Afar ~ 1,000 Players

[kaidus]

You don't think it looks pixelated? Look at the outline of the V. You can clearly see areas where there are harsh 90 degree turns in the black that lack enough detail to be smooth. Maybe that's the style you were going for, but I feel it clashes with the 'engeance'. In any case, I still think it's very average. I'm not trying to put you down, the project itself looks promising and in my opinion the logo doesn't do it justice.

 

[Spoo]

I don't know what is wrong with your computer, Dorito, but that black doesn't look pixilated. Ask a few others. Then you'll see.

 

[Ellie]

Sorry for the mega lack of updates, oh well.

Vengeance now has a starter campaign (or will have). This campaign is 15 chapters in length, including large war-like battles. The campaign gives some insight on how to play the game, and also delves a bit into the complex storyline. The final five chapters are designed to be a challenge, for more experienced players or new players who want to test their skills. The campaign adds in a large map between the Zen Forest and The Myre, and also maps North of here, including the Ork homelands.

On a side note... I can't believe there's still no luck with the server. My Christmas bonus finally got paid, and... much as I'd hate to part with it, that's £100 (~ $200) in the bank that's itching to be spent.

I just wish hacking .exe's wasn't illegal. Either that, or that SuIcIdE mAnIc was still around. It's funny what you can find out from Google about him, but after January 2007 he just... disappears. Oh well.

The server basically needs exactly the same things as the existing C++ one (so it can be exchanged quickly and seamlessly in place of the existing one). But it also needs to be able to save and load to multiple MySQL databases. One for the usernames and passwords; one for the save data.

It also needs to be Linux compatable if possible...

If anyone can help, just... post.

 

[Spoo]

Did you get my comment on the campaign on the forum?

Man, servers would drive me insane.  I know next to none about RGSS and even less about LUA and MYSQL.  I'd help if I could, but all I can really do right now is Spriting and Mapping...

 

[Mr.Mo]

does the C++ server work on Linux?

IF so.. Lua is extremely easy, even easier then Ruby.

But, from what I remember last, the C++ server was really buggy and Manic was a dick about the open source.

 

[Ellie]

It is extremely buggy. Almost twice a week I get the screen full of "Invalid pointer operation", or the server just closes randomly.

I'm not sure if it works on Linux or not. (I'm still having trouble actually setting up Linux to be honest  :down: - I can't work out how to connect it to the Internet). Someone said about a way to do it, even with C#, but it involves modifying the source code.

 

[Spoo]

See? I've no clue what "Invalid Pointer Position" means!

Thanks for considering my campaign idea, by the way.  I might add some more to it.  Possibly some example maps or something, to give an idea on how the islands look.

 

[Munkk]

I'm know MySQL, can't help out at the Lua though.

 

[XQNP7]

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/9972 ... nceln8.jpg[/img]

I got bored.  :blush:

 

[hungery12]

This looks amazing, I might just cough up some money to play. Well, when it's finished.

 

[Ellie]

Updates release info
(a.k.a why I hate giving release dates...)

Right.

I am not going to finish the Inquisition campaign yet. I am going to finish the "Battle for Amik Pass" campaign though, which is being expanded to be a pretty large campaign. Not as long as Inquisition, but long enough. I worked out it contains at the moment around 1,400,000px sq of maps, but that's a meaningless figure really since it's just... pixels.

Anyway.

The game will be released when all of the following are met:

1. The server program is redone (see script requests folks)
2. The "Battle for Amik Pass" campaign is finished
3. The server is connected to the Internet (still having trouble with this)

Some other minor things need to be done, for instance a sort of... ending needs to be added to Inquisition half way through, to mark where the end of the current playable content gets to.

Inquisition will then be the main area for development, and after game release it will go something like this:

-> Game release
-> New quests
-> Paid release
-> New quests (paid)
-> New chapters for Inquisition (big chunk)
-> New quests (paid)
-> New chapters for Inquisition
-> New quests
-> Finish of Inquisition, also with bonus content for paid members
-> New quests for a few weeks
-> Winterborn Campaign started and released within the next weeks / months (new quests inbetween for free members too, as Winterborn is a paid only campaign)
-> WAR at some point (a cooperative battle with a war counter, hard to explain)
-> Chaos Campaign later on
-> Firebane campaign later on

So... everything's planned out, now it's time to get them brain monkeys ticking.

 

[Spoo]

Yay! BfAP is finished!  Now we're that much closer to getting to play this game!
Wyatt, I must thank you for sticking with this project, keeping it updated, and considering the fans' ideas.  Personally, I think you need a medal, but I'm kind of broke right now...
Thanks for putting in Firebane, too.  Spelled F-I-R-E-B-A-N-E, check that last part.

 

[XeKia]

wow this looks really fun
I read something about a Special Edition Box with all this added crap, if i like the game and that's true i'll buy it :shades: (i like collecting that crap, omg Halo 3 :lol: )

i like the Campaign idea alot, and I like this idea alot. Please hurry up and get this finished . you've been working how long on it? i understand this stuff takes alot of time but wow it's killing i really want to play this :grin:

 

[Rows]

Security!

I have put a fix for two known security issues:

-Debug
It checks to see if the $DEBUG flag has been taken off, and if so, posts a message, closes the game, and *will* send your IP address to the moderating team. (Can't do the last bit 'till 2.0 comes out).

-Unencrypting the game
The game now checks to see if the game is encrypted or not, if it isn't, it shows a message, closes the game, and *will* send your IP address to the moderating team.

Screenie:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v108/ ... gotyer.png[/img]

In case you are thinking well, I'll just unencrypt it and delete the script, it's done like this:

In one large script,

class Some_Name
def initialize
do_next_method
end
end

In another,

class Some_Name
def do_next_method
do_3rd_method
end
end

...and so on, and each is duplicated. So, if you did find one of the script chunks and deleted it, it would get a noMethodError anyway, either that or one of the duplicated would run instead.

I hate to say it, but is that original artwork? Are you using any unnamed custom sprites without permission? Are all of your chipsets paid for (non-exclusive license?) Are you able to completely dodge being sued?

As they say, leave no rock unturned.

 

[Ellie]

Dude, that's from May 2007, the game has completely changed since then.

On a side note about this:

All of the graphics in Vengeance are either by me personally, or, from these forums or external websites, in which cases permission has been applied for (or will be in time). In any cases where permission is denied or no response is gained, the graphics are taken out of the game. For example, the works of Ccoa, Tana, and Euphony have been removed from the game as they either said no, or did not respond.

Those graphics specifically, though awesome, were by Naramura, who never responded to any e-mails after more than a year, so were taken out of the game ages ago.

Being a commercial game, have to keep track of these things That's why it would be helpful if people in Resource Analysis but a clause in their post just to say "Use yay, commercial nay".

 

[___]

I have to ask why you're using Lua for your server engine exactly, as opposed to Ruby, since that's what your game is done in it makes sense to use the same language and just get your scripters to work on the server software.  You can easily get a mySQL library for Ruby, but connecting to mySQL is about as easy as opening a TCP/IP socket to your mySQL port.  After that it's all terminal commands, and SQL is *really* easy to learn for basic use.  Its advanced features, while spiffy and occasionally code-saving are totally not necessary for storing and retrieving info from a database.  Also, if you're not already using it, PHPMyAdmin is the shit for setting up and maintaining mySQL.

Also in terms of Linux getting an internet connection, most distributions will set this up for you automatically, so I'm not sure why you would have problems.  My best guess off the top of my head is that you are using a different network interface (i.e. modem/network card/wireless card) than the one defined as "eth0" in your system.  Wireless will usually be "ra0" in my experience so you need your network be configured to run on that.  Also if you have a wireless adapter, you are going to need a special driver wrapper and a copy of the Windows driver for your adapter, you can find more info on how to get that and how to set it up on just about any Linux support site.

I recommend a Debian distro such as Ubuntu/Kubuntu (Ubuntu if you're coming from a Mac and Kubuntu if you're coming from Windows due to the similarity in their respective window managers) for getting started with Linux.  They're by far, in my opinion, the easiest to set up and get to know.

 

[Ellie]

Nobody wants to script a whole server from scratch (according to script requests), and the current server that I've been able to get working only has Lua functions for add-ons. I have got a request, as I have done several times, in script requests asking for a new server to be made, but nobody even reads it (even though I'm paying for it). Netplay+ seems like a pretty taboo thing (would that be the word?) here.

I am using Xubuntu currently. I installed Xubuntu before I plugged in the network cable, which means it didn't set it up automatically. I didn't see much point in plugging everything in, since I was having to unplug everything every now and then due to trouble with the RAM and having to send it back every few weeks. (Grr).

 

[Dyslogistic]

Why not just learn C#, or something similar, and code your own Server?
On another level, if you do get somebody to construct a server, how are you going to go about adding all this current content? It is going to take an effin' long time. Another question, using default RMXP scripts or have you wiped it and made your own?
As for Netplay+ I don't know why anyone would even consider it.

 

[Ellie]

Why not just learn C#, or something similar, and code your own Server?

Because it would take more time than it would be worth. I have never used C#, and I'm already decent with Ruby yet still can't make a server. So if it takes as long to get used to C# as it does Ruby, then it'll take a very long time to get to this stage.

On another level, if you do get somebody to construct a server, how are you going to go about adding all this current content? It is going to take an effin' long time.

Adding content is slightly easier than creating a server from scratch, as if the coding is already there it's easier to learn how it works.

Another question, using default RMXP scripts or have you wiped it and made your own?

Sort of half-and-half.

- battle algorithms were completely re-written
- the Netplay+ scripts modify a lot
- menus have been absolutely rebuilt from scratch
- the battle system itself is a major edit of Mr.Mo's system, so far from default

Etc.

As for Netplay+ I don't know why anyone would even consider it.

Why?

The prospect of making an online game with RMXP is an awesome one.

 

[___]

Have you browsed Ruby gem repositories?  I bet you can find much of what you need already coded for you.  An MMORPG server is essentially just a simple program that moves some stuff around in a database and talks to the clients, both of which are very, very simple - it's been done since something like 1979 with the first MUDs. :D  When you start talking about efficiency in a really large scale commercial project it gets more gritty of course.

Same goes for Lua of course, but the only work I've done on Lua is for WoW interfaces so I'm not really familiar with what the language is used for or capable of as a whole.  Either way, though, I bet you can find some code libraries that handle most of what you need done for you.

I'm not confident enough with my Ruby or Lua skills to offer a hand but I can probably be of a little help with mySQL if you have any questions, I do some work with it in web apps using PHP.

Oh good choice on Xubuntu, too, looks like you found something good on your own.  I haven't used it myself, but it's just a different window manager over the same Ubuntu core, built for better performance and efficiency.  And yeah that makes sense, that you didn't have ethernet plugged in.  There's a config utility that will fix problems like that, the same one that runs on first install, I can't remember what it's called offhand.