fyhuang
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Posts posted by fyhuang
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Alright:
Without performing any read/write operationsThis is theoretically (AFAICT), downright impossible. I'm sure this isn't what you meant because it doesn't mention anything about this on the website. The website does say that it is optimized for slow-writing and/or volatile media - this probably means it minimizes the number of reads/writes but definitely does not eliminate them.
Anyways this looks nice, as our school doesn't have any software that's really useful (okay, besides MS Office...). Although, at my request, both computers in my house have Mozilla installed on them now (although my mom is still confused as to what Mozilla does...). Downstairs computer (i.e. mine) uses Linux completely, and I only have IE (on wine) because I need it for testing websites (and the occasional website that is 'built for IE'). Upstairs is running Windows ME but I have Mozilla installed and have instructed everyone that Internet Explorer is evil
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By the way, most tiles are 32x32 unless HyperSonic XP told you to use 30x30s... which is fine but the math is much easier with 32x32s. Just a thought.
Oh, by the way, a nice series documenting what good pixel art is made of:
I don't think it has been updated in a while but it has tons of useful information.
Hope it helps and good luck!
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Also, another piece of advice - it is generally not necessary to plan out exactly the personnel you'll need (i.e. 1 minigame supervisor
) beforehand. Usually just 'several programmers and artists' is good. And probably a sound engineer. Supervisors are not really necessary unless you plan to have a 30-man team... also, you should take a role of being a programmer or artist in the game - don't be just a supervisor (without any programming or artistic experience, that would be bad), cause everyone knows the management can make bad decisions . If you have programming or artistic experience use it! If you don't you can learn . Free resources online like GameDev.net can help greatly (they have literally thousands of articles...).Also, if you haven't read any (game) programming books I would highly recommend you start. Something like Programming RPGs with DirectX 8.0 (I know this is DirectX, so effectively Windows-only, but it does teach lots of good stuff), or Game Programming with OpenGL (good book for OpenGL - OpenGL is a lot easier than DirectX IMHO). GameDev.net or Amazon will have these readily available for you. Both IIRC come with CDs with source code and demos.
I would recommend you start with C++ and OpenGL - if your game is not written in C++/OpenGL I would recommend at least the C++ part. C++ is very useful when writing games and it works everywhere. SDL is also a useful addition - an abstraction layer for graphics, sound, input, etc. that works on about every platform known. An alternative is Python and PyGame, which is a good combination as well. What you really want to do is to get your project off the ground as soon as possible.
Also if you do have experience making games please tell us, as my comments here are more beginner-oriented and so please don't take offense
.Once again, get a design document written as soon as you can, learn to program/make art/etc., and have fun!
Hope it helps and happy game making!
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Before setting out on your attempt to make a game, allow me to guide you to a bit of useful information. It is late here and so I can't write much, but if you've never really made a game before I would recommend that you go to www.gamedev.net and see the 'For Beginners' section. Here's a link:
http://www.gamedev.net/reference/start_here/
If you have not made a game before, something of this size (with that many personnel...) would be a little too much. Start with a personal project of some sort, like a Tetris clone or something (it's harder than it looks...).
Also, most people would not be willing to work with you on your project until you have something to show - even a level design (like you appear to have already) would be good. Writing a design document is pretty much a must - be sure to have one ready if they ask for it. Look at GameDev.net or online and you're sure to find a couple of references. If you have made games before, be warned that your current project looks a bit large and may require a bit more (i.e. screenshots, preliminary engine, etc.) to attract people.
I will give you more comments, thoughts, etc. tomorrow when I'm less tired
. For now, hope it helps, good luck and happy game designing! -
This might not help either, but try just d without the : (colon)? The error message is a little cryptic for me to really decipher what's wrong...
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This may not help, but...
Try using a lowercase d instead.
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Okay, so this is your file structure:
/style.css
/dir1/
/dir1/dir2/file.htmlAnd you want to include style.css from file.html? You would simply do:
<link rel="stylesheet" href="../../style.css">Hope it helps and happy websiting!
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I think Bochs is an x86 emulator but for PPC and them. Not sure if they have a version for x86 itself. Check the website.
[edit] Apparently there is a Windows and an i386 version, so hopefully you can get Linux to install on it
. I would like to see your guide once you've finished - good for them non-technical people . -
What kind of an error are you getting?
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I should link to this whenever someone comes up to me saying "Microsoft is amazing! Linux sucks!" (one of the people working with my on my game engine says Linux sucks - I almost couldn't believe my ears
). You could maybe get a 'domain name' (i.e. dyndns.org type thing) or something so that it's easier to remember? -
Microsoft? Useful? *ahem*
If Apple's website can have a howto article titled 'how to pick up and move your Mac', then Microsoft can have an article saying 'how to change your screen resolution'
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I think that that's the toolbar (fortunately...). Microsoft thinks that their theming makes things look cool, but it just wastes space, memory, and CPU power. They must think we all have 1600x1200 resolution monitors + graphics cards or something (I for one like large, readable text and stuff, so I don't set my monitor above what's comfortable for its size). Also isn't Longhorn supposed to have that Avalon thing, which replaces DirectX and makes all windows 3D and stuff? 3D accelerated drawing of windows could definately speed things up, but overall I would just keep DirectX. Windows just keeps getting to be more of a home user thing and it becomes less and less useful for programmers and professionals. MSVC is a great IDE but with the new Windows there won't be any screen space to put it in.
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Actually Windows can boot in 30 seconds - logging on and starting individual services takes a while though. Although I am running a fast computer too, so how would I know
?By 2011 Linux will have become widespread on the home desktop (hopefully). Longhorn is just a bit of retheming and the addition of a 'tile' bar on the right (which serves really no purpose besides to waste screen space). It might add a couple of security enhancements and bugfixes too - but that's a bit doubtful
. And don't even think about a price drop. -
Trojans will start appearing for Linux as soon as the public starts switching (probably programmed by Microsoft), but unlike Windows, Linux will be ready
. Windows Update is a good idea - ... just not well implemented. Even though SP 2 did cause many problems among programs, you have to remember that in Linux, if you upgraded your kernel it could cause problems as well (i.e. I upgraded my kernel (through SuSE's online update tool nontheless), and suddenly my ReiserFS module stops working and I can't mount my root partition). And why reboot when you get a Windows Update??? Rebooting is almost nonexistent in the server world - why would any large corporations bother to download updates then? Restarting a service (like in Linux) makes much more sense, takes less time and still allows other services to run (i.e. if you're running a server, why have 5 minutes of downtime when you can just restart the FTP server, get less than 10 seconds of downtime and still have the HTTP server running?).Anyways, [/rant]
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'Mounting' the filesystem will allow you to 'cd' to the 'mount point' and from there you can start copying files. I can't give you much more than that cause I haven't been able to access my Windows network successfully yet
.Hope it helps and have fun!
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Unfortunately I have once tried to compress one of these screenies in PNG format - you can do it to within reasonable range of this size ... if you put it at 256 colors. Which kind of loses the purpose. But an option would be nice, yes.
This is a really nice shot - one of the most detailed I've seen in any game. Maybe it's just the JPEG compression, but to me the bark texture is a bit 'un'-detailed? And yeah, there's no self-shadowing. Are the shadows generated realtime or through lightmaps? But still, great work!
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I like SuSE cause it's got YaST - IMHO one of (if not the) best configuration tools for Linux around. I don't care much for the graphicality, it's just the simplicity of the configuration and the installation that gets me (granted, there are some spots that could use improvement but overall it's still very good).
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Thanks!
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Makefile.in is generated by running automake. Just an FYI
. To do all the stuff that Kdevelop supposedly does for you, all you have to do is to go to the root directory of your project and type in 'autoreconf' and voila!Java and OpenGL? I'm curious now
. Java is almost completely OOP and OpenGL is completely function-based - how do they integrate together? Is there an OpenGL class or something (OpenGL::glBegin() )?Hope it helps and happy coding!
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All the books I have seen tell you almost everything about classes by the fifth chapter
.I do make a couple of windows-based suggestions - most people use Windows for development, I assumed that you were using Windows and developing cross-platform programs. Apologies for that
. Being a Windows-based developer for so long can also insert subliminal comments in my suggestions .An IDE is actually very useful - especially when it does not rely on configure scripts. Configures can run really slowly and if an IDE has powerful project and dependency management (Windows doesn't have the configure problem, MSVC doesn't need these features (grammer?) ), then it can cut down on lots of makefile troubles and configure slowness. Also I like using the IDE to capture compiler errors and double-click on them to go to that line of code. If you think about it emacs is almost an IDE in itself. If you're really into it why not use ed?
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Which means Linux has to make its desktop push sometime before Longhorn or else it may never make it onto the desktop. As I probably mentioned, first thing is to get rid of/improve greatly KDE, and then maybe something like AutoPackage should be included in all distros, and then just to tightly integrate everything together (i.e. in Windows IE is part of the system, Control Panel, etc. etc. while in Linux you need a seperate program just to edit the menu).
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Aah! Blasphemy!!!
Although, I have to admit that I have not yet seen a 'good' C++ book or tutorial. Most of the tutorials are rather understandable but use 'bad' (C-style) coding style, and most of the books are just not geared towards beginners. I used Deitel&Deitel's "C++ How to Program" 3rd edition but IMHO it wasn't very understandable (maybe the 4th edition is better?).
Also, what compiler/IDE/OS are you currently using? IMHO you should stay away from Borland (they're very visual-based - makes it seem like C++ is some sort of click-and-drag language or something) - they don't have the greatest compiler either. MSVC (latest version) would be highly recommended if you're using Windows. I hate M$ as well but after looking through the open-source IDEs... MSVC is still better (unfortunately). The IDE is actually pretty good, and Microsoft has now taken the time to make their compiler much more standards-compliant (i.e. MSVC 6 couldn't handle partial specialization in templates (which I believe is part of the C++ standard), but the later ones can AFAICT). If you can't afford that (*cough* *cough*), then I would go with something like MinGW Developer Studio (which is almost MSVC-like in interface but uses Scintilla and MinGW) or Dev-C++. I personally prefer MinGW Developer Studio because its editor behaves more like MSVC (I tend to prefer MSVC editor-style), and also because the editor in Dev-C++'s tabbing (i.e. 'smart' tabs, etc.) really ticks me off. The ones for Linux (Kdevelop, Anjuta, etc.) aren't as good as the Windows ones, I've found. Instead of hiding the makefile crap like they should (being IDEs after all), they're not much better than just an editing component, file list manager, and source code generator (like when you start a new file, the editor automagically inserts the template (copyright, etc.) for you).
Anyways, hope it helps, good luck and have fun!
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Actually it is fairly simple to transform an SDL application to use OpenGL, which is 3D. However, if you want to learn game programming w/out using SDL there are various books/tutorials/etc. on using GLX and stuff. And it is a good learning experience to program your own engine - almost every engine out there lacks something that you might be able to include in yours, and the ones that don't are on the order of $100,000+ per license.
If you really want to start game programming http://www.gamedev.net/ is a good place to start. It is one of the most extensive game programming resources available on the Net. You should also think about getting a couple of books - if you don't already, a good C++ book (nothing of the 'Learn C++ in 24 Hours' sort). Also if you're planning on programming cross-platform, you should take a look at 'Game Programming with OpenGL' or whatever it's called. Once again, look for good books - if it has 'For Dummies', 'For Complete Idiots', or 'For Teens' stuck to the end, do yourself a favor and don't buy it.
You also want to start small. Like, really small. I would personally start with 2D because you'll get a little bit of programming experience while not being bogged down with the complexities of 3D programming. The first game I made was a Galaga-type game where you flew this ship and shot down mines that had no AI beyond moving towards the ship. But hey, it was pretty nice, with a nice starry background, a nice shooting graphic, etc. At the end there was also this 'boss ship' but that part wasn't really well designed
. This was programmed in DOS with Mode 13h and crap - don't start there . I would keep doing as you are doing now - SDL or OpenGL. Both IMHO are fairly easy and straightforward (SDL_SetMode() verses D3DDM dm; D3DPP pp; D3D8->GetAdapterDisplayMode( D3DADAPTER_DEFAULT, &dm ); ... ... ?). If you do choose to start with DirectX however (which doesn't appear to be happening), be warned that you might have a rough time at the beginning. Something like 'RPG Programming With DirectX 8.1' would be in order here. RPG Programming is a great book, with a good section about how to use DirectX and lots of game programming fundamentals. Currently most of the books I own are published by the Premier Press, who have Andre LaMothe as their editor . They're all pretty good, and the only problem is that they all have the same covers and so it's almost impossible to tell them apart .One of the most important things is that you keep reading. Read as much as you can about game development, and if it includes code, look through it, try to understand it, compile it and check out the results. Once again GameDev.net is a great place to look - they have an extensive collection of tutorials and stuff. If you're looking for OpenGL programming, http://nehe.gamedev.net/ is the place to look (also www.gametutorials.com). FlipCode (www.flipcode.org I think) is also a great game development resource. When programming adopt a clean programming style - comment your code, make it readable, etc. - this will help you a lot later. Try to get a 'job' helping programming some game (job here usually means volunteer-based, no pay, until you get much much more experienced). Even if you don't think you will definately make it, try it out anyways. Maybe they're in need of a general programmer or something. Just don't push it too far
. You can come and work for me if you really want to .Anyways, in summary: start small, read a lot, always be confident of yourself! Not naive and ignorant type of confident, but don't give up cause you'll never get anywhere. Above all, have fun! That's what game programming is for. Hope it helps, good luck and happy coding!
[edit] Wow, I got the first reply
! Maybe everyone's just asleep ... -
*sigh* the non-believers
. phpBB 2.2's going to have quite a few features along the lines of IPB (maybe phpBB's theme is just not quite as good as the default IPB?). Both are secure and stable - one is mature open-source software, one is mature commercial software.Linux has but one or two obstacles blocking it from the consumer world. I don't especially like KDE (i.e. why not just make the menu directly editable? why use the 'menu editor' application? also KDE tends to load very slowly), but I don't really have the power to change that, seeing that even a WM like IceWM has maybe 30 source files. Driver support for Linux is currently very low (with a few notable exceptions - nVidia), and also there's almost nothing along the lines of Windows' Control Center where Linux users can just go to configure their system (once again, notable exceptions - YaST). Everything is more geared towards the advanced user, i.e. Windows has a 'computer name' while Linux has a 'host name'. KDE's control center isn't bad but more distributions should start the KDE configuration wizard at startup instead of providing their own defaults.
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I'm going to try to remaster Knoppix...
in Computer Desk
Posted
One thing is that you can fit tons more than what you have right now - you can get gcc/g++, several IDEs, etc. etc. because of the compression utilized by Knoppix (Knoppix standard has gcc/g++, lots of libraries, and Kdevelop, with room for Mozilla, OpenOffice.org, etc.). I'm not sure about the latest Knoppix, but the one that I have has both 2.4.x and 2.6.x kernels on it - use the 2.6 kernels and you'll save about 50 MB right there (not to mention a whole lot more security and stuff).
Hope it helps, good luck and I need that CD when you're done
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