Never. Micros~1 doesn't seem to want to support java anymore. Netscape 6 will have 1.3 (or at least mozilla will) and so will MacOS X. I know that's not a browser but... Mac browsers seem to be stuck with 1.0 support (no support for Component.setSize()). But as long as micros~1 holds out you won't be able to count on anything but a browser plugin.
It's a bit confusing, but JDK 1.2+ is the Java 2 platform. Mozilla will support it... I'm not sure about IE and the latest Netscape 4.x. MacOS X should be coming with JDK 1.4, but until then (or anyone who doesn't upgrade to OS X) Mac users don't have very good Java support at all.
Well, for my part I wrote the individuals who had expressed and interest in helping out with my effort and told them that I was putting the project on hold for a while.
I have decided to switch over to MOD making for an already released game and learn the details of engine architecture that way. Vampire, The NOD engine, and the NOD SDK use Java for game scripting, so this works well with my eventual goal. I am going to be documenting the MOD process (once I become a little more familiar with it) and posting to the FAQ under a section focused on the NOD engine.
I had coded a user interface and some ‘world’ building code using Magician. But it turns out I don’t know enough about ’real’ engine architecture to attempt to document any of the process I was undergoing (since I was really only hacking around until I came up with a working engine, and ''hacking around'' does not constitute a development process).
There is a ton of information on the game design side of game development available in books and on the Web - too bad there isn''t more information on the engine architecture side.
I am still pushing this project forward, and the few who have signed up have put numerous hours into the initial design. We should have a solid design document finished by the end of the week.
Unfortunatly, because of the lack of support and interest, there is some debate as to whether it will remain a tutorial. Many of the contributors have expressed an interest in changing this to closed project. For some it is fear of having their work critiqued, for others, the idea of putting in a lot of time and effort when there has been little interest.
If people are still interested in seeing this tutorial done, I would love to hear from them. If there is anyone who is interested in participation, I would urge them to contact me. If I do not hear from anyone, this project will most likely be pulled from the public eye until the current members decide to make it a tutorial or not.
That was actually meant to be a statement of interest Depending on how close you are to Metroid in the design that you''ve accomplished so far I''d like to see what''s been done so I could tell if I fit in.
nathany.com
