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"Catacomb Abyss Re-make(For the Retro Remakes compo)"
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Owner:
| grim123
| | Showcase Entry:
| None | |
| Total Entries: 4 | grim123
Entry: 4
08/04/2003
08:42 PM
| This project is on hold for now.
-Grim-
| grim123
Entry: 3
06/26/2003
02:00 AM
| O.K, So I've been neglecting to update the worklogs, But I haven't stopped working on the game! Anyway, I have some news. I am currently using the OLD Weaper3d engine to make Catacomb Abyss with, Cause' The new one that I've been working on has to many problems right now, So I am putting it aside for now, Since I only have about a month left to make my game! I managed to increase the speed in Weaper by making it so that when it Writepixelfast's the images to the screen, It only locks and unlocks the backbuffer once per loop now, Instead of 320 times per loop like before. I didn't gain a huge speed increase from this, But I did get a few extra frames per second. Also, I am cheating by only casting rays for half the resolution - And spacing the slices so that they take up the full 320 columns of the screen. This results in 'Scanline' Or 'Interlaced' look, But it still looks good, And makes the engine run twice as fast since it's a lower resolution. I might add the option to have the full 320 rez for people with fast computers -- I don't know yet. However, Using the current method, Which I will keep in there for sake of being able to run the game on a wide range of comps, The game runs at about 13 fps fullscreen "currently" on my measly 233 mhz laptop. So it's getting there! :) Anyway, When I'm finished with it, The game will be able to run fast on as low spec of a comp as my 233, Maybe even on a slower computer! Also, I fixed a few bugs that were really annoying, Such as the one were you would walk into a wall, And then you couldn't back away from it without turning first! Or basically, You'd get 'Stuck' on a wall. This is fixed now! :) Another thing: I will add the ability to 'slide' along the walls like in Wolfenstein or Doom. There's more, Just the other day I managed to get my first object into the game! Basically, I can have objects just fine, But I have to add z-ordering so that when an object is behind a wall or another object, It doesn't get drawn 'over' the wall or object -- Or overlap it. Anywayz, Once I get the z-ordering problem fixed, I will work on adding the weapons and monsters that will move and attack the player! :D Once this feat is accomplished I will work on squeezing as much more speed out of the engine as I possibly can! I'm going to use placeholder graphics for the monsters & Items for now, Just until I get everything working properly, And then I will begin working on making the graphics for the game. I might use some textures from other 3d games like Doom or Heretic or Hexen for the walls. In fact I definately will. This will cut down my development time quite a bit! Plus, Those textures already look good, And a lot of them fit the same style of Catacomb Abyss -- Which is why I can use them :) The monsters and items however, Will all be redrawn, Probably all by me, But If someone else offers to give me a hand, Then I will have some things done by them. Whew! I should have a playable demo level(the first level from the game) in a couple of weeks. Once I get that done I'll already be well on my way to making the rest of the game. I intend to finish this before the end of the competition! Anywayzzz, That's all for now folks! :)
-Grim-
| grim123
Entry: 2
06/04/2003
04:30 AM
| Whew! What a day this has been so far!
I figured I'd give those math algorithms another shot, So I've been working on that pretty much all day. Anyway, I have some good news, I finally figured out how to make the algorithms work! I tested them out on a single grid square, And they work :) Now all I have to do is add them to the Weaper engine, Replacing my old slower routines. This should cause quite a boost in speed, Since these routines only check the edge of a grid square for walls, Where-as my old routines checked every single point in-between along the grid space, Until it hit a wall. Obviously, That has to be a lot slower way of doing things. Anyway, After I get the new routines in place of the old ones, I'll post back here with some more news! :)
-Grim-
| grim123
Entry: 1
06/03/2003
07:02 AM
| Well,Well,Well...
I finally got started on my remake of the Catacomb Abyss. Anyway, I've been spending the entire day trying to make the Weaper engine faster with very little success :( The problem is that the raycast tutorials and the book I've been reading don't go into depth explaining how to get the optimized raycasting math tricks to work! In fact, I had to make up my own casting technique to make Weaper work in the first place. Unfortunately, Using my technique, There is a limit to how fast I can get the engine to run unless I pre-calculate a ton of stuff, Which will require way too much memory -- Which means that some people wouldn't be able to run it, And I don't want to go for that. However, The raycasting techniques outlined in the tutorials/book are very scant on details - And quite frankly, They're pissing me off!!! Heh, Anywayz, I'll keep plugging at it, But I might have to settle for a somewhat slow engine in order to make this game in time! After all, I can't spend 1 month trying to get the engine fast when I only have two months to make the entire game. This is really frustrating, Cause' I thought I had the faster method figured out, But it looks like the math used in the tutorials is very shady - Otherwise why don't it work? Well, I implemented it the way it says to, And it doesn't work at all!! So I put it down to a lack of explanation/extra details -- That probably would enable me to get the speed up to snuff. This is friggin' annoying as hell...I did manage to get a *tiny* speed increase, But not enough to satisfy me even a little bit.
-Grim-
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