-=Terrain Deformation=-

I've been working and making some progress with my engine. Right now it runs at around 60 fps (though I can't really test on my laptop as it's a piece of crap, and can only run decently for periods of about 20 seconds). So far I've recreated the place_free function which, instead of checking for a solid, checks if there's terrain at a given position. I've also been working on recreating the collision_line function to do the same, though it's not quite fully functional yet. I made a simple AI that can walk over the terrain even as it deforms, and check if it has a clear line of sight to the player. I've got fully implemented projectile collisions too, so if an enemy were to shoot, you could easily block the shot by raising a hill in front of you. Now onto some odd things the engine does. Right now the terrain deforms in a far too perfect manner. Most of the time you deform the terrain, it will deform perfectly round. To better explain, if you raise the terrain on a completely flat surface, it will raise a half circle out of the ground. Though I sort of like this effect, I did not intend for it to do this. It's just done so ever since I finally got the engine working. I've been trying to find out why it does this, and how to make it more jagged as it deforms. About ten minutes ago I found the problem, and once fixed, it should be easy to use random values to make the terrain jagged. Another odd thing (which is easy enough to fix) is the player can climb steep slopes in an instant. It's somewhat funny to watch :p

So now for checklists.

To-do:

[ ]Get collision_line script working properly.

[ ]Make terrain more jagged as it deforms.

[ ]Fix bug in jumping while walking on downward slopes.

[ ]Fix instant slope climbing.

Future additions:

[ ]Directional terrain deformations, rather than vertical.

[ ]Overlap checking to keep terrain from folding in on itself.

[ ]More realistic movement of terrain.

With the future additions, it should be possible to morph the terrain into all kinds of shapes (including caves Juju XD ).

-=Computer=-

Like I mentioned above, my computer is beginning to become a pain. I can't really complain. I've had it for a few years now, and it's weathered its fair share of abuse. Unfortunately, it just doesn't have the power I'd like it to have. At a mere 1GB DDR2 memory, 2.0Ghz, and a crappy ATI Radeon Xpress 1100 graphics card, it's time for it to be retired, and a younger, more powerful computer to take its place. So I've been looking around online for a computer that looked nice, and found one while browsing best buy. It's an HP with intel centrino core 2 duo with a summed up processing power of 4.0Ghz, 4GB DDR2 memory (upgradable to 8GB), A NVIDIA Geforce 9600 M GT graphics card, 17" monitor, and Windows Vista home premium 64bit. It's also got a regular pricetag of $1,149.99 (though it's on sale now for $899). You can see it here. So yeah, money is the issue. Being 16 and without a job, I don't exactly come by that sort of money easily. So, in addition to saving and working where I can, I've decided to attempt a game for the YYG save the earth competition. Though first prize would be amazing, I'd be MORE than happy to win second or even third prize. I'm planning a game using my terrain engine, and have already begun work on the game itself, as well as collecting resources. Though I can't expect to walk away with anything, at least I can say I tried.

-=Tech Demo=-

So here's the tech demo promised. Not really much to be seen, it just shows off the terrain deformation.

Tech Demo

Mirror

Controls:

WASD=movement

Mouse=aim

Left mouse button=Fire "rising" beam

Right mouse button=Fire "crater" beam

(When the demo starts, it will ask for a terrain name. Type in "demo")

The sounds in the tech demo are actually for my competition entry, I'm just too lazy to edit them out. If you walk too far to the left or right (past the terrain) it throws an error.

(Also, the jagged deformation of the terrain was an early attempt to eliminate the roundness.)

Shot down 5429 n00bs at time of blog