DF-21 Forums

[lucius]

Sorry I've been away, I've been busy wrapping stuff up at work and with holiday stuff. Whenever I think everything is going smoothly, something else comes up lately. Anyway, things should return back to normal after the holidays, though I may still be a little scarce (atleast on some days) until then.

I have been able to get a little bit of time here and there to work on the build, if you guys can bear with me through the holidays - just a little longer - then things will get moving again.

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

[Burning Gundam]

No no that's fine! We just hadn't heard from you at all so we were just getting worried that maybe something may have happened to you. Good to see you still alive and kicking though.

I know how you feel about the work thing though, work has been hammering me for the past 3 weeks. But if work continues like it did last night (SUPER SLOW compared to last week), it should be smooth sailing on until christmas. After christmas I'm not really looking forward to though, it'll be slower than a turtle with arthritis

Thanks for letting us know you're okay!

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

[Taton]

MY FAITH WAS NOT SHAKEN!

SLAY THOSE WHO DOUBTED!

*bows down*

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"A fight should be clean and elegant, without waste"
-Asuka Langley Sohryu, Evangelion

[lucius]

It's not very exciting, but after the next build comes out I'm planning on implementing a proper launcher and removing the text file. If you run DarkXL directly, it'll verify the game data and if it can't find it the launcher will automatically be launched. This means that you can just run DarkXL or the launcher to setup everything you need, you won't have to edit a text file.

Anyway, screenshot of the launcher. I used it as a test bed for trying wxWidgets, it won't be finished until after the next build is released. DaggerXL will also have a similar launcher as well. (And yes this post is similar to the one at the DaggerXL forums, the launchers share code and images).



Sorry for the cheesy icons.

Anyway the vertical toolbar has the following options:

Setup Game Directory (the DARK directory)
Version Information (the dialog shown)
Setup Controls
Graphics Options
Sound Options
Gameplay Options (this is where extended gameplay features will go)
Launch (launches DarkXL and closes the launcher)
Exit

Hopefully I'll have a proper build update and release soon.

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

[klasodeth]

This update is still plenty interesting. I like that idea for the launcher, and it looks like custom icons will be a good opportunity for community involvement.

[Gez]

Yay progress!

Hopefully some of the more artistically-minded people in this community will be able to propose starwarsier, darkforcier icons in time for the afternext build.

[lucius]

[lucius]

At the DaggerXL forums, they made some icons for that launcher. If you guys want some ideas here is a screenshot of the DaggerXL launcher using the community art:



These icons are 64x64 PNG files.

I'm sure you guys could come up with some nice Star Wars / Dark Forces looking icons for the DarkXL launcher.

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

[Burning Gundam]

I may try may hand at that. Now that Season is over I have a buttload of free time which means I can finally get back to work on my projects

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

[lucius]

[The MAZZTer]

Wait wait wait... a launcher screen, program icons... I could swear we already did all this. :S

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http://www.mzzt.net/ | I am a respectable admin with a respectable sig.

[lucius]

The in-game options screens will still be there, this is supplementary.

The launcher is Windows UI based, meaning that it does not rely on DirectX, the Dark Forces game data or other external assets (other then files that come with the program). This means you can setup game data directories, verify DirectX install, change DarkXL settings even if DarkXL doesn't run properly (for example - a video mode is reported that doesn't work properly... I've seen this problem before or invalid version of DirectX). If you run DarkXL and the game data isn't setup properly or it fails for some other reason (can't initialize DirectX, OpenAL fails, etc.), it will automatically shutdown and launch this program.

DarkXL will no longer crash on initialization failure but instead just allow you to set the data properly, download drivers, change settings, etc.. Once you setup the game data, you can just ignore the launcher if you want, but some people will also find it easier to setup controls and options using standard windows interfaces. In addition the launcher has hyperlinks to various useful things, such as the download for the latest version, forums and so on. Finally links can also be included for libraries/drivers that the game needs - such as GPU drivers, DirectX D3DX setup, OpenAL drivers and so on. Finally the launcher can actually verify that you have everything you'll need, so I can just tell people to run the launcher to setup/download everything you need.

You can see why most of this is impractical to do in the game itself, which already relies on game data, OpenAL and DirectX to run. This isn't a title screen and is intentionally external to DarkXL.

Sorry if it seems like I keep asking for art for this project, though. Special icons are obviously optional, though it would help the polish as you can see by the DaggerXL version. With Dark Forces on Steam, it seems like there might be more interest in this once things get moving again, so I think making the program easier to use and get running is important. Finally, separate launchers are fairly common in games today, even when you can change settings in-game. Examples include: World of Warcraft, Dragon Age, Morrowind, the Doomsday Engine ("jDoom" Doom/Hexen/Heritic port) and many more.

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

[Burning Gundam]

[Jon`C]

When I look at that dialog I have absolutely no clue what I'm supposed to do with it. Sometimes text is better than icons.

[sheepandshepherd]

[Marley]

I think a release, however small an incremental improvement, would whip up some much needed excitement here.

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*ZaP*

[tnoyce]

I would tend to agree, that small releases are better than long waits between them, when avoidable.

Projects like this live or die based upon the perceived speed of progress, regardless of how noticeable the changes are.

Obviously, the bigger changes will take longer, and the visual changes will be most noticeable to the us as end-users.


If there have been any major changes to DarkXL since the last update (Aug 11, 2009), it would be a good idea to mention the major points on the main DarkXL web page. This way, casual visitors will see that progress is still being made.

None of this is meant in any was as a criticism. I realize that Lucius has several projects he is working on concurrently, and that things get really whacked out schedule-wise this time of year. I'm happy knowing that the projects continue to make progress, regardless of how small they are.

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Tim Noyce

[lucius]

As I said in another forum, I haven't have much time to work during the holidays through this week. Next week I'll have more time, so I should have a release sometime near the end of the week. (And it won't be just the launcher)

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

[Emon]

Haha wow, I'm with Jon`C on this one. Maybe you should let someone else make the launcher.

[lucius]

I'm replacing the launcher layout with something that should be a little clearer. The icons are going away (sorry if someone was working on them) to be replaced by a simpler text based tool bar. Later it could be themed to look more unique, but for now I'll stick with the basic Windows interface. So I withdraw the art request, at least for now.

Beyond the launcher, there are the additional features going into the build. Here is a list of all the features/fixes (at least that I remember right now, I'm not at home):

* Much improved renderer. Improved performance, improved culling, no more overlapping sector issues, no more complex-sector tessellation issues. Much better batching and data management. This is the "final" renderer (i.e. just bug fixes and enhances from here on out).
* Improved collision detection using the improved sector data format. This should fix getting stuck on adjoins, seeing black when at an adjoin, falling through rotating sectors.
* Extended feature - dynamic lighting.
* Extended feature - glow/bloom of fullbright / emissive pixels.
* Extended feature - reticle support. Reticles can be recolored, opacity can be adjusted and reticle image can be selected.
* iMuse modified to just play the basic track and not switch to "combat" music until I fix it properly. In addition hopefully the hanging notes will be gone as well.
* Proper sprite/flat sorting - no more dark edges around sprites.
* Various rendering fixes - such as walls being able to display sky.
* All levels can be selected, though not necessarily completable (see next part of the post for a timetable for that).
* Launcher.

There are probably some things that I'm forgetting.


Once this build finally gets out, the plan is to implement the remaining logics and weapons (and fix bugs of course). I'm going to do this incrementally. For example, whenever a new weapon is implemented - as well as the logics necessary to acquire the weapon and it's ammo - a new build will be released. If a new enemy is implemented, a build will be released. And so on. I will do this until all the logics and weapons are implemented (including secondary fire).

Once that is finished, I will proceed to fix/finish all the INF features - incrementally.

At that point I'll fix/finish anything that remains that does not allow the game to be completed from start to finish. This will mark the "beta." Once at beta, I will then finish/fix anything remaining that needs to be there to complete the experience. This includes finishing/fixing iMuse, fixing any cutscene issues and whatever issues may remain at that time. I will also spend the time to make sure that any problems with user levels are addressed as well. During the beta phase I will also be working on the level editor again.

Once the level editor and other editing tools are functional and the game is "complete" I will consider the "core DarkXL" project to be finished. At this point I'll move on to features such as multiplayer and other extended features. Of course I'll be fixing bugs as well. Anyway multiplayer will have it's own alpha and beta period - allowing users to be able to download a stable, tested release version or the current multiplayer beta until that is complete. There's not much point planning beyond that phase.


The key things to take away from this post:

* there are many enhancements to the upcoming build that should help smooth out the experience and make it more polished. This build also marks the end of the large system changes and re-writes.
* all builds after this one will be incremental. This is possible because there aren't any overarching systems that need to be drastically changed after the next build - meaning small but meaningful changes can be made allowing for incremental builds.
* once this build is out, the remaining path to beta is actually pretty short, it's mostly grunt work rather then huge changes. Being able to make smaller, incremental changes will help me as well, since I can get meaningful work done even when time is short.
* finally - thanks for sticking around, we're in for exciting weeks ahead.

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

[Marley]

Woo hoo!

I've got a "that was a shot in a million" kind of feeling

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*ZaP*

[Burning Gundam]

Some nice stuff to look forward to.

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

[sheepandshepherd]

Thanks! This should definitely help the morale around here Anyway, looking forward to it, especially now that I've gotten back to work on my level.

[tnoyce]

Lucius,

As always, thank you for continuing to devote your time and effort to making this project continue to progress, and to eventually sizzle!

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Tim Noyce

[lucius]

I've made a new post on the blog. For those that read these forums, it's mostly redundant information. However talking about the next build, the road to release and the source code release all in one place is probably a good thing.

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

[lucius]

A small update.

The build is almost there, just a few bugs to work
out... It's literally any day now. Sorry I didn't make it last week like promised but it won't be too long now.

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

[klasodeth]

Quality is ALWAYS worth the wait.

[BlazingPhoenix]

Woohoo, I'm excited and I finally got DF to work on DosBox which is nice. :3

[tnoyce]

I would agree.

I can be very patient, when I know things are being worked on..

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Tim Noyce

[lucius]

The build is still dragging on longer then I wanted so I've decided to put together a quick preview video. It shows me playing through Gromas Mines and shows very early colormap-like support, bloom, dynamic lighting, reticle support, an early version of the optional textured map and levels beyond the first 4 at least partially playable. There are still some glitches but this is pretty close to the finished build.

Download the original (~88 MB)

Watch on GameTrailers

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