phydeaux uDG prerelease-1

[phydeaux]

Hi all,
If anyone gets a chance, please test my uDG tech demo here:
http://www.engin.umich.edu/~alexni/udg/phydeaux-pre1.tar.gz

It will probably be taken down in a few weeks so that I don't get too much traffic to this university server. If anyone can host me, please let me know, send me an email at phydeaux at gmail dot com.

Also, is anyone else having trouble logging into the uDG site? I couldn't log in, so I asked for a new password, but the one emailed to me still doesn't work.


p.

[arekkusu]

Crashes on launch on 10.3.5:

dyld: /Users/arekkusu/Desktop/phydeaux-pre1/phydeaux-pre1.app/Contents/MacOS/phydeaux-pre1 can't open library: /usr/local/lib/libfreetype6.dylib (No such file or directory, errno = 2)

You need to put any 3rd party libraries you link against inside your app package.

[Blake]

Crashes on launch on 10.3.5:

dyld: /Users/arekkusu/Desktop/phydeaux-pre1/phydeaux-pre1.app/Contents/MacOS/phydeaux-pre1 can't open library: /usr/local/lib/libfreetype6.dylib (No such file or directory, errno = 2)

You need to put any 3rd party libraries you link against inside your app package.

same

[kelvin]

dyld: /Volumes/Ghost 1/Downloads/phydeaux-pre1/phydeaux-pre1.app/Contents/MacOS/phydeaux-pre1 can't open library: /usr/local/lib/libfreetype6.dylib (No such file or directory, errno = 2)
same

[skyhawk]

worked fine for me. 150fps on dual 2GHz G5.
didn't conform to apple-q
couldn't figure out how to jump.... looks like a good start

[phydeaux]

Sorry about that; I compiled my own version of freetype, but it used that local version instead. Please try again- I think I fixed it this time, I went into gdb and did 'info sharedlibrary' and there are a _lot_ less than last time.

Again the link: http://www.engin.umich.edu/~alexni/udg/phydeaux-pre1.tar.gz

[arekkusu]

Works now; run at 95-101 fps on my 1.25GHz PowerBook (time for VBL sync.)

Looks fine as a tech demo, does need to adhere to HIG tho.

[JustinFic]

Works fine for me too. ~75 FPS on 1.33 GHz 17" Albook. The framerate drops to ~45 when I'm talking to someone.

The camera angle got annoying in some parts. Namely the straight-down angle after I drop off the starting platform, and rounding that last curve before the worm-dude (where it goes under the terrain.)

I had the same problem you had with the uDG site- changed my pass also, still no dice. I'm sure it was just a side effect of the move.

[aaronsullivan]

Cool stuff. 88 fps dual 1Ghz G4.
I know it's a tech demo, but that guy's walk cycle is pretty comical right now. He kind of has a model on a runway walk with his hands swaying back and forth and slight pigeon toeing. :)

The very organic map is very cool, although not being able to predict jumps is going to be frustrating. Nobody likes making jumps over and over just because you can't judge distances to curved surfaces.

In the read me, I didn't like the nintendo references with the J and K are actually x and y... and Q and E are actually L and R don't you think that's a bit confusing? It's on a computer, I think you should make it work well on a computer. :) Why not a mouse-look?

I do like that the camera auto adjusts to behind the character, but the top down thing needs to adjust more quickly.

Why not make that first guy tell you the controls when you get near him. :)

Anyway, very nice so far. I'm impressed with the quality at this early stage.

[ERaZer]

Hey, cool. Get about 30 fps here(on a g4 400).
I know it's just a tech demo, but running? Please!

Keep up the good work!

[phydeaux]

Hi everyone, thanks for the comments.

Looks fine as a tech demo, does need to adhere to HIG tho.
didn't conform to apple-q
Will get the Mac-app-deathstroke in next time. What other HIG elements are important? I think it would be nice to have a native menu to configure some things, and maybe some dialog to configure video/sound/controls- I hope to keep it somewhat minor so that I don't need to write different code for other platforms.

The camera angle got annoying in some parts.
The way the camera works will definitely be changed somewhat before I'm done- a lot of the way it works will probably depend on what area you're in. Really, though, I'd like to have an automatic camera that works well- that's quite a challenge, though, so I don't know if I'm up for it for uDG. I'd love any suggestions about how to do the camera.

Hey, cool. Get about 30 fps here(on a g4 400).
I know it's just a tech demo, but running? Please!
I'm not sure if running is going to be in the final version- I may just speed up the moving speed slightly and use that all the time. If there's running due to time constraints it might have to be cheesy and use the exact same sequence as the regular walking speed animation.

I know it's a tech demo, but that guy's walk cycle is pretty comical right now. He kind of has a model on a runway walk with his hands swaying back and forth and slight pigeon toeing.
Laugh, I knew something was slightly off about it, but I couldn't figure out exactly what it was. I'll try to work on that a little more.
The very organic map is very cool, although not being able to predict jumps is going to be frustrating. Nobody likes making jumps over and over just because you can't judge distances to curved surfaces.
Real maps in the game will probably not be so kooky, and it looks like you guys are getting decent enough framerates that I can throw in shadows and still be okay on speed.
In the read me, I didn't like the nintendo references with the J and K are actually x and y... and Q and E are actually L and R don't you think that's a bit confusing? It's on a computer, I think you should make it work well on a computer. Why not a mouse-look?
Controls will definitely be changed and configurable, but the rationale behind the current control designs are just so that you can use a super-nintendo equivalent gamepad to play the game. Though adding mouse look on top of that would be fine, since it wouldn't be required (unless there were some puzzles where you needed to look upwards or something... hmm, i'll think about it.)

[ThemsAllTook]

Very impressive! I'll be keeping my eye on this one.

One thing I'd like to see (other than what has already been mentioned) is a full-screen mode, or at least a resizeable window. When I'm running at 1280x1024, your game window is pretty tiny.

Keep up the great work!

Alex Diener

[Josh]

I must be missing something. Where is the executable? There is a folder title phydeaux that tries to launch when I double click it...?

Is Panther a requirement?

[phydeaux]

I have to admit I haven't done much MacOS X development on some of the earlier versions of the OS. The way I packaged the executable was that I made a folder named 'phydeaux.app' and then put my executable in 'phydeaux.app/Contents/MacOS/phydeaux.' You may be able to extract this executable, put it in the phydeaux-pre1 folder, and then run it from the command line. If anyone can point me to the way you're supposed to package binaries to work under all versions of OS X, please let me know.

[arekkusu]

What other HIG elements are important?

From my Vectorized criticism post (lost in downtime):

Distribution:
* did your download automatically unpack and/or mount?
* did you include all the readmes? ANY readmes?
* you really shouldn't have to ask the user to install anything before playing. That means putting fonts and 3rd party frameworks inside your bundle.


Application:
* if you don't have help, don't have a Help menu. Likewise if you don't support editing you don't need an Edit menu. Don't open/save files? No File menu.
* make sure you DO have an Application menu and the user can Cmd-Q to Quit or Cmd-H to Hide.
* don't leave your about box unfinished. What version is the app. Who developed it? Who holds the copyright? You can easily put HTML links there too!
* don't eat 100% of the CPU unless you have a really good reason. Learn to write an event loop and/or use timers and/or sleep. SDK's fault? Change SDKs.
* stop animating (and eating CPU) if the user pauses, switches to another application, hides, or minimizes your app.
* do you have a custom application icon? Document icons (for savegames)?


Window:
* is your window resizable? If not, WHY NOT? All OpenGL games ought to be.
* does your window resizing take the display's aspect ratio into account? Or the presence/absence of the Dock?
* if you use OpenGL, does your window minimize properly? Or does it turn white or transparent while genieing/in the Dock?
* if you use OpenGL, do you sync to VBL? Or tear annoyingly?
* does your game work on second displays? Across multiple displays?
* can you switch between windowed and fullscreen? On second displays?
* does closing the window quit the application, if appropriate (one-windowed games)?

[phydeaux]

That's a very thorough checklist- thanks.