I know why you guys rip games, i really really do. You like to learn by tweaking and learning incrementally and seeing your results immediately. I can sympathize with that. However you are learning to make games the wrong way. Zeta and NBOTLS are terrible source codes to be working on and basing your projects off of. As such I am creating this Collaborative Open Source Game template initiative. I want to create a source as complete and user friendly (hell, way more user friendly) than the existing leaked source codes. The key to this project is credit, if you submit a snippet of code to contribute to this and i approve it then your name will go down on the credit list. On top of that the code itself will be organized such that the code files are held in folders with your key as the name. That way not only will your contributions truly help improve BYOND as a whole by helping bring an alternative to WOTS and Zeta sources for new developers, but you'll gain recognition and respect among those who use your source and learn from you. One big requirement of this collaboration is graphic artists. I want to get an original set of turfs drawn up as well as a new base icon and some clothing and hair and whatnot. This template will not be based on any specific anime but will contain high demand skills programmed into the game like a ki beam for instance. The idea here is to allow people to see how you can be creative in code. The best way to teach is by example!
Graphic help is likewise going to get credit and i recommend if you submit icons that i use to include an icon_state with a picture of your choice with the state name being your key so that you get fair credit. It is my optimistic expectations that this source code with the right support will completely take over for the current poor quality sources used to make 90% of the games around here. Im making lots of progress making the spine so to speak of this project, the basics like the login system, save system, AI, some basic skills, cool down, leveling up, projectiles and basically all the necessities. It is my hope that wit the help of some of the talent around here who are charitable and believe in this initiative that we can all pool together to help new developers have more options than a blank page and a ripped source. If you would like to help send me an e-mail at [email protected], im especially looking for graphic help right now and until i release the basic first version It wont really be possible for coders to make their contributions. The idea is that people will make code files that work specifically in with this game engine, using the same variables and making inclusion of the content incredibly easy for unexperienced new developers.
This is for the betterment of all of BYOND and at very least an essential learning tool for the motivated but inexperienced, I hope you all choose to contribute. Also i guarantee the quality of the work this time, this will be held to a high standard of using proper programming techniques and will be made to pass on good practices to new people.
PS: Im going to be putting any fully original and well made games into the featured games list. I dont care if they are super popular. So heres motivation to developers to get something out thats fresh!
ID:38949
 Feb 7 2008, 1:41 pm (Edited on Feb 7 2008, 1:48 pm)
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Feb 7 2008, 1:43 pm
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Bushuda94
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Mostly True.
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Mostly True. I agree. | |
If the primary source of this project will be members of this guild, the source code is still going to end up being pretty bad.
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Theres so much writing. It took me a while to read the whole time.
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Popisfizzy wrote:
If the primary source of this project will be members of this guild, the source code is still going to end up being pretty bad. Your welcome to help. Regardless i wont be accepting poor entries. I as i have been known to do will simply reject anything that is lacking. | |
On top of that the code itself will be organized such that the code files are held in folders with your key as the name. That seems like the wrong idea to me. If you segregate everything by who made it then nothing will fit together. It'd probably be a better idea to use a source revision system (i.e. svn, or others like it), that would allow you to see who last changed every line of code in a file if you wanted to, while keeping everything together and encouraging fixing bugs in the code other people contributed. | |
Destroy wrote:
On top of that the code itself will be organized such that the code files are held in folders with your key as the name. Well a big part of this is i wanted the project to be mostly modular in nature. I want to do that by having most of the code seperated to different files and using #ifdef in the code. | |
Masterdan wrote:
Destroy wrote: Modular is good, but all separating by the contributor will likely do is just encourage people to work on their own contributions and ignore what other people have done. | |
Destroy wrote:
Masterdan wrote: its hard to get people to work together. Im hoping the stuff people contribute will be things like a statbar system, a minimap system, Chat channel system, whatever. Stuff like that :S | |
Actually, something that would work well for this, though it sounds odd in saying it, is the Mediawiki software. All you need is a website to do all this on. I've had a good bit of experience using MW software (I actually own two different wikis, and regularly contribute to Wikipedia) and could set all of this up if someone could get a domain.
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Count me in when you're ready to accept programmers. Also, I tend to agree with Destroy. I'd organize this based off of the systems, then when someone checks out a neat system they'll see who made it. If they happen to want to change one of the systems they won't have to search through everyones name until they find it.
*Edit: Also, I have some icons on the hub if it helps, but I'm not much of an artist and the style varies a bit. =) | |
Popisfizzy wrote:
Actually, something that would work well for this, though it sounds odd in saying it, is the Mediawiki software. All you need is a website to do all this on. I've had a good bit of experience using MW software (I actually own two different wikis, and regularly contribute to Wikipedia) and could set all of this up if someone could get a domain. Hmm thats a great idea. Do we need a domain? | |
Unless you can somehow convince Tom or another member of the staff to use BYOND, yes.
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Popisfizzy wrote:
Unless you can somehow convince Tom or another member of the staff to use BYOND, yes. hmmmmm I have narutogoa.com domain name. Id hate for people to associate GOA with this though. | |
Unless someone like say, Lummox, is writing this code, it shouldn't be a "base".
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DDSR wrote:
Unless someone like say, Lummox, is writing this code, it shouldn't be a "base". Its just a Demo. Not something that would be bundled with byond or anything. | |
I think this project is actually a great idea. I do however recommend that you line up some solid programmers to judge the worthiness of various snippets, or at least consult with some advanced programmers as you're able. In a collaborative effort like this especially, robust programming is hugely important. Good modular design is also going to be crucial.
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DDSR wrote:
Unless someone like say, Lummox, is writing this code, it shouldn't be a "base". It's not a base for BYOND. It's a base for an Anime game. And although I don't think this project will turn out too well, I will admit I am interested as to what this will spawn. | |
This really is a good idea, but are you going to make it like a living breathing fully coded iconed mapped game?
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