Procedural block world project

leopardpm · Post by **leopardpm** » Jan 08, 2011 16:53

I just tried it - it works... only thing different could be that I have an account? will look at the media fire site to see if there is a 'public' setting per file... BRB

mediafire is saying that there have been 8 downloads of the file so far (1 is mine, I think) so someone else must be able to do it unless these are records of your unsuccessful attempts (sigh)

here is another link, lets try it:
http://www.mediafire.com/?00ya2xd7dquus85

Gonzo · Post by **Gonzo** » Jan 08, 2011 18:18

i tried with another webclient, google chrome, and its giving me "access denied"
you should really get your own domain you know :P
much easier then

leopardpm · Post by **leopardpm** » Jan 08, 2011 18:50

yeah - I am behind the times it seems...

can I email it to you? My email is: leopardpm@yahoo.com

easier that way I guess

wish the forums had a way to upload/download files for all to share... I have seen forums that have that feature

PS: mediafire reports 14 downloads now, so it must be working for someone, right? I use firefox btw

leopardpm · Post by **leopardpm** » Jan 08, 2011 19:00

So tell me, are all the 'blocks' in your world separate objects? As I currently understand, there are two basic types of things in 3D engines: terrain and objects. The terrain that I have seen are usually defined as a 2D heightmap, and although interesting, modifying the terrain defined that way would not work because it defines a 'column' and not actual 3D space (for instance, could not have a 'cave' because that would entail having space between two blocks (floor and ceiling) and the heightmap cannot represent different types within the same 'column'. As I said before, I am just learning about 3D so my questions may seem really stupid, even more dumb than I actually may be!

IF, all the 'blocks' that make up your world are indeed 'objects', then that is ALOT of objects for the engine to display at any given moment... do you cull the objects that are 'behind' others? For instance, the objects underneath the ground layer of objects. Even so, that would still entail alot of processing to determine which objects (out of thousands, millions?) would be in view!!!

leopardpm · Post by **leopardpm** » Jan 08, 2011 19:09

luv your treehouse btw! I really wish I could test out your program, it look delicious! Still getting blue screen with, what appears to be, a wireframe cube that I can change the perspective and camera angle. When I push the 't' key, it seems to make the camera jump up, then I come back down to the same place/view... multiple pushes make me jump higher, but never reach 'ground level'.... so sad.

So, did you write your own 3D engine or are you using something else?

Gonzo · Post by **Gonzo** » Jan 08, 2011 19:55

yes the blocks are indeed objects, and the engine is my own making
otherwise there would be no point in thi making this :P

your cave example does not apply here, simply dig down
and if you do it underwater the water will follow you down, and you can swim up

as for your error, it seems to me that nothing gets rendered for you?
is your "drawn" value in the titlebar increasing at all?
on average when viewing straight forward it should be around 4000 sectors drawn (maximally 8.2m cubes)

leopardpm · Post by **leopardpm** » Jan 08, 2011 20:11

since you created the engine, is it 'optimized' for the blockiness? don't know if that is possible, but since there are definite patterns in the rendering, it seems that the engine could be adjusted for this particular 3d world - just my thoughts.

your title bar info displays: 32, 32 drawn: 200 - 700 (changes as I adjust camera)

is it a map problem?

leopardpm · Post by **leopardpm** » Jan 08, 2011 20:48

How do you generate your terrain anyways? It looks nice! I have always been impressed by the original Minecraft terrain generation.

Gonzo · Post by **Gonzo** » Jan 08, 2011 21:04

leopardpm wrote:since you created the engine, is it 'optimized' for the blockiness? don't know if that is possible, but since there are definite patterns in the rendering, it seems that the engine could be adjusted for this particular 3d world - just my thoughts.

your title bar info displays: 32, 32 drawn: 200 - 700 (changes as I adjust camera)

is it a map problem?

yep the engine is optimized for the blockiness but im not done optimizing just yet
im still not using shared vertexes, which i will eventually
im barely a month in :P my usual working length on projects is 3 years and my longest is 5 years

on your issue though:
no, must be the renderer failing to do something... and i dont know why
is there a folder called world in the game directory?
do you have the terrain.data file? trees256.dat?

whats your graphics card btw? old? new?

the terrain is a simple 2D noisemap right now
as such the worldgenerator itself is nothing special
in the future it will probably be alot more complex =)

leopardpm · Post by **leopardpm** » Jan 08, 2011 21:39

well, I guess the issue is with my laptop with built in video card... I went to another computer (1 month old, great graphics card, win 7, etc) and your demo works on it (except the starting point was in water and very low spot) - but is otherwise GREAT! You have done a terrific job!

hmmmm, now to figure out someway to convince you to let me see the source code.... money? Leopard's famous homemade cookies? massage (nah, only if your female)? um, dunno - any suggestions? ;)

The more I think about using a destructible/constructible 3D environment as my world, the more I want to. BUT, I am thinking about using smaller 'blocks' (like 1/5 the size of yours) which probably multiplies the amount of processing for your engine by around 125 (5 cubed)... might not be feasible yet.

I have already contacted my 3D model maker/animator (I bought a few ISO animations from him before) to see if I could buy the original models all rigged and animated (basic RTS animations like walking, chopping wood, attacking, dieing, carrying wood, ets)... Can your 3D engine show regular 3D models well? I know it goes against what I was saying about optimizing for the block shapes.... LOL!

Thanks for all your replies today BTW, I appreciate your time and efforts greatly! Today is my 'sit back, relax, and do nothing constructive day' and it is nice to get replies so quickly! I don't expect it always of course!

Gonzo · Post by **Gonzo** » Jan 08, 2011 22:30

the engine doesnt handle models, no, as ive just started
and it will be a bad idea for you to try to handle 1/5 size blocks, dont try it
one reason i can have this many blocks is because they are cubic, and 1x1x1 in size

and im glad to hear it worked on your other computer :)

leopardpm · Post by **leopardpm** » Jan 08, 2011 22:45

ah ha! OK, so is that why the Minecraft guy has all 'blocky' models for characters and animals and things? makes sense... but does put a crimp in things....

BastetFurry · Post by **BastetFurry** » Jan 09, 2011 8:08

Way to go, Notch can pack up and leave! ^.^

APIStudios · Post by **APIStudios** » Jan 12, 2011 16:01

leopardpm wrote:wish the forums had a way to upload/download files for all to share... I have seen forums that have that feature

www.File-Pasta.com is a popular one, been around the FB/QB community for ages.

leopardpm · Post by **leopardpm** » Jan 12, 2011 17:23

I mean built into the forum itself.. I use media fire, but having a little button right in the post would be slicker