Developement Group Forming

Thank you for the good laugh. I totally agree; we do not need the blind leading the blind.

You said so many retarded things, I don''t know where to start.
Well, first of all: "high quality sound within the game stored in possible mp3 files". That doesn''t make any sense. MP3s are compressed sound files; they are low quality sound.
Second: "The engine will be programmed using DX7 because for one I have extensive documentation for DX7 and DDraw in general"
Microsoft is pretty good at documentation. They have documented DX9 just as well as DX7. For people who wish to learn DX, they should start with the latest version.
Third: "Almost anyone can program but those who can lead are the most valuable." You just put down any possible team members you could have had by telling them they are not valuable because they are not leading.
Fourth: "I will be keeping the team less then 10 members. I am sorry for this." Don''t be. You will be lucky to get 1 member (seriously).


Anyway, don''t take this as a flame, take it as constructive criticism. Next time you make a post to start a team, review your mistakes and don’t make them again.
A team leader should be someone who is very skilled. You purposed to set up "Gurus" as mentors; however, that is supposed to be the leader''s job. From you writing, it is very clear that you don’t understand many basic concepts of making a game. Even when you say, "I am familiar with the languages of c and c++," it is pretty clear that since you use the word "familiar", that you are not extremely proficient in those languages.

Right now, it is time to work on your programming skills, not your leadership skills. Again, I''ll bring up what you said: "We don''t need the blind leading the blind." I hope you have an understanding now of what your goals should be and what direction you should be heading to achieve your goals. Right now, it is more ideal for you to join a group as oppose to making one.

Oh, and your second post of the engine "source" is just ridiculous. It is not even close to an engine, and I would hope it didn''t take you longer than min to write. Again, focus on your programming skills for now; not your leadership skills.

Anyway, don''t take this as a flame, take it as constructive criticism.

Here''s some constructive criticism: you really suck at constructive criticism.

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Original post by Unsuspected
MP3s are compressed sound files; they are low quality sound.

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um... no! you can get high quality sound from MP3s, in fact it is the standard for internet music-trading, as well as the newer, more legal alternatives.

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For people who wish to learn DX, they should start with the latest version.

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not necessarily. you should be careful when using the word "should"; there is always a chance you are just spewing your opinion.

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You just put down any possible team members you could have had by telling them they are not valuable because they are not leading.

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i agree.

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Anyway, don''t take this as a flame, take it as constructive criticism.

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heh heh, that is the first non-flame post ever that had the word "retarded" in it!

Unsuspected, you have a terrible attitude. You need to work out your personal problems before posting here, I think, because it''s clear you''re pretty angry at something.

"Well, first of all: "high quality sound within the game stored in possible mp3 files". That doesn''t make any sense. MP3s are compressed sound files; they are low quality sound."

Being someone who deals specifically with sound, I can tell you that MP3s are not "low quality" unless they are encoded below the standard rate of 128kbps and 44.1khz (or in mono). You can get high quality MP3 music that is nearly indistinguishable from WAV audio by encoding at higher bitrates, and even lower bitrates such as 192kbps (which I routinely use) will pass for uncompressed audio to the untrained ear. Regardless of whether you knew that or not, which you most likely did, it was completely asinine of you to point out an insignificant technical matter where it was very clear what the author of the original post meant. Many people still use MIDI music in their games, which I''ve heard developers call "low quality", and thus they refer to compressed audio in the form of OGG, MP3 etc. as "high quality".

Anyway, back to the topic at hand; I''ll gladly offer my services here if you give me some information on the type of songs you need.

Ouch. He''s right though, don''t get ahead of yourself. Too many programmers try to start out on top. The thing is, there aren''t a lot of guys out there who want to be your subordinate, escpecially when you yourself have bottom-rung knowledge of how to make a game. Typically, everyone else has the same idea as you, they want to be in charge. People will only work for someone who has the same or more knowledge than themselves. If you wanna be on top of a mountain, you gotta climb it. There''s no easy road to being good at this sort of thing, you''ve got to work hard. Try making a small project on your own, and then see if you can join up with any other teams here. Get some experience under your belt.
You also mentioned you had a wealth of "documentation". It''s good to have that to learn from, study it well. DirectX isn''t something you pick up as you go, it takes some serious thought for most of us.
Anyway, I guess if you want it bad enough you''ll make it regardless.

I appreciate you pointing out my error in choice of words towards other programers. I ment no disrespect of any kind towards any established programers. It must be noted that todays programing industry has become highly competitive and those who have broad skills have a better chance when thrown to the lions. Yes I am familiar with c and c++ otherwise I would be attempting to make a commercial product.
Now I must say the statement about a person should start with the latest version of an API is totally unfounded. Ddraw features havnt actually been updated since DX7. The point of saying im using DX7 is because im using Ddraw to portray the graphics rather then using the 3d pipline required by DX8 and DX9. I would like to learn the basics before jumping into the wonderful world of 3d.

There is more to being a leader then just how well you can program. I could be the best programmer in the world yet if I cant get along with people or motivate them it wont mean anything. This is a learning experience for all people who have yet to work within a group.

We still have positions open and hope that any of you who may be interested email me at xevoxe03@yahoo.com

The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision."
-Theodore Hesburgh



[edited by - splattqueso on March 23, 2004 11:53:55 PM]

[edited by - splattqueso on March 23, 2004 11:59:42 PM]

This is an update to show part of the design doc.
Also the programmers spots have been filled by two experienced programmers. We still need artists who would be interested in doing the concept art though.

Project: Splatt

Introduction:

Splatt is based upon the popular board game Risk. The object of the game is to defeat your opponents by conquering the world through the use of technologies and units. The world is divided up into various territories that a player must try to control. The more territories a person controls the more credits they are able to earn at the end of each round. Rather then being turned based the game will revolve around timed rounds. At the beginning of each round a player is able to buy units or upgrades using credits earned based upon how many territories the player controls. If a player controls a whole continent then he or she will be able to draw a technology card. Before the next round starts the players are able to place newly purchased units or reenforce connecting territories without incurring traveling lag. Any technology cards must also be played on the game field at this time. Once the round begins the game becomes semi real time strategy because all players can attack whenever and wherever they wish if the player has the means to do so. All units will automatically defend to the best of their abilities. Its up to the player to have the right type of unit to defend the right type of attack. During the round players are able to reinforce connecting territories but the further the territory the longer its takes units to move into position unless units who have the ability to transport troops are present. When attacking different combination of units will have better luck vs others. For example: sending Fighter Jets with Bombers increases the chance of the bombers being able to fulfill their mission regardless if the target territory has fighter planes and anti-air.

Units:

Soldiers - Soldiers are considered the workhorse of the army. Though they go into battle armed only with an m16 they are relatively easy to train and thus are inexpensive to create. Soldiers always remain visible on the playing field.
Marine - Marines are highly trained in amphibious assaults therefore are granted a bonus when attacking a coastal territory. Because Marines have training in guerilla warfare they are invisible in jungle type terrains.
Paratroopers - Are trained in the ability of being airlifted into any territory within range.
Tanks - Tanks are well protected against ground forces therefore have an attack bonus vs Marines and Soldiers. Because of the lack of air defense they are susceptible to air attacks. Tanks remain visible.
Fighter Jet - Fighter Jets patrol the skies protecting against Bombers, paratrooper planes, and troop Helicopters. Fighter Jets can only be launched from airbases found within a territory and remain invisible to all except radar scans or spy planes.
Bombers - Bombers drop bombs on target territories they have a bonus against tanks and a weakness against fighter planes. It would be best to send both bombers and fighter planes when bombing a territory.
Helicopters - Allow for quick troop transports. They are weak vs fighter planes and anti air.
Airbases - An airbases is needed to launch any type of plane. They cannot be destroyed and remain visible for the duration of the game once created.
AA Guns - Protect against air. Remain invisible until they open fire for the first time, once that occurs they are visible until destroyed.

***Naval Units may or may not be included.

Upgrades: Upgrades can be bought during the game to increase the abilities of the various units.
Guns Upgrades - increases the attacks of all ground units.
Armor Upgrades - decrease the chances of dying.
Fuel Upgrades - Allows all air units to travel further.
Missile Upgrades - Increases the upgrades of Fighter Planes munitions.
Bomb Upgrades - Increases the damage of bombs.

***More upgrades may be added as the design process continues.

Bonus Cards: Bonus cards are achieve when a player owns a complete continent. The number of cards received is based upon the continent they control. Players can also earn cards by taking a certain number of territories from the opposing players. In order for a bonus card to be used it must be placed on the territory between rounds. The card or cards can be activated during the round when needed. All cards remain visible but face down on the game field until they are activated. Some cards activate automatically when the home territory is attacked. Most cards that have been activated will be discarded at the end of the round unless they are component oriented. Cards that require certain components to activate them remain on the playing field during the remainder of the game. Whoever controls the territory controls the device. The only exception is found with the atomic bomb. If it is used on a territory containing a device then all is destroyed. The atomic bomb and its components are destroy anytime they are used.

Current Cards:
Atomic Bomb - Atomic bombs totally annihilate a territory killing not only all units in it but making the territory useless. From that point on no credits will be rewarded for its capture. The atomic bomb requires a specific number of cards each dealing with a component of the bomb.
Plutonium - Component for Atomic Bomb.
Trigger System - Component for Atomic Bomb.
Stealth Bomber - Component for Atomic Bomb.
Delta Force - A Special Force unit. When played Delta Force can attack a neighboring territory killing all ground units present and destroy AA guns.
Rainbow 7 - A group of elite soldiers that protect against Special Forces attacks. They only protect the territory that they are deployed in.
Rangers - A Special Force unit.
Spy Satellite - Shows the controlling player all hidden units during the duration of the game. Requires component.
Space Shuttle - Spy Satellite Component..
Solar Panels - Spy Satellite Component.
Troop Bonus - Depending on the number on the card determines the number of troops added to that territory for the round.
Stealth Bomber - Is not only required to use the atomic bomb but also can perform bombing runs without worrying about anti-air units.

***More cards will be added as the design process continues.

*** At this time the GUI will be skipped until later ***

Sound

Music: The Music will be stored using MP3 compression which will be accessed through DirectSound using the DX9 API.

Background Music for:
Title Screen - Something fast leading up to a climax as the title screen kinda explodes into place. Vocals could be present.
Between rounds - A soothing melody. Something that will calm the nerves after a traumatic experience.
During Rounds - A type of rock with vocals. Round music will be low as to no to overpower the special effects. It will also change during each round so you are not hearing the same thing over and over.

Sound effects: Sound effects will be stored in .wav format.
Effects needed:
machine gun fire
explosions
jet flybys
tanks firing
tanks moving
bombs being dropped
death screams
battle cries
simulated battle sound
Units being placed
helicopters
troops moving
missiles being fired

***More will be added as needed

The Game Engine
Features:
Isometric Tile Engine - Used to display the game field.
Dynamic Lighting - This is debatable because its not really necessary for the project but could create interesting realism by having day and night sequences.
Particle Engine - Used to create the battle sequences and explosions in the game. Can also be used in conjunction with Dynamic Lighting to create more realism with weather effects.

[edited by - splattqueso on March 25, 2004 5:22:51 AM]

Unsuspected, I think we should thank YOU for the good laugh. May I suggest that you take that ever-so-funny attitude of yours elsewhere?

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You said so many retarded things, I don''t know where to start.

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Pot-Kettle-Black.

Seriously, grow up and then come back when you have something worthwhile to add. This goes for anyone else who think they can flame here.


Good luck splattqueso.


Marc.

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Original post by Unsuspected
Right now, it is time to work on your programming skills, not your leadership skills.

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Is this to imply his leadership skills don''t need any work? :/ I want to smash his head in, and I read ½ post on an online forum - a post designed to attract team members.

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heh heh, that is the first non-flame post ever that had the word "retarded" in it!

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Obviously you haven''t read any of my fl- constructive criticism. ^-^

.bas

[sPiKie] mmorpg isnt hard in vb