Here's a nice (albeit low-res and soundless) video preview of Dune 2: TSHA vU:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C6D7FC66E905D4B3
I'll try and get higher-res stuff up soon. I'm not sure about releasing a beta yet because I don't need testing or suggestions at this time, but I wanted to give everybody some sign of progress.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
I cannot see him yet but he's very close now...
Okay, so the first beta release is right around the corner. It's a gauntlet-style situation where you set up a base in the middle and weather constant attacks until you're ground into dust, but it should make for a good testing environment. ;)
Keep your eyes open for something to play with soon.
Keep your eyes open for something to play with soon.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Ornithopters
Hi all,
I'm asking for your help. I've come to an impasse regarding Ornithopters. I have two major problems with them: One, how to implement them programatically... That one I'm not worried about. But the other issue is, how do I implement them in the game period? Here are the main issues.
1. They need to function more or less like in the original game. Basically my only real requirement is that they are not directly controllable or selectable.
2. I would not want them doing suicidal things like attacking any enemy unit on the map.
3. I also don't want a whole boatload of options and settings to be required for efficiently controlling just this one unit type.
4. Of the options I can think of, the first is that they stay out of the Hi-tech factories and patrol constantly looking for local targets (near units or buildings), sort of like being permanently on Guard orders for the whole base. This would be kind of a random pattern though (to save on resources) and raises issues about distance and building value (don't want a fleet of 'Thopters getting shot down trying to defend a Trading Post after all).
5. Another option is that the player selects an area and manually issues some kind of order for 'Thopter support, and otherwise they remain docked. Sounds like it would get ugly though, and require some micromanagement from the player. Maybe this could be timed or something.
6. A final option is to make them behave just like they did in my last version of Dune 2: TSHA (RC3), where they use the settings for supporting Harvesters, Units, and Buildings. However, these are now global settings, and I'm no longer crazy about the idea of having these settings be lumped together with Carryall behavior.
So, I'm asking you to visit the forums and drop a line in Suggestions regarding this issue. Either vote for an existing option or come up with something new and interesting. Please leave your comments as soon as possible.
I'm asking for your help. I've come to an impasse regarding Ornithopters. I have two major problems with them: One, how to implement them programatically... That one I'm not worried about. But the other issue is, how do I implement them in the game period? Here are the main issues.
1. They need to function more or less like in the original game. Basically my only real requirement is that they are not directly controllable or selectable.
2. I would not want them doing suicidal things like attacking any enemy unit on the map.
3. I also don't want a whole boatload of options and settings to be required for efficiently controlling just this one unit type.
4. Of the options I can think of, the first is that they stay out of the Hi-tech factories and patrol constantly looking for local targets (near units or buildings), sort of like being permanently on Guard orders for the whole base. This would be kind of a random pattern though (to save on resources) and raises issues about distance and building value (don't want a fleet of 'Thopters getting shot down trying to defend a Trading Post after all).
5. Another option is that the player selects an area and manually issues some kind of order for 'Thopter support, and otherwise they remain docked. Sounds like it would get ugly though, and require some micromanagement from the player. Maybe this could be timed or something.
6. A final option is to make them behave just like they did in my last version of Dune 2: TSHA (RC3), where they use the settings for supporting Harvesters, Units, and Buildings. However, these are now global settings, and I'm no longer crazy about the idea of having these settings be lumped together with Carryall behavior.
So, I'm asking you to visit the forums and drop a line in Suggestions regarding this issue. Either vote for an existing option or come up with something new and interesting. Please leave your comments as soon as possible.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
0.94 Update
Hi All,
I've been stomping bugs for the past month, cleaning things up and tweaking things here and there. I've got a few minor gameplay changes in mind that I'll leave as surprises for you. Lately I've fixed up the starport, mercenary, carryall, and general combat routines. I have more issues to resolve, then I have to finish the Ornithopter code, the worms, and set up some kind of gauntlet-style situation where you (as the beta tester) will have to deal with constant merc attacks, or something of this nature. As I've said, progress may have slowed a bit, but it is ongoing. Keep them blue eyes peeled.
I've been stomping bugs for the past month, cleaning things up and tweaking things here and there. I've got a few minor gameplay changes in mind that I'll leave as surprises for you. Lately I've fixed up the starport, mercenary, carryall, and general combat routines. I have more issues to resolve, then I have to finish the Ornithopter code, the worms, and set up some kind of gauntlet-style situation where you (as the beta tester) will have to deal with constant merc attacks, or something of this nature. As I've said, progress may have slowed a bit, but it is ongoing. Keep them blue eyes peeled.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
0.9 Update
Hi all,
I've been working consistently on re-writing all the Carryall code. It's not something a player might necessarily notice, but from a programming standpoint it's much more object-oriented and responsive. Carryalls will smoothly transition from one pickup target to the next and there is less room for bugs or errors now. This took many hours to finish but I'm becoming happy with it.
I've been working (professionally) a lot lately, so I haven't devoted quite as much time as usual to this project. I still hope to have the first beta up for testing in a month, but things might be slow for a while.
I've been working consistently on re-writing all the Carryall code. It's not something a player might necessarily notice, but from a programming standpoint it's much more object-oriented and responsive. Carryalls will smoothly transition from one pickup target to the next and there is less room for bugs or errors now. This took many hours to finish but I'm becoming happy with it.
I've been working (professionally) a lot lately, so I haven't devoted quite as much time as usual to this project. I still hope to have the first beta up for testing in a month, but things might be slow for a while.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Forums created
Hi everybody,
I've created a Google Group sort-of-forum-thing over at http://groups.google.com/group/dune2. Please leave any comments you have over there in the correct place. I visit the forums often and I'll be slowly filling the pages up with information over time as well, so feel free to join up.
I've created a Google Group sort-of-forum-thing over at http://groups.google.com/group/dune2. Please leave any comments you have over there in the correct place. I visit the forums often and I'll be slowly filling the pages up with information over time as well, so feel free to join up.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
0.8 Update
Progress is ongoing and really starting to develop. A few minor design changes get thrown in here and there, but it's all about finishing the code conversion and making things playable again right now. At the current rate of things I should have something that at least behaves like the RC3 within a month. After that the priorities will be, in order:
1. AI routines
2. Multiplayer syncing
3. Code optimization
4. New ideas
Stay tuned and help support this project in any way you can.
Also, by the way, that bit I said last time about "freeing" up units from cell-to-cell movement... that's a load of crap. I tried it out a little and didn't like it one bit, so we're back to the original Dune 2-style of unit movement.
1. AI routines
2. Multiplayer syncing
3. Code optimization
4. New ideas
Stay tuned and help support this project in any way you can.
Also, by the way, that bit I said last time about "freeing" up units from cell-to-cell movement... that's a load of crap. I tried it out a little and didn't like it one bit, so we're back to the original Dune 2-style of unit movement.
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