do you know a game like EV?

I've been looking for games like EV. Can anybody add to my list and maybe write a little about what they like and dislike about them? Doesn't have to be specifically a 2D space RPG, but the same look and feel as EV. cheers.

also, is there any interest within this community for an open source EV like that uses the current EVNova file format(.rez)? this would allow expansion of the format and other things like in game plugin loading/unloading, etc

nb. these are all still in development

http://neurohack.com/transcendence/screenshots/
transcendance is now 1.0
nice graphics, HUD doesn't look like it fits
not sure about how hard plugin making is: http://neurohack.com/transcendence/mods/index.html

http://code.google.com/p/naev/
plugin creation seems a bit difficult. a lot like EV. UI looks terrible
LNSU: its an open-source game with EV-like gameplay. Its far from finished, but is pretty good.

http://github.com/prophile/xsera
i never played ares much, the engine behind xsera looks good
LNSU: its a modernization of Ares to run on current computers. However, although its using various resources from ares, its not using any of the old ares code. It'll be a while before it does anything fun though. Unless you consider coding fun.

list continued with suggestions:
http://www.starportgame.com/
starsword: Only game I know of that's even remotely similar to EV is Starport, an MMORPG. I saw it on the forums here when I was starting out with EVN:UGF.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuum_(ga...ontinuum_client
JoshTigerHeart: It's an online space* battler with many many different gametypes, such as CTF, king of the hill, dueling, hunts, hockey, etc. It was pretty fun, though it takes some getting used to each different server.

This post has been edited by Tycho : 26 March 2010 - 12:01 PM

There are much better and easier formats for storing game data than .rez. So I suppose you could make a rez to something converter, but using rez as a native file format isn't convenient.

Notes on those projects you listed:
NAEV - its an open-source game with EV-like gameplay. Its far from finished, but is pretty good.

Xsera - its a modernization of Ares to run on current computers. However, although its using various resources from ares, its not using any of the old ares code. It'll be a while before it does anything fun though. Unless you consider coding fun.

I played Continuum a few years ago. It's an online space* battler with many many different gametypes, such as CTF, king of the hill, dueling, hunts, hockey, etc. It was pretty fun, though took some getting used to.

*While most of the gametypes are in space, a few reskin everything to be something like, say, soldiers fighting in a war. The controls are the same though.

thanks for the input guys.

JoshTigerheart
i can't seem to find that game. i remember playing continuum on my mac classic. doubt it's the same thing...
different game modes (ctf, etc) sounds really interesting for an EV like.

LNSU
the idea behind using rez is that you guys have already created a bunch of them and you already have tools/knowledge to edit them. i envisioned a rez to something "translator" which ran in game on load, so no need for separate file conversions.
do you have any thoughts on other file formats and their suitability for an EV like?
i was just thinking along the lines of xml and plists.

This post has been edited by Tycho : 21 March 2010 - 10:31 PM

Have a look at what's being done for XSera if you want an idea of a good data organization system.

http://github.com/prophile/xsera

If you want to make a .rez to Xsera format converter, you're more than welcome to.

you'll have to point me in the right direction. i don't really get c++, are they planning on windows/linux builds?

i'm assuming the resourceManager handles loading files? and that's about as far as i got.
all the comments seem to be a bit vague. ie //apparently, these are windows directives

i've put together a Core Animation demo of a very recognisable (static)asteroid field. here's the link if anyone's interested in trying it:
http://www.filedropper.com/sandboxapp (48.4KB)

you can modify some of variables used by the app by:
1. right click the sandbox app and select 'Show Package Contents'
2. go into 'Contents/Resources' and open 'prefs.plist' and 'model.plist' in a plist or text editor
3. muck around with the numbers
model.plist:
height and width= the height and width of the animation layer the asteroids are drawn onto
zMax=Maximum "Depth"
zFactor: asteroids z position is calculated by a random number between 0 and zMax, multiplied by the zFactor. Negative factors make the asteroids further from the camera.
maxCount=Maximum number of asteroids. (4000 sprites seems to be the limit on my 2004 macbook)

prefs.plist
screenMenuDock=true is you want to see the menu bar and dock
windowRect=size of the window when not fullscreen
windowOpaque=true if you want a black background, false if you want to see the windows behind it
viewScrollPoint={x, y} this is how much the view will scroll every tick of the timer

i'll add a ship in the middle of the screen for reference, and then add keyboard control, so it doesn't just scroll around automatically. does anyone have a ship graphic they want to share for the next demo?

This post has been edited by Tycho : 22 March 2010 - 11:03 AM

Only game I know of that's even remotely similar to EV is Starport, an MMORPG. I saw it on the forums here when I was starting out with EVN:UGF.

Looked it up to double check, Continuum is actually a client for a game called SubSpace. I actually never heard it called the latter, however. It looks like it's still alive and kicking, though. Anyway, here's the Wikipedia link, which has a download link under "External Links". It was pretty fun, though it takes some getting used to each different server.

QUOTE (Tycho @ Mar 22 2010, 11:58 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

you'll have to point me in the right direction. i don't really get c++, are they planning on windows/linux builds?

i'm assuming the resourceManager handles loading files? and that's about as far as i got.
all the comments seem to be a bit vague. ie //apparently, these are windows directives

i've put together a Core Animation demo of a very recognisable (static)asteroid field. here's the link if anyone's interested in trying it:
http://www.filedropper.com/sandboxapp (48.4KB)

you can modify some of variables used by the app by:
1. right click the sandbox app and select 'Show Package Contents'
2. go into 'Contents/Resources' and open 'prefs.plist' and 'model.plist' in a plist or text editor
3. muck around with the numbers
model.plist:
height and width= the height and width of the animation layer the asteroids are drawn onto
zMax=Maximum "Depth"
zFactor: asteroids z position is calculated by a random number between 0 and zMax, multiplied by the zFactor. Negative factors make the asteroids further from the camera.
maxCount=Maximum number of asteroids. (4000 sprites seems to be the limit on my 2004 macbook)

prefs.plist
screenMenuDock=true is you want to see the menu bar and dock
windowRect=size of the window when not fullscreen
windowOpaque=true if you want a black background, false if you want to see the windows behind it
viewScrollPoint={x, y} this is how much the view will scroll every tick of the timer

i'll add a ship in the middle of the screen for reference, and then add keyboard control, so it doesn't just scroll around automatically. does anyone have a ship graphic they want to share for the next demo?

Xsera is currently mac-only, but they're working on windows/linux builds. We're always looking for help if you're up for it.

thanks for the suggestions guys. i've updated my first post with your comments, etc.
i think the game types in continuum is a great idea.

LNSU
i'm more than willing to help, but my c++ is pretty bad. do you know how cemented that language is for the mac client? why not do obj-c+cocoa for mac, c#+.net for win, (c/c++)+sdl for lin? it is more work, but i believe it will cause less hassle overall. just my thoughts.

i ran my code on a high end gaming hackintosh and it had no problem in rendering 10's of thousands of sprites. i will have to implement a view limiter for low end machines. fog of war anyone?

There's a lot more to do than just C++. I'd suggest contacting prophile if you want to get involved. I've sent you a PM with some information, and you might also want to check out #xsera on irc.ambrosiasw.com

Edit: all the C++ we use is supposed to be mostly cross-platform. There are a few issues, but Xsera is based on multiplatform libraries such as SDL.

This post has been edited by LNSU : 25 March 2010 - 01:40 PM

thanks LNSU. i went on the irc channel and chatted with adam_0. i'll see what i can do to help.

he suggested i use the apollo engine in my game, so i will try to do that.

on another note, i know ev4 topics are abundant but, what elements would you expect to see in a modern 2D, single player(maybe LAN), space trading/combat based RPG?

one thing i would expect is an on board AI that the player could turn on and it would do it's thing(combat, trading, refueling, etc). better AI could be purchased/stolen/hacked/etc...make your own?

another thing would be ship parts. a la captain forever
http://www.captainforever.com/
the ability to have a ship completely made of separate parts would add another level of user customisation and NPC ship variants.

I'm told that's how CTC works, though I confess I haven't had time to play through it yet. There's a degree of it in the Firefly TC that's in the works.

Sorta. Unlike captain forever, you can't steal parts and customize ship layout. However, in CTC, you can pick what engine, shields, armor, weapons, and so on your ship has. Buying a ship is really just an engineless, weaponless low-armor chassis in CTC.

updated the sandbox
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5622341/SandBox%2Bship.app.zip (110KB)

added a ship for reference(thankyou to whoever made it. i can't remember the source i got it from.)
-uses EV style sprite sheets and masks(the ship is from an EV plug)
-sprite image represents direction ship is moving

added a data representation of a user/player.
-the user can 'take control' of any sprite
-handy for plugins editors(click on a ship a instantly control it)
-handy for plugins(teleport from one ship to another or a planet or....?)
-scroll layer animates the transition between sprites(i will use it for the hyperjump effect)

added vector forces
-things can now move about on their own accord
-slows down the app. there are optimisations i will do.

removed a couple variables from the plists
-viewScrollPoint was just in their to test the scrolling layer
-maybe something else.....