD's without losing too much quality.
Practicing to wrap the objects with different textures for the same purpose.
Hope to eventually use T3D to develop a learning tool for Machinists.
Meaning that I would hope to complete my set of Machinist Tools in Lightwave, and animate them to demonstrate proper use.
Show people graphically how to program a CNC Machine using Macro B ( a.k.a Parametric Programming ).
I discovered that I have a knack for hand writing CNC code and especially a strong understanding of the Macro B language while still attending College here in Georgia. And I was approached by a major CNC production company to supply my code for consideration as a built in function to their machine.
My hope is to tie together, my love for Torque and Machine Tooling as a supplemental income from software sales.
Being a Hobbyist though, it's not all about the destination.. it's the road to getting there.
09/11/2012 (3:11 pm)
My fun time with Torque continues on spare time.It's taken me quite a long time to build a Desktop computer to develop my art work on.
Still learning the curve with Lightwave 10.
Been making objects that look realistic for Photo Shoot or a magazine and recently downloaded my T3D to import my objects.
Practicing to make the Objects with various LOD's without losing too much quality.
Practicing to wrap the objects with different textures for the same purpose.
Hope to eventually use T3D to develop a learning tool for Machinists.
Meaning that I would hope to complete my set of Machinist Tools in Lightwave, and animate them to demonstrate proper use.
Show people graphically how to program a CNC Machine using Macro B ( a.k.a Parametric Programming ).
I discovered that I have a knack for hand writing CNC code and especially a strong understanding of the Macro B language while still attending College here in Georgia. And I was approached by a major CNC production company to supply my code for consideration as a built in function to their machine.
My hope is to tie together, my love for Torque and Machine Tooling as a supplemental income from software sales.
Being a Hobbyist though, it's not all about the destination.. it's the road to getting there.
#9
In the spare time I get between assignments, I've been trying to get back into Blender, which I'd not used seriously for quite some time. I've been following the tutorials at BlenderGuru.com, which have basically led me straight into great renders like this:
Thumbnail's not working, but there's one if you click the link!
Bear in mind, that reflection is a photo by Takahiro Yamamoto, not my own geometry :P. I also got to play around with camera tracking in another tutorial, which was excellent fun. My fluid-fu needs a bit of work, though...
Programming-wise, I've started to learn Haskell for uni - we got to choose languages, but given that or Lisp, I decided to go with Haskell :P. It was a bit of a brain-bender at the start, coming from a background of C and C++, and thinking Python was pretty out-there and edgy. Then you start writing code like:
Yes, folks, that is the entire quicksort algorithm in three lines (counting the function declaration). Of course, if you wrote it in C, you could do the algorithm in-place and add in enhancements like choosing a random pivot. But nothing beats this for style and clarity.
I've had some interesting experiences with super-high-level languages like Python and, more recently, Javascript, but what really grabbed me about Haskell was that despite it being about a million kilometres above bedrock, it's statically typed and compiles to machine code. What? I think I'm in love. If you're interested in learning something new and eye-opening, I really recommend diving in with Try Haskell or Learn You A Haskell For Great Good. The former for a quick taste, the latter for a complete tutorial.
Anyway, that's my Haskell love letter over with...
Thanks, Dave, for the thread! It's a great idea to get people excited about what they're up to, and what everyone else is up to!
Oh, what do I hope to accomplish this month? Well, staying alive another month would be a start :P. Honestly, my Torque plans are on hold until Walkabout licensing gets sorted out and/or T3D is MITified. I'll probably be waiting till the summer holidays to do anything serious with it though.
Frank: I've been lurking around your terrain blogs - it's very cool stuff you're getting into! And I found that article on the cicada principle truly fascinating... great stuff.
John: Nice concept! 40k much? ;) Looking forward to seeing more.
09/11/2012 (4:14 pm)
Well, I have to say I haven't been up to a lot with Torque in the last few weeks. After the major push to get Walkabout ready for release, I've had to sit on my hands while we figure out international tax stuff. Very seriously considering not hosting Walkabout in the GG store, but I really want to!In the spare time I get between assignments, I've been trying to get back into Blender, which I'd not used seriously for quite some time. I've been following the tutorials at BlenderGuru.com, which have basically led me straight into great renders like this:
Thumbnail's not working, but there's one if you click the link!
Bear in mind, that reflection is a photo by Takahiro Yamamoto, not my own geometry :P. I also got to play around with camera tracking in another tutorial, which was excellent fun. My fluid-fu needs a bit of work, though...
Programming-wise, I've started to learn Haskell for uni - we got to choose languages, but given that or Lisp, I decided to go with Haskell :P. It was a bit of a brain-bender at the start, coming from a background of C and C++, and thinking Python was pretty out-there and edgy. Then you start writing code like:
-- qsort takes a list of objects of type 'a' and returns another -- list of the same type, given that a is part of Ord(erable) qsort :: Ord a => [a] -> [a] -- qsorting an empty list gives you an empty list! qsort [] = [] -- qsort algorithm with recursion. The ++ operator concatenates three -- lists: qsort the items <p, p, and qsort the items >p qsort (p:xs) = qsort [x | x<-xs, x<p] ++ [p] ++ qsort [x | x<-xs, x>=p]
Yes, folks, that is the entire quicksort algorithm in three lines (counting the function declaration). Of course, if you wrote it in C, you could do the algorithm in-place and add in enhancements like choosing a random pivot. But nothing beats this for style and clarity.
I've had some interesting experiences with super-high-level languages like Python and, more recently, Javascript, but what really grabbed me about Haskell was that despite it being about a million kilometres above bedrock, it's statically typed and compiles to machine code. What? I think I'm in love. If you're interested in learning something new and eye-opening, I really recommend diving in with Try Haskell or Learn You A Haskell For Great Good. The former for a quick taste, the latter for a complete tutorial.
Anyway, that's my Haskell love letter over with...
Thanks, Dave, for the thread! It's a great idea to get people excited about what they're up to, and what everyone else is up to!
Oh, what do I hope to accomplish this month? Well, staying alive another month would be a start :P. Honestly, my Torque plans are on hold until Walkabout licensing gets sorted out and/or T3D is MITified. I'll probably be waiting till the summer holidays to do anything serious with it though.
Frank: I've been lurking around your terrain blogs - it's very cool stuff you're getting into! And I found that article on the cicada principle truly fascinating... great stuff.
John: Nice concept! 40k much? ;) Looking forward to seeing more.
#10
Gah me too, having great issues with character mesh deformation - but think I've sussed it now. You might also want to look at cgcookie.com/blender/ for tutorials.
Ah the joys of being a non-residential alien. Remember, you could always sell on GG and your own/another site.
09/11/2012 (5:02 pm)
@DanielQuote:
I've been trying to get back into Blender
Gah me too, having great issues with character mesh deformation - but think I've sussed it now. You might also want to look at cgcookie.com/blender/ for tutorials.
Quote:
... figure out international tax stuff. Very seriously considering not hosting Walkabout in the GG store, but I really want to!
Ah the joys of being a non-residential alien. Remember, you could always sell on GG and your own/another site.
#11
09/11/2012 (5:13 pm)
The easiest way to get through the tax barrier (and the ITIN process just got a whole lot more difficult with the recent changes) is to incorporate in your country and call the IRS to get an EIN over the phone. 
#12
Meanwhile I have made some small progress on my Torque 3D game in the way of a light-weight CTF mechanic (capture a big bit of treasure, which gets mounted on your back, and unmounts when you get it to a safe-zone trigger while adding to your treasure score) and making the USAIK work with the 3DAAK.
Very excited about T3D going open source, looking forward to what the community will come up with!
09/11/2012 (10:46 pm)
So I moved to San Diego (from Austin) this spring and started cinematic designing with Trion on Defiance, an MMO/3rd person shooter for PC and consoles. Amazing project, but leaves little room for my personal projects.Meanwhile I have made some small progress on my Torque 3D game in the way of a light-weight CTF mechanic (capture a big bit of treasure, which gets mounted on your back, and unmounts when you get it to a safe-zone trigger while adding to your treasure score) and making the USAIK work with the 3DAAK.
Very excited about T3D going open source, looking forward to what the community will come up with!
#13
09/21/2012 (10:13 pm)
Getting closer to finishing my fractal/height map/make pretty stuff program... 
Ahsan Muzaheed
Default Studio Name
as i am not good in showoff or writing big Descriptive blogs.so i will go for 2/3 line description.
in present i am working with t3d's vehicle system.for my future plan i am trying to improve it enough to give real world vehicle physics.not arcade type.for this i am taking help from some of my university's student of mechanical Department.so far progress is good enough for me.
also working to improve my lobby system to add kick/ban and other possible options for host and client.
i will try to finish all possible options for heli,wheel and hover vehicle.then i will start to work with tank and flying vehicle.as i am doing some other project so that is my only plan for t3d in this month.