Intermediate programmers wanted for GPL project

kappel_ml · Post by **kappel_ml** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 3:11 am

At the risk of being flamed (notice the post count) I'm looking for a few experienced programmers in the irrlict community. Briefly, the project is a cross between RTS and RPG, in the post-modern era. To be honest, I'm not a programmer, but i have been watching this engine for over a year and i am continually impressed. I would love to utililze this strong community on another project. I am by virtue of my background a technical writer. But I have spent a couple years messing with lightwave, and I am a decent low-poly (1500) modeler. I have a forum set up where the design doc can be downloaded, but you will have to register in order to see it. the link is
http://www.freeboards.net/?mforum=TSB3online Dont mind the title, i had been using this as an emulation site until i decided to put this project in the hands of the open-source community. Sorry for the long post, but this may be the only play i get on this board. What follows is the design narrative:

Design Document- Narrative version
UNTITLED

First, I want to thank you for taking the time to review and consider my design documentation. I understand that reading a long technical description of an idea or concept can be an arduous undertaking, and that is the reason for this document. I want to introduce this game concept in an interesting and thoughtful way, without throwing pages of technical jargon at the reader. We can save that for later. However, for now, I will get to the point.

In the year 2006, we live in a stable society. Our entire lifestyle is taken for granted. Little do we realize however, how delicate of a balance we are maintaining. In our fast-paced world, we give little real thought to the future. Hypothetical situations and rhetorical “what-ifs” are drowned out by aspirations of education, marriage, and retirement. We never analyze the big picture. We never take time to consider the implications of a massive shift in our cultural foundation. What changes lie ahead? In the next thirty years, with our current course, will this way of life continue to perpetuate itself? What happens when we reach peak oil production? What will happen if the Middle East is ridden of Western influence? Will China continue the course of strong economic growth, pulling interests from our borders? Will the UN collapse and the EU become a single united entity? Can Soviet fundamentalists regain what they feel was lost at the end of the 20th century? Can our own country continue to hold firm in the face of growing internal tensions? What will happen if the current humanitarian crisis’ are ignored in Africa? How will we continue to exist in a world that is overpopulated, underfed, and facing and impending energy crisis?
The next thirty years will prove to be a pivotal period on the timeline of human existence. That much is certain. What remains to be seen is the shape the world will take when the proverbial smoke clears. That is the concept that we are exploring in this game. It is 2039, and certain changes that were being theorized in the beginning of the century have come to fruition. The player is placed at the head of a country and must utilize very specific political facets to guide that country to prominence. These are Economic, Technology, Military, Intelligence, and Diplomacy. The player must utilize each of these elements skillfully, or their country will not flourish. This undertaking will not be an easy one, the world of 2039 is very different that than of today. Formal governments representing the interests of its citizens have been overthrown by their puppeteers. Companies that would formerly lobby their interests have effectively cut out the proverbial intermediary. The checks and balances have been removed. Profitability has become the bottom line. Quantity is job 1.
I feel that this game will appeal to a broad range of gamers for two reasons. First, this game is addressing a concept that everyone can relate to, Near Future Plausibility. Every single person on this planet has a stake in the future of it. With that in mind, I took the opportunity to explore and combine many of these concepts into this futuristic world. Will all of these events come to pass? It is not likely. However, it is very possible that some of them will. That is what I feel makes this concept so compelling and unique. Secondly, this game as I envision it will not be confined to one specific genre. There is the Strategic Element, which will be heavily featured as a geopolitical simulation with Real-Time-Strategy influences. Then we have the Tactical Element, combining key features from Role-playing games, tactical combat games, and squad-based action games. This is just a brief introduction of the ideas and features that this game encompasses. All of these concepts will be discussed in depth in the actual design document. Once again, I want to thank you for taking the time to read this summary. Your feedback will be beneficial to the growth of this project.

About the Author-

My name is Michael Lee Kappel. Growing up I had always possessed an enthusiasm for games and game design. I had spent countless hours designing board games and card games if only for my own amusement. I would draw Myst-like games, screen by screen in a sketchpad. Very quickly, it came to my attention that my passion lay in the creation process. This enthusiasm followed me into adulthood. I entered the military shortly after graduating high school, and spent the next five years proudly serving in the Air Force. I feel that one of the key intangible benefits that I acquired during my time in the military was technical precision. To work in an industry that is so detail oriented, leaves an indelible impression on a person’s character in my opinion. I am very grateful for that opportunity and the skills it afforded me.
This is actually not my first attempt at a video game design document. A previous attempt, an online RPG/community called Utopia, in which I submitted the document on a forum in an independent effort, was met warmly in that community. The concept did well for a brief period, but soon collapsed. I learned many things from that experience. To take a hands-on approach is paramount. It is also important to have clear-cut development goals. In my opinion, it is also important to establish developmental heads as I call them, individuals uncommonly skilled in a particular area to oversee production of their respective developmental goals. It is simply impossible for a person to communicate directly to 15-20 contributing individuals. A lack of a developmental hierarchy, if you will, was a primary factor in the failure of Utopia in my view.
I feel that I have learned from my mistakes, and I hope to earn an opportunity to develop this game design in a concerted, professional effort. I feel that in the right environment with the right people this idea can be very successful. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Maize · Post by **Maize** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 4:29 am

Sounds like you have a pretty good plan for this game. How do you plan to avoid some of the same problems that you faced in Utopia?

kappel_ml · Post by **kappel_ml** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 2:53 pm

I plan to make several things stand out. Planning being one. Community leaders being second. I have a dedicated forum for this project. where the teams leads can discuss goals and whatnot. I think its important to find a lead programmer, because I am not the person to tell other programmers how to do their jobs and write effiecient code. the link for the forum is

http://www.freeboards.net/?mforum=TSB3online

I will communicate with the developmental heads, who will decide the best way of achieving goals. They will then delegate those goals to thier respective departments. I will be a modeler on this project, however I will not be the lead modeler.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 4:22 pm

Irrlicht isn't GPL compatible.

Conquistador · Post by **Conquistador** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 5:11 pm

Can anyone confirm that?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 6:23 pm

License: zlib/libpng License

Conquistador · Post by **Conquistador** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 6:31 pm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zlib-libpng_license

The zlib/libpng license is a software license that applies to zlib, libpng and other non-related software packages. It has been approved by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) as a free software license, and by the Open Source Initiative (OSI) as an open source license. It is compatible with the GPL.

You are wrong.

Klasker · Post by **Klasker** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 9:08 pm

After reading the game description, I still don't know what kind of game it is, except it will be some political/diplomatic/tactical game, which can be almost anything.
Will it be like Sid Meyer's Civilisation? Or will it be an RPG game where you ally with the neighboor countries by comleting a quest for their leader (rather cliché example, but you get the point). Will it be a multiplayer game? A couple of basic questions I found unanswered.

If a programmer is to join, he/she will need to know the specifics of gameplay in order to determine how classified one is for the task.
An expert on singleplayer turn-based games might not be adept at making an online real-time game (for example).

With all that said, the concept for your game sounds interesting, but some more hands-on facts would be in order.

Anteater · Post by **Anteater** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 10:03 pm

The ZLIB/LIBPNG requires that the ZLIB/LIBPNG license be included with it. The GPL requires that all parts of the executable be GPL. This make the two incompatible. And, they can't just ask Niko to allow them to put a copy of Irr under the GPL because there are quite a few people who added things to Irr, and they would have to give their permission.

Conquistador · Post by **Conquistador** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 1:21 am

The zlib license is compatible with the GPL, according to GNU (http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/license-l ... leLicenses), Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zlib-libpng_license) and Answers.com (http://www.answers.com/topic/zlib-libpng-license).

Open Source Legal has also declared the zlib/libpng license to be GNU compatible (http://www.opensourcelegal.org/licensed ... %20License)

Anteater · Post by **Anteater** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 10:26 pm

I stand corrected. if GNU themselves say it's ok for the GPL, it must be.