Topic awaiting preservation: Maze Wars!

This is what I spent my Summer doing. And my Christmas break. =)

http://www.slimeland.com/games/mazewars/

Check it out! Let me know what you think! And if you actually play it beyond the "I'm checking out this thing some guy on a forum posted" stage, let me know, I'd love to hear it. =)


 

The poster has demanded we remove all his contributions, less he takes legal action.
We have done so.
Now Tyberius Prime expects him to start complaining that we removed his 'free speech' since this message will replace all of his posts, past and future.
Don't follow his example - seek real life help first.

That's the section which contains the download link. =)

That section happens to be right above the link so it probably looked like nothing happened when you clicked it. I guess I'll just replace it with a direct link to the zip. Thanks.


 

yay double post!

(Edited by Slime on 08-18-2004 11:49)

heh funny actually. just played it a couple of times. there are a few small things i have in mind: for example could you make the scrollwheel work in the menu? oh and why are some of the bots faster than me?
what i really like is they way i can adjust the game....choosing my maze, adding teams and so on..i like that.
overall i must say that you have done a very very nice job. you can make games as well as warcraft maps. and you do both just excellent


B | T | E | P | L

Well, I dl'd your zip and unzipped to a new directory.
The directory now looks like this:

mazewars (dir)
fonts (dir)
3 trebuchet files
graphics (dir)
27 png files
mazes (dir)
19 .maze files
models (dir)
4 .obj files
glut32.dll
mazewars.exe

When I try to run mazewars.exe, I get an error.

nVidia OpenGL driver
Driver component sizes mis-match. Retry to keep going. Cancel to exit.

I'm running winXP.
Video card = NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 w/ AGP8x
Driver Version = 4.4.0.3
It's a kind old driver -- May 2003.

I'll upgrade the driver and report back here with update.
If you'd like any more info in the mean time, just ask.

UPDATE
---------

I updated the driver to 6.1.7.7 and your game seems to work well now.
Fun.

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could you make the scrollwheel work in the menu?

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I would have liked to do that, but my program uses GLUT, which is an interface between OpenGL programs and Windows, and it handles the user input; unfortunately it's fairly old and doesn't have mousewheel support.

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oh and why are some of the bots faster than me?

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The bots should be the same speed as you, *unless* they have picked up the speed powerup and you haven't. The speed powerup is the large green one.

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I updated the driver to 6.1.7.7 and your game seems to work well now.
Fun.

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That's good to hear. =)


 

Hey, neat stuff. I just finished an OpenGL course as well as a C++ course this summer. OpenGL is a blast to play with and very easy to learn.

Slime, you may or may not be interested in this to use the mouse wheel with GLUT.

What environment do you use to write your programs in, if I may ask? We had to use Microsoft Visual C++ in my course, and I really hated it... You'd think MS would conform to the C99 standard by now, wouldn't you?

"Nothin' like a pro-stabbin' from a pro." -Weadah

Me likes . I havent had much time to play with it, but it seems pretty cool.

But why glut? Hasnt that been superceded (sp?) by other openGL libraries?
One other thing - I know you said on your site that you don't do much web coding any more, but don't you wana participate in the JS 20-liners for old times' sake? They're pretty fun, and there is no cross-browser compatability compulsion

Anyway, congrats on the proggy

Wrayak

Go to kimber-ja.demon.co.uk and click on the link to the raytracer!

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Slime, you may or may not be interested in this to use the mouse wheel with GLUT.

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I had seen that in my Google searches for GLUT mouse wheel support. It bothers me, though, that using that particular implementation would remove the ability to use the middle mouse button for other purposes. When I get mouse wheel support working, I want it to be something I can reuse in the future, and this could limit me.

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What environment do you use to write your programs in, if I may ask? We had to use Microsoft Visual C++ in my course, and I really hated it... You'd think MS would conform to the C99 standard by now, wouldn't you?

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I started Maze Wars in MSVC++ 6.0 and changed to .NET halfway through. .NET is much better about the standard than 6.0 was (though I don't know if it's perfect). If your experience with MSVC was with 6.0, then try out .NET sometime to see the differences.

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But why glut? Hasnt that been superceded (sp?) by other openGL libraries?

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I haven't heard of any other better libraries that do what GLUT does for OpenGL. The best thing would probably be to just interface with Windows on my own instead of relying on GLUT.

I'm keeping my eye on OpenGLUT as a possible alternative in the future, though I don't know if it will have mousewheel support either.

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I know you said on your site that you don't do much web coding any more, but don't you wana participate in the JS 20-liners for old times' sake?

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I've considered it, but every time the thought of using Javascript to manipulate HTML in order to create visual effects just makes me cringe. The layer between the math and the visual presentation is so thick and HTML is so limited in what it can display. I love having the speed, flexibility and precision that C++ and OpenGL offers me.

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Anyway, congrats on the proggy

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Thanks. =)

If enough people are interested, I'd love to get a multiplayer game together. I didn't spend all summer on that network code for nothing. =)

Anyone interested?


 

Id be up for a game. Only tonight or sometime tomorrow though. I suggest I shouldnt host though as my line isnt famed for its stability

Wrayal

Go to kimber-ja.demon.co.uk and click on the link to the raytracer!

Yup, I have been using .NET. Maybe there's some option somewhere that I haven't seen yet... I haven't really gone through the many uses of the program yet. Oh well

I'd love to see the source code for this thing, but I doubt you're willing to let just anyone see your months worth of labour, so it's cool if you're opposed to the idea

"Nothin' like a pro-stabbin' from a pro." -Weadah

Looks really cool from what I can see from the screen shots!

Have you tried porting the game to Linux? Since you're using OpenGL it hopefully shouldn't be too hard.. I'll install Wine later on and see if it works through emulation, but I would love to see a linux version anyway

_________________________
"There are 10 kinds of people; those who know binary, those who don't and those who start counting at zero"
- the Golden Ratio - Vim Tutorial -

Strafing - need strafing!
Customizable keys so folks can play using favorite FPS keys.
Not sure how I feel about turning just yet.

Do you plan on making it more 3d? You know, with ramps and basic falling or jumping or something?

edit:
Don't know if you are interested, but you should be able to find the source code to Descent. Might be worth a peek.

edit:
Also heard that source code for Quake and QuakeII are available.

(Edited by warjournal on 08-19-2004 19:27)

(Edited by warjournal on 08-19-2004 19:28)

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I'd love to see the source code for this thing, but I doubt you're willing to let just anyone see your months worth of labour, so it's cool if you're opposed to the idea

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To be honest, the code is horribly ugly. I started this program before I really knew much about OO programming (and I still don't know *that* much about it) so the majority of it is just function after function after function of somewhat messy code. =)

On top of that, I'm a little wary of releasing the code for fear that some jerk somewhere might take it and compile their own server or client for cheating purposes. While I did my best to make sure there were almost no possibilities for cheating and certainly no security vulnerabilities, I'm not perfect and I don't want to help anyone out in that area. (It actually *would* be easy for the host of a game to make a cheat; the host, in a multiplayer game, is god and can do basically anything it wants.)

I'll tell you this, though: I wrote over 25,000 lines of code for this game. =)

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Have you tried porting the game to Linux? Since you're using OpenGL it hopefully shouldn't be too hard..

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I never really thought about that. I don't have Linux or know anyone who does, so I'm not sure how I would go about doing it. However, since I use GLUT I imagine it wouldn't be too difficult to do; in fact, almost the only Windows-specific code is the clipboard code and the code that reads what maze files you have.

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Strafing - need strafing!
Customizable keys so folks can play using favorite FPS keys.
Not sure how I feel about turning just yet.

Do you plan on making it more 3d? You know, with ramps and basic falling or jumping or something?

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I had expected comments along these lines. =)

The decision to limit turning to 90 degrees, have no strafing, and only allow the player to move one space at a time was a design decision from day one. There are two reasons for this:

- I was inspired by a game I used to play in 8th grade called "Super Maze Wars", which I modeled this after to a large degree (though not entirely, and only from memory). The control system is similar.
- I wasn't interested in making a typical FPS. This game isn't meant to be played like an FPS; there's no hiding behind corners and peeking out and there's no sniping. If you want to take someone down, you have to be quick and try to catch them off guard. I like the fact that when you turn you're vulnerable for a short period of time.

People who have a background of FPS games tend to say that they don't like the simple control scheme (you're not the only person who has brought this up), but to some extent I think they're trying to fit the game into the box of what they think an FPS should play like. In this game, you have to learn to operate within a different set of restrictions. =)


 

Slime, I offer two compromises:

1. A vehicle based game with simple graphics.
- Forward and back, but turning has to be done by cranking the wheels left/right while moving forward/backward just like a 4-wheeled vehicle.
- Different vehicles have different turning abilities. Some turn wide and some turn sharp.
- Mouse-look turrets for aiming and firing. This is independent from steering. Will need something in the HUD to show the relation between vehicle direction and turret direction.
- Different angle and elevation restrictions for different vehicles.
- Multi-level levels. You know, ramps and junk.
- No jumping, but can fall off of an edge.

All of that, or...

2. Customizable keys in Maze Wars.

Custom keys might not sound like much compared to the rest, but I'll take it. Please take compromise #2. Pretty pah-leeeese.

Havn't played this yet... but the screenie reminds me so much of an old game I had on my mac... Super Maze Wars. Did it inspire this?

Must try now... o.o

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." -- Arthur C. Clarke
"Any sufficiently arcane magic is indistinguishable from technology." -- P. David Lebling

Slime your brilliance amazes me. Good job, sir.

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Customizable keys in Maze Wars.

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Out of curiosity, what would you map the keys to?

I'll consider adding this feature; no promises. If I do add it, though, it will probably only be editable through a text file because I don't think I want to take the time to add the necessary GUI for doing it in-game.

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Havn't played this yet... but the screenie reminds me so much of an old game I had on my mac... Super Maze Wars. Did it inspire this?

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Yup! =D

I played Super Maze Wars in 8th grade and always wanted to make my own version. It was the most fun game, and I'd always play it with the other students before our computer class started or during study halls. Around that time I attempted to program it in VB, but failed. After taking my OpenGL class it seemed like a good project to reattempt.

Of course, the memory is 7 years old, and I didn't want to make the *exact* same game, so I'm sure there are a lot of little differences.

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Good job, sir.

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Thanks =)


 

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Out of curiosity, what would you map the keys to?

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forward = f
backward = v
turn left = d
turn right = c

Not sure about fire, though. Probably shift or ctrl.

Long story short: I base my keys on homerow.

heh, this is cool... Oh! and Slime, Welcome to V-I-I-Dom! Woohoo!