need some help

hey guys, long time. good to see a few ol' avatars and a few new ones!

i have not coded anything for a very long time. so i thought i'd restart with something i already have experience with.
I've created a velocity:override data reader. i know it's been done to death, but this is just an experiment. i'd like to know what works and what doesn't.

so, if you'd like to help me, all you have to do is:
1. acquire the escape velocity:override data files from http://www.ambrosiasw.com/download/downloa...ride&OS=Mac
-this includes: Override Data 1, Override Data 2, Override Graphics, Override Music, Override Sounds, Override Titles
2. put them in a folder called 'data'
-no caps
3. download:

http://nilobject.host.sk/velotest.zip

4. extract in the same folder that you have the 'data' folder.
-so something like

ls ~/velotest/

velo test.app
data

ls ~/velotest/data/

Override Data 1
Override Data 2
Override Graphics
Override Music
Override Sounds
Override Titles

once all that is setup, run 'velo test.app'. it should load the ships and weapons into memory. then it has a simple window for viewing some details of the ships and weaps. i'm interested in any errors and app crashes.

my next test will involve loading override and nova data, but it all depends on the test reports.

thanks all
tych.

This post has been edited by Tycho : 02 October 2008 - 08:20 AM

i've got a simple sprite surface running. i intend to implement rudimentary AI and have ships fight each other!

just need t make sure the backend runs fine on intel machines.

This post has been edited by Tycho : 26 September 2008 - 06:31 PM

due to the overwhelming lack of support, i've decided to keep this app to myself. i've been having lots of fun flying around in standard/custom EVO ships, battling other standard/custom ships. it's a really good app for testing whether ships are overpowered or lacking in some way. it's also a good way to balance weaponry.

i spose i'll just continue my original idea, and put in networking so i can fight my brother. the AI is good, but a human opponent would rock. turncoat vs freight courier!

tycho out
prepare for teleportation

This post has been edited by Tycho : 28 September 2008 - 03:59 AM

These forums as a whole are slow, and the Dev Corner doubly so. Give it time and you'll have more interest in your project than just you, me, and your brother. I would help out but it looks like it only runs on OSX so I can't help (unless I'm wrong).

@eegras-studios, on Sep 29 2008, 12:38 AM, said in override data tester:

These forums as a whole are slow, and the Dev Corner doubly so. Give it time and you'll have more interest in your project than just you, me, and your brother. I would help out but it looks like it only runs on OSX so I can't help (unless I'm wrong).

no, you're right. OSX only, as i do not know how to read resource forks on windows. perhaps when i get the nova reader done, i can make a windows build. or possibly a resource fork to data fork conversion thingy

thanks for the reply, i'll give this thread another week. btw, is there somewhere else i should post with greater activity? i thought evula had a nova forum, but appears to be closed now.

This post has been edited by Tycho : 29 September 2008 - 03:42 AM

I'm not sure where else to post it other than here. Although, if it's for testing the coding part of it, then Just Tech would be a safe bet.

Actually, I'm really interested in this. When (if?) it becomes Nova-capable, PM me and I'll help test. this seems like it could be really useful.

ah k, cool.
i've been thinking about the nova part and have a few questions. looking at you Nonconventional and David

should i bother with resource forks or just use rez files? i have not looked into the format of rez, so maybe both options are trivial, but i would have to support rez for the windows/linux users.
should i look into converting classic and override forks into flat rez files?
should i even bother with classic and override due to there being classic and override plugs for nova? what are the differences between the originals and the nova versions?

and i might have a few more later in the day....
thanks

This post has been edited by Tycho : 30 September 2008 - 09:40 PM

Advantage of using resource forks: the methods of accessing them is built-in to Mac OS.
Advantage of using .rez: the format is more consistent if you're writing your own methods to access them. See net.sourceforge.rezeditor.RezFile for my stuff (click the most recent "view" link - I won't give a direct link since it might change). I'd be happy to explain anything.
I can't see any reason a .bin of the older files couldn't be changed to a .rez (not usable by Nova, of course)

@tycho, on Sep 30 2008, 10:35 PM, said in override data tester:

what are the differences between the originals and the nova versions?

The differences are that the resources have been re-implemented in EV Nova 's modified formats, and various numeric parameters have been re-coded where the new engine handles the math differently.

There's nothing stopping a .rez file from containing data from the first two games — or even data totally unrelated to the Escape Velocity series — though of course EV Nova won't understand it.

thanks guys.

from those replies, this is my plan of attack:
- ditch resource forks and just use rez files (not difficult as i already have an interface for data/plug loaders and can refer to Nonconventionals code)
- don't worry about the original data files and just use the nova conversions

now a few more questions.
1. because i do not want this to become a 'game'(we already have the nova engine for playing), it needs features relevant to testing.
i can think of a couple:
- changing variables on the fly (so if you want to fine tune your ship/weap, you wouldn't have to stop flying, change the value, then start again.)
- variable speed (ie pause, shift left/right a frame or more, fast forward, rewind, etc)
but i'd like to have a more clear idea of what the semi-final product would look/function like. so any suggestions?

2. any ideas on how i would implement nova-like AI? does anyone know of any documentation on this aspect of the nova engine?

3. would networking be useful for the purpose of testing ships(as nova is not networkable)? would it benefit team or even solo plugin development?

4. what else am i not thinking of at the moment? two or more minds are always better than one!

Networking may violate 1. If you can network these then people may stop paying Nova. I can't actually see it being useful, unless you are unable to implement the AI properly for whatever reason.

@templar98921, on Oct 2 2008, 04:05 AM, said in override data tester:

Networking may violate 1. If you can network these then people may stop paying Nova.

i won't implement things like landing on planets, trade, missions, exploration, etc. i see this as being way too much hassle
also, i will not enforce gameplay rules, so 'cheating' will be rampant. the idea is to network with a trusted individual so specific tests can be done. it is possible to 'play' a network 'game' with someone, if both parties can agree not to give themselves infinite health, nuclear weapons, etc

@templar98921, on Oct 2 2008, 04:05 AM, said in override data tester:

I can't actually see it being useful, unless you are unable to implement the AI properly for whatever reason.

this was my thinking exactly. i cannot recreate the nova AI exactly as it is, unless some smart cookie is able to extract the necessary information from a running instance of nova(i don't really want to do this).

Yeah, that might be illegal. I can see where you are going.

i've put up another test version. same install instructions, same address as before:

http://nilobject.host.sk/velotest.zip

this is the second sprite test. the first being displaying the images on load. the idea of this test is to see if the standard realbasic sprite surface would suffice for doing this. if the test is successful you will see all the ships rotating next to each other, to demonstrate transparencies and multiple sprites moving simultaneously.

This post has been edited by Tycho : 03 October 2008 - 05:26 AM

i've been looking into extracting images(PICT's) from rez files. i don't quite understand how i turn them into viewable images.

do i need to re-implement the QuickDraw DrawPicture method? as outlined in these docs?
PICT resource structure
PICT opcodes
example PICT

i can't find where you do it in your code, Nonconventional. can you point it out to me? how do you go about it, David?

thanks

@tycho, on Oct 4 2008, 10:00 AM, said in override data tester:

i've been looking into extracting images(PICT's) from rez files....how do you go about it, David?

I just save them into a standard resource file, and then use traditional system calls, with all the awkwardness and limitations that entails. Someday I may implement a custom PICT codec, but it's way down the list.

I haven't done PICTs yet.

hmm, so i guess the PICT structure will have to be interpreted by a method similar to DrawPicture(). i thought maybe there was a shortcut obviously the whole method is not required, just the pixel level stuff. does EVNEW do PICT's?

also, i'm looking into opening resource forks on linux/windows. it almost seems easier than going the .rez way. this would allow non-mac users to play around with the old evc and evo plugs, and also use mac nova files. does anyone have an opinion on this?

This post has been edited by Tycho : 04 October 2008 - 08:33 PM

Yes; not possible.

This post has been edited by Nonconventionally Creative : 04 October 2008 - 08:53 PM