Future-like MMO, engine choice? [closed] - directx

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We are a small group of developers and we want to create a Future-like MMO which will combine City building, RTS, Economic and Political type of games.
We are unsure if we should develop a DirectX9 engine from scratch or use tools like XNA, DXstudio.(we have experience creating a simple FPS-like engine using DirectX)
Another question is if engines like UnrealEngine/ UDK, Unity are really an option for a complex game like ours(most games developed with these engines are FP/3rdP Shooters)?
Any idea for where to start with the engine will be helpful.

You allways endup with engine that prefectly fits your needs if you build it your self. but this takes time and is costy.
On the other hand picking a engine like UDK/CryEngine, you will save some time but probably need to give time to be able to do exactly what you want.
If i would suggest a start is to nail down every technical aspect of the game.
For example, things like this :
Graphics, Content handling/pipeline, SocialSupport(Facebook, Twitter), Target platform, How to solve most of your programming problems (How to use the economy system, building systems etc)
And when all that is done, just try this out in a easy alpha in all the engines you would like to test. (including writing a own, but with limited stuff to just make it prototype)
from there, pick what feelt best and hope that it will work out, :)
hope that helps some!

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Is learning all this necessary? [closed]

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Is it even worth it to learn all of this Bootstrapping and stuff that just feels like I'm not really doing any work?
I feel like it's a bit cheat-y, y'know?
I showed someone a site I had built and they said it was good, but it didn't work well at all across multiple platforms.
So, I Googled for some tips on how I can make the site adjust to different screen sizes, and every link I went to just listed different Bootstrapping things and plug-ins that'll do it for me.
I want to learn this stuff for myself so I have better control over it, I suppose.
Is that really a good idea, or would it be more worth it to look into Bootstrapping and junk?
I would advocate to learn how things work first, and then use libraries/frameworks to accelerate your workflow.
The idea behind this is that if those tools have bugs, or issues, you'll have a much better capacity to dig in and debug.
Trying to build all of these tools yourself, however, is NOT recommended (unless its for exploratory reasons). These libraries and frameworks exist for a reason, they have many contributors (something you can't compete against as a solo dev) and they solve real-world problems.
That being said, learning how to properly select a given lib/framework for a given use-case is a skill really worth building. And that comes from understanding what problems the libs/frameworks solve, which is the result of having explored "the inner workings" by digging in.
In the end, these tools will greatly accelerate your development speed, which is great, especially when it's business related (your job).

design pattern to use utility app connecting to internet [closed]

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This may be a generic question but still i need suggestion/guidance on which design pattern or architecture to follow for developing this app.
The app is for premium users(for iPhone) on airport and will be able to access the internet at higher speed and on multiple devices simultaneously.
I'm planning to go for Singleton,Factory,MVC patterns and client-server architecture for the app.
What-all things do i need to re-think and then design the app or are above patterns sufficient to go ahead ?
thanks
It seems bizarre to come up with a list of patterns to use before you look at what your app is actually going to do. This is not how you use design patterns.
The way to use patterns: When you have a problem, and you think about how to solve it, you try to find out whether your problem fits a well-known pattern and adapt that pattern to your problem. Or you figure out that it doesn't fit any well-known pattern, and then you solve the problem without using any pattern.
This is like going to a shop buying blue and yellow paint, and then deciding what parts of your home you want to paint. You do it the other way round. You decide what needs painting, then you decide what would be a nice colour, then you buy the colour. You don't buy the paint first. You don't decide on design patterns first.

How would I go about making a pixel based game? [closed]

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Something like galaga! I have no idea where to start. I know how to program, I have an environment to make the game, and I can create all the pixel/tiles on the screen. I just don't really know where to go after that. I've looked online for help but with no luck.
Any feedback is much appreciated!
A great alternative would be to use Löve2D, it is a game framework that uses Lua as its programming language and it is very easy to use.
No matter what language you code in, I would start by making a diagram describing the game flow. If you break it into small pieces, you'll find yourself following that process as you start to code.
Ask yourself:
What is happening in the game? (Aliens attacking a single ship)
What is the object of the game? (Destroy each successive wave of aliens without getting nuked.)
What controls are necessary to accomplish this? (firing button, movements, any specials you might incorporate.)
what sorts of power-ups / extra lives will be available and when?
What is the reward schema (more points / power-ups for higher-level kills, etc.)
What is the derivative increase in difficulty? (is it linear - gets a bit harder each level or, does it get increasingly difficult by greater amounts as you pass levels - also, do you want to build in respite levels where it chills for a level or two.)
Hopefully, you get the idea - just chop up the project into bite-sized chunks before you write your first line, follow your process, and adjust as necessary - a couple of hours of planning could save you many hours of dithering while trying to code a project you have not really defined for yourself.
I hope this helps
~b

What approach/methodology are you using for one-man software development [closed]

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You can find thousands of questions out there about how you develop software and which methodology is the best one. But mainly these are targeting medium to large teams, with people having different roles and responsibilities.
What I'm interested in is what methodology are you using for your one-man-shows? What steps are you doing, what documents are you creating to get the things you want to develop clear and document it well, to share it with the community?
Especially, I’m interested in the following questions:
_Are you using a structured approach even you’re developing on your own or no at all?
_What phases are you using?
_Which documents are you writing before and after coding?
And if you have “your” standardized approach, can you share templates which you are using?
Thanks in advance,
cheers
Gerry
Personally I think it is a matter of making decisions when it comes to the development process (solo). In my case I wouldn't recommend setting up a massive development process but I would pick elements which prevent problems that I have earlier had. My approach for small applications (in the right order):
Always write down what you are going to make and what you are not going to make (define a scope) - Think of functional requirements (Functional Design)
(OO only) Make a class diagram that displays relations between classes. (Technical Design - Sequence diagrams, while usefull, take up massive amounts of time to make)
Write your program according to what you have just written down (or part of it).
Refactor and redesign your application (once in every X hours, write this one down)
Repeat step 3 to 4 until the result is what you wrote in the Functional Design.
Walk through every corner of your application to find every single path and write this down in a testdocument. Identify possible problems in the paths and test them.
When it comes to big applications however (or assignments for someone else) I prefer using the "medium to large teams" approach. Which almost brings a guarantee that you will not be meeting most problems.

If you write a useful app... does writing it in Rails give you an advantage [closed]

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This is something I've been wondering for a bit.
If you were to write a successful site/app, would writing it in rails give you and advantage, say for getting the app noticed, as opposed to writing it in PHP etc?
Do people/companies who write in ruby/rails actively promote that their site/app is written in rails so it gets more publicity/hype?
Appreciate any feedback/POV's.
Not much. People don't look under the covers. The advantage is that you can build it faster and change it faster, which means you get to market faster.
Though some companies mention that the app runs on Rails or built in NYC, regular users, as a rule, do not care what the app they are using is built upon. But if you plan to eventually sell it or draw the investments, the trendy technology will certainly give you some bonus points.

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