Hi, I''m taking a class at a college next quarter in which we''ll have to put together a multiplayer 3d game within 10 weeks. I have been speaking to the professor and he says the best way to approach this daunting task is to use as much of other people''s code as possible (in the form of libraries etc.). I have 0 Directx/Graphic programming experience (I am a computer science major, however). I was hoping anyone with any knowledge of game design could give me an idea of how best to approach this incredible task and what resources would be most valuable for saving time. Thanks for the help! [Edited by - Panayoti on September 5, 2004 10:01:48 PM]

Multiplayer 3D in 10 weeks ?? Good luck !

Well, we have 6 people in a group (although there is a maximum of 2 with previous graphics experience).

Unfortuantely, its been done before, which means the prof will expect it to be done again and better (although I'm very excited about the oppurtunity to do so).

[edited by - Panayoti on March 21, 2002 1:16:25 AM]

Resources hmm...
MSDN
DX books probably around 2
lots of articles, print them all out,
MS Visual C++
example source codes

10 weeks, I thought only us at DigiPen had to do games in that short period of time :/

From someone who has completed 2 going on 3 games in a span of 13 weeks heres some advice:

Get the framework up as soon as possible. Agree on how each module interacts, and then build a skeleton with connections to each module. Enter and exit each module and make sure there are no memory leaks or other bugs. This will make debugging slightly easier in the future.

Split up each task, and have everybody write prototypes before they actually implement the code into the project. If your using a method of source control (CVS, Visual Sourcesafe), you are guarenteed now that your online copy always works, and you can go back to previous versions to track bugs.

And the most important rule is KISS. Keep it simple, stupid. When your dealing with just enough time to get the engine up and running, you have to keep the level of content low.

I''ve done it before so you can too. Figure out who on your team is a loser (slacker, bad coder, etc.), and who''s a winner (anyone who puts pride into their code and makes sure it works!). Make sure there are no time critical modules assigned to the losers, or you''ll start missing milestones. Miss 1 milestone on a short-term project, and your in serious trouble.

If you need any further advice contact me at ICQ 3132043 or kking@digipen.edu. I''m in week 10 of a ~14 week multiplayer 2d game project with 4 others. I feel your pain :/

- Kevin "BaShildy" King
Game Programmer: DigiPen
www.mpogd.com

Thanks for the replies so far, guys. The class doesn''t start for another week and a half, and I won''t be able to do any guarenteed work until the first week when we establish groups. I''m incredibly ansy though and I realize that every day that I''m not being productive, I''m sacrificing another aspect of the game. I started working on design spec for the game I would do if it were up to me alone (ultimately it would be chosen by the entire group, but if the spec is there, they might consider just using my work). I''d love some comments on if anyone wants to take a look at it. Just drop me a line sand858@bigfoot.com and I''ll e-mail back to yah.

How easy is it to integrate/use someone else''s code to construct our game?

I was looking at some free engines Crystal Space/Morfit and I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with these. Is it worth my time learning these? Would it be very helpful? Constraining? What are the pros/cons? Are there any sites out there that review 3D Engines besides http://cg.cs.tu-berlin.de/~ki/engines.html which hasn''t (seems) been updated in awhile?

quote: Original post by Panayoti
How easy is it to integrate/use someone else''s code to construct our game?

In my oppinion, it depends greatly on how the code is written, or, more precisely, how its interface is written. It may be quite easy with a good interface, and it may be very difficult when the interface is unclear.

I think you should look at the headers of the code you want to include, or simply read the documentation to its API. You will probably find out very quickly whether the interface is or is not good

quote:
I was looking at some free engines Crystal Space/Morfit and I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with these. Is it worth my time learning these? Would it be very helpful? Constraining? What are the pros/cons? Are there any sites out there that review 3D Engines besides http://cg.cs.tu-berlin.de/~ki/engines.html which hasn''t (seems) been updated in awhile?

Maybe you would want to check pages related to SDL(http://www.libsdl.org) and allegro (http://alleg.sourceforge.net). These two are not 3d engines but you may find various 3d stuff in the contributed code.


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Never trust a Troglotroll.

quote: Original post by Panayoti
The class doesn''t start for another week and a half, and I won''t be able to do any guarenteed work until the first week when we establish groups. I''m incredibly ansy though and I realize that every day that I''m not being productive, I''m sacrificing another aspect of the game.

Take it easy, friend. It is just a school work if I understood your post correctly. Nobody expects it to be perfect - in fact I think it simply can''t be in 10 weeks.

Have a nice day,


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Never trust a Troglotroll.

sound engin http://www.fmod.org very easy
keyboard http://www.gamedev.net/reference/articles/article1607.asp
mouse http://www.gamedev.net/reference/articles/article1657.asp

this will get you started.