Realms of Forlorn Hope[help wanted]

Insomniacp · Post by **Insomniacp** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 8:24 am

Okay, this is a resurrection of my old project http://irrlicht.sourceforge.net/phpBB2/ ... sc&start=0

I currently do not have any screen shots available from the new one but I will in the next couple of days when I rework part of the map generator. Please see the other thread for some older screen shots.

So since most people complain about mmorpgs dying, I will quickly say that we are nearing an open beta state where people will actually be able to play and do things. I will not give a date because I don't want to be held to a strict schedule.

The client side of the game is moving a long I will be done adding physics tomorrow which. Movement is already done and works across the network, we are currently working on smoothing the movement out by doing calculations server side to determine where the player will end up. Everything is set up in abstracted systems to allow us to easily alter one process without effecting the entire application. The client is also made to be platform independent so we will have binaries for Linux and windows.

This also applies to the server. Our server system is quite robust, it allows for infinite expansion by dividing the world and what computers are controlling certain parts of the world. Control of these parts will change in real-time as server loads change and a server can no longer handle all the clients connected to it. If it can't it will transfer part of its control area to another server. This set up allows us to expand as much as we would like to without the issue of upgrading a server, we simply add another from the many parts laying around our house. We already have a database set up and running our test accounts, saving and loading work. In the next week we are recoding much of the server to fit this system. We are also developing a patching system to run along side our servers (shouldn't take more than a day to program)

So the main reason I am posting this now and not when it is playable is that I would like to find a good gui programmer. I myself don't like dealing with the gui and I am not artistic enough to make a physically appealing one. So if you are good at doing that or at least decent then please send me a pm. I would like the gui to be as abstract as possible (compiled into an object). That way I simply need to call an initial build function and then functions to update it from data received over the network. Anyway that will be discussed in more detail with whoever decides to help. As with most projects this is not paid though we will give them special bonuses in game once more content is added.

Also graphics are always needed.

devsh · Post by **devsh** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 4:48 pm

why didnt you tell me you were ressurecting, I'd love to be back on the team

Insomniacp · Post by **Insomniacp** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 5:50 am

There have been posts about it on the forums.
http://www.rofhonline.com/forums/

I am assuming you will want to be doing shader stuffs?

Insomniacp · Post by **Insomniacp** » Tue Mar 22, 2011 6:57 pm

Okay, hopefully there will be an official release later this week, I believe the goal is Thursday.

Server side we created a number of servers including our login server, a patcher server and a game server. Currently we are working on the game server, everything else is done. We are using our old code for now so movement is a little sketchy but we will optimize it and make it better for network play. Besides movement we are also working on general gameplay additions like setting up our ai and spawn points and adding skills and everything like that. Most of this is just simple string parsing with our current set up so adding content should be fairly quick and steady over the next few months.

Client side we have abstracted physics out so we can swap engines quickly and easily. We built and tested a patcher so we can update people regularly with new content. As with the server just about everything is set up and functioning and we just have to add the content to it such as gui and things like that.

The map was dynamically generated (heights only so far) and seems to have loaded fine but we will need to walk around the entire area (10 square miles were generated) to make sure that everything got calculated properly. Later on we will expand this to add trees, rocks, foliage, spawn points, buildings, ground textures, a bump map and even quests will be dynamically created using this generator. I know many people will say this is unrealistic but we do not think so. The map will also loop back around so the world will be spherical.

ChaiRuiPeng · Post by **ChaiRuiPeng** » Tue Mar 22, 2011 7:01 pm

cool

Insomniacp · Post by **Insomniacp** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 2:57 am

So I have spent a few weeks trying to make an abstract physics library which imo works fine besides issues I am having using bullet physics. That said I am looking for someone that would be willing to take swing at getting it working. Basically there is just a physics thread which loops through doing the physics simulation and then asynchronously updates irrlicht with the new position and rotation. Right now my issue is having bullet actually work, I have motion states set up and they are called but its with the same info each time. So my rigid body isn't moving... ever no matter what I try. This points to some flaw in my code using bullet but it seems to match all the examples and makes sense in my mind. I also implemented an asynchronous debug drawer as well to make sure things are right and i do see the capsule object I created and it just sits suspended in the air.

On the better side, we purchased some models the other day so we will have a good looking town and graphics to use in the game once we get the physics running.
We also are getting NPC's working server side so by the time these physics issues are resolved we will be able to implement the NPC's client side.
I am also editing my previous map editor so we can edit maps to make them more building friendly so we can have a starting town.
We have someone dedicated to creating the gui for us so that should come along well quite soon.
Finally we decided to make this a first person game. That said it will be something similar to elders scrolls oblivion in gameplay style. Though it will be an online rpg so more enjoyable.

ChaiRuiPeng · Post by **ChaiRuiPeng** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 3:54 pm

i am doing the same thing with my mini-engine, it uses bullet as well and i already have a well implemented integration of bullet and irrlicht. i am a bit busy today but i could take a look at it later.

Insomniacp · Post by **Insomniacp** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 4:13 pm

Sounds great, I will send you the code when you get the time, simply send a PM.

Insomniacp · Post by **Insomniacp** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 11:59 pm

We have successfully cross compiled the game using bjam so we can build on linux or windows using a single program and set of files. This means we are one step closer to a release being available for people. Chances are once we get our physics problems resolved and get a little more of the gui done we will make a release.

EDIT:
We also have a graphics department leader again, yaserj. He will be organizing and controlling most of the model creation and people that are making them. This way I can focus on what I know best (programming).

Insomniacp · Post by **Insomniacp** » Fri Apr 22, 2011 1:53 am

bump and update.

A lot has been accomplished though we are still waiting for the release. So far today I have set up a number of systems for the game. I started a blog for all staff members and for an easy way to update users with new data. The blogs are located at http://www.blogs.rofhonline.com/ I also set up a bug tracker system at http://www.bugs.rofhonline.com/ Both of these should help with development and notifying people of updates.

I also did a number of bug fixes that appeared on the windows platform only. At this point both linux and windows builds function exactly the same as I would expect. I am going to begin recoding the physics system since I haven't been able to resolve the problem with minor changes. Either way I have this entire weekend to program with so I should be able to completely recode it in a short amount of time.