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Game News Gearhead 2 space combat ideas and screenshots

Saint_Proverbius

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Tags: Gearhead 2; Joseph Hewitt

<b>Joseph Hewitt</b> has proposed two ideas for space combat in the sequel to <A href="http://www.geocities.com/pyrrho12/programming/gearhead/">Gearhead</a> he's working on. Oh, and there's two new screenshots of the work in progress that show <A href="http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/pyrrho12/detail?.dir=6c59&.dnm=1108.jpg&.src=ph">dungeons with big walls</a> and <A href="http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/pyrrho12/detail?.dir=6c59&.dnm=7185.jpg&.src=ph">shorter walls</a>. Anyway, on to the subject of space combat:
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<blockquote>Idea number one: Give each model a DX,DY vector. Instead of moving you directly, using "Cruise Speed" or "Full Speed" would instead alter your velocity. The only problem is, I don't think this could be incorporated well into the movement code as it currently exists. Come to think of it, a DX,DY vector wouldn't work well with a tile system where there's only eight directions of movement either.
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Idea number two: Cause each model to drift in the last direction moved unless they perform a full stop action. The main game loop would now have to make a separate check for drift in addition to the check for completed movement. The drift would happen at the same speed as the model's last move... I know, it's not realistic to have a maximum speed in space, but sacrifices must be made. One problem to avoid with this one is that it could result in the model moving two spaces at once if the drift and direction of movement oincide.</blockquote>
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Well, actually, it is realistic to have a maximum speed in space because of that whole relativistic mass stuff and the faster you go, the more likely you are to run in to all those little free particles of stuff out there. Sort of, yeah.
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Spazmo

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Relativistic mass is kind of irrelevant because I can't imagine what kind of space battle would occur at relativistic velocities. Even if it did, both (or more) vessels would have to be travelling at similar speeds (it's tricky to aim at the other guy when you're whizzing by at 0.3c), so their velocities would be non-relativistic in their frame of reference.

As for smacking into particles... well, the impact might have quite a lot of energy, and might potentially be able to muster a noticeable force, but enough to be equal to that of the engines and cause the state of equilibrium that you'd need for 0 acceleration? I don't know. And even if it did, it'd make any travel--in or out of combat--impossible unless they devised some way to get around the problem. My personal favourite solution was in an Arthur C. Clarke short story where huge colony vessels stuck artificial icebergs in front of their bow to absorb the impact.
 

Saint_Proverbius

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Spazmo said:
Relativistic mass is kind of irrelevant because I can't imagine what kind of space battle would occur at relativistic velocities. Even if it did, both (or more) vessels would have to be travelling at similar speeds (it's tricky to aim at the other guy when you're whizzing by at 0.3c), so their velocities would be non-relativistic in their frame of reference.

Well, these weapons could have a really, really, really long range at which point that wouldn't matter.

As for smacking into particles... well, the impact might have quite a lot of energy, and might potentially be able to muster a noticeable force, but enough to be equal to that of the engines and cause the state of equilibrium that you'd need for 0 acceleration? I don't know.

Maybe jupiter exploded and the earth is now in a mininebula situation. Chew on that!

And even if it did, it'd make any travel--in or out of combat--impossible unless they devised some way to get around the problem.

No, it wouldn't. There would still be a range where the amount of friction from the particles would allow motion since the amount of particles flowing over the hull is a function of the speed of the ship in question. The faster it's going, the more the drag will increase because the density of flow of particles would increase per time interval.
 

Gwendo

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Horrible graphics. I mean, I don't give too much importance to graphics, but they have their importance. Hell, I don't even mind ASCII "graphics". But that horrible and amateurish 3D graphics just wouldn't let me play it. Ugly. No matter how interesting the game might be. Hell, I won't sacrifice my time to get used to those horrible graphics. Bah!

Good luck.
 

pyrrho12

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Gwendo said:
Horrible graphics. I mean, I don't give too much importance to graphics, but they have their importance. Hell, I don't even mind ASCII "graphics".
Then play the game in ASCII mode, which will also be available.
 

Saint_Proverbius

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Come on, Joseph, kick his ass. Tell him you're going to wipe out his whole family or something like Derek Smart would. That's why Derek Smart kicks ass.

Anyway, I kind of agree with Gwendo about the graphics. The SDL version of Gearhead now looks better than the 3D Gearhead 2 shots. Please license the Doom 3 engine for GH2.
 

pyrrho12

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Saint_Proverbius said:
Come on, Joseph, kick his ass. Tell him you're going to wipe out his whole family or something like Derek Smart would. That's why Derek Smart kicks ass.
Alright, I'll do my best... Gwendo, you shirley temple ass-fucker, you've got a lot of nerve telling me my graphics suck. People like you deserve to be clubbed like a baby seal, you worthless speck of fecal contamination.

Wow. I feel like I've arrived at the codex.

Anyway, I kind of agree with Gwendo about the graphics. The SDL version of Gearhead now looks better than the 3D Gearhead 2 shots. Please license the Doom 3 engine for GH2.
That's the problem... I kind of agree with Gwendo too. The graphics do suck. Still, this is very early in development. I promise that things are going to look much better later on.[/i]
 

Gwendo

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There's no haters here. Just honest people. :P

I think the author should concentrate in his strong points (game design, for example) and not spoil it by wanting to make what isn't his best quality (graphics, for example).

You may all say you don't care about graphics, but you all do. Just in different degrees. I don't care if the graphics are just "enough". But if they are bad and spoil the game's mood... That's another story. At least, with the ascii graphics, we can use our imagination. With these 3D graphics, well, you have to have double imagination (one to ignore what you see, which is hard, and another to imagine our own graphics).
 

Saint_Proverbius

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Right now, the shots are all full bright with no lighting it looks like. If lighting was added to the game, then it wouldn't look so bad. Bumpmapping on the landscape might work as well to give it a less flats on flats look, but I'm not sure if you'd want to go that far with the graphics.
 

Sol Invictus

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Same issue with Civilization 4, really. There's no lighting in that game.
 

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