BluePaladin Member Posts: 110 From: Tennessee, USA Registered: 12-27-2002 |
First off, it's nice to know this place exists. I've had a dream for awhile of creating a Christian gaming company that makes quality Christian games. Besides that, I've been a Christian for a long time, and a Commerce programmer for much longer (7 years). Since this is my first post at this board, I would like to offer a greetings. And, I look forward to future discussions on this board. I would like to start with one request. I need your prayers. My company is in the process of closing down. So, on the 31st, I will lose my job. I have 3 months severance, and I know God will take care of me. He's got me this far, and I don't think He's stopping now. Please pray for me to find a new job. My current gaming situation is that I am working with 2 others who are also a work in progress. We have almost finished a Breakout clone and will be moving forward from there. This clone will be my first ever completed game, although I've been studying DirectX for over 2 years now. I've purchased the Torque engine user license from GarageGames and I'm going to start there. I figure with one person coding right now, I could use the help that an engine gives. I'm the only coder at the moment, but I have a friend who really wants to learn. Sorry so long, but thanks for reading and thanks for your prayers. ------------------ |
InsanePoet Member Posts: 638 From: Vermont, USA Registered: 03-12-2003 |
Hey, welcome to CCN. Romans 8:28 Hey, if you're interested in producing a Christian game, my little band would like your assitance. We are making a 3D RPG using the torque engine Email me if you are interested
[This message has been edited by Insanepoet (edited December 28, 2002).] |
CobraA1 Member Posts: 926 From: MN Registered: 02-19-2001 |
Welcome! Breakout is a good game to start with; always start simple.
quote: No problem. I'll keep you in my prayers. Believe me, your post wasn't long at all Hope you find a job soon. |
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BluePaladin Member Posts: 110 From: Tennessee, USA Registered: 12-27-2002 |
Thanks for the prayers and greetings. I'm sure I'll be participating in some of the debates and discussions in the future. (My friend calls me a post boy. I just enjoy the conversation) I am just getting started on the Torque engine and it was a pain to get it compiled in .NET, but after an hour of board searching and fixes, I fixed a few bugs and got a compile with minimal warnings. Then, the holidays hit, and here I am. I probably should have gotten it compiled in VS6 first, but I've been using .NET at work for about 6 months and like it alot. I'm just a few steps past compile and will be spending the first part of next year learning some of the scripting. Beyond that, we could talk, but I would hate to be able to offer nothing in return. After a few months into Torque, we could talk again then. I fear I have nothing to offer your team at the moment and would like to spend the first part of this year increasing my own skillset. I will be around no matter what, so give me a shout here or add me to your MSN Messenger list. I've got the Breakout game done for the most part. I'm down to the high score list, level customization and a few tweeks. My goal is to get done with it in January. I have a family sometimes that keeps me busy, so I code in the evenings mostly and do all I can. Has anyone ever considered community projects? Or a community code base where people could submit useful pieces of code? Just curious. Thanks again for your prayers. I hope to find a job soon, but I really hope to find the right job. That's important. BP ------------------ [This message has been edited by BluePaladin (edited December 28, 2002).] |
SLAM Member Posts: 36 From: Miami, FL Registered: 12-29-2002 |
Hey :-). I'm new here too, but your idea sounds very interesting. For some reason, I haven't heard of the Torque engine, could you direct me to a place with some info on it? You say you're comiling in .NET, are you using C++ or C#? I have VB .NET. I probably can't be much help as a coder, but I do have a good deal of level design experience (one of my main hobbies for the past three years) and I've gotten into texture creation as well. If I can be any help whatsoever, let me know. Direct me to a level editor, and tell me what kind of textures/texture formats you'll be using, and I'll see what I can come up with for you as a demonstration. I'd love to help however I can here :-). ------------------ What part of that do some people not understand? He who dies with the most frags wins, |
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SLAM Member Posts: 36 From: Miami, FL Registered: 12-29-2002 |
Oh, never mind, just found info on the Torque engine...I should look before I ask :-). w0w...used in the Tribes 2 game? Those graphics were pretty sweet! Looks like this'll be a winner. I'm surprised it's only $100...that's a steal for such a well-done engine. Unreal goe for at least $10,000, I hear. Yes, definately, just hook me up with the tools I'll need, and I'll start learning how it all works. I've mostly worked with Unreal engine level design, but I've wanted to get into stuff like this as well. Get me the tools, and some time, and I'll make a preview for you. ------------------ What part of that do some people not understand? He who dies with the most frags wins, |
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BluePaladin Member Posts: 110 From: Tennessee, USA Registered: 12-27-2002 |
Actually, I purchased it, but it was near the beginning of December. I'm just getting into it myself. Besides that, I will have to figure a few things out regardless. Torque has a scripting engine that's pretty good, and there's alot of plugins and libraries that have been written by others for you to use. It looks very impressive, and they have great community support. I like the idea of what they are trying to do. I'm going to spend some time with the scripting engine first and try to get some basic demos and games written with it. After that, I'll be working on a few games. As far as tools go, get QuArK and learn that SLAM. It makes Quake maps and you can start learning that way. The maps are also usable by Torque. If anyone else is interested, it's http://www.garagegames.com. For 100 bucks, you get the entire engine code yourself. You can modify it and add to it as you please. Not too shabby. They still are using VC6 widely however. There's a few fixes to make it .NET compatible that you have to do, but it's been very impressive so far. Good luck to all in their endeavors to write Christian games. We CAN make a difference. A few people have contacted me about working together, but I'm taking it slow right now still learning a few things before I completely decide what I'm going to do. Besides that, I look forward to participating in this community. BluePaladin ------------------ |
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SLAM Member Posts: 36 From: Miami, FL Registered: 12-29-2002 |
Probably not a bad idea. I'm assuming Quark is a free tool? And if it is, what kind of local packages do I have to have to use it? What will I run to actually test play the levels? Are you actually far into getting the game running to the point that I'd be able to preview my levels in it? And what's the story on current game content? Have you got any texture packages ready so far, or are we working completely from scratch? Just need to know where to begin, and what I've got to work with :-). ------------------ What part of that do some people not understand? He who dies with the most frags wins, |
Mack Administrator Posts: 2779 From: Registered: 01-20-2001 |
Hey BluePaladin, Welcome to the CCN! I'm looking forward to seeing what work you help put out, keep us updated! ------------------ |
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BluePaladin Member Posts: 110 From: Tennessee, USA Registered: 12-27-2002 |
Thanks Mack, I appreciate it. I look forward to participating in these forums and looking at games others have made. @SLAM: QuArK is a free tool. The cool thing about it, it's adaptable with Q3! You make a map in QuArK and you can view the map in Quake 3. So, until myself, or someone else you may work with, gets their act together, you are building and increasing your skill. Do a search on Google for it and you can get the exact location on where to download it. I think the only stipulation is that you have to have Quake 3 installed. Good luck. ------------------ |
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SLAM Member Posts: 36 From: Miami, FL Registered: 12-29-2002 |
Okay, I've downloaded QuArK, I'll probably load it up later tonight. I've got Q3A installed. My laptop's video device isn't the most compatible in the world, however, so I hope QuArK will work properly on it. Anyway, if you had some ideas for texture packages, let me know. I can at least work on those if I can't map for some reason. BTW, what's the premise of this game? The storyline? If you haven't got one, I've got a couple ideas in mind. ------------------ What part of that do some people not understand? He who dies with the most frags wins, |
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BluePaladin Member Posts: 110 From: Tennessee, USA Registered: 12-27-2002 |
I'm taking logical steps to get myself to a big game state. I'm doing small games now and incrementing in difficulty. The games are short at best, but they offer me milestones to rate my progress. At some point in the near future, I'll be ready for a full game. Doing too much too quick is the biggest mistake you can make. Take it slow SLAM. Learn quark. Design a few small levels and play them in Quake3. Build your skills incrementally and make some small levels to start and make a plan. You may have to change it every now and then, but make one that's reasonable and push forward. We'll all meet on the other side when we are all much better skilled. You don't have to be perfect, but at a workable state. That's what I'm shooting for. Good luck! ------------------ |
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SLAM Member Posts: 36 From: Miami, FL Registered: 12-29-2002 |
Good advice. I've seen bad things happen already from jumping into a project too fast with too little experience. ------------------ What part of that do some people not understand? He who dies with the most frags wins, |
Whoosh Member Posts: 19 From: FL Registered: 12-31-2002 |
Well, this looked like a good place to post a first message. I must say this site was a pleasant find. I am a programmer with over 2yrs C++ experience, but it has mostly been in a financial business context. I have always had an interest in game programming, though. I hope to pick up some usefull info from what appears to be some sharp people here. I'm also curious to see how your use of .NET works out. I worked with it Its good to see a community like this and I hope to be of some contribution in the future. Thanks!!! |
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Mack Administrator Posts: 2779 From: Registered: 01-20-2001 |
quote: Welcome aboard Whoosh! This is a pretty great site to hang out at, I'm looking forward to seeing some of your messages soon! ------------------ |
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SLAM Member Posts: 36 From: Miami, FL Registered: 12-29-2002 |
Oi, indeed, welcome :-). Hope we can help you with something here, whether technical or spiritual. ------------------ What part of that do some people not understand? He who dies with the most frags wins, |
Jachin Member Posts: 113 From: Independence, OR, USA Registered: 01-03-2003 |
Hello yall, This is a wonderful place. Oh, ya, Give glory to God! |
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Mack Administrator Posts: 2779 From: Registered: 01-20-2001 |
Hey Jachin, Welcome to the CCN!  Just walk around and make yourself comfortable. I look forward to hearing about your views on subjects and also checking out any work you help release!------------------ |
. You should see some of the debates on this board.