André Nilsen's Developer Blog

UPDATE: Computers for Sale - Early Render of Appartment (interior) (WIP)

2010-06-04T02:18:00.001+02:00

UPDATE: Computers for Sale - A co-developer

2010-05-09T01:38:00.000+02:00

Now I have a co-developer! He will help designing several parts of the game on the paper, and he is also responsible for the design of the dynamic storyline for the game. He is sort if the idea guy for the project, he comes up with a lot of ideas, describes them. And it's up to me whether to implement those or not. He has already come up with a lot of ideas for the singleplayer part of the game, especially the RPG elements.

As a start for writing the game design document, I used a template. But I have found out that the template is not sufficient enough for my needs, so I have tweaked the template a lot to fit my needs, so now there are just a minimum of the original template left.

Computers for Sale - Feature Set

2010-05-02T04:01:00.010+02:00

The first part of the game design document is ready.

General Features

Huge persistent world.
Full Android support
Full CHARVA support, for unix based computers without and X-server.
Written in Java so all computers with the latest Java installed can play the game.
Dynamic single-player campaign.
Dynamic single-player skirmish
Dynamic multiplayer skirmish.
Dynamic economic system.

Multiplayer Features

Hotseat multiplayer with up to 8 players.
Realtime multiplayer with up to 16 players.
Connect your facebook account – import friends list to get them as either hirable NPCs or a AI players.
Expandable server which the clients can connect to. The server can be expanded to handle thousands of players, in a realtime gameplay. I will come back to this feature later in the document.

Editor

The game does not come with an editor, but a third party editor is still easy to create. It is up to other developers to create one or not. But the game is still easy to mod with just database programming (SQL), or just simple graphical database management.

Gameplay

Builds computers
Sells computers
Manage company
Hire NPCs
Gain Alliance with rival players (/AI)
Research new technology to use in your computers
Build a mass amount of platforms
Decide the prize for your computers
Expandable HQ
Expandable Warehouse
Expandable appartment (only in SP)

Chances to this part of the document may happen.

The Game Design Document

2010-04-23T15:16:00.002+02:00

I am currently working on the documention for my game.
As soon as I am finished with one section, I will post that as an update here.

And I got a screenshot, of the UI (pre alpha).

UPDATE: Computers for Sale - Early Render of Appartment (WIP) - BETTER LIGTHING

2010-04-19T02:23:00.005+02:00

Tweaked the lighting a bit, so it looks much better now. But the RAM used when rendering is about 2 GiB so I got alot more to go with (I have 6 GiB).

And a screenshot from Blender:

UPDATE: Computers for Sale - Early Render of Appartment (WIP)

2010-04-19T02:04:00.003+02:00

An early render of the appartment. I still need to tweak the lightning, and add textures. And I also need to tweak the materials on the grass.

UPDATE: Computers for Sale

2010-04-18T23:52:00.002+02:00

New features planned:
- Dynamic dialog system when recruiting npcs and when choosing missions
- Full support for CHARVA so Unix based OSs without a X-server can play the game.
- Full Android support.
- Expandable storage system. (No unlimited storage place!).
- Expanable HQ.
- Expandable appartment (in the RPG stage only).
- Different countries.

My laptop fell down from my desk, so the LCD display is all cracked up. But a new laptop is on it's way soon. And I took offcourse backup of my home folder on Ubuntu. So I have NOT lost my source tree this time. A backup server with a 1TB HDD is pretty handy. And I am still working on the game design document, I will upload it when it is finished.

UPDATE: Computers for Sale

2010-04-11T16:57:00.000+02:00

The datamanagement code is nearly 100% completed, so I can then focus on the game design. I am currently writing the game design document, and I hope I will be finished with that soon.
And I have also started on the GUI design. The design is inspired from the Linux Gnome theme. So it will have menus at the top, and window management on the bottom. In the middle, you will be able to see the development of your company's HQ, with 3D renders. The renders will not be realtime 3D renders (too keep the system requirements and a minimum), just prerenders, rendered with blender and raytracing.

UPDATE: Computers for Sale

2010-03-03T17:03:00.003+01:00

I have been cleaning up some messy code in my programming, I realised that I had 3 of the same variables on 3 different places, so it took up appr. 3 times more memory than needed. The game data were also loaded 5-6 times, so I had to optimize that too. And I an about 80% finished with the datamanagement programming, so I can soon focus on gameplay mechanics. The gameplay will be kept as simple as possible, if a player is not very experienced, that player don't have to use all the features the game have to be a successfull CEO. And a experienced player, can use all the features to become a even more successfull CEO.

UPDATE: Computers for Sale

2010-01-28T19:54:00.002+01:00

My last plan was that an npc would be a CEO of a non player controlled company. A npc in my game is basically people you can recruit to your company, and work under the CEO, so that a npc would be the ceo of a non player controlled company (npcc) was not proper, instead the ceo will be handled just the same as a player but with AI. Then a npc and a character will be programmed differently.

UPDATE: Computers for Sale

2010-01-24T16:42:00.006+01:00

I am finished with the NPC generation code. Basically it reads names from a text document, and generates which npcs belongs to which company. Then there can also be companies with no NPCs which the player(s) can choose to run (as a "template" company), I have also added a function which checks if a company has a CEO or not. Basically it just loops through all employees in that company, and checks for a CEO, if a CEO is not found, a CEO is randomally picked. I am also working on a dataviewer (not editor, since everything is generated).

UPDATE: Computers for Sale

2010-01-14T22:05:00.003+01:00

I have had great progress lately. I have created a function which auto generates companies, with it's own unique ID and Name, and it's also generates the popularity of that company.

So far the progress is:
Game Core Engine: 10-15%
Gameplay: 5%

My first sucessfull programme for a phidget; A timer

2010-01-03T01:02:00.005+01:00

Sorry for the bad quality, but my digital camera was low on battery, so I had to use my cell phone.
What you don't see in this movie, is that I have also added a rotation sensor which the value of it's input decides the time set. And a hard enough press on a force sensor starts the timer to count down.
I will make a higher quality video later.

Weekly update

2009-12-28T01:42:00.000+01:00

I have had some progress lately with the game core of Computers for Sale. I have also started to program the Lego NXT Robot, with Java, using Lejos. And soon I am getting a phidget + a phidget with a LCD screen. So my first task there is to create a menu (with navigation), on the LCD. And I have also got more help from my brother on my projects, so the progress will be faster.

Not much work done lately

2009-12-10T23:57:00.000+01:00

I have been very busy with school. I have also been very busy setting up a small LAN 10-20 people. All students live on the school, and some wanted a computer room to play games on, competive and cooperative. There I have also created a local FTP server for the students to download files on. Thus making the broadband connection more accessible for they who want to play games online, and the ping lowers. I have also added a mac filtring with my router, so just some people will have access to the network, and the file server. They who weren't there today to replan the whole room. Will not gain access, and they then can't play with other, or exploit the bandwith to download warez. The broadband is only 7Mbit, so with 100 students downloading warez simultaneously, will make online gaming impossible, therfore I have encrypted the network.

By doing all this work, I actually haven't got any time to programm anything. The game core for Computers for Sale is just about 7% finished. And I will continue with Java, since my developing machine now got Ubuntu 8.04 instead of Windows Vista.

I am also planning to add monthly updates here on my blog, even if I have done nothing.

I also have a web server I am going to configure, and programm a small PHP site, for easy browsing on the FTP server, with categorizing and a simple search function.

HTC Tattoo

2009-10-31T14:03:00.001+01:00

I just goto a new smartphone; a HTC Tattoo.
So I am maybe going to develop software / games for that.

Major computer crash

2009-10-23T10:20:00.003+02:00

I came home from vacation and booted my computer, got a message that no system disk was inserted. Ok I tought, maybe the cables was loose, no they werent. So my HDD was broken, so was my backup disk, so I have lost all of my projects.

UPDATE: Computers for Sale - Change of language

2009-10-06T11:56:00.004+02:00

I have decided to go with Java instead of the C#, thus making it more platform friendly, so it will work with both MAC, Linux/Unix and Windows, and just require Java installed. And then I will maybe port it to MicroJava with some help from my brother.

VERSION UPDATE: BBCode editor

2009-10-03T13:53:00.006+02:00

New features:
- More easy selection of color
- Added [font] support with easy selection of font
- Easier to add BBCode via the toolbar

BBCode Editor Release 3

VERSION UPDATE: BBCode editor

2009-09-25T10:44:00.002+02:00

I have not added any icons yet, I need to get the permission from the icon creator first, so I can use them in my program.
I have added a toolbar, and a save/load function:

BBCode Editor Release 2

UPDATE: BBCode editor

2009-09-24T22:26:00.002+02:00

I am currenlty updating it to support more BBCodes and with a load/save feature, I hope the next version will be finished in the end of the week. In the next version, the new features will be:
- Save/Load feature
- [font] support
- more..

Half Life 2: Thief (WT)

2009-09-13T17:16:00.005+02:00

I am announcing a puzzle based project, a mod for Half Life 2, the working title is Half Life 2: Thief. In this mod the player is given an assignment, whether it is to steal something or just scout ahead for his companions.

Sandbox 2 Learning Project

2009-09-13T17:10:00.003+02:00

I have recently bought Crysis for my developing computer. I bought it just to use Sandbox 2. So to get started I have chosen to do a small project; A power struggle map, where the objective for the one team is to protect a small base high up in the mountains, the players can travel up/down the river with boat, travel in the forest by foot, or just take a terrain vehicle, and drive up the narrow road on the hillside of the mountain.

A BBCode editor

2009-09-11T18:38:00.004+02:00

Download

UPDATE: Computers for Sale

2009-09-05T17:50:00.004+02:00

I have decided to scratch that 3D idea, it is just going to take an awful a lot of work. I have started the redesign, so here is two WIP screenshots:

Back to the drawing board

2009-08-15T13:19:00.004+02:00

I am planning the whole game from scratch, thinking about using Esenthel Engine to make the game, in 3D. The models will be simple. I am keeping the description so far (at the bottom of this page). I am aiming the game to be more puzzle based: You need to complete several puzzles to build a computer. And then you can sell it, earn money, buy upgrades etc. The puzzles will be harder as more advanced your computer will be.

UPDATE 5: Computers for Sale - LV

2009-07-30T22:07:00.004+02:00

After playing the current version now, I have encountered something. The gameplay is way to repetative, so I am redesigning the gameplay to support dialog, with bad / good sort of influence.

With bad influence you can get the criminals (or other) to build a computer for them, or with good influence you can build computers for, ex: The police.

UPDATE: Computers for Sale

2009-07-30T16:43:00.004+02:00

I have decided to drop the implented database system in .NET Framework 3.5. Instead I have chosen to use MySQL instead, then it will be easier to port it to Java and other languages. This will be in all versions of Computers for Sale.
I have also decided to drop the editor for now, and just focus on the game design and the game programming.

Bloggurat

2009-07-26T17:48:00.003+02:00

I have pinged my blog on Bloggurat, a norwegian blog pinging website. I have also registered my location there.

UPDATE 4: Computers for Sale - LV

2009-07-25T20:45:00.003+02:00

I have created a class which can load .NET DLLs dynamically, so soon I will release a version which supports plugins with .NET DLLs. Then a programmer can extend the missions, edit the missions, and the same with the mission computers.

UPDATE 3: Computers for Sale - LV

2009-07-22T14:41:00.003+02:00

New version:
v0.1.2.4
Change log:
- More tweaking of the code
- Fixed a mayor bug, where the user could not earn any many after completing a mission.

UPDATE 2: Computers for Sale - LV

2009-07-18T12:33:00.004+02:00

New version:
v0.1.2.3
Change log:
- Added 2 new missions
- More tweaking of the code
- Reprogrammed some parts to get it more object orientated.

UPDATE: Computers for Sale - LV

2009-07-14T20:11:00.004+02:00

I have a new version ready.

Change log:
- Added 6 new missions
- Some tweak in the code to get it more optimized

Download:
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=e23a41265295aeb667cd7f7bd65f7eefe04e75f6e8ebb871

Secret project revealed

2009-07-14T15:28:00.007+02:00

The project is related to my main project, Computers for Sale (working title), this project is called Computers for Sale - Light Version. This version of my main project only features the first part of your computer building career, mainly the freelance part where you build computers for yor friends and family members etc.

Screenshot:

I also got a download, but the game is not finished yet. So far this version only got 3 missions and few hardware components.

Download link:
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=e23a41265295aeb667cd7f7bd65f7eefe04e75f6e8ebb871

Lego Mindstorms NXT robot

2009-07-09T23:40:00.004+02:00

With Robotics Developer Studio, I can programme the robot in my favorite language C#.

So far I am learning the theory of just building and planning a building project. My main goal is to make a robot which shoots either paintball bullets or softgun bullets.

Secret Project

2009-07-04T23:08:00.004+02:00

I have a small secret project I will announce in the up cominh weeks.
Unlike Computers for Sale this project will not feature an editor.
The goal of this project is to make a small lightweight game which uses under 10MB of system memory and take up under 2MB hard drive space.

Progress report of the Hardware Creator

2009-07-03T15:06:00.003+02:00

I managed to get the DropDownList into a DataGridView to work, I just needed to use a DataGridViewComboBoxColumn for that. And the progress is advancing rapedly, so far the progress to the alpha version is:

Socket (Done)
CPU (Done)
Motherboard
RAM
Video Card
Sound Card
PSU

Progress report of the Hardware Creator

2009-06-30T02:31:00.004+02:00

I am struggling to get a dropdownlistbox in to the DataGridView I am using, but I will find it out as soon as I am more awake than now. The hole Hardware Creator has been redesigned to a more cleaner and more simpler design. As soon as I got these implented I will release an alpha version were you can design your own computer :), this will be only in text and nothing graphical:

Socket
CPU
Motherboard
RAM
Video Card
Sound Card
PSU

I think I will be done with this in the beginning of August (I know I am slow, but I also got more to do than just programming).

Progress report of the Hardware Creator

2009-06-29T19:10:00.004+02:00

You can see the past progress here (stopped updating there):

http://z10.invisionfree.com/pqgames/index.php?showtopic=453

http://z10.invisionfree.com/pqgames/index.php?showtopic=389

So for now on I am going to use this blog for the updates.

The code for the Hardware Creator is coming along fine. I have started to add support for the "Database Connection.dll"(self made) into the editor it self.