Signup thread for FreeAC

[Blake]

This is a signup thread for a possible Free SMAC project.
For much more detail, follow the link to the
general thread.

[Blake]

I'll go first.

I’m an almost C++ programmer (iow, I’m learning the language, and know how to do some cool stuff with it), I’m also part way through a university degree, and know stuff about software engineering, basically how to write good, modern software. I have also done stuff on User Interfaces. I understand the workings of SMAC and strategy games in general very well, and have good intuition when it comes to game design and balancing.
So, basically I would help or lead in coding and design.
And run a mile from any art, writing or sound work.

For me, this would be like a first software project. I could dedicate probably 5 hours a week (much more in holidays, much less during crunch times at uni), not counting the time spent in forums.

[Frankychan]

This sounds rather remarkable...

I would help out, definetly!

Unfortunately, I am not very good at the programming aspects of the game. I would be honored to be a writer. Creating factions, dialogue, and plot intrigues me very much so.

Besides--->just to have my name in a game's credits would be good enough!!!

[Mr. President]

I would also like to help out any way I can. Sadly, I'm not much of a programmer either, so I could do plotlines, factions, and social structures. Franky's already offered this, which makes one programmer and two writers, so I understand completely if I am not required. (Hopefully you'll get some more programming people.)

[GeneralTacticus]

I'd be in for Beta Testing (when this project gets that far), but since I don't know much about coding or anything else, I'd probly not be much use for the designing... however I probably could do some suggestions and basic plot work.

[Closey]

Great idea man!

I'll help any way I can.. which would be.. uhm.. Well.. I'm not that good a coder.. or a musician.. I might be able to whip some 3d graphics up.. maybe.. (Dependen on the quality needed I guess )

Other than that I could for sure offer my time as a beta tester I could host the project online too if you'd like me to.

As I said, great idea! There ought to be enough people around here to make this project a very promising one.

[Archaic]

I've done professional work in radio (Voiceovers for ads), so I could help with some of the sound aspects. I don't exactly have access to anything professional ATM, but what I can create should be suitable for your needs. All I need is a script.

I could also help with some of the writing aspects, though I'd prefer to steer away from anything I might end up doing the voice for.

[aaglo]

I would love to join, if I could only do something usefull... But I don't think I can... I though would like to be informed about this possible project....

[Cybergod]

I'd just love to be involved in the project, but I have no idea about programming (C++ etc.). As I made many factions so far and have participated in Beyond Alpha Centauri (go here to read it at the AC Fiction forums --> http://apolyton.net/forums/showthrea...threadid=36651), plus I have the ucoming Ultramind mod.

I can surely make/program new factions if neccessary (in the General forums you said around 16 factions, which I think would be wicked! ).

[Kassiopeia]

I'd like to join the field of work with Frankychan and Mr. President. That is, writing fiction and maybe innovating factions.

[SPasmofiT]

I can do:

Java (Swing, JDBC, JSP, Servlet)
HTML, DHTML, XML
JavaScript, ECMAScript
CSS

I can do the site for the project, or something. Or maybe you'll decide to do tha game in Java, so that it will be available to ALL platforms.

The latest Java version, 1.4 is pretty fast, so I don't want to hear people whining that Java is slow. Anyway, the decision is not mine.

I can do the site, at least.

[Closey]

Hope you don't mind, but I've started fiddled around some with the site. I figured since I could host the site I could just as well start making something too.

I'll get a domain for it as soon as we decide on what the name will be (I like the sound of FreeAC tho)

Hmm.. using Java as the platform might be cool. As you said, it'd be able to run everywhere. Haven't been working much with Java, so I don't know all that much about it, but you think it'd be able to handle a game like FreeAC without being too slow?

[Blake]

C++ is not bound to any one platform, I intend to use MingW on my windows box for development, so basically any platform with a gcc compiler (and supported by the library I intend to use) should be able to compile the game. The list of platforms supported should be quite exhaustive.

Anyway, Java will be slower than C++, if you want to use fast graphic routines in Java you generally end up having to use machine specific code anyway, defeating the purpose of using Java in the first place.

However, only the main program needs to be written in C++, supporting utilities (the most important would be the faction editor) could be written in Java. This wouldn't be a bad idea, because C++ isn't well suited to writing such utilities, and the alternative which would usually be used, VB, isn't cross platform.

edit: So, until I see proof that Java can handle a game of SMAC's complexity, on a reasonably low end system (400MHz), I intend to stay with C++.

[Sprayber]

well, guys I suck at programming. But I got one hell of an imaginiation. So maybe I can help somehow.

[SPasmofiT]

GCC can assure you only text-interfaced applications. For GUI, one must use Qt, GTK+ or something else.
Also, C++ is VERY messy, especially when dealing with pointers and extended librarier, which are not cross-platform (networking, gui). It needs a lot of work to produce usable and safe code.

Java's performance has greatly increased with the latest release of the SDK (14RC1). For testing, you should check out the following software:

• Java 2 SDK 1.4 itself comes with decent demos
• Project Mars : http://freshmeat.net/redir/mars-sim/12553/url_homepage/ : a open-source Java-based simulation of Mars colonisation (we might even get to reuse code)
• www.javagames.org
• Try one of the IDEs available for Java... especially the free and open NetBeans (www.netbeans.org)

I can't really change your mind. You have to do it yourself, but, in my experince, I can tell you that using obscure widgets toolkits for gcc, and hoping for portability is impossible, risky AND will burry the project.

Java also has great mecanisms for networking, sound api, xml parsing (conf files), full scree graphics, 3D graphics and many open components are already available.

Java IS NOT applets. The applet we usually see on the web are Java1.1 and now, Java reached version 1.4.

Also, since FreeAC will be a turn-based game, we won't need masive resource associated with real-time gaming.

I have experince as a C/C++, PHP and Java coder, mainly for web use, but also client-side. This is just an opition. But I don't want to see Java ignored because "it's slow", even if it isn't.

Java may be slow when building Quake 3, but for a game like SMAC or FreeAC, it should be fine. Besides, there are more Java programmers that C/C++ ones (I will fetch the statistics URL on request).

You might also want to consider Python + Qt or Perl + Qt, a setup chich will run on Windows and all major unices, but you'll have some restrictions on distributing ActivePython or ActivePerl for Windows and resources are scarse.