Well, I''m running a Celery 450, but I can get my hands on a couple of >ghz machines....

I''m looking into someone providing a complete Ninja Bastard system (P3/GeForce3(pleasepleaseplease!)) as a prize for this thing, but i think the lower the spec, the better...

Baseline:

Celeron 450
TNT or better.

People should not be penalised for higher requirements (hardware tnl)

It depends on the judging system.

1) PEER JUDGEMENT - All entrants get to vote on the other entries, most popular engine wins.

2) JUDGING PANEL - A judging panel of prominent people (NeHe, Kurt Miller etc)

3) LEGEND JUDGING PANEL - If we ask John Carmack and Tim Sweeney VERY nicely, and if their schedules allow, then we can have the gods of coding to judge it! (And Saxs Persson, and Ken Perlin and ...)

Who wants what?





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I used to be indecisive. Now I''m not so sure...

I''d say (3). I would totally love to have John Carmack, Tim, or some other coding legend rate my work... then u really know where u stand skill-wise.

If it can''t be done, because they''re too busy or just not willing, then I''d say (2), because Nehe, Kurt, and others are also prominent programmers, so they''ll look at it from a skill-based level, as to how hard it was to code, and how well the coder has pulled it off.


Just my 2 pence worth.

~Cobra~

WITH REGARDS TO THE LEVEL FORMAT.


I think it should be like this.

U choose and editor, q3radiant or Worldcraft, and u produce a map in bsp format, and raw .map format.
Then the coder can choose which one they want to use. This way we can make use of any BSP coding skills we may have, and we will also be able to produce more efficient engines, with the use of bezier patches e.t.c and any other effects we want to add.

This way we are all loading the same map, as u made it, but we have a choice of raw or bsp format to load in.


Anyway... once again, just my 2 pence worth.

~Cobra~

I still think just a pure polygon data is best. I think it is important to use the benchmark data set rather than your own levels.

Using WC/QER etc for BSPs, .maps etc would just produce another load of Quake clones. The point of this excercise is to really inovate and try new ideas.

How would lighting be specified in the level data?

(Sorry if I sound like a bit of an arse Cobra)

I tend to agree with BLZbub on this one. It may make it harder, but the whole point is it''s a CHALLENGE!

Besides - your bsp''s wont be too much use with the outdoor areas! *evil grin*

As for lighting...

Position
Direction (or omni)
Near/Far attenuation

Also considering adding some simple ''object'' script, so that the world isn''t static.

If it''s well documented, what do people think of this? (you would have to write the interpreter) It would be simple - mainly for things like doors...

Hi

It''s a great idea but 3DG has got a point. It might not be fair. Why don''t you have beginner, intermediate and advanced or somthin''?

Lukerd

Yes, that''s not a bad idea in my opinion. Why not make something most people can participate in, not just the "elite" of the ogl programming world.

Alex Broadwin
A-Tronic Software & Design
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"if you fail in life, you were destined to fail. If you suceed in life, call me."

Surely this isn''t limited to the ''elite'' of coding legends.

Although I''m sure some people will take this very seriously, this shouldn''t stop novices from entering. Simply modifying NeHe''s 3D world tutorial will produce something to start with.

Of course, the challenge laid down is VERY tough, but that''s okay isn''t it? After all, building an engine is a non-trivial task. Building a cutting edge engine is no mean feat!

The only problem I have with divisions is how do you rate a programmer before hand?

It''s not fair for someone who has been coding for ages to pretend to be a new coder, and kick arse in that division. There''s simply no way of knowing who''s good and who''s not.

Depending on who''s supplying prizes (still no word on that big system, but keeping my fingers crossed) it may be a moot point! If there aint no prize then it''s all a learning exercise.

I am seriously scouting for decent prizes though.

When the website goes up around friday sometime, I''ll ask all you guys to promote it on whatever other boards you frequent, etc - to get good prizes I''ll need good hits!

I''m thinking of releasing different parts at different times. ie, I might release some of the models two weeks before the world stuff comes online, to spread the thing out and give the newer coders among us a chance!



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I used to be indecisive. Now I''m not so sure...

Would we be allowed to use some existing code that we have already writen? For example, I am trying to make a VERY simple 3D engine with DX8, and learning how to use it in the process. Would I be able to use portions of the code from my existing engine?