Dune 2000:the era of war

[Feda]

Can you give him micro-management? So that he wont use the grenadiers to shoot a heavy tank (lets say) when there are infantry targets around?

[vota dc]

Wait...why remove a faction to add one? Isn't about modding Dune 2000 (you can't even add new units or weapons...just replace unused things)....you can't have seven factions?

If you plan an "overpowered" faction just remove from them Starport: strong units to produce but can't order cheap units.

Will price of Dune 2 for CHOAM come back? They can't be always cheaper than manifacturing on Dune....yes producing in Dune is very expensive, but CHOAM main purpose is to order many units at once...if they are cheaper is better. Also would be interesting to change discount or quantity avaible based on faction.

[X3M]

You could make sure the AI detects low health units and shoots them first.

current health / maximum health

The lower, the more chance it's getting targeted first.

Also take range and speed for reaching those units into account.

[THE AQIB]

@feda: well ill try fixing tht... @vota dc: its not tht mercenaries have no play in this game... thts why i said removed... new faction will test your strength... im putting tht faction in my dune2k emperor mod but there itll be less powerful.. @x3m: will do... needs a few tweaking... @all: ill be using original d2k sprites for pre release testing... so if i put up a screenshot dont ask me why does it look like d2k... ofcourse i designed the ui,when i get time ill make the basic ui into gamemaker...

[Feda]

@vota dc, he is making a new engine, not using d2k's

[THE AQIB]

oh he meant tht.... @vota dc:well yea... i said im remaking the whole thing from scratch on gamemaker...

[THE AQIB]

anyone know the camera angle used to create sprites for dune 2000

[THE AQIB]

hindered by my pc... i have posted a topic in tech problems please help me out..

[>Quiet Snow<]

anyone know the camera angle used to create sprites for dune 2000

Different angles, the mountains(bordering mainland) can be seen from all sides.

There is a possibility that the whole schedule - the work of the artist.

All this - a dream ... imho

If you are serious to do something - think about the complexity of the implementation.

[THE AQIB]

@quiet snow:???

[X3M]

@quiet snow: ???

Make that 2 of us.

[THE AQIB]

@x3m:do you know???

[criver]

Looks to me like isometric projection (the sprites I mean) - can't be sure though - http://en.wikipedia....ical_projection - but it depends - I mean things in dune2k look pretty 2d - so I mean the sprites are probably not derived from 3d and if they aren't derived from 3d - the artist can draw it at whatever angle he wants . Also - u do realize that using sprites u'll need at least 3 sprites for each unit (so he can face left,up,down,righ(would be inversed left)) and even more if u want your unit to be able to face diagonally? I'd advise u using 3d - for one thing - it will make this part easier. And btw u can't really talk about angle of a camera in 2d...

"All this - a dream ... imho

If you are serious to do something - think about the complexity of the implementation." - I believe the guy thinks that this project is getting nowhere - the point being - u're wasting too much time thinking how to make something rather than making it. U started things bacwards - usually u ready the engine and then come the resources - meaning u don't start by making your 3d models - u start with some experiments on the engine (u can use cubes/speheres for your units for a beginning and just focus on the basic mechanisms). By basic mechanisms I mean:

*graphics - including the ingame graphics (by this I don't mean the resources I mean the graphic engine) + the GUI

*interface with the user - keyboard/mouse - some kind of control over what u see on the screen - some kind of interactivity

*pathfinding algorithm - well basically most rts games need it - unless u have it coded already in the engine (though you will still need to figure how to implement it) - go search A* pathfinding algorithm on th web

*AI - u can start with something basic - for ex. the harvesters harvesting on their own

*audio - u can leave that for the end

etc.etc.

[THE AQIB]

well ui is almost done... basic that is... tried a few rts stuff selection rectangle,multiple unit selection,basic a* logarithm,building animations... more tht i forgot... well im still testing everything but to begin construction itll take tym cuz for 4-6 months need to study... for an imp exam... well lets hope for the best...

[criver]

I checked and there's obviously an A* pathfinding algorihtm (not logarithm btw - review ur math & programming) available in game maker:

http://gmc.yoyogames.com/index.php?showtopic=309090

http://gmc.yoyogames.com/index.php?showtopic=528045

Here're things on isometric projection:

http://gmc.yoyogames.com/index.php?showtopic=184852

http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=121489

http://gmc.yoyogames.com/index.php?showtopic=556271

http://gamedev.stackexchange.com/questions/29396/getting-isometric-grid-coordinates-from-standard-x-y-coordinates

P.S. Google is your friend so use it.

[THE AQIB]

@criver: hm.. I appreciate ur search... I dont have a pc ryt now... not onlyn one I mean... sorry for the spelling error I was saying it as a*algorithm... I wanted to know how to render the sprites like dune 2k... you've played tht haven't you??

[Feda]

Logarithm lmao :D I had a test from that shit last week :(

[criver]

Actually I haven't played dune2k, Emperor:battle for dune - though I've seen 2 "versions" on the net depicting dune2k:

http://www.abandonia...ead.php?t=19856

http://www.gameranki...es/screen3.html

I'm not sure which u mean... but from what I understand - u want to render the sprites dune2k like? First I should explain that ur sprites can be either artwork or derived from a 3d model (both of these are stored in some image format) - so it's not about rendering them (render=draw) but creating them I guess?

But still I'm not sure what u meant exactly - "how to render the sprites like dune 2k" - a little clarification on your part may give me a hint what u want exactly and how to help u.

I'll try to explain a bit more what I mean:

if u're making a 2d game u usually have an image(sprite) and u draw it at a given position x,y - pseudo-code:

DrawImage(img_hndl,x,y)

So there's no thing as "render it like in dune 2k" - I mean in 2d u always render things the same way (unless u add some effects) - u give the function that draws ur image the image handle and where to draw it (x and y) - the handle serves to indicate the address of memory where the image is stored (or where its "beginning" is stored) and x and y indicate where exactly on the screen it should be drawn.

So I presume u mean how to create a sprite that looks like the ones from dune2k?

Here are my suggestions:

1) U can try to find the sprites from dune2k - I don't own this game so I don't know where they are stored - if u find them u can try to use them (though they can be in some special format) - apparently it was already done - http://forum.dune2k.com/topic/24230-dune3000-java-beta-test/

2) U can make a 3d model of some unit/base and derive some sprites from it (there are programs that can derive such images) - it's maybe the easiest method cause u just have to rotate the model 4-5 times and get all the images u need for this unit (I mean - looking up,down,left,diagonally etc.) - remember u can derive right by inversing the image u got for facing left of the unit. - http://www.d-grafix....age=spriteforge - btw it's not a good idea to buy this applictaion - most fo the 3d modelling apps can make u an img good enough for the game - u just have to manually rotate the model at the angles u want (though that's part fo the fun)

3) U can try and draw them urself - may be really easy if u can draw.

For every case u should try and get some standard size for the different type of images (ex. infantry:10x30, tanks:50x50 etc.) - also the image size may be different for facing forward,backward,left,right etc. (Imagine the image of ur unit in a rectangle - this rectangle is basically the image) - also u should make the space around ur unit transparent/masked - I mean the unit takes only a part of the rectangle(image) - u should make the remaining part of the rectangle(image) transparent/masked so ur units won't be in some rectangles moving around.

I don't really know how game maker works really - never used it - so I can't be sure what is a sprite for game maker - usually a sprite is a 3d quad (imagine 3d rectangle) with some texture on it (basically a canvas with an image in 3d) - and most of the time it is made to face the user whatever the angle of the camera (sprites in 3d are mostly used for different effects like fire,smoke, energy balls, trees, particle effects etc.):

http://www.terrymatt...prite-textures/

http://scratch.mit.e...man3141/2616359

So I'm not sure how game maker manages these sprites - as simple images or as something else - that's why I can't give u any more specific advice.

P.S. I got some experience in game making - so I'll tell u this - the worst thing is losing motivation (I got like 100+ projects that I've dropped , of course there are those that I completed but they're not in the 100+ :P) - so just have fun dude - just don't give up - it's the worst thing u can do lolz :P.

[X3M]

P.S. I got some experience in game making - so I'll tell u this - the worst thing is losing motivation (I got like 100+ projects that I've dropped , of course there are those that I completed but they're not in the 100+ :P) - so just have fun dude - just don't give up - it's the worst thing u can do lolz :P.

I second that.

I also have some experience with game maker. It made me give up on programming :D. It left me with a cool picture of 1 tank though.

But there is one thing that I learned. Don't worry about graphics. Get the game working first. The game mechanics are 90% of the game.

Once the game works, you can build up bit by bit on other stuff.

[criver]

Game Maker made u give up on programming!? Blasphemy! :D How could u leave the ranks of us - programmers - for game maker? :P This was kind of a joke - but I'm kinda serious too - maybe u just picked the wrong language - I didn't start with C++ for example. I mean - I cannot describe the feeling of accomplishment the first time u write ur own bit of code from scratch and u see it actually works - and I don't mean "Hello World!" - I mean your own little project - like your own library/software renderer/physics engine. I mean seriously - I remember I was so happy when I wrote a function that could take a mesh and create a flat shadow of that mesh on the plane below - and I wrote in on a language that is a toy for children - Blitz3D. It was the time I started liking math - I mean it's really great when u learn something and u can actually use it - I mean math looked pretty useless to me until then - it was like an enlightenment - like:"Oh man I can actually do things with this shit!". I mean it was such a great fun figuring everything out on my own - trying to guess the theories behind 3d - researching different techniques and applications. Bet I sound like the biggest nerd here - but I really don't care - I mean it's really great learning new things and actually being able to produce something with that.

P.S."The game mechanics are 90% of the game.

Once the game works, you can build up bit by bit on other stuff." - that was my point in the pre-pre-previous post - though I wouldn't say 90% - there're actually some games that have some value outside gameplay - I mean they're fewer and fewer, but it's not really only the gameplay & mechanics that makes the game - check Rule of Rose - the game mechanics(especially fighting) were pretty bad - but everything else - especially plot - was as great as it could get. I mean there's no such stuff as 90% of the game is programming (well it depends on the game actually - I'd say that Tribes Ascend is 90% mechanics and it's a great fps) - the good thing about games are that they mix many things in one - and the result should be epic (but mostly it isn't...) - I mean some games' only redeeming features are music or graphics or plot.

[>Quiet Snow<]

So many words. Sorry, can't translate so much to understand you guys.

[criver]

So many words. Sorry, can't translate so much to understand you guys.

Lolz :P np I think I understood your previous post and I think I explained it well... We basically we said what u did but in 1000+ words :D(well with some additions of course).

P.S. What language do u speak btw?

[>Quiet Snow<]

Lolz :P np I think I understood your previous post and I think I explained it well... We basically we said what u did but in 1000+ words :D(well with some additions of course).

P.S. What language do u speak btw?

Now understand you. Lang - Russian.

I'm asm coder and don't believe in miracles )))

[X3M]

Well, I never was a programmer to begin with. I like putting stuff together that don't say blieb, but rather say psssssh, boem. Therefore my Minecraft icon.

But I created some games on the TI92+ during college. Those classes sure where boring. The games where kinda crappy in my own way, but fun to do.

Pacman (1P), Artillery (2P), Artillery in space (4P), tetris (1P), risk (6P), monopoly (6P),...

and a text based C&C (6) which lagged major. Yes, you can tell, I had exactly 5 friends :D

I got good at it.

That was 10 years ago, and after college I got busy with work. My cousin had chosen programming, I thought he might let my C&C relive with major corrections. And perhaps over 1k players. We had 100 fake players though through member spamming. Some one must have hated us. And the game had some major bugs. But then game maker, was the last time I tried. 7 years ago I think. I tried to get this little tank running:

It did drive around, but I never got hundreds of them driving around :(.

Back to topic.

How about I create some 2D tanks instead for you AQIB? I like creating simple stuff :D.

[THE AQIB]

@x3m: tht would be helpful... make it more lyk d2k style... of course i'll be lookin at it... ill be trying out buildings later when i got tym...