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lucius
DarkXL Developer
DarkXL Developer

Joined: 17 Feb 2008

PostPosted: Jan 18, 2009 07:00    Post subject: DarkXL FAQ View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Reply with quote

Q: What is DarkXL?

A: DarkXL is a faithful remake of Dark Forces, done in the spirit of a port. This means that the engine and game code are written from scratch but that it tries to emulate the gameplay, music, atmosphere and feeling of the original game - to the point of not only supporting the original levels, cutscenes, gameplay and so on but also supporting the user made mods that have been developed over the years. It uses a DirectX renderer to support hardware rendering at high resolutions and color depths.

Q: Does DarkXL use any source code from the original game or engine?

A: No. Lucas Arts has never made the code for Dark Forces or the Jedi engine publicly available. This means that DarkXL and all tools have been written completely from scratch. Thusly DarkXL is not a source port, but is written in the same spirit - trying to remake the original not reinterpret or re envision it.

Q: Are any tools being developed that will aid in modding for Dark Forces and/or DarkXL?

A: Yes. Right now a full featured level editor is being developed that can be used to build levels for Dark Forces and also support new features implemented into DarkXL.

Q: Where can I get these new tools, such as the level editor?

A: The new tools will be built into DarkXL, so no extra downloads are required. However the new tools aren't available yet, although the next build will have a preview version of the level editor built in.

Q: Are the tools built from existing tools or are they built from scratch?

A: DarkXL and the editor are built from scratch. The editor is built into the DarkXL executable and uses the same engine.

Q: What new features does DarkXL support now?

A:
*Hardware rendering at high resolutions in 32bit color.
*Improved texture filtering including bilinear, trilinear and anisotropic filtering.
*Modernized control schemes including mouse look.
*Increased view range, the ability to look straight up or down.
*Scripting for Logics.

Q: What new features will DarkXL support in the near future?

A:
*True color textures, including alpha.
*Translucent (partially transparent) textures at adjoins (instead of merely transparent).
*Improved model support, including formats other then 3DO.
*Skybox camera, allows for animated, scripted skyboxs.
*Scripting for weapons, scripting integrated with INF (fire scripts from INF and/or control INF through scripts), level scripts.
*Dynamic lights.
*Colored sector lighting (ala Duke Nukem 3D).
*Sector lighting gradients (floor and ceiling colors, with gradient in-between).
*Sector light smoothing (optional).
*Invisible 3D collision primitives that can be attached to 3D objects, allowing the player to interact with 3D objects in more meaningful ways.
*Real colored fog.
*Heightmaps for sector surfaces (could be used for large outdoor terrain sectors).
*Reflective surfaces (i.e. reflective floors in Imperial architecture).
*High quality texture upscaling and high quality edge filtering on transparencies (such as sprites).
*Optional fullscreen glow, where pixels marked as being fullbright (such as lights and blaster shots) will glow.
*Outlaws inspired features such as:
-Dual adjoins
-Vertical adjoins (extended to adjoin above and below at the same time instead of just one or the other).
-Slopes.
-Deep water that the player can swim in.
-Adjustable per-sector gravity (this will allow for things such as ladders).

Q: Will multiplayer be supported?

A: Yes. Cooperative, death match, team death match and of course various team based game modes between the Imperials and Rebels.

Q: Is this project open source? Will the source code be released?

A: DarkXL is not open source at this time and the source code is not available. However the source will be opened up down the road, mainly so that others can maintain and extend the project once I'm "finished" (i.e. my goals are met and I'm not going to work on it much any more). I have reservations about standard open source projects (for reasons I really don't want to repeat here) and really want to avoid excessive forking and fragmenting of the community (how many Doom source ports are there?). On the other hand I don't want the project to die when I won't/can't continue it, which is why I'll release the source anyway before then. So in summary the source code will eventually be released but not any time soon.

Q: What is the current state of this project?

A: The project is currently in an "alpha" state. The first couple of levels are playable and there is some limited mod capability. However the near future is very exciting! An editor preview build will be released soon that will allow people to try out the DarkXL's built-in level editor. After that there will be a beta build where the game can be played and be completed from beginning to end.

Q: Will DarkXL support Outlaws, since it is based on an enhanced version of the Jedi engine?

A: Not at this time. While several features inspired by the Outlaws version of the engine will be implemented, I'm not planning on supporting Outlaws at this time. However down the road, after DarkXL is stable and includes the desired features (such as multiplayer), this may be revisited.

Q: I try to run DarkXL but it crashes! What should I do?

A: Make sure you have OpenAL Make sure you have have the latest version of DirectX installed. Also verify that the Dark Forces data is located in the correct directories. See this forum topic for instructions regarding the most recent build.

Q: What platforms does DarkXL support?

A: Right now DarkXL only supports Windows XP and Windows Vista. Support for other platforms is planned but not until later. Possible platforms include: Linux, Mac (with a volunteer since I don't own a Mac), XBox 360 (using XNA) and a possibility of a 2.5D version on the DS if I'm feeling up to it (rendering in software similar to the original game). The DS version would be last if done at all - it'll really depend on the demand and if I still want to do it after all the other versions. Smile Also I'll probably do the Linux version myself (and all non-Mac versions), which will make porting to the Mac pretty easy I think.

Do you have any other questions? Did I miss something that should go into the FAQ? Please let me know.

_________________
DarkXL....http://darkxl.wordpress.com


Last edited by lucius on Jun 19, 2009 18:12; edited 10 times in total

Burning Gundam
Kell Dragon

Joined: 28 Sep 2003

PostPosted: Jan 18, 2009 07:39    Post subject: View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Reply with quote

Excellent FAQ, Lucius. Short, simple and gets the point across Smile

_________________
I don't think outside the box... I customize it.

lucius
DarkXL Developer
DarkXL Developer

Joined: 17 Feb 2008

PostPosted: Jan 18, 2009 07:47    Post subject: View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Reply with quote

Burning Gundam wrote:
Excellent FAQ, Lucius. Short, simple and gets the point across Smile

Thanks, I'm glad its finally done - it is something I should have started a long time ago.

_________________
DarkXL....http://darkxl.wordpress.com

Mr. Mistoffelees
Dianoga

Joined: 27 Aug 2008

PostPosted: Jan 20, 2009 18:54    Post subject: View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote

I'm VERY glad to see you (and DarkXL) still active, lucius! Please, keep up this wonderful project you've undertaken, and I wish you health, happiness, and no bugs!

Best wishes!
-Mr. Mistoffelees

_________________
Poof! POOF, I said!

lucius
DarkXL Developer
DarkXL Developer

Joined: 17 Feb 2008

PostPosted: Jan 21, 2009 19:20    Post subject: FAQ updated. View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Reply with quote

I updated the FAQ. Some minor wording changes as well as added upcoming extended features that I forgot to mention the first time - such as high quality texture upscaling, optional fullscreen glow for fullbright pixels, fog and more.

_________________
DarkXL....http://darkxl.wordpress.com

NewTownAnimal
Dianoga

Joined: 19 Dec 2008

PostPosted: Jan 26, 2009 15:35    Post subject: FAQ updated View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote

Thanks, Lucius. I have just one suggestion for an addition, even though I already know the unfortunate answer - Mac/non-Windows compatibility.

lucius
DarkXL Developer
DarkXL Developer

Joined: 17 Feb 2008

PostPosted: Jan 26, 2009 18:12    Post subject: Re: FAQ updated View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Reply with quote

NewTownAnimal wrote:
Thanks, Lucius. I have just one suggestion for an addition, even though I already know the unfortunate answer - Mac/non-Windows compatibility.

Ok, good idea.

_________________
DarkXL....http://darkxl.wordpress.com

lucius
DarkXL Developer
DarkXL Developer

Joined: 17 Feb 2008

PostPosted: Jan 30, 2009 07:52    Post subject: View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Reply with quote

The FAQ is updated again, including multiple platform support now and in the future as suggested by NewTownAnimal.

_________________
DarkXL....http://darkxl.wordpress.com

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