Who wants to make a RTS game?

General Discussion
1

I’m looking for people who are familiar with python and panda3d and interested in creating an RTS game that is based on modern military equipment and technology.

i’m thinking a good title for it would be WarGames3D or something like that.

basically, i have a very clear idea as to what the game would be, and how it would work. everything from unit abilities to gameplay, technology research… its pretty much all laid out. i just need people willing to code it.

I’ve already had some experience working on game projects before, and understand how to make 3d models, texture mapping, graphic design, basic coding concepts, etc…

anyone interested in helping out?

2

May be you can show us your work/demo that you made before ?

3

well, my laptop was stolen recently…

i just got another one, albeit not as good as the one that was stolen…

anyway, i’m glad that you asked for some examples of my work because conveniently, i dont have any.

i’ll have to ask my friend if he has any copies of my work, i’m sure that hes probably got some screenshots of models i’ve made and stuff.

UPDATE

i found some screenshots of a tank model that i made with autodesk 3dsmax a while ago, on my laptop that got stolen.

here they are.

510×537

1024×640

1024×640

1024×640

1024×640

these again are old models, that are long gone, due to my laptop having been stolen. this gives a limited and very basic idea of my previous work though…

i remember also that when i was last working on this tank, it had the turrets on the top as well as other details, such as the antenna, and other specifics.

what do you do though? is there any way that you would like to help?

4

Yeah, as a tip, usually you get more people interested if you can show some goods.

It’s easy for someone to say “I got a GREAT idea for X!”, I’ve seen far too many threads like that, being I used to hang out on Gamedev.net. :slight_smile: It helps if you can show some of your own accomplishments, or work that you’ve already done towards the project.

Really don’t have anything to add but that, sorry!

5

Send me the first game you’ve done and I’m in.

6

if you want people to help you out, it’s best to have something they can help out with. when providing no codebase, no concept papers, no storyline and nothing… how is one supposed to help? sure a few models might help but that’s the very least problem you have, those can be replaced in the later game within minutes.

a minimal game with minimal code. minimal but working, like having boxes instead of tanks, but beeing able to send units around the map and attack each others. that would be a good way to get people to help out.

FenrirWolf is right. it sounds like a generic devmaster thread where someone claims “hey i have a good idea for a game” and the rest of post is like “will you creat it for me plz?”

greetings
thomas

7

thanks for the criticism.

not needed at all. i mentioned on my first post that i have all of the ideas and they are written down, i could explain and communicate everything in this project. the game project that i worked on before was actually the first version of THIS game project that i am trying to start up now.

we had a wiki that we made for creating the game and sharing ideas, we had an SVN up for sharing files, and i’m sure both of them are still up i just need to get the address. (it was a very obscure address that was lost with my laptop, need to dredge it out of my email sometime) but anyway, i had about four people working on the project with me.

we had pretty much all of the game concepts worked out, including AI behaviours and stuff, we were working on models for all of the different units and buildings, but every programmer that we encountered was lazy and didnt ever produce any actual code… my friend still has all of the game files, models, concept art, and wiki page address. i need to get in touch with him. (another thing to get out of my email)

anyway, when i suggested this project on my first post, i let people know that my laptop was stolen and that i am trying to ORGANIZE a project… and i also let it be known that i really have very little to show as far as visual examples… i’m not trying to impress anyone with examples of my work, i’m trying to get people who are familiar with panda3d who would like to help out with this.

i can make 3D models, (better than the pictures above) and i understand programming concepts enough to be able to create pseudocode at least. i can also do uv maps and texturing for 3d models. i have experience with photoshop and 3ds max, and other than that i have a VERY CLEAR VISION of this project and can communicate it effectively.

as far as me not having any examples…

i know this. and i mentioned that i dont have many examples in my first post, and i mentioned the reasons for this.

if people want to criticize me for something i clearly explained, i understand the sentiment but i dont know what good it will do.
the reason being, i already know that it helps to have examples of previous work, and i know that i was lacking them. again, both of those points were fully explained from the beginning.

i’ll try to get some concept art up soon, if anybody is serious about joining this project…

trust me, i can understand why that specific criticism would arise, because i’m sure you have enough people coming through the forum saying “hey, i got a project idea but no experience, who wants to help”

i’m not one of those people. please dont mistake me for one.

thanks.

p.s. thomas, i understand that you have alot of experience with python and panda3d, i respect your level of knowledge with them and your interaction on the forum. just know that i wrote this up more as a kneejerk to criticism, and in retrospect i’d just like to say that i AGREE with BOTH of the people who gave criticisim, and that i will show work in the future as this project progresses and as i recover files from the previous manifestation of this project.

8

well many projects are facing the problem of lacking a main programmer. and there is only one real sollution for it: learn to code

since you already know the concept behind programming and beeing able to write pseudocode, it’s just a matter of learning the python syntax. take a good python beginner tutorial, work through it and within one or at most 2 weeks you’ll be able to code on the game yourself.

i know that sounds to easy to be true but i once faced the same problem. beeing an long-term artist myself, only worked on 3d models etc. i knew alot about game development and how to code stuff but i never really coded myself. i had several projects going on and they all died cause the programmers jumped off the ship. and the problem is:
once your programmer has gone, the project is doomed. if an artist leaves or someone in charge of the story, thats no big problem, there are many enthusiastic people who love to contribute some models, textures or ideas.

so, get yourself off the ground, learn programming. the rest will work out just fine :slight_smile:

9

thanks… before my laptop got stolen i was teaching myself how to program with python and panda 3d… i got a few books on python programming and i’m able to make text based programs comfortably, probably need to touch up on a few things though…

at the time i was teaching myself, i just couldnt find any good books on programming 3d games in python… every game programming book i found was all text based. i could probably code this game, but only if i took a REALLY long time and posted topics on the forum for EVERYTHING that i’m trying to figure out.

i dont mind doing that either…

if people would rather help me out with the programming of this game by helping me out whenever i’m in a rut and explaining things to me,that works for me. although i think it would be a bit more efficient to just get somebody enthusiastic and knowledgeable on the project to write the code, and it would probably save this forum from unnecessary typing.

somebody point me to a good 3d programming website or book that could give me the tools i need to code a 3D RTS

pipe dream, i know.

anyway

10

once you know the basics of programming itself, like how to use your types and write functions you can solve pretty much every problem. including a 3d-game. it’s not that you need special books or anything.
learn the basic usage, then hit the panad3d manual and the examples.

11

Sorry if I seemed harsh, but I was browsing the forums with only a short time, so my reply was pretty clipped. I see now that you’ve posted some example artwork, which is good. I presume your talk about Max and Photoshop means you’re primarily an artist type?

If I was an artist looking for programmer help, I would sketch up some concept art. Maybe model a tank or soldier, with textures, and toss that in with some paintings I’d have done of various game settings. Not only does that show people what style I’m going for, but it gives me some nice promo art to put on your site to encourage people to help.

Since you’ve done a lot of this already but just have lost access to that material, I would make it priority to get it back. Or at least re-create some of it.

12

yes, that is exactly what i am going to do… i’ll be putting up more concept art as things start happening… i might be getting a grant and a student loan pretty soon, so i might have the resources to make a better computer… as soon as i do that, i will go full force into this project again…

i’m thinking about getting an intel i7 cpu and a good motherboard, video card, sound card, etc… i should have a baddass computer within the next month or two. once that happens, i’m getting a few programs (photoshop, 3ds max and Fl Studio) and i’m getting this project off the ground…

with those programs, i should be able to make the concept art, as well as 3d models and levels, and i will also be able to make all the sound effects and other audio recordings, such as voice overs and other effects. besides that, i should be able to start re-writing my layout of the game, how things will work, unit a.i., campaigns in the game, etc… at that point i should have enough game assets to show people that i have everything it takes to make the game.

if i have a wealth of game art, models, sound effects, etc, i’m sure it will be no problem getting a few dedicated programmers to join the project…

i think i am going to start a forum off of this panda3D website and start getting all of the project details on there, and i will post a link here if people want to join, and i’ll keep this topic up for updating this community and for recruiting people to join the project… at that point, i think i will even help out with the programming of the game… i know i dont need to buy any books, as i havent yet… but it would be nice to have all the information i need on one volume, if anyone knows of a book or a website that lays out how to make a 3d game like this, let me know…

i mean, if carnagie mellon entertainment and technology center has courses on it, then there MUST be some textbooks or some sort of well laid out resource we could look at…

WHY dont we have that textbook online here?

anyway, in the meantime i guess i’ll quit bitchin’ about the apparent lack of sufficient learning resources and just keep everyone posted as to whats happening with this project in the days ahead…

but seriously, why dont we have access to whatever textbook they have at carnagie mellon?

wtf?

thanks

13

there are some video-lectures uploaded on googlevideo. not exactly textbooks,thought.

a few more notes: you dont need a “badass” machine, you dont need software worth 6000$ and you dont need a seperate forum to get your game started.

a 6 year old office-pc and a few open-source apps will do.

just wanted to mention in case you really think about spending thousands of dollars on software which just sits on your harddisk.
that software wont create your game.

14

Hi plato_03,

I agree with ThomasEgi - rather look at some open source alternatives. Here are some open source programs I have used that I am very pleased with.

3dsmax → Blender
Fl Studio → Audacity
Photoshop → GIMP, Inkscape, MyPaint

I recently did the switch from 3dsmax to Blender and although it takes a little while to get used to the interface it is truly worth the effort. And as far as I understand it, exporting from Blender to Panda3D has better support.

As far as Python learning is concerned, there are an amplitude of books. I started with Wikiversity and then moved onto Python challenge to get into the language.

If you can pseudo code, you can definitely do Python - just start with the basics first and get the syntax behind you.

By explaining things, everybody on this forum is learning from your experiences, that is much more valuable than some guy who already has the experience and just codes the game without sharing with the community. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day;…

For example in the RTS game you probably would like to drag a box to select units - check out this post. mavasher shared his experiences with the community and everybody benefits.

Hope that helps and good luck with your project. :slight_smile:

15

Very much agree. I’ve been meaning to do a bit more of this myself, but I’ve been slacking off. But I’ve still been hanging out on this forum as I write my first Panda game, asking question as I go along, and I feel I’ve come a long way.

Also, I echo the sentiment of learning some free OS programs before spending all that money, unless you have guaranteed funding. I first learned to model using POVray, though I later purchased Lightwave and ended up using it for years. Recently, I finally bit the bullet and delved into Blender and I am enjoying it. It has some hair-tearing-out grade issues at times, but no more than any other 3D program I suppose.

16

thanks, i understand the advice, and am well aware that i dont need to spend alot of money on software or hardware to make my game. but the reason i want to put a bunch of money into a computer and those specific software is NOT to make this game… i want to get FL Studio 8 XXL, ($300) because i have already been using it for many years up until my laptop being stolen. it is FAR FAR FAR better in my opinion, than any other digital audio workstation i have worked with and i have worked with them all (including audacity, which doesnt hold a candle to FL Studio). also, i have used GIMP, and a few other graphic design programs and none have matched up to what photoshop is able to do either… the reason i am getting these programs is to start a music label and graphic design business.

the expensive hardware will go into video editing…which is something else i will do…

anyway, long story short, i have made up my mind about the computer hardware and software not because of this game, but because of other creative projects that require higher computer processing speeds, which in the end, wont HURT as far as game creation goes…

i know i dont need to spend money to make this game… i’m spending money to make excellent music and to be able to do the graphic design, video and animation work that i would like to do…

i’m repeating myself…

anyway, i also have lots of experience with 3ds max, but considering blender is free, i WILL probably go with that one… i have used it before, and i remember thinking that it would work just as well as 3ds max… i remember just knowing how to use 3ds max better, so i used it more often… i’m sure my ideas on that will change once i just get used to using the program…

17

you will have fun with blender, its a very powerful weapon, you will love it.

18

Do the screenshots of the tank model reflect your current set of modelling skills?

19

no, the model images above do not reflect my current skill…

these shots were EARLY pictures of the model. about a week later it had been completely reworked. more details were added and a uvmap was made for the texture.

i need to find a more recent shot of it.

I’m going to talk to the other game creator and see if he has any of the later versions of that model. the other day i started out another forum, for writing out the concepts of the game. i figure if i’m not discussing python and panda3d matters, then it should be on a seperate forum. once i have the foundation of our game clearly laid out on the new forum I will post the forum address here and begin letting people who want to help out join freely. I will also keep in touch with this forum via this topic, in case i need any help with panda3d.

but like i said, i’m going to talk to the other game creator and see if he has any old models that i did, or anything else that was from the old project… he will probably have a few things floating around.

and i’m also going to work on creating new concept art for the project.

i’ll keep everyone posted.

20

I suggest you work with existing mod community like this one maybe:
s44.koshi.homelinux.net/art.php