WinXP: 4xgame Deneb 4X demo video

This forum is meant for announcing games (both under development and finished).

Moderators: time-killer-games, Vengeance66, Candle, reneuend, GM-Support

WinXP: 4xgame Deneb 4X demo video

Postby MikeTn1 » Sat Dec 19, 2009 5:05 pm

This is one of the intro videos I have made for the game I am working on. The tentative title is Deneb 4X. It is a 4X game in the style of Master of Orion 2.

The game has progressed to the stage where I have the main screen and all of its links active. Many sub-screens will still show a "feature not enabled yet" when you go to them. v0.1.0 gives a decent idea of what the game will look like when it is completed.

I will be using Bryce for making my pictures. I will replace the pictures I am currently using with MUCH better ones somewhere in the future. Right now, the goal is to make a game where everything works and pretty it up as I go along.

Feedback is VERY welcome as are any suggestions you might have.

http://rapidshare.com/files/323071043/d ... o.avi.html
User avatar
MikeTn1
Member
 
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:25 pm

Postby Mystery » Sun Dec 20, 2009 6:35 am

Nicely done video :)
It's too short to say much about it, but certainly wakes the interest :D
User avatar
Mystery
Forum Admin and Games Page admin
 
Posts: 2990
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2006 8:12 am
Location: Switzerland

Postby MikeTn1 » Sun Dec 20, 2009 1:07 pm

Thanks Mystery. I will be doing a much longer one later on as the game gets more frames to work with. I hope to make a 3 to 6 minute (maybe longer... wait and see) video later on as a "long version" intro.

I went ahead and did a .exe of my game that shows many of the basic screens and most of the links (even if a lot still go to "feature not enabled")



http://www.filefront.com/15176025/deneb ... -20-09.exe

http://rapidshare.com/files/323506648/d ... -20-09.exe
User avatar
MikeTn1
Member
 
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:25 pm

Postby Mystery » Mon Dec 21, 2009 9:46 am

Great :)
I'm going to download and try it when I get home :)
User avatar
Mystery
Forum Admin and Games Page admin
 
Posts: 2990
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2006 8:12 am
Location: Switzerland

Postby MikeTn1 » Mon Dec 21, 2009 2:20 pm

There is not a lot to it yet, but I think it gives a good feel of what the final game would look like.

Designers notes to follow when I get around to writing them up. :)
User avatar
MikeTn1
Member
 
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:25 pm

Postby reneuend » Mon Dec 21, 2009 4:58 pm

RapidShare keeps giving me an error with "no available slots for free users". You might try uploading to filefront instead if that wouldn't be too much trouble!
---


Image
Image
User avatar
reneuend
Administrator
 
Posts: 2762
Joined: Sat Nov 22, 2008 8:37 pm
Location: Midwest Cornfield, USA

Postby MikeTn1 » Mon Dec 21, 2009 5:07 pm

I will put the video on FileFront as soon as I finish this message. I will post a link ASAP. The game demo is already on FileFront.

I used Rapidshare as a "backup" even though sometime they get REAL busy and you get "no available slots for free users" messages.

http://www.filefront.com/15185503/deneb ... 0video.wmv

Let me know if you have any problems getting it from there.
User avatar
MikeTn1
Member
 
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:25 pm

Postby reneuend » Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:44 pm

Got it! Thanks.
It looks intriguing. I'll be interested in seeing the rest.
---


Image
Image
User avatar
reneuend
Administrator
 
Posts: 2762
Joined: Sat Nov 22, 2008 8:37 pm
Location: Midwest Cornfield, USA

Looks good

Postby Harvester » Tue Dec 22, 2009 1:21 pm

Looks good! Might be a game of my interest also if done well :)

Harvester
*** www.nikotinzenekar.hu <-2011. album titled 'Mese' free to download! (5th button). *** www.mydarkmind.atw.hu <- under construction for a while.
User avatar
Harvester
Forum Master
 
Posts: 883
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 6:28 pm
Location: Hungary

Postby MikeTn1 » Tue Dec 22, 2009 2:35 pm

Harvester: This is a work in progress. It has a LONG way to go. I might have a Beat Test version ready by May. I have a LOT of pictures to make for frames. Suggestions/comments are VERY welcome.

Designers notes are now available.

http://www.filefront.com/15193187/Deneb ... gn%20notes
User avatar
MikeTn1
Member
 
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:25 pm

Postby Mystery » Tue Dec 22, 2009 10:00 pm

I've checked out your .exe file, and I have to say the user interface looks really amazing, and the game is promising :D

JFYI:
On Vista, I got an automation error when starting the game, but I could hit the OK button to continue. Microsoft help did report a Flash Player connected issue. I have the latest version of Flash Player. I don't know how this little annoyance can be fixed though. I think it has to do with how the Flash Player is called by the Flash plugin.

Can you give a little more detailed description of the game? I'm really interested to know a bit more about it :)
User avatar
Mystery
Forum Admin and Games Page admin
 
Posts: 2990
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2006 8:12 am
Location: Switzerland

Postby reneuend » Tue Dec 22, 2009 11:17 pm

I got an automation error at the start, but it still ran. I'm using XP Pro.

Is this your first game creation MikeTn1? It's looks like its going to be very challenging...don't give up!
---


Image
Image
User avatar
reneuend
Administrator
 
Posts: 2762
Joined: Sat Nov 22, 2008 8:37 pm
Location: Midwest Cornfield, USA

Postby MikeTn1 » Wed Dec 23, 2009 2:39 pm

I do not know what the problem is with the automation error. I will look into it. Can someone tell me what point the error occurred? I am unable to recreate the error when I install and run it on my computer.

I have not tried the game on Vista yet. It is being done on a XP machine at 1024 x 768 resolution.

I originally thought about using a lot more pop up menus for the game. I may still add a bunch of them, but that is for a future release. I might get to it by the time the Beta release is ready.


Mystery: as soon as I have the time, I will write up a description of the game--something similar to what a retail box cover might have. Look for it this weekend. I would get to it sooner, but Christmas is MUCH more important :)

reneuend: this is my first "real" project, but I have been thinking about it for... oh.... 5 years now. This is the first real opportunity I have had to actually start the actual work of creating it on my computer. My previous computers could not handle some what I needed it to do. (old one:P2 450GHZ 256 MB ram "newer" one P4 2.53 ghz 512 MB ram...upgrading in Jan to 1gb)
User avatar
MikeTn1
Member
 
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:25 pm

Postby Lyberodoggy » Wed Dec 23, 2009 6:51 pm

Ah... automation errors... love 'em.
Either KG's or MPO's fault...
User avatar
Lyberodoggy
Administrator
 
Posts: 2526
Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2007 3:31 pm
Location: Athens

Postby Mystery » Wed Dec 23, 2009 10:06 pm

I assume that your startup screen contains a flash file.
Did you put the flash file into the external folder before compiling the game?

Thanks for providing a game description in the near future, take your time :)


Lyberodoggy wrote:Ah... automation errors... love 'em.

Lol, you'll get as a Christmas gift a basket full of automation errors since you love them so much :P :lol:
User avatar
Mystery
Forum Admin and Games Page admin
 
Posts: 2990
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2006 8:12 am
Location: Switzerland

Postby Lyberodoggy » Thu Dec 24, 2009 9:17 am

lol... Didn't see that coming.

Yeah, automation errors are the most difficult to debug because you can't know exactly what's causing it so you have to cut off big parts of coding to test the rest of it...
User avatar
Lyberodoggy
Administrator
 
Posts: 2526
Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2007 3:31 pm
Location: Athens

Postby MikeTn1 » Fri Dec 25, 2009 6:33 am

The video was done using Windows Movie Maker in WMV format and was then converted into an AVI video.

Did the video play at the beginning? If no video played, then the problem PROBABLE lies in the location of the video. I will check it when I have the time after Christmas.

Merry Christmas to All! (12:33 AM local time Christmas Day)
User avatar
MikeTn1
Member
 
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:25 pm

Postby Lyberodoggy » Fri Dec 25, 2009 8:17 am

Merry Christmas :)
User avatar
Lyberodoggy
Administrator
 
Posts: 2526
Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2007 3:31 pm
Location: Athens

Postby Mystery » Fri Dec 25, 2009 11:33 am

If I click "Cancel" upon the automation error message, I get a black screen.
If I click "OK" upon the automation error message, I get a screen with a star field, no animation on it. When I click on it again, I get to the Menu screen.


Merry Christmas :)
User avatar
Mystery
Forum Admin and Games Page admin
 
Posts: 2990
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2006 8:12 am
Location: Switzerland

Postby MikeTn1 » Fri Dec 25, 2009 1:06 pm

I have an idea of what the problem is and how to fix it. If it works, I will update to v0.1.1 this weekend. Thanks for all your comments. :D


(edit) Hmmmmmm........ it works on one computer where I have adventure maker installed.... and I get an automation error on another one where AM i NOT installed. Weird.
User avatar
MikeTn1
Member
 
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:25 pm

Postby Mystery » Fri Dec 25, 2009 2:20 pm

Okay, did you put the video file into the external folder?

And what code did you use to call the video?
User avatar
Mystery
Forum Admin and Games Page admin
 
Posts: 2990
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2006 8:12 am
Location: Switzerland

Postby MikeTn1 » Fri Dec 25, 2009 2:42 pm

The video is in the external folder. Here is the sub I am using to play the video:


Sub PlayVideo(FileName, Left, Top, Width, Height, Repeat)
Action.LoadControl MediaPlayerObject(1)
MediaPlayerObject(1).Move Left*ScreenObject.TwipsPerPixelX, Top*ScreenObject.TwipsPerPixelX, Width*ScreenObject.TwipsPerPixelY, Height*ScreenObject.TwipsPerPixelY
MediaPlayerObject(1).FileName = FileName
If Repeat = True Then
MediaPlayerObject(1).PlayCount = 0
Else
MediaPlayerObject(1).PlayCount = 1
End If
MediaPlayerObject(1).Visible = True
MediaPlayerObject(1).Play
End Sub

Here is where I call it:

PlayVideo "c:\deneb test 2a\deneb test 2\External\deneb demo video.AVI", 0, 0, 1024, 768, False

I installed AM on my other computer (i did not really want to do it- I just have a 40GB hard drive on it). I still get the same automation error message. So, the problem is NOT with AM itself. There is SOMETHING different about the 2 computers that I will have to figure out before I can get the video to work. (sigh).
User avatar
MikeTn1
Member
 
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:25 pm

Postby Mystery » Fri Dec 25, 2009 2:59 pm

Mike, I think it's a path issue. It depends where the game is installed, which can be different places on different computers.
(On mine it would be C:\Program Files\deneb test 2\External\deneb 3_xvid.avi)

Try this general script to load the video from the external folder:

PlayVideo GetPath(2) + "filename.avi", 0, 0, 640, 480, False

(Just change the size values if necessary, and the name of the video. The video file name appears to be wrong, too, in your code)

Then re-compile an exe and try it on your machines.
Let me know if it works :)
User avatar
Mystery
Forum Admin and Games Page admin
 
Posts: 2990
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2006 8:12 am
Location: Switzerland

Postby MikeTn1 » Fri Dec 25, 2009 10:23 pm

You are right. It was a path issue. (my fault for not reading ALL of the tutorial on this). Now it works right.

deneb 4x v0.1.1.1 will be on filefront shortly. I will post a link as soon as it has finished uploading.


OKAY, here it is!
http://www.filefront.com/15215869/deneb ... .1.1.1.exe

Enjoy
User avatar
MikeTn1
Member
 
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:25 pm

Postby Mystery » Sat Dec 26, 2009 9:47 am

Yes, it works now :D
User avatar
Mystery
Forum Admin and Games Page admin
 
Posts: 2990
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2006 8:12 am
Location: Switzerland

Postby MikeTn1 » Sun Dec 27, 2009 9:09 pm

A question for everyone: I am thinking about changing the picture size I use from 1024 x 768 to 1260 x 768 (a widescreen format) or even 1280 x 800. Any opinions on what picture size would be that best one to use? (I am getting a 'newer' 19" monitor to replace my antique 17" one)
User avatar
MikeTn1
Member
 
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:25 pm

Postby Mystery » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:32 am

That's indeed a good question.
On my old laptop I had a "normal size" monitor, so that images of 640x480 or 800x600 were great.
On my newer laptop I have a widescreen, and in the games where I use the previously mentioned frame sizes, but do a screen resolution change, the game screens are a bit distorted.

However, I've never tried wide screen format images on "normal size" monitors, they might be also distorted. Guess it needs to be tested out.
Last edited by Mystery on Mon Dec 28, 2009 2:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Mystery
Forum Admin and Games Page admin
 
Posts: 2990
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2006 8:12 am
Location: Switzerland

Postby MikeTn1 » Mon Dec 28, 2009 2:23 am

I guess I will find out when my monitor arrives and I can try the same test frames on both monitors. I will let you know what I find out sometime next week.
User avatar
MikeTn1
Member
 
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:25 pm

Postby MikeTn1 » Fri Jan 01, 2010 1:35 pm

Deneb 4X background and player guide part 1


You are the ruler of a planet that has just achieved faster then light travel. Your goal is to expand your influence throughout the quadrant and become the ruler of a vast Empire........ The only problem is that several other races have the same idea........ and some of them got there first......

The first step in a new game is to select your race. In version 0.1.1.1 there are three races to choose from. The choice you make has no bearing on what races your opponents will be.
Humans are generalists. They get are good at Diplomacy and pretty average at everything else.
Robotic races are not as imaginative as humans, can survive on a larger variety of worlds, need no food, and have to build more robots to expand their population.
Sillicoid races have total immunity to a bio-weapons. They can survive anywhere there is atmosphere to breath (no colony domes are needed if there is an atmosphere of any kind).

Other races that will be added: The Kreenakh, who are a Cat-like race based loosely on Larry Niven's Kzin and the Orions created by David Weber and Steve White. Other possibilities are the Psilons from Master of Orion, and the Goa'uld from Stargate SG1. Each race may have several sub-categories for the computer to play. For example, one based loosely on the Empire from Star Wars, the Federation of Planets from Star Trek, and the Solar Emperium from Perry Rhodan. (for those nor familiar with Perry Rhodan go to http://www.perry-rhodan.us/) Suggestions on other races I could include are very welcome.


Edit Jan 8
Sigh......... vacation time is over....... back to work on Deneb 4 this weekend. I have DL'ed AM 4.6.0 Beta but I am not going to install it yet. I have a "new" hard drive to install first that will almost double my storage and I will have to install my OS to it. Sigh.

Oh well, at least this time it was not my OS crashing and taking everything not saved with it. :D

New pics next Tuesday that I may use in the project.
User avatar
MikeTn1
Member
 
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:25 pm

Postby MikeTn1 » Wed Jan 13, 2010 3:06 pm

here are the pictures I was going to post yesterday. It took longer then I expected to install my new hard drive- at the last minute I decided to install win 7 on it.
Attachments
deneb 4x pictures.zip
pictures
(945.2 KiB) Downloaded 520 times
User avatar
MikeTn1
Member
 
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:25 pm

Next

Return to New Games Announcements

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests

cron