It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, so here goes with another update from the desk of, well, myself.

As was the case for my last update, I’ve been hard at work perfecting Evolites, and in the process have begun work on something else I mentioned last time – a new online system. Since the cat’s already out of the bag with some members of the GMC, I figured I might as well post a blog about it here as well. I’m not going to explain <i>everything</i> right now, but I’ll at least explain this system!

After finishing up on Hover Tank 3D, I took a little break, and then got back to Game Maker, with a renewed interest in online programming. Being a big fan of PHP and MySQL, and having intermingled the two with GML in HT3D, I wanted to create something else, something that would work more universally, and which could do even more than the system set up for Hover Tank 3D. A friend of mine who helped me work out the problems of converting HT3D over from SOC to 39dll, Wilco (Fox-NL), and his team members from Cubes Online (Kasper and Tikas) got to talking about what could be done… the result was a game-creating team / alliance of sorts, an official name for our group, and a good idea for an online system that would make taking games online with server lists and other related programming much easier.

The team name is Reflect Games. And the online system is our Reflect Account System.

The system, which I’m currently working on and testing, will launch at the same time as Evolites, and will offer the benefits of an account system to any game that uses it. There are a few things that make this system great and unique.

First, users will only have to register their account once. After that, every game they sign into which uses Reflect Accounts will instantly recognize them when they sign in, assigning them their own nickname, favorite colors, etc. This makes online games that rely on server-side data extremely accessible, because for all the games that work with the system, all the information is stored in one place, and can be accessed quickly and easily by any other game in the network.

The second reason why I believe this system is neat is that it’s extremely simple to add and use in a game. Currently, the system consists of 39dll, and 9 scripts (11 if you count system scripts). With these scripts, you can easily authenticate a user’s account, log them in and out, send and receive custom data to the server (to access your own game’s actions included in the server), create a game server others can join, destroy the server listing, and query for listings of other games. As time goes on, I’ll be working on some scripts for high score lists, and other often-needed online features. It’s really shaping up to be a very efficient and easy-to-use system, for both the gamer and the developer.

Eventually, the system may be made available to the general public, but for now Wilco and I will be creating a few first-party games that will be compatible with the system. We’ll hopefully also be accepting applications for the scripts and access to the server functions for third-party games, from people who already have a qualified game underway.

Needless to say, I am excited to get the Reflect Account System (and the Reflect Games site) up and out the door, but as you can see, it’s still a lot of work! Coupled with trying to finish Evolites, I’ve been quite busy lately! I hope to have Evolites and the website for both the Reflect Games team and the account system finished within a week, but we all know how that goes. One thing’s for sure though – if this takes off, and we are able to offer it to people who are responsible and capable, we’ll be seeing some great online-capable games on the way soon!

Anyway, I just can’t help but post these long blogs… Once I get started I can’t stop typing! But I definitely had a lot to say (and I still do, but I will save that for a later date). I will keep everyone updated on the progress of things. For now, check out this link to a preview of the <a href=" http://reflect.martincrownover.com/games/evolites/index.php">Evolites Online Catalog</a>.