Brandon: Inhabitants DC: Postmortem
Well, the game isn't quite finished yet, but the DreamOn contest entry is in, so let me tell you about it.
Basically, Inhabitants DC, is a Sega Dreamcast port of the beloved Inhabitants by S+F Software. Not a straight port, however, but a glitsy, console-ed up version that plays quite nicely, adds a four-player spilt screen multiplayer mode and has some neet effects, if I say so myself.
Anyways, here's a breakdown of some of the things I learned in the process.
What went right:
Using C++ instead of C.
Now, while C would have been easier for me, using C++ made a lot of things easier, including memory management, IMO. I still don't really know what I'm doing, but I wrote a fricking game with it anyway.
Creating a Windows compatiblity library for KOS
KOS, or KallistiOS is the programming library I use for Dreamcast programming. It is so insanely easy to use, and uber powerful for most things anyway. Now, to upload code to the DC, I have to use a slow-ass serial link, and since the way the PVR 3D chip handles polygons is strangely similar to the way Direct3D handles polygons, it was rather easy to get the graphics parts emulated. This way I could test it and not have to wait ten minutes to send a new build over the serial link. It is a very, very, very, very dirty hack, but hey, it works.
Asking for Help
Usually I'm just the type of person who will scour Google for hints and tips if I can't figure something out. In this case, I used the KOS mailing list to ask for hints and tips on how to correct problesm I was having with the dreamcast hardware. I even got a awesome memory card saving and loading class out of the deal.
What went wrong
The long section ;)
Writing it in C++
I still don't know what the fsck I am doing with C++. I did learn a lot, but Inhabitants DC is an example on how NOT to write a game. Yes, it works, but it's a hack everywhere you go.
Being lazy about things.
In my rush to get the game done quicker, I did some things in a rather lazy manner, and this came back to bite me in the ass when we were getting down to the deadline. Had I thought things through and written some classes with expandability in mind, this would not have been a problem.
Not knowing anyone with a Dreamcast.
A little hard to show off and test the game when you only really know one other person with a Dreamcast.
So, I guess that section isn't as long as I thought.
Anyways, the judging for the contest will be over soon, and we will know what awesomeness awaits.
Mood: Contemplative
Well, the game isn't quite finished yet, but the DreamOn contest entry is in, so let me tell you about it.
Basically, Inhabitants DC, is a Sega Dreamcast port of the beloved Inhabitants by S+F Software. Not a straight port, however, but a glitsy, console-ed up version that plays quite nicely, adds a four-player spilt screen multiplayer mode and has some neet effects, if I say so myself.
Anyways, here's a breakdown of some of the things I learned in the process.
What went right:
Using C++ instead of C.
Now, while C would have been easier for me, using C++ made a lot of things easier, including memory management, IMO. I still don't really know what I'm doing, but I wrote a fricking game with it anyway.
Creating a Windows compatiblity library for KOS
KOS, or KallistiOS is the programming library I use for Dreamcast programming. It is so insanely easy to use, and uber powerful for most things anyway. Now, to upload code to the DC, I have to use a slow-ass serial link, and since the way the PVR 3D chip handles polygons is strangely similar to the way Direct3D handles polygons, it was rather easy to get the graphics parts emulated. This way I could test it and not have to wait ten minutes to send a new build over the serial link. It is a very, very, very, very dirty hack, but hey, it works.
Asking for Help
Usually I'm just the type of person who will scour Google for hints and tips if I can't figure something out. In this case, I used the KOS mailing list to ask for hints and tips on how to correct problesm I was having with the dreamcast hardware. I even got a awesome memory card saving and loading class out of the deal.
What went wrong
The long section ;)
Writing it in C++
I still don't know what the fsck I am doing with C++. I did learn a lot, but Inhabitants DC is an example on how NOT to write a game. Yes, it works, but it's a hack everywhere you go.
Being lazy about things.
In my rush to get the game done quicker, I did some things in a rather lazy manner, and this came back to bite me in the ass when we were getting down to the deadline. Had I thought things through and written some classes with expandability in mind, this would not have been a problem.
Not knowing anyone with a Dreamcast.
A little hard to show off and test the game when you only really know one other person with a Dreamcast.
So, I guess that section isn't as long as I thought.
Anyways, the judging for the contest will be over soon, and we will know what awesomeness awaits.
Mood: Contemplative
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