I'm just going to Grrr a bit about how I only recently remembered that before I go generating more stars and planets, I need to do one last overhaul to update the coordinate/genesis systems and tools. It shouldn't take long, but it's still annoying as another delay.
That's all.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Update#30 : Planets Are Not Like Stars
This is just a little post about me complaining. I'm complaining about how hard it is to decide how I want planets to be formed. I have a relation-idea so far between planet size and distance from sun/other planets... but that's it, just an idea, and it's not even complete.
And, that's all only applicable to completely-random solar systems. I also need to make up solar systems that artificially have a naturally 'habitable' world to act as a homeworld for starting players; most planets - same as in nature - will not be naturally habitable, and thus not suitable as a homeworld... Thus I need to forcibly increase the odds of a habitable homeworld forming in some systems, to make sure that new players have some place where they can start!
I'm really curious... how many naturally-occuring habitable worlds will there be? I'll honestly be surprized if it's any higher than of 0.001% of all planets, but I guess we'll find out.
... Actually, I think I need to find out, because it will also affect how many habitable worlds are artificially injected into the galaxy!
And I just remembered how the properties of the star will be a key in the build of the planets, so...
> Unfortunately I have another constraint to abide by.
> Fortunately I have another source/key of information to make choices with.
Revealed : Since the stars and solar systems of UNIVERSE will be somewhat modeled on existing known atronomical bodies and physics... if you learn about those kids of things, you might have better luck when searching the stars for particular worlds and resources. Still random though, so no promises!
And, that's all only applicable to completely-random solar systems. I also need to make up solar systems that artificially have a naturally 'habitable' world to act as a homeworld for starting players; most planets - same as in nature - will not be naturally habitable, and thus not suitable as a homeworld... Thus I need to forcibly increase the odds of a habitable homeworld forming in some systems, to make sure that new players have some place where they can start!
I'm really curious... how many naturally-occuring habitable worlds will there be? I'll honestly be surprized if it's any higher than of 0.001% of all planets, but I guess we'll find out.
... Actually, I think I need to find out, because it will also affect how many habitable worlds are artificially injected into the galaxy!
And I just remembered how the properties of the star will be a key in the build of the planets, so...
> Unfortunately I have another constraint to abide by.
> Fortunately I have another source/key of information to make choices with.
Revealed : Since the stars and solar systems of UNIVERSE will be somewhat modeled on existing known atronomical bodies and physics... if you learn about those kids of things, you might have better luck when searching the stars for particular worlds and resources. Still random though, so no promises!
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Update#29 : Engines Firing
I keep telling myself that with the Region Map 'finished' I can move on to other things, but I keep thinking up ways to improve it!
I'm glad to have let myself go with that, because I always felt like there was something wrong with the long wait time for updating the map when there's a lot of stars...
Today I found and fixed a mistake that I thought I had taken care of in the beginning, but nope! So now I really did fix it and resulted in a drastic improvement in the draw speed of the map when there are a lot of stars. With this change and improvement, the Render Controls that were recently added now provide a meaningful effect on the draw speed, and I now formally recommend the 'Automatic' setting.
This improvement makes me happy, and I think this actually might be my last distraction from moving forward with other areas of game development.
I'm glad to have let myself go with that, because I always felt like there was something wrong with the long wait time for updating the map when there's a lot of stars...
Today I found and fixed a mistake that I thought I had taken care of in the beginning, but nope! So now I really did fix it and resulted in a drastic improvement in the draw speed of the map when there are a lot of stars. With this change and improvement, the Render Controls that were recently added now provide a meaningful effect on the draw speed, and I now formally recommend the 'Automatic' setting.
This improvement makes me happy, and I think this actually might be my last distraction from moving forward with other areas of game development.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Update#28 : Gliding, Upwards
I took it a bit easier for the past few days, but still did some work. After the 'launch' of the star map Region Map I found a couple of bugs and conjured up areas for improvement.
So, I fixed the bugs. Then I added a new control panel (normally minimized) called Render Control. The idea is to give options to make it easier for the browser to draw the stars spots; in short, faster map refresh when seeing a lot of stars on the screen. There are 4 options: Automatic, Low, Medium, High. 'Low' is for faster map draw, 'High' is for nicer looking star orbs, 'Medium' is in between, and with 'Automatic' it will try to decide and give you the best look vs speed. I still need to tweak the numbers to be sure that the Automatic setting is practical, but I won't know until I get to try it myself on my computers.
To be perfectly honest I'm not sure how much it will help; some feedback on that would be much appreciated!
Sooo yeah I deviated from what I said before on my plan of what's next, adding more to thestarmap Region Map first instead of doing the other stuff I said... but it seemed important to do before I moved on to next steps; especially the bug fixing! But now I think I really can move on to the other stuff I had planned.
An additional idea came to mind, since the Region Map is a bit complicated, that maybe I should start compiling some Manual/Help pages soon, to describe all the features and functions on each page. In addition to this, there's also the option of using a wikia site to describe everything as it comes up, which also leaves the option for players to add more user-friendly tips and suggestions.
Ah, decisions, decisions... decisions that I can make later! I have a busy day tomorrow and it's well past time-to-sleep.
Revealed : Most planetoids will be generated completely at random. However, depending on various properties they may end up in generalized groups like 'ice world' or 'volcanic world' ... if our planet Venus was in the game, it would probably be classified as a 'volcanic fire planet' and would be very very difficult to colonize. I'm not sure yet if I'd put on labels like that or just let the properties alone determine the colonization requirements, but the ideas exist and will certainly affect the game. Some worlds might be very difficult to colonize, but if they're rich in precious resources then it could be worth the investment. Was that a 'reveal' or a babble?
So, I fixed the bugs. Then I added a new control panel (normally minimized) called Render Control. The idea is to give options to make it easier for the browser to draw the stars spots; in short, faster map refresh when seeing a lot of stars on the screen. There are 4 options: Automatic, Low, Medium, High. 'Low' is for faster map draw, 'High' is for nicer looking star orbs, 'Medium' is in between, and with 'Automatic' it will try to decide and give you the best look vs speed. I still need to tweak the numbers to be sure that the Automatic setting is practical, but I won't know until I get to try it myself on my computers.
To be perfectly honest I'm not sure how much it will help; some feedback on that would be much appreciated!
Sooo yeah I deviated from what I said before on my plan of what's next, adding more to the
An additional idea came to mind, since the Region Map is a bit complicated, that maybe I should start compiling some Manual/Help pages soon, to describe all the features and functions on each page. In addition to this, there's also the option of using a wikia site to describe everything as it comes up, which also leaves the option for players to add more user-friendly tips and suggestions.
Ah, decisions, decisions... decisions that I can make later! I have a busy day tomorrow and it's well past time-to-sleep.
Revealed : Most planetoids will be generated completely at random. However, depending on various properties they may end up in generalized groups like 'ice world' or 'volcanic world' ... if our planet Venus was in the game, it would probably be classified as a 'volcanic fire planet' and would be very very difficult to colonize. I'm not sure yet if I'd put on labels like that or just let the properties alone determine the colonization requirements, but the ideas exist and will certainly affect the game. Some worlds might be very difficult to colonize, but if they're rich in precious resources then it could be worth the investment. Was that a 'reveal' or a babble?
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Update#27 : *Flop*
That is a victorious flop of an exhausting victory.
Tired. Stricken. Distracted, and busy. I have met delay after delay, errors and bugs and all manner of setbacks. I have met them all and, with a bit of time, overcome them.
I'm sorry it took so much longer than expected, but it's done. The starmap - now officially titled the "Region Map" - is finally finished, sufficient for release.
What can it do?
- It draws stars of various colours and brightness.
- It draws them in 3D, though they're pretty much just dots. To see the 3D, you have to
- ROTATE your view around, which is controlled in the View Control panel.
- It can zoom in and out. Be careful when zooming out; depending on your computer's capability, drawing many stars can take a while. (The final gameplay version won't allow that many stars initially, though you are able to get extra stars in your map if you want them)
- It can download more stars. Using the Data Control panel; it will have a specified point as a center point, and a range option that you can manipulate with the buttons, and when you click on the request button then the map will request star data from the server; which will respond with all of the stars within 'range' of the center point. FYI, there are currently 6 blobs of stars forming a square-base pyramid, with an extra blob in the middle. This is to help see the 3D, though with so many stars it can be hard to get a good view on slower computers.
- It can save your current view and download settings, so that if you have a preference that you want to see whenever you go to the map page then it will automatically load those settings. In the final game form, the default will just focus on the area surrounding your home star.
- It can load your view and data settings back to your saved/default settings.
- It has little buttons on the control panels that allow you to 'minimize' the panel and get it out of the way; then there will be a little button that allows you to 'restore' the control panel.
- It can find a point based on object names as long as there is an object with that name. This is part of the more advanced use of coordinates... or is it basic use? Well, I'm not ready to go into too much detail about the coordinates at this particular moment, mostly because I'm exhausted by my allergies. All that I'll tell you right now is that the galaxy's name is Protoform, and there is a star named Minimus, and a planet named Maximus... And if you enter the the coordinate "Protoform.Minimus.0" or "Protoform.Minimus.Maximus" then the Region Map will go ask for its 'proper' coordinates, put them into your view/data panel, and thus be automatically centered on that star. Pretty nifty, right? =D
What can't it do?
- It doesn't give any option menu when you click on a star, but it will have that later. For now it's a link to the star's system view page, which doesn't actually exist at the time of this post.
- It can't go faster than what it does now. I'll add more and better view filters to help with load times.
- It can't make pie. Yet.
- It can't show fleets or things. This is partly due to the fact that there's no such thing as fleets or things.
- It can't click-and-drag pan. That would be monstrously laggy to implement right now.
What's next?
The first next thing that I'm going to do (after taking care of some real-life stuff) is set up a page for the stars to link to, and also tweak some numbers to get a better variety of stars; there should be more yellows and whites and maybe some blue. The page will be needed eventually, and having an incomplete page is still better than "Not Found" or whatever. Then I'll do some more BORING work to do some internal coding that will make my life a lot easier in the future. After which I will start on the massive and exciting task of planet generation. This will involve me deciding how to make the computer decide how to build planets! Once there's a bunch of planets, I can make some system/planet map stuffs, and then be another huge step closer to the game being finished.
Oh, and please let me know if you encounter any bugs.
That's all for now. Goodnight, and have a nice day.
*flop*
Revealed : All that stuff I just said!
Tired. Stricken. Distracted, and busy. I have met delay after delay, errors and bugs and all manner of setbacks. I have met them all and, with a bit of time, overcome them.
I'm sorry it took so much longer than expected, but it's done. The starmap - now officially titled the "Region Map" - is finally finished, sufficient for release.
What can it do?
- It draws stars of various colours and brightness.
- It draws them in 3D, though they're pretty much just dots. To see the 3D, you have to
- ROTATE your view around, which is controlled in the View Control panel.
- It can zoom in and out. Be careful when zooming out; depending on your computer's capability, drawing many stars can take a while. (The final gameplay version won't allow that many stars initially, though you are able to get extra stars in your map if you want them)
- It can download more stars. Using the Data Control panel; it will have a specified point as a center point, and a range option that you can manipulate with the buttons, and when you click on the request button then the map will request star data from the server; which will respond with all of the stars within 'range' of the center point. FYI, there are currently 6 blobs of stars forming a square-base pyramid, with an extra blob in the middle. This is to help see the 3D, though with so many stars it can be hard to get a good view on slower computers.
- It can save your current view and download settings, so that if you have a preference that you want to see whenever you go to the map page then it will automatically load those settings. In the final game form, the default will just focus on the area surrounding your home star.
- It can load your view and data settings back to your saved/default settings.
- It has little buttons on the control panels that allow you to 'minimize' the panel and get it out of the way; then there will be a little button that allows you to 'restore' the control panel.
- It can find a point based on object names as long as there is an object with that name. This is part of the more advanced use of coordinates... or is it basic use? Well, I'm not ready to go into too much detail about the coordinates at this particular moment, mostly because I'm exhausted by my allergies. All that I'll tell you right now is that the galaxy's name is Protoform, and there is a star named Minimus, and a planet named Maximus... And if you enter the the coordinate "Protoform.Minimus.0" or "Protoform.Minimus.Maximus" then the Region Map will go ask for its 'proper' coordinates, put them into your view/data panel, and thus be automatically centered on that star. Pretty nifty, right? =D
What can't it do?
- It doesn't give any option menu when you click on a star, but it will have that later. For now it's a link to the star's system view page, which doesn't actually exist at the time of this post.
- It can't go faster than what it does now. I'll add more and better view filters to help with load times.
- It can't make pie. Yet.
- It can't show fleets or things. This is partly due to the fact that there's no such thing as fleets or things.
- It can't click-and-drag pan. That would be monstrously laggy to implement right now.
What's next?
The first next thing that I'm going to do (after taking care of some real-life stuff) is set up a page for the stars to link to, and also tweak some numbers to get a better variety of stars; there should be more yellows and whites and maybe some blue. The page will be needed eventually, and having an incomplete page is still better than "Not Found" or whatever. Then I'll do some more BORING work to do some internal coding that will make my life a lot easier in the future. After which I will start on the massive and exciting task of planet generation. This will involve me deciding how to make the computer decide how to build planets! Once there's a bunch of planets, I can make some system/planet map stuffs, and then be another huge step closer to the game being finished.
Oh, and please let me know if you encounter any bugs.
That's all for now. Goodnight, and have a nice day.
*flop*
Revealed : All that stuff I just said!
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Update#26 : Starting my Twilight Stroll
Yep, I'm already making good use of the finished coordinate validator and have gotten back to the point where I was about a month ago with drawing stars into the map field... except this time with a good foundation and the necessary background tools to keep moving forward. On my map (not one that you would currently see, sorry!) I have dots drawn on an XY plane for where stars would be, and with that I'm taking a break for teh night. Tomorrow I'll start on making them draw 'in 3D' and make the map zoom/rotations work, hopefully I'll even get that done and can give the stars their colours. It's going to be a good weekend.
Revealed : Currently planning 3-5 main weapon types, each with its own combination of advantages and disadvantages. The right one to use will really depend on your preferences!
Revealed : Currently planning 3-5 main weapon types, each with its own combination of advantages and disadvantages. The right one to use will really depend on your preferences!
Friday, August 17, 2012
Update#25 : The Beginning of... the Beginning?
IT'S DONE IT'S FINALLY DONE THE COORDINATE VALIDATOR IS FINISHED.
With that out of the way I can pretty much go ahead and get back to the good stuff... in terms of game-building. I'm quite excited; it should be much easier now to start throwing up meaningful additions.
With that having been said... No, the star map is not yet finished. However, I do still believe I'll have it done for the weekend.
Revealed : I have now decided that there will be 4 primary resources. They are listed below.
UC is stored in your account and can't be stolen and is not limited in location. All other materials however will be 'physical' stuffs that can be transported and traded and stolen and looted, and their availability will vary according to many factors (such as natural concentration levels, mining intensity, and trade).
With that out of the way I can pretty much go ahead and get back to the good stuff... in terms of game-building. I'm quite excited; it should be much easier now to start throwing up meaningful additions.
With that having been said... No, the star map is not yet finished. However, I do still believe I'll have it done for the weekend.
Revealed : I have now decided that there will be 4 primary resources. They are listed below.
- UC ('Universal Currency', aka money)
- Metals (primary material)
- Minerals (secondary material)
- Heavy Metals (tertiary material, new!)
UC is stored in your account and can't be stolen and is not limited in location. All other materials however will be 'physical' stuffs that can be transported and traded and stolen and looted, and their availability will vary according to many factors (such as natural concentration levels, mining intensity, and trade).
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Update#24 : Tangent-Chain-Discoveries
While on a tangent with game design, I learned a few more theories and things about how various celestial bodies form, giving me ideas on how I can add a bit more to the game while also making it easier to plan out related details.
Another tangent discovery/realization; while almost finishing the main coordinate-checking system, I realize that I really really need to know exactly how planets are going to be addressed and operated in the deeper system levels.
Fortunately, I should be too busy tomorrow, but I also can't be at my computer all day. I will use this unique block of time to sit with my binder and figure out all these pesky little details. Probably tomorrow night I can get it figured out and then finish. Hope!
Revealed : Designing static defense units will be the same as designing your ships. Because static defenses are static defenses, it will be impossible to match the eventual massing potential of allies who are grouping their fleets and working together. However, the lack of engines will give static defenses a much better value-cost ratio, while also making them easier to produce en masse. It will be up to you to decide how you spend your resources!
Another tangent discovery/realization; while almost finishing the main coordinate-checking system, I realize that I really really need to know exactly how planets are going to be addressed and operated in the deeper system levels.
Fortunately, I should be too busy tomorrow, but I also can't be at my computer all day. I will use this unique block of time to sit with my binder and figure out all these pesky little details. Probably tomorrow night I can get it figured out and then finish. Hope!
Revealed : Designing static defense units will be the same as designing your ships. Because static defenses are static defenses, it will be impossible to match the eventual massing potential of allies who are grouping their fleets and working together. However, the lack of engines will give static defenses a much better value-cost ratio, while also making them easier to produce en masse. It will be up to you to decide how you spend your resources!
Friday, August 10, 2012
Update#23 : Milestones
Yesterday was my birthday. Today I have the new map behaving the way I want it to, without too many hiccups. I'm discovering new things that will make the mapping system more powerful and secure, but also require a bit more back-end work than I expected (boo). But in the end it will all be great... I know I keep saying that and not showing anything. Oh, and I also fixed the UNIVERSE home page; it had a link to this web page, which was broken >_<
The last few days have been pretty exciting for me, both personally and UNIVERSEally. The next few days should be even more fun \o/ including...
1) The Perseid Meteor Shower is peaking over the next few days, so it's a good weekend to head out to a dark area away from city lights and watch the skies for a while. Hope for clear skies!
2) This weekend will also see a semi-open beta for CCP's upcoming DUST514, a FPS which is both standalone AND a complementary game for EVE Online which is a fantastic space Strategy/RPG.
I also feel like... by the end of next weekend, I might have the Starmap sufficiently finished to showcase it, or even import it to the main game! But that could be too optimistic; there's one big block of back-end code that I need to write to make it happen. It shouldn't be too bad...
Revealed : The coordinate system is a bit complicated! But don't worry, you won't have to deal with it too directly. There will be bookmarking and addressing systems that will allow you to avoid dealing with complex coordinates. You will be given the option to deal with direct coordinates too, so that once you get comfortable with them you can use them to open some new strategic possibilities.
The last few days have been pretty exciting for me, both personally and UNIVERSEally. The next few days should be even more fun \o/ including...
1) The Perseid Meteor Shower is peaking over the next few days, so it's a good weekend to head out to a dark area away from city lights and watch the skies for a while. Hope for clear skies!
2) This weekend will also see a semi-open beta for CCP's upcoming DUST514, a FPS which is both standalone AND a complementary game for EVE Online which is a fantastic space Strategy/RPG.
I also feel like... by the end of next weekend, I might have the Starmap sufficiently finished to showcase it, or even import it to the main game! But that could be too optimistic; there's one big block of back-end code that I need to write to make it happen. It shouldn't be too bad...
Revealed : The coordinate system is a bit complicated! But don't worry, you won't have to deal with it too directly. There will be bookmarking and addressing systems that will allow you to avoid dealing with complex coordinates. You will be given the option to deal with direct coordinates too, so that once you get comfortable with them you can use them to open some new strategic possibilities.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Update#22 : Minor Achievement Unlocked!
Finally I have something to see for all my work in the last while! I've finished a basic prototype of the final-form Star Map. It's ugly now, but all of the elements are present and ready for me to work with them. Now I can really get things working, and once it's working I'll pretty it up a bit. After that, I'll add this new piece to the game so that the other testers can proof that it works and see what I've been so excited about. Hopefully I'll be finished all the functionality in just a few days =D
Revealed : There will eventually be added a dedicated Constellation Viewer. With this, you will be able to look out from a point at all of the stars (and maybe even galaxies!) around. It won't literally show you constellations with lines and names, but it will be as if you are looking into a night sky. With a view like this, you can make up your own constellations as you see them!
Revealed : There will eventually be added a dedicated Constellation Viewer. With this, you will be able to look out from a point at all of the stars (and maybe even galaxies!) around. It won't literally show you constellations with lines and names, but it will be as if you are looking into a night sky. With a view like this, you can make up your own constellations as you see them!
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