Magnetic Gliders: Progress
Magnetic Gliders' source released
A part of the reason that I wanted to create this site was to give some programming examples by releasing the source for projects. Personally I find reading examples to be the best to learn a new language, hence I have now released Magnetic Gliders' source.
Basically I will be releasing the source for projects that are either finished or put on ice (meaning that the programming part is complete but some other factor is hindering the project). Here's one last screenshot.
The sources that are available at the moment are: the Mining Mystery, Magnetic Gliders, EQ Looter and various EQDKP plugins found in the EQ Log Parser section. All can be downloaded from the respective section's downloading page.
Test version
I have been trying to solve the problem mentioned earlier but it seams that the only way to do it is with access to a 24/7 server that can run executable files (which I don't have).
But I have uploaded a test version for the interested ones anyway. The file can be downloaded in the "Magnetic Gliders" section under "download". It can still be played as a single player game (but it's a lot funnier if you play with friends) and it can be run within the LAN.
There's no guide about it up yet but I can answer questions via mail (use the contact me section). Although I think most things are quite easy to figure out.
What is taking so long?
I expected to have a test version of Magnetic Gliders ready by now, but I have run into some trouble. This means that it could take a week or two before a test version is up and running.
The problem is not in the game itself but rather in the connecting over the internet part. Firewalls and routers are currently confusing the program.
Soon...
I have lacked the time to work on Magnetic Gliders during the last few days but I have managed to implement magnets, a chat system and points. This should mean that I only need to implement the win conditions, a few options for starting new games and then battle it out with proxy configurations that won't let the game through.
Once the game is finished it will require some testing though and since it's a multiplayer game I will need a few people to help me test it. More info on this when that day comes.
Another thing that I'm going to add when possible is a media section for Magnetic Gliders so people can get to see how the game looks (apart from the couple of pics here in the news section).
The map
"Magnetic Gliders" is progressing at a nice rate. I though I would show you a picture of the map as my attempt at explaining the whole idea of sections might be hard to understand without something visual.
I have recently added sky, ground and other things as you can see in the picture. The picture shows two gliders heading for each other. If you look on the top left you will see a lot of squares and a yellow and a black dot somewhere in there. The yellow dot is the player and the black dot is the opponent.
The interesting thing in the picture though is that you can see that the ground is divided into a lot of green and red squares. The color of the square represents how much acceleration force it produces for the glider, the greener the more force. The values will however change over time so you have to keep an eye on the map at all times to find the best route to the next target (not implemented yet).
There's still a lot missing in that picture but with my current rate of progress I should have a finished version ready long before my previous estimation.