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WoW! You've done good.

I'm going to recommend you for a medal (Well one of those little star things that appear under our names anyway)
Mike! see to it.

Thank you! High praise indeed coming from yourself Dom :smilegrin:

The idea of keeping it all self contained is that hopefully, once things are finished and all bugs are ironed out, I'll be posting a few mini "tutorials" on the code snippets section for how to use the processes for different effects in mode 8. What variables to plug in, how to set up the .WLD, etc.

So whats your favourite bit of it? Though the light shaft spreading across the room from the window is kinda cool I don't think you can beat the flickering light casting a light shaft through the double doors :D

CicTec - 12-12-2016 at 03:37 PM

Hello BreadCaster,

Excellent Tech-demo, I will use it for improvements to the mode8, like 32bits, etc...

dom cook - 12-12-2016 at 08:57 PM

I haven't been round the whole map yet. (my computer is misbehaving and I couldn't manage the jumps on the crates.) so I can't say definitively but yes the big window was very cool. I'm impressed with some of the small details like the lamposts and the way you inset the swicthes. Also moving things around. (although I'd suggest that you use a single colour texture for the top of anything that moves so its texture doesn't slide.
I'll have to go exploring to find this flickering light you speak of as well as the animated walls.

By the way Mike, while you're at it, don't you think that CicTek deserves a couple more stars?

MikeDX - 12-12-2016 at 09:10 PM

By the way Mike, while you're at it, don't you think that CicTek deserves a couple more stars?

Agreed

dom cook - 12-12-2016 at 09:10 PM

Hello BreadCaster,

Excellent Tech-demo, I will use it for improvements to the mode8, like 32bits, etc...

Hi CiCTek,
While you're at it could you consider putting some control over the field of view in too, much like the distance variable in the mode 7 structure? I had to abandon my plans to remake Orange Fight Arena out of Day of Defeat, featuring the Hello Kitty ensemble when I found out that I wouldn't be able make an authentic sniper scope.

BreadCaster - 12-12-2016 at 10:27 PM

Hello BreadCaster,

Excellent Tech-demo, I will use it for improvements to the mode8, like 32bits, etc...

What would be good is a way to set/change the luminosity on sector floors and roofs seperately, so rather than just one variable called luminosity there'd be "luminosity roof" and "luminosity floor". As it is I have to use a different texture for those light shafts :p

Also, dom: in regards to the sliding crates, what I'll be doing is making the box look kind of "chrome" and adding a mostly solid grey texture to the top, but striping it with a mock-specular highlight ^^ also there's not much past the jumping puzzle - however, the flickering light sector that I'd mentioned (with the light shaft streaming through the double doors) along with your swinging door sector code are displayed through some rooms that can only be accessed via crawling through the ventilation ducts on the upper level

go through the non automatic door in the main outdoor bit to get to the lift and go up there - where the crates and one of the demos of the 3d sound is (as in, which gets louder/quieter as you move towards/away from the source) :D

CicTec - 12-12-2016 at 10:31 PM

Hello BreadCaster,

Excellent Tech-demo, I will use it for improvements to the mode8, like 32bits, etc...

Hi Dom,

first of all thanks to the promotion request (and of course thanks to Mike for this).

As previously mentioned, the internal engine is strongly linked to 8bit mode, the first step is to refactor all the code to allow the support of 16/32bits of colour, we must also do all those features present in the engine that have been eliminated in mode8 , once this is done we can see what might be added.

Obviously if you wish to participate to add any features from the code you are welcome.

BreadCaster - 12-12-2016 at 11:16 PM

I mean, if there were to be a "feature" list, like things I'd love to see in mode 8 - well, textures with transparent areas and slopes would be one, as would be altering the luminosity of the floor or roof independantly of eachother. Translucent sectors or single walls so we could do things like glass would be good, but for now I have my sprite bars so

Aside from that, loading in 3D models would be good. A basic 3D shadowing engine - where it maps the sillouette of the model from a set "camera" (which you'd be able to set near a light source) which then maps onto two polygons on the floor, and then potentially another two polygons that would stretch upwards if the model got close to a wall - would be good. Mode 8 has no ability to use bumpy surfaces/bump mapped/displacement mapped textures so it would be theoretically possible to do this, without all the insane levels of detail that modern games use in their shadowing engines. But that's a loooong way in the future, if at all, haha.

For now I'd be happy with just having little dark semi-transparent circles on the floor underneath models :p

What I do know is that the plan for this engine is to firstly get those last few features done and bugs fixed, and then I'll wait until DivDX is capable of 32bit colour. Then I'll make a trial area to explore with original textures, just environmental puzzles, no enemies etc. Then, if 3D models ever find themselves in DivDX - either through a .dll/plugin or natively - I'll see if I can spin out a full game in it ^_^

CicTec - 12-12-2016 at 11:57 PM

I mean, if there were to be a "feature" list, like things I'd love to see in mode 8 - well, textures with transparent areas and slopes would be one, as would be altering the luminosity of the floor or roof independantly of eachother. Translucent sectors or single walls so we could do things like glass would be good, but for now I have my sprite bars so

Texture transparent, for floor, walls, etc... should be simple.

slopes etc... is more complex, expecially depending on the type of engine implementation.

Aside from that, loading in 3D models would be good.

It should also be simple.

A basic 3D shadowing engine - where it maps the sillouette of the model from a set "camera" (which you'd be able to set near a light source) which then maps onto two polygons on the floor, and then potentially another two polygons that would stretch upwards if the model got close to a wall - would be good. Mode 8 has no ability to use bumpy surfaces/bump mapped/displacement mapped textures so it would be theoretically possible to do this, without all the insane levels of detail that modern games use in their shadowing engines. But that's a loooong way in the future, if at all, haha.

For now I'd be happy with just having little dark semi-transparent circles on the floor underneath models :p

The mode8 engine (VPE) is based on an old tecnology similar to Doom engine, is different to bump map, for this would probably be best to go directly with another more modern 3D engine.

What I do know is that the plan for this engine is to firstly get those last few features done and bugs fixed, and then I'll wait until DivDX is capable of 32bit colour. Then I'll make a trial area to explore with original textures, just environmental puzzles, no enemies etc. Then, if 3D models ever find themselves in DivDX - either through a .dll/plugin or natively - I'll see if I can spin out a full game in it ^_^

The new graphics engine for DivDX is already done, with full 16/32bits colour support (except mode8 at moment), now need to upgrade the core (interpreter and compiler) and 32-bit support in the IDE, once this is done, will be fully operational.

BreadCaster - 13-12-2016 at 12:24 AM