So, in that last porn topic, I said I wanted to give this project a helping hand.
Before anyone asks, my old engine is not and will not become open source.
I was thinking about creating a new open source engine in GM6.1 that anyone could contribute to. That way, p2d isn’t dependent on me or CFX, anyone with programming skills can help get this project on its way. The engine would be developed in several steps. Example
step 1: general movement & collision detecting
step 2: slope running
step 3: morph ball
and so on. It’s kinda like the artifacts of the month, where we set different goals for each month.
But before we start on this, I want to know if this idea is accepted, and if there are people who want to help programming. I’ll program a bit myself, but I won’t take this whole project on me.
So, what y’all think?
And yes, I know that first sentence sounds totally wrong…
I dunno, you’ll need someone to orchestrate it, and if that isn’t you, or someone else with really good GM knowledge, then this will really struggle. Whoever is putting it together will have a much bigger job than the rest, and yet, they’re the only person who this would depend on completely.
Personally, the only running computer I have of my own is running on Vista, so I don’t know how much I could really help other than to help people figure bugs out, and maybe how to get some concepts into code. I suppose I could do some scripting in GM7, and send the scripts to someone along with instructions as to where they belong. I don’t completely know how different 7 is from 6.1, however.
But yeah, if there are some decent, motivated programmers that are willing to keep learning and scripting for the sake of said project, I’d say that it’s worth a try. See what everyone says, eh.
And I do think that it will be likely necessary to have someone who understands the general process of scripting extensively to set up the aforementioned goals. We don’t want to be trying to add the grapple beam before we even have a solid shooting mechanic in the engine, or anything like that .
Well, I’m gonna start polishing up on my rustic programming skills, so I’m in. A couple classes at a community college nearby should get me on track, so expect a little delay.
But don’t program yet! First I got to explain how this topic will work.
First we start off with a basic engine, which I will deliver later today. This engine will include basic movement. With this engine we will go trough different cycles.
One cycle includes the following steps:
START: release engine A
set up goals for this period
assign goals to different people
execute goals (means programming)
upload improved engine(s)
merge all engines into a new release
debug the hell out of it, improve where necessary
END: release engine B
Just like that. These cycles will keep things nice and organized. Don’t need to tell you that organization is the key to success.
Also, don’t start on things that are not part the plan, this is VERY important.
The reason I want to work with GM6.1 is because GM7’s EULA sux. Basicly, it comes to this, every game made with GM7 belongs to Yoyogames, not to the people who made it…
Are you sure there is no way to work with GM6.1 on vista? We’ll have to work with GM7 otherwise.
Unfortunately, yes - I am pretty much positive that there is no way to get GM6.1 working on Vista, although I haven’t done an in-depth search for solutions. It seems widely accepted as so, and hence is why Mark Overmars created a GM6 executable Vista converter. If you’re curious to know, what happens when you run GM6 or an unconverted GM6 executable on Vista is, no window or task bar icon shows up, but the program is running and takes up 50% of your CPU for no apparent reason. Task manager FTW, here.
Anyways. I am also very aware of the GM7 license agreement. That’s the reason I use 5.3a for all of my personal GM projects (which is less efficient than both GM6 and 7, I know). For a while, they were on 5.3a because that’s what I started one project on and couldn’t figure out some issues with converting it to GM6. Of course, I figure out the issues after my only XP-endowed computer dies and I get a laptop with Vista.
From what I’ve seen though, GM6.1 and GM7 are pretty similar in terms of the GML, relative to GM5.3a and GM6, which between the two, a lot of things in the GML changed. So perhaps I could just import each new 6.1 engine into 7, do the scriptwork, then send the modified or additional scripts alone to whoever has access to GM6.1 and whichever engine? If this sounds like too much of a pain, then I guess I’ll just have to sit back and help whoever needs helping, or just do nothing at all. >_> Hopefully not the latter.
Finally, I like the plan! xP The organization seems, to me, to be pretty solid. I’m curious as to how the debugging would work - would that be left mostly up to one person, or would different people focus on different parts? And if the latter case, what if one person finds that their problem is connected to a bit of script that another person is assigned to?
Let’s hope that noone else gets in a situation like Troid’s, eh.
On a side note, I apologize if I’m acting “too involved.” I really don’t know whether or not DF meant for this possible project to be team-only or anything.
I’m only adding one task this cycle, to see how things go… DON’T PROGRAM ON ANY OTHER TASKS FOR NOW!
Only start programming once you’re assigned to a task. (Multiple people can be assigned to the same task). By participating, you agree that your code is open source and anyone can edit it.
Since there’s only 1 task this time, you can start programming right away.
Document your code, this is important, so we all know what you’re doing exactly.
Take your time to write your code, and think about your logic. I want all code to be high quality.
I’ll make a gm7 version tomorrow.
One more thing, please follow my way of giving names to variables and objects. Sprites start with spr_ , objects with obj_ and so on. Makes it easier to understand the code.
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