Iron Infantry Progress
Last Updated on Sunday, 15 November 2009 19:15 Written by Administrator Sunday, 21 June 2009 20:58
FYI - Old Stuff is going to the bottom of the page while new stuff up top.
2009-11-15 Hi folks - things have been crazy at Jegas, LLC lately so I haven't been game coding or doing much else in the way of hobby things etc... I'm just now trying to rebuild my Ironinfantry and www.JasonPeterSage.com site so there are "empty" links to pictures.. descriptions of pictures and files not online yet etc... I'll do what I can when I can... Stay tuned!
2009-01-15 Hi Folks, been working feverishly on the code and not so much on the web site: Same Old Same Old in 2009 eh? Well I haven't given up on Iron Infantry... and its definately not as dead as it may seem. I have evaluated a few more game engines but have remained developing in DarkGDK for a number of reasons. I'm currently implementing Tokomak Physics into my JGC Library due to its light weight and high performance properties. The goal recently has been to create a decent media manager designed for game and simulation development with visual physics and modeling abilities which will all eventually feed the Iron Infantry project! So, development has not stopped I assure you... Stop over at the Iron Infantry gallery to see what I'm talking about.. new stuff has been added.
2008-10-05 - Wow - My Birthday on the 7th - 2 more days and I'm 37 AHHH - Iron Infrantry development sadly has been on hold however I'm still determined to see it through. Some of the problem that is daunting is - where is the technology going? I mean you develop a game as an indy and it takes a long time - what happens if by the time you finish your dx9 game dx 11 is out and only for Windows 7? Or a OpenGL Game you wrote gets pushed aside because OpenGL dies - or something along those lines? What is a technology that will stick around so you can master it and build on it? Sorry - but I'm convinced that companies like Microsoft and others that have TEAMS of coders are always making "new systems" and calling it new technology - and honestly - its just Different Technology that we are so often forced to adopt. You know - Unix and Linux have programs that run still that are over 20 years old and they work AWESOME! I wish Microsoft and others could learn a thing or two here - make a SOLID foundation - and KEEP IT.... then as you build on it - it matures versus getting so crappy or boxed in that it gets slated for retirement - UGH... I DIGRESS!
Anyways - hang tight - and don't be shy to offer your services here either - because I welcome coders and artists alike - note that realistically - the compitition for Iron Infantry are games like ArmA, Call of Duty, BattleField etc. Which leads me to believe if I don't get my own Blue/Green Screen animation system - cameras, etc etc and map them to original models - I might forget having decent humans in the game. Games like I mentioned and games like Halflife and others have raised the bar - and these are all BIG development teams - the days of the Indy are numbered - unless we can pull off something REALLY special! Indies?!?!? UNITE! --Jason
2008-07-12 - We all know its pretty dang tough to write a block buster single handedly, so this isn't my aim. However, I am a fan of these combat games that have a good amount of immersion. Not because I like war - because real war I think is a very evil thing and I'm not about the violence in real life at all - however for a game - I think its the perfect balance of high speed action, strategy, and having a game like Battlefield or ArmA or Men of Valor usually gives you more than a gun for a strategy to "win" or survive. Knowing when a vechicle is advantageous - or flying a heli for air superiority over some armored tanks - yet being vunerable to infantry hand launched rockets and mini heat seeking SAM's - well - I think its cool. I want iron infantry to be FAST playing, and sort of have a paper, rock, scissors sort of game play in that - each "role" you play has its pros and cons. This is nothing new to this genre - however what is (or will be) novel is a simple user interface (hopefully like Half Life) with a open game play (mostly non-linear) with emphasis on playability over eye candy.
Ok - My issue - as I said is I've been busy on this commercial venture - and this is 100% dx RAW stuff I'm doing. So, I'm building up a bit of DX know how for dx9 anyways, and I have a code lib not unlike the DarkGDK OOP library I wrote for DX now. I'm using VS 2005 C++, and the Same DirectX SDK Aug 2007 that we all use with DarkGDK.
I haven't covered all facets of "game coding" in DX as I'm working with static meshes alot... but I have things like timing code, destroy/restore device, windowed/fullscreen, loading and saving mesh data, camera manipulation, Object manipulation, light control, materials (how light interacts with surface) and my buddy David W has his own dx9 thing going on and has Ageia working and even the device interrogation, while I have a complete adapter lib which allows multiple monitors, multiple adapters working individually, or multiple adapters grouped to serve one monitor...
So between us helping each other - its reasonable that I'll have the Ageia stuff working before hopefully to to long - with his help. (He said it wasn't so bad - but I don't know yet - seemed a bit tricky but I haven't tried it first hand myself yet) So - the theory is that EVEN though I say Iron Infantry is "idle" for the moment - the truth is - its looking like its going to be written natively in C++/DX9 and I just have a lot to do yet.
This is one project I am VERY determined to see through! Including Multiplayer modes etc.
2008-03-23 - I'm going to just quit apologizing - I update the web when I get to it! LOL I thought it was TIME to let you know that development has in no way ceased, my spelling hasn't improved, but the game is coming along nicely! I have developed a huge library of code now in C++. I'm using DarkPhysics and I have DarkAI on my shelf ready for the dusting off (and learning curve)when I get that far! I've made a neat animated MAIN MENU system for the game that resembles a Tank Track, and I'm currently working on a GUI for the level editor and the game itself. I've spent a lot of time fighting with Water Shaders, Dark Physics (Ageia Physics under the hood) and something called 'Normals' that help make terrain (and other 3d objects) render correctly alongside the graphics cards' built in lighting (these are a pain) but I was able to Git-R-Dun! Moving Onward. I'm posting a bunch more pics and breaking the gallery up a little...Enjoy!
If you're interested in the Abandon-Ware from me leaving DBPRO and Switching to DarkGDK (C++) then Check out this link: Iron Infantry - DBPro FREE Demo PLUS Source CODE!!!. If you're a C++ Programmer, using DarkGDK, DarkPhysics, DarkAI - Check this page out: FREE DarkGDK OOP Wrapper by Jegas, LLC.
2007-12-28 - Sorry its been so long since I've updated this page - but I assure you development hasn't slowed. Lately I've been concentrating on learning and experimenting with various techniques for making terrain, and I finally think I'm on to a decent solution for the "Up in the air" view - the panaoramic view!
So what ya think? Next I'm on to LOD (Level of Detail) transistions - gotta run to work - good bye!
Well - turns out culling is a problem using regular meshes. Forced to use stock GDK terrain - which makes "Painting" Trick - as I'm forced to a heightmap, a texture, and a detailing tile. This method does cull awesome, provide high frame rates, and is realatively "easy" to implement however - the whole height map business makes exact placement of items difficult, means battling Z-Fighting - (Flashy/jumpy where water meets terrain) is hard to overcome because you can't simply push a vertice up or down - there are many steps required to get a terrain idea into a heightmap, and a "reasonably" painted texture. The good thing about Meshes is that its easier to get WYSIWYG (what ya see is what ya get) but the FPS tank (Frame Rates go south - game slows miserably).
The good thing about stock GDK terrain is the performance is slamming and its much easier to develop terrains that have the "BIG" look to them. The drawback is its difficult to make roads, via simple "drawing lines" and stuff. Never mind trying to get the heightmap awesome - Why? Well - most editors I've tried that create heightmaps just don't look anything like the final result - and the ones that do - have VERY limited painting options.
Fear Not! ... You weren't fearful? Fine! ;) I'm hanging in there! Never run from a challenge, ... unless of course there is an easy get away! :) Until next time... Jason Out.
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Finally think I have a plan in place concerning the terrain - so, seeing how I have a halfway decent terrain loader - I started level one :)
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Switching to DarkGDK has meant C++ learning curve, total rewrite in progress! Recently I purchased T.Ed Terrain editor - which has object placement and its own file format it can export to that you can use to load the saved "levels" or "worlds" in your game. Well, it's a lot of work making DarkGDK read that file format and having it look the same as it did in the T.Ed (Terrain editor software) program itself. I had a DBPro BASIC "example" and I've used that as a reference as I created my own object oriented one. Below are the results so far. I'm able to load everything with except the terrain meshes themselves (this is what I'm going to work on next - I'm even going to try to get the Alpha Mapping Texture to be rendered properly in DarkGDK.
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Ok - Major development path shift. I'm switching to C++ and I'm planning on giving T.Ed (A terrain editor) a good effort because it allows placement of props on your terrain and gives shadows to trees etc. This will be challenging as Advanced Terrain in DBPro doesn't use meshes per say - it uses heightmaps to generate its meshes internally. So - the LAST DBPro Movie - ZIPPED is here for the patient enough to download it. It tries to show off what does work in the DarkBasic version. Enjoy! IronInfantry_LastDBOProMovie.zip (525 meg ZIP AVI Movie 640x480 Stereo Sound)
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Got Some Stuff done since my last post here. Tank co-Axial - Finished! Zoom Via Scroll Wheel on the mouse, shoot the BIG gun or the Coaxial Machine Gun! Apache Flight pretty well "tuned" now Apache Autohover Feature complete Apache Zoom Implemented - Zoom in on a target - like infantry - and fire your gun from distances too!
Apache Eye "Tads" link to Machine gun operational! "Borrowed" an airport texture just to try it out - looks cool to me for a first draft! Click for full size!
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Tank blasts Heli out of the air with 120mm Big Gun (6.4meg) Co-Axial Machine Gun is next.. Stay Tuned
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2007-08-20 - Alot done this weekend:
Virtual Cockpit!!!
Helicopter Physics (Banks, hovers, etc) Explosions - Revisited
Helicopter Work done for in air destruction
Helicopter Work done for "Dead Engine" Fall to ground action
Control Tank Turret and Barrel with Mouse now
Tank turret stuff optimized
Made way for Tank CoAxial Machine Gun (Married to turret)
Added Cool Graphics for when you die!
Dry Run on first AI a success. (Basically a flying heli, altitude aware and flys a circle (For target practice)
Click for full size
Click for full size
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Boy, lately its been slow going - fine tuning stuff, wondering where I'll get my cool soldier models, doing some modeling of my own (Like the Heli animations) ... well.. nuff babble - its coming along - slower than I would like but I wanted to show off some progress with a movie. (13 meg) Heli now starting to work like a heli! (Plus some tank fun)
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Pass Two - Structure seems decent enough to build on ;) Haven't found a great terrain solutiuon but I have a new appreciation for LOD and "Hiding Objects. I'm not a master of culling, and many other fancy shader and lighting tricks - but I'm hoping my attention to model detail (Behavior) makes this game fun to play! What's new? Infantry - Got guys starting to appear in the landscape, a few AH-64 Apache Longbows, (Model repaints I'm finding fun sometimes - frustrating at others - but - overall - way cool), Now rather solid Tank Fire, hit detection, animations etc. Still plains - but I haven't dived into particles yet nor am I convinced performance will not be drained by them if I add a bunch of particles and stuff. Have trouble balancing frame rates per second now! Special thanx to the DBP guys who helped me clean up my SkyBoxes!... Now For Pics, you'll see how the "skybox cleaning" helped... and it was only one command! (Love that when it happens!)
Showing off for Cam - Green Camo More Models coming Alive - (in the desert!) Got Him in my Sites... Won't be long now!
Four shots later...He's Toast (I missed first three!)
Ahh - Cleaned Skybox! (No Lines! Woo Hoo)
Are you Ready?
AirBorne!
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PASS TWO - Major Rewrite - Better Frame Rates - More Focus on Model Animations and still struggling for a "great" terrain solution: We have a Game Logo! 2.5 Meg AVI Movie demonstrating progress thus far.
Turret ShotTurret View now has full 360 degree mouse view like a FPS - for the future Machine Gun off the top of the tank. Experimenting with Perspective Driver Seat TankGame12Chase.JPG Shell Chase Cam There is still much to be done - I spend time just trying to get the model looking right from the various angles and getting the treads to be pretty close to "true" which is difficult because the left wheel and right wheel for a given axle are welded...(Both sides spin or both do now!) There is individual control of each axle and we utilize that. Concentration has been on refining the little that is there - alot of thought about "Big Terrain" scenery and thinking about the various ways to mix "big" with like life - and somehow keep the frame rates up so the game plays smoothly.
There is LOD (High Poly/Low Poly) swapping for the tank - and I got that working flawless this evening. Hoever this is still experimental - because the technique needs to be applied globally to things like trees, buildings etc. Making the parameters configurable will be important because finding that balance is quite iterative once an "engine" for this is in place.
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PASS ONE - Frame Rates Not Great - All Things Considered - This needs improvement. Movie #1 made early in development(10megs) (Before it could shoot, for example) Tank Pic #1 - Firing Works! Yeah! Tank Pic #2 - Sitting up in the Turret, head poking out of the turret. Tank Pic #3 - Gunner View The scope is not like
a sniper rifle, you need to calculate arch - makes it challenging but less than realistic - but everyone who has messed with it agrees its more fun this way!
Tank Pic #4 - The Driver's SeatUpFront, Low, and straight into battle. Tank Pic #5 - Shell Chase The Driver's SeatUpFront, Low, and straight into battle.
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