Hi Jim, Yeah, the basic idea I had for this wrestling game is to create a text-based game similar to Piledriver or Wrestling League Manager accept I could add sounds, music, and/or create a better A.I. etc for the wrestlers. Make the matches more realistic by tailoring the moves to a wrestlers specific style of wrestling rather than a generic A.I. for all wrestlers.
Of course, I could make it self-voicing too, add SAPI support, etc, but I kind of find that unnecessary. The main reason is, and this could be screen reader specific, but with Window-Eyes assoon as the text changes on screen it reads everything automatically. That's why I don't have really a problem with Frotz, Scare, etc for playing text adventures. It reads everything as soon as the screen changes and I don't really have to review the screen unless I missed something or want to check a spelling etc. Naturally, if this is an issue with screen readers like Jaws not properly reading the text prompts I could use SAPI etc, but I hate the idea of having to depend on any Windows specific technology like that. The more dependencies I add the more code I have to remove and rewrite for a non-Windows port. That doubles the time and effort involved. Which brings me to another point you brought up in your message. The main reason I currently don't have a Linux/Mac OS port of Mysteries of the Ancients has to do with the API I was using during beta 14/15. It appears that SFML has a bug in how it handles Windows display drivers causing the API to blue screen and crash on certain Windows PCS. So far the problem doesn't apply to Linux or Mac OS based PCS. Obviously, for a stable comercial project SFML wouldn't work for a game like MOTA. There is an alternative API, which I eventually will be using, called LibSDL. SDL doesn't have any problems with display drivers on Mac, Linux, or Windows, and has decent keyboard and mouse input. The joystick input is not quite up to DirectX quality so that's a disadvantage for software developers. Although, SDL comes with an audio API SDL Mixer I think I'd rather pair SDL with something like FMOD or OpenAL which has superior 3d audio support, more DSP effects, and things like that. Since all of this would take time I decided to roll back to an older version of the engine, one using DirectX, and release MOTA as is and wait for the rewrite of the cross-platform engine. So that's why I have had problems with cross-platform development. However, with our wrestling game none of this has to be an issue. I wasn't really planning on using SDL, DirectX, SFML, etc and simply rely on simple input/output methods that every operating system uses. Creating a simple input system such as pressing b for body slam or v for virticle suplex is easy enough to do without resorting to low level event driven input such as DirectInput or LibSDL provides. Of course, if we are thinking something more than a text based game, something a little more modern with speech, sounds, music, etc then it would probably be better just to use SDL from the start. As far as it being mainstream I wasn't saying i wanted to be mainstream. I was merely pointing out that if I created it as a text-based game some mainstream gamers might play it. True it isn't as fantastic as WWE Raw VS Smackdown for the XBox etc but you never know who might stumble across it and play it. My point simply was that text games still have followers in some mainstream markets, and by writing it as text it might apeal to that market. HTH On 4/8/11, Jim Kitchen <j...@kitchensinc.net> wrote: > Hi Thomas, > > Oh, I didn't know that your wrestling game was going to be a text game. You > know that I prefer games that speak automatically. Just get tired of using > the review cursor for everything. I also didn't know that you were so much > into having it be cross platform. You know because that hasn't worked out > so well for you with MOTA. And I didn't know that you wanted it to be > mainstream. I thought that maybe it was going to be an Audyssey group type > thing. That's why I thought that BGT would be a good tool for creating it > in. > > TGIF and BFN > > Jim > > How can there be self-help "groups"? > > j...@kitchensinc.net > http://www.kitchensinc.net > (440) 286-6920 > Chardon Ohio USA > --- > Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org > If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to > gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org. > You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at > http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. > All messages are archived and can be searched and read at > http://www.mail-archive.com/gamers@audyssey.org. > If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, > please send E-mail to gamers-ow...@audyssey.org. > --- Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/gamers@audyssey.org. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to gamers-ow...@audyssey.org.
