Current Status [april 2012]

Discuss a Transport Tycoon-like game being programmed by forum users.

Moderator: Transport Empire Moderators

User avatar
Zephyris
Tycoon
Tycoon
Posts: 2890
Joined: 16 May 2007 16:59

Re: Current Status [may 2009]

Post by Zephyris »

It is quite ghostlike, though I think there are people keen to contribute! I, for one, am very willing to create some content, you may have seen my thread in the graphics and media section, but It hasn't gathered much attention at all...
User avatar
lonwolf89
Engineer
Engineer
Posts: 55
Joined: 09 Sep 2009 18:36
Skype: same as y!
Location: Bucharest
Contact:

Re: Current Status [may 2009]

Post by lonwolf89 »

Yes i have. It's good to see there are people willing to add content to a project like this. As i said before, it seems the work on the coding part at least kinda stopped at the beginning but new media/content is around.

Since i just can't burst in and rewrite all the code to fit the newer versions of Ogre and add new libraries i think i'm going to remake it, make a website for it, and if there are people willing to help, we'll make it happen.

Or if the leader(s) would like to continue the work on this project but with a renewed source code and syle suited for an open source project let me know, i'll send over my work since making a whole new project might be futile. I'm waiting for some suggestions, in the meantime i'm trying to remake what seems to be the TE project as it is in the screenshots and releases. Shouldn't take long, and adding a basic teraforming tool is pretty straightforward.
ohlidalp
Engineer
Engineer
Posts: 98
Joined: 27 Aug 2007 18:46
Location: mapy.cz/?query=rajhrad
Contact:

Re: Current Status [may 2009]

Post by ohlidalp »

Hello.

@lonwolf89:


I've been following this project for about 2 years now, ocassionaly doing some side tasks. Right now, I'm maintaining a website (not much to update there anyway :) ) at http://www.transportempire.com. Also, before this project froze, I worked on low-poly models for the game. I only finished one (post), but I've got another one ready and if this project gets in motion again, I'll get back into it.

I'm also a coder, but I'm a beginner to OGRE, so far I've worked mainly with 2d graphics and Lua scripting. But I've done the OGRE tutorials, compiled the TE trunk a few times and I'm slowly getting the hang of it. I've been planning to work on TE in the future, because I've got another project to play with. But If you'd be willing to continue this project, I may reconsider my priorities :wink:.

The current project leader is uzurpator and he almost never checks this forum, write him a PM if you want to talk to him. However, I've discussed my suggestions with him in the past and he's always been very benevolent, so he'll probably tell you to do things the way you consider right.

Good luck with the code.
~An00biS
Rigs of Rods maintainer.
User avatar
lonwolf89
Engineer
Engineer
Posts: 55
Joined: 09 Sep 2009 18:36
Skype: same as y!
Location: Bucharest
Contact:

Re: Current Status [may 2009]

Post by lonwolf89 »

well... i already wrote something similar to TE in.. 2-3 days (~1200 lines of code), and it has also a basic railroad building tool. i left the foliage and cities for later, and now working on automatic-linking track pieces that are in correct position.

I wouldn't have minded to build upon TEs code but since it passed 2 years and the development stage is equal to 1 or 2 weeks... i made it from scratch.
After i'm done with the algorithm i mentioned i plan to upload the source, a pre-compiled version and more info about it (i also need someone keen to maintain the website since it should be updated often).
And as a side-note, i will continue to code even if there will be only a few persons working on it. (i am also expecting 2 people i know to join since they are aware of the project i started and are thinking about it).

[edit]
Also, apart from TE, i'm scripting everything to fit in with a non-tile based game. Also, stacking up multiple lines one atop each other will be possible. I'll post a screenshot with a fairly complex railroad crossing on multiple levels of height and to illustrate how the non-tile thingie works.
that's why i'd prefer not to build on TEs code since it's still tile-based.
ohlidalp
Engineer
Engineer
Posts: 98
Joined: 27 Aug 2007 18:46
Location: mapy.cz/?query=rajhrad
Contact:

Response

Post by ohlidalp »

lonwolf89 wrote:...i will continue to code even if there will be only a few persons working on it. (i am also expecting 2 people i know to join since they are aware of the project i started and are thinking about it).
This is excellent news :] :] :]
lonwolf89 wrote:(i also need someone keen to maintain the website since it should be updated often).
That's me. :wink: . But the webpage is a wiki, so you can easily update it yourself. There is also a web ftp interface for uploading files.

However, at this moment the server is out of space. The problem is svn database which is bloated to hundreds of megabytes because uzurpator (lead coder) used to upload ogre DLLs in there. I'll talk to him and orudge (server admin) about handling the situation.

[Edit]
Can I download the code anywhere? I'm quite eager to test it. Also, what OS are you working with and what coding style are you using? Are you incorporating any 3rd party libs apart of OGRE, CEGUI and FMOD?
Rigs of Rods maintainer.
User avatar
lonwolf89
Engineer
Engineer
Posts: 55
Joined: 09 Sep 2009 18:36
Skype: same as y!
Location: Bucharest
Contact:

Re: Current Status [may 2009]

Post by lonwolf89 »

i haven't wrapped the source in a .zip yet. Or the media folder+dlls.
and i'm still working on the auto-fit tracks. So far it works only with aligning the straight track to a station. Need to do a lot of copy / paste in that switch so it works with all 4 current blocks.

i plan on packing things up for after i'm done with that ugly auto-fit :)) lots of 3d math incoming hard. When i'm satisfied with it, will upload somewhere.. but could use a svn server for sources, dlls and zips i can u/l on my filefront acc.
It shouldn't take more than a couple of days, before that happens you have enough time to talk to the admins and see if we can somehow host it on transportempire.com (?)

Coding style: same as most of the Ogre Wiki tutorials + a gameManager class that holds everything: terrainMgr, CEGUIMgr and the physX (if needed), FMOD as a mSoundMgr etc. so basically if you want to script something, like the interface (CEGUI code-written) you just open the .h and .cpp and begin to modify the sizes, positions, window textures, etc. Same goes with the other systems.

Current libs in use: ogre, ois, cegui, caelum (need to copy paste the sky, stars, precipitation handler class from another game platform i wrote), particleUniverse (improved effects), fmod (also need to c/p the soundmanager class from there), EditableTerrainManager (very handy for the deformation thingie) and also added physX but as far as vehicle movement i can think of implementing it quite easy without a physics lib.

OS: windows. (i'm personally using vista for the IDE if that matters :P)

[edit] uploading the source + a precompiled version to see how it looks. will take 15 min.
Last edited by lonwolf89 on 14 Sep 2009 17:00, edited 1 time in total.
ohlidalp
Engineer
Engineer
Posts: 98
Joined: 27 Aug 2007 18:46
Location: mapy.cz/?query=rajhrad
Contact:

Re: Current Status [may 2009]

Post by ohlidalp »

lonwolf89 wrote:It shouldn't take more than a couple of days, before that happens you have enough time to talk to the admins and see if we can somehow host it on transportempire.com (?) )
I already wrote him, he'll probably reply in a day or so.
lonwolf89 wrote:OS: windows
I'd like to run TE under linux (namely Slackware 13), so that's why I'm asking.
lonwolf89 wrote:Coding style: same as most of the Ogre Wiki tutorials
Great, because uzurpator used a really weird mixture of styles which I really hated :))
Rigs of Rods maintainer.
User avatar
lonwolf89
Engineer
Engineer
Posts: 55
Joined: 09 Sep 2009 18:36
Skype: same as y!
Location: Bucharest
Contact:

Re: Current Status [may 2009]

Post by lonwolf89 »

I'd like to run TE under linux (namely Slackware 13), so that's why I'm asking.
well Ogre is extremely portable so that shouldn't be a problem.. Also note, i only build it in Release (if i need debugging facilities i use the built-in program and do it under release).
User avatar
lonwolf89
Engineer
Engineer
Posts: 55
Joined: 09 Sep 2009 18:36
Skype: same as y!
Location: Bucharest
Contact:

Re: Current Status [may 2009]

Post by lonwolf89 »

Okay, here's a quick readme:
readMe.txt
Please read it :))
(891 Bytes) Downloaded 289 times
and all my 3 days work :P (source+working demo compiled for windows+extra development content)

http://www.filefront.com/14531619/OTT3D_v0.01.rar

Enjoy. :]
User avatar
uzurpator
Transport Empire Moderator
Transport Empire Moderator
Posts: 2178
Joined: 10 Jan 2003 12:21
Location: Katowice, Poland

Re: Current Status [may 2009]

Post by uzurpator »

Thanks be to the an00bis. I have been summoned back.

There has been a little progress since June. Nothing worth of posting tho. I have been busy with other projects, switched jobs, got married etc.

I was even pondering to try to find a publisher with $$ and try to work on TE for food ;)

I made lots of conceptual progress, which should greatly ease the workload needed to code the game.

lonwolf89: It is great to see a competent coder join. Unfortuneatly this project is too much for a lone code to handle, and, honestly, my work is too erratic to make decent progress.

However - you set the bar quite high. All I can possibly spend on TE is 4-6 hours weekly, tops. I need to work and got other stuff on my plate to handle, so that time is all I can muster.

Which brings us to the next problem - the contact info still stands. If someone wants to talk to me - PM, Email me or whatever - I will answer asap, unless i am unable to get to the computer (which may mean I am on vacations).
All art and vehicle stats I authored for TT and derivatives are as of now PUBLIC DOMAIN! Use as you see fit
Just say NO to the TT fan-art sprite licensing madness. Public domain your art as well.
User avatar
lonwolf89
Engineer
Engineer
Posts: 55
Joined: 09 Sep 2009 18:36
Skype: same as y!
Location: Bucharest
Contact:

Re: Current Status [may 2009]

Post by lonwolf89 »

Ok so if it's okay with you, i'd need to upload what i've worked on a svn server, and the medias i'll handle on filefront. If you're ok with the non-tile-based system then i propose to start coding on what i've worked on so we get it far and bring lots of improvements to the current TTD (not just 3d graphycs and some new content).

Much of the 3D non-tile system "hard" things to code are sketched, in my mind or on paper: elevating tracks, pathfinding on them and many many more.

Actually i've started the project after i thought about all the program features and ways to implement them.
There is always room to improve them, but at least i can provide a solution to them. I also have more than a few hours a week to work on it, so that's rather ok.

I was pleased with the game design / concepts since that's usually a tricky part to create and rather difficult / time consuming.

i'll continue to put some more work into it until we can host the sources somewhere and then i need to draw a development plan for those who want to code or create content.
ohlidalp
Engineer
Engineer
Posts: 98
Joined: 27 Aug 2007 18:46
Location: mapy.cz/?query=rajhrad
Contact:

Re: Current Status [may 2009]

Post by ohlidalp »

lonwolf89 wrote:...and all my 3 days work :P
Thanks. Too bad I'm updating my linux at the moment, so I can't swith OS and try it out :?

Orudge increased the disk quota on http://www.transportempire.com, so everything works again. He said he didn't know any way to clean up svn without breaking things up. I'm going to study the docs and experiment on my computer to see how to solve it for good.
lonwolf89 wrote:i'd need to upload what i've worked on a svn server
PM orudge to get access.

I've just discovered there's a public ftp server at transportempire.com for me to administrate, so I'll see if I can make it work for us.
lonwolf89 wrote: ...lots of improvements to the current TTD...
Actually, Transport Empire and OpenTTD are completely separate projects. The OTTD originates from a decompiled code and it's devs are very careful not to break anything, so they're not planning any huge changes.
lonwolf89 wrote: I was pleased with the game design / concepts
What exactly do you mean? I hope you're not talking about the Design Document on the webpage, because thats a relic dating back 3-4 years and i don't like most of the ideas there.

Cheers
~An00biS
Rigs of Rods maintainer.
User avatar
lonwolf89
Engineer
Engineer
Posts: 55
Joined: 09 Sep 2009 18:36
Skype: same as y!
Location: Bucharest
Contact:

Re: Current Status [may 2009]

Post by lonwolf89 »

What exactly do you mean? I hope you're not talking about the Design Document on the webpage, because thats a relic dating back 3-4 years and i don't like most of the ideas there.
maybe a relic but it's a base, tho it could use some refreshing.
I will pm him after i get Caelum, FMOD, and the algorithm i'm working on set up then upload them.
Until then good luck with the cleaning up ^^
Actually, Transport Empire and OpenTTD are completely separate projects. The OTTD originates from a decompiled code and it's devs are very careful not to break anything, so they're not planning any huge changes.
Indeed but i had a conversation with someone that didn't really had faith in what i had planned so i had to lay out some ideas. Also, an intensive screenshot will be posted soon on that topic, and maybe here too, to show that they're really separate projects and that it will bring some improvements over the original game.
ohlidalp
Engineer
Engineer
Posts: 98
Joined: 27 Aug 2007 18:46
Location: mapy.cz/?query=rajhrad
Contact:

Re: Current Status [may 2009]

Post by ohlidalp »

lonwolf89 wrote:maybe a relic but it's a base, tho it could use some refreshing..
Sure could, I'll read through it and then post my suggestions here on the forum (got lots of them).

The FTP server on transportempire.com works fine, so if anyone wants to upload in /downloads, I'm the admin.
Rigs of Rods maintainer.
User avatar
lonwolf89
Engineer
Engineer
Posts: 55
Joined: 09 Sep 2009 18:36
Skype: same as y!
Location: Bucharest
Contact:

Re: Current Status [may 2009]

Post by lonwolf89 »

just a drop by to say i've finished the algorithm. Now it only needs fine tuned blocks (you can notice there are some missplacements).
Here's a SS with them placed only by Auto-fit suggestion. need new blocks now with new curved texture also :]
Attachments
the pieces are poor created and unaccurate but it will be fixed since they are just temporary
the pieces are poor created and unaccurate but it will be fixed since they are just temporary
screenshot_1.jpg (81.34 KiB) Viewed 18597 times
User avatar
uzurpator
Transport Empire Moderator
Transport Empire Moderator
Posts: 2178
Joined: 10 Jan 2003 12:21
Location: Katowice, Poland

Re: Current Status [may 2009]

Post by uzurpator »

lonwolf89 wrote:just a drop by to say i've finished the algorithm. Now it only needs fine tuned blocks (you can notice there are some missplacements).
Here's a SS with them placed only by Auto-fit suggestion. need new blocks now with new curved texture also :]
If you already want to make it freeform - try to play around with Ribbon Trails.

Anyhow - I took a peek at your code. And I have a few suggestions.

Firstly - you are at the stage where I was someabouts 3 years ago. So at this current moment I can tell you this:

STOP.

You seem to work 'cowboy style' ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy_coding ). I did this too. It ended in a need to scrap approximately 20k lines of code and a year of development because I started to get lost in my code. I strongly suggest to first draw the overall project modules, design interfaces and then start coding somewhere. This has an upside that a willing coder may join and start coding another module.

Your coding style is somewhat difficult to follow. Either

Code: Select all

// Loop that iterates over an array of objects
std::vector< object >::iterator indice = trains.begin();
for ( ; indice != trains.end(); ++indice )
{
// move each train by tick
indice->move();
}
or

Code: Select all

std::vector< object >::iterator trainIterator = collectionOfTrains.begin();
for ( ; trainIterator != trains.end(); ++trainIteartor )
{
trainIterator->moveTrainsByTimeTick();
}
That is - either comment your interfaces and code blocks or use _very_ descriptive identifiers. Otherwise your code will become impossible to follow.

You might want to wrap ogre around some more abstract classes. Using ogre/plugins directly will make it impossible to, say, remove EditableTerrainManager if TiledTerrainManager comes around.

I suggest to write your own window managment (or better yet - use the one already present in current code)

Anyhow - I am writing a document which will describe a TE engine architecture as I see it now. It is a culmination of about a month of thinking/making notes/discussing it with a fellow developer. Ill post it soonishly and we can discuss it on IRC or somewhere else.
All art and vehicle stats I authored for TT and derivatives are as of now PUBLIC DOMAIN! Use as you see fit
Just say NO to the TT fan-art sprite licensing madness. Public domain your art as well.
User avatar
lonwolf89
Engineer
Engineer
Posts: 55
Joined: 09 Sep 2009 18:36
Skype: same as y!
Location: Bucharest
Contact:

Re: Current Status [may 2009]

Post by lonwolf89 »

Well it currently took me 3 days of fast coding and wrapping things up. And i released the source just to be compiled and run.
Your coding style is somewhat difficult to follow
i will start to add comments tomorrow (there are some, but very very few :mrgreen: ) and draw the class hierarchy (how everything is connected). Also the building (as in placing) systems are pushed inside the GameManager class and that's not the place from them.

also if you are referring to non-descriptive variable and function names, there are a few like nod1, nod2, nod3, nod4 that were written fast to test the idea of the algorithm. Since i barely finished it recently, i didn't had the time to rename them and add comments to them.

You can download the latest sources from the svn as they are now.

It will take me a day tomorrow to do these things, they were uploaded in a bit of a rush, so you should understand me :P Also i need to draw some images to explain how the auto-fit works since it's hard to figure it out by your own and new coders and artists should understand how it works if they plan on adding new tracks.
I strongly suggest to first draw the overall project modules, design interfaces and then start coding somewhere.
That's the purpose of xxxManager classes.
Using ogre/plugins directly will make it impossible to, say, remove EditableTerrainManager if TiledTerrainManager comes around.
Well if you look closer the TerrainManager class wraps the ETM class.
If you want to remove ETM, simply replace the TerrainManager class in gameMgr and place the proper loading / saving functions where the TerrainManager had them inside the GameManager.
Anyhow - I am writing a document which will describe a TE engine architecture as I see it now. It is a culmination of about a month of thinking/making notes/discussing it with a fellow developer. Ill post it soonishly and we can discuss it on IRC or somewhere else.
We can compare it to my hierarchy after i draw it. I allready used it for a 3d RPG game and it's a clean code that can be modified anytime and anyhow.

Also, i'm not coding like that, i did that 3 years ago too :mrgreen: with my first ogre project. but i modified it when i rewrote the bloody game from scratch. You have that impression because, like i said, didn't had time to tidy the code up yet.
If you already want to make it freeform - try to play around with Ribbon Trails.
.

not yet, since the base track pieces need to be scripted accordingly and then add the freeform design tool. Currently you can only place blocks piece by piece, the automatic linking on mouse trail will be added later.
User avatar
lonwolf89
Engineer
Engineer
Posts: 55
Joined: 09 Sep 2009 18:36
Skype: same as y!
Location: Bucharest
Contact:

Re: Current Status [may 2009]

Post by lonwolf89 »

Ok i've uploaded the commented files to the svn, please check again now and say what do you think about the style now :) . and also check

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/1632/c ... rarchy.jpg Class hierarchy << (it's the simplest, most efficient and easy to modify class hierarchy).
User avatar
uzurpator
Transport Empire Moderator
Transport Empire Moderator
Posts: 2178
Joined: 10 Jan 2003 12:21
Location: Katowice, Poland

Re: Current Status [may 2009]

Post by uzurpator »

Promised engine design doc.

Read, discuss.
Attachments
Transport empire.doc
(81 KiB) Downloaded 339 times
All art and vehicle stats I authored for TT and derivatives are as of now PUBLIC DOMAIN! Use as you see fit
Just say NO to the TT fan-art sprite licensing madness. Public domain your art as well.
User avatar
eis_os
TTDPatch Developer
TTDPatch Developer
Posts: 3603
Joined: 07 Mar 2003 13:10
Location: Germany
Contact:

Re: Current Status [may 2009]

Post by eis_os »

My various small comments

4. Intermodule communication

You may want to look at: (Some kind of Microkernel design)
http://github.com/appcelerator/kroll

Passing Pointers around is faster but will make network code very hard to debug.

5. Division between Framework

- Vehicles
I am missing trams (and so there won't be an one to one relationship anymore to roads)
- Collision detection
Needs special care and caching. (You don't really want to test against all vehicles all the time)

6.1 GFXM classes / interfaces

6.1.1 Rendering window. , 6.1.2 Input collector
-> Needs drag & drop

6.1.5 GUI
-> Should be resolution independent GUI / Vector based.

7. Sound Module
-> The in-game/ambient sound fx should be callable by view, needs to get notifed of view changes to stop playing the right sounds.

8. Watchdog ( optional )
-> see Microkernel at 4, if a task gets stuck the watchdog/microkernel should kill the thread

10. Unique ID Management
Should the uniqueids network aware? Otherwise uniqueid aren't allowed to be in network packages and are only local unique.

I miss a path finding module, one of the most resource eating tasks is to get the right path.
Post Reply

Return to “General Transport Empire Discussion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests