Archive:CisLunarFreighter

2008-01-08T23:46:21Z

71.164.246.16: /* Active participants */

[[Image:CisLunarFreighter_opening_menu_draft1.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Expanding thumbnail screenshot]]
This page is to collect and organize information regarding the Wikiversity learning project '''CisLunarFreighter'''.

CisLunarFreighter is a game being produced by participants at Wikiversity to get direct hands on experience with developing computer games. Using open source tools to the extent possible, participants using a variety of resources will produce a stellar educational game.

Project pages are easily tagged by placing a category link, "[[[[:Category:CisLunarFreighter]]]]", at the bottom of the page. This makes a list of project pages easily accessible at the bottom of each tagged page. Please help by tagging new pages with the cisLunarFreighter category as explained at [[Help:Category]] and [[Intermediate Wikiversity]]. Please also use [[Wikiversity:Subpages|subpages]] for content related to this project.

==Goals==
* Have fun
* Perform production tasks whilst learning
* Learn from mistakes
* Create multiple player interactivity
* Create client/server applets for CisLunarFreighter as well as a standalone application
* Create an interface to other games with compatible communication format, and/or setup multi-user co-residency (API?)

==Project plan==
In work in small pieces around Wikiversity learning trails. Perhaps a couple of entrepreneurs or other project leader types will tackle a draft schedule or work breakdown structure soon.

== Project contents ==
* [[/Personal game data/]]
* [[/Requirement analysis and high level design/]]
* [[/Initial splashscreen, launcher, menu/]]
* [[/Mission generator/]]
* [[/Spaceships/]]
* [[/Spaceship designer/]]
* [[/Personal game data/]]
* [[/Terran spaceport/]]
* [[/Spacecraft freight load planner/]]
* [[/Takeoff and lander screens/]]
::Terran, Lunar, Asteroid, or Saturn Pirate Base
* [[/Pilot cockpit screen/]]
::Mini Map Radar Overview, Cockpit Menu, Headsup Communicator
* [[/Asteroids or meteor shower flythroughs/]]
* [[/Solar system game controls/]]
* [[/User keyboard interface controller/]]
* [[/User mouse interface controls/]]
* [[/Background music selection and player/]]
* [[/Music]]
* [[/Lunar spaceports/]]

==Game design==
What do we want from the game? Preliminaries are In progress, please join in somewhere.

===Configuration management===
This needs some study and work defining useful methods. Many of our learners and participants have little or no experience with automated configuration management and tracking tools such as subversion, Ant or others.

===Requirements===
Fairly standard hardware will be required. The game will be able to run smoothly on older systems, and also be able to be flashy on high-end systems.
: See also: [[/Detailed requirements analysis/]]

===Gameplay requirements===
An overview of major requirements:
# Entertaining - the game should be fun.
# Social - Interaction with other people via
## Chat - most mud environments allow this
## Email - useful or not?
## Game consequences - makes the game more interesting
# Educational - Players should learning something
## Expose users to some science, engineering, and operations concepts
## Math practice
## Reading around the web
## Use of open source tools for modification and extensibility
## Software design and coding techniques

: See also: [[CisLunarFreighter Detailed Requirements Analysis]]

===Storyboards and case studies for play scenarios===
Please provide on Wikiversity or in open document format.
* [[/Implementation stories for extreme programming/]]
* [[/UML case diagrams/]]
* ...

===Brainstorming===
In progress, please join in somewhere.
* [[/Developing scripts and case studies#Menus_and_Gameplay_Scenarios/|Developing game scripts and menu and game play scenarios]]

==Software development plan==
We plan to use free open source tools to the greatest extent possible to produce data and software that is free redistributable and fully modifiable by anyone who wishes to do so. A former game producer has quite a bit of existing proprietary graphics models which we have now confirmed may be at least partially translated into open source blender files. It remains to be seen the accuracy and usefulness of the translation process. At this time we intend to develop in java with a deployment plan built around an adequate performance MUD server (even if must use different language) and java clients and game servers. Obviously this plan needs a great deal of research, thinking and augmentation before it can be considered a useable draft.

See also: [[/Open source tools/]]

===Tasks===
Let's brainstorm tasks:
* Create and finalize preliminary specifications
* Create concept art based on specifications (or use concept art to help guide specifications)
* Decide what sort of subsystems are to be used...
* Based on the subsystems (game engine, etc) start creating the art
* Maybe start a connected project on Sourceforge or Freshmeat to have SVN support

===Scripts===
In progress, please join in somewhere along the learning trails. Add links to your stories and scripts below to solicit review from dropins or regulars. Stories and scripts may be in industry standard format or informal. Either place them in wikimedia files or pdfs published through the Wikimedia server:
* [[/Splashscreen scripts/]]

===Potential Java pieces needing evaluation===
Editor's note: Move this section to an introduction to initial evaluation and results they grow. [[User:Mirwin|Mirwin]] 20:00, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

We may be able to use these as components or examples to learn applicable technique in Java environment:

* [https://gazelle.dev.java.net/ gazelle] - Fundamentally an animation tool. Plays .avi and .mov animation files under JMF (Java Media Framework libary from SUN) Also, of possible interest to graphics artists or perhaps even programming with SVG. Will it work with older .avi and .mov file???? A lot of older graphics laying around if we can convince people to free them once they are finished with traditional commercial life cycle.
::Download links are broke, could be vaporware.
* [http://www.xinehq.de/ xine] - GPL'ed media player
* [http://www.mplayerhq.hu/design7/screen.html mPlayer] - This seems like overkill for a small project but if we could add borders consistent with a view screen and our GUI appearance (providing appropriate credits in our credits file obviously) could we use this to keep our coding requirements down? Trading bulk for development effort ... or is there a good player in a Sun Library somewhere we can just call? Can we find out from reading mplayers code?
* [http://code.google.com/p/jslibs/ jslibs] - "General-purpose native libraries for SpiderMonkey, Mozilla's JavaScript engine."
* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/ajax3d Ajax3d] - 3D engine for Javascript, using <canvas> tags for output.
* [[/Phase transition scripts/]]

==Specifications==
What should the user experience be like?

An overview of the game's major requirements:
* Entertainment -- should be fun.<br>
* Social -- Interaction with other people via
** Chat -- most mud environments allow this
** Email -- useful or not?
** Game consequences -- makes the game more interesting
* Educational - Exposure to some science, engineering, and operations concepts
** Math practice
** Reading around the web
** Use of open source tools for modding
** Software design and coding techniques

===Hardware requirements===
The game client and server should run on any adequate performance desktop. It is not intended as a primary focus to meet the needs of the emerging hand-held computing and communications markets.

==Game testing==
This will have to be done by the developers until we get enough of a game up and running to attract alpha and beta player/testers.

We might get some help from other Wikiversity participants at [[Topic:Software_testing/laboratory_course#other_collaborations|other Wikiversity course participant's pages]].

==Game materials distribution==
Has begun on an adhoc basis. Longterm we intend to setup a SourceForge project to backup and distribute at least the stable releases of the open source materials on demand 24/7.

==Active participants==
Participants willing to coordinate, consult and/or kibitz reqarding questions:
* [[User:Mirwin|Mirwin]] 05:07, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
* [[Special:Contributions/71.164.246.16|71.164.246.16]] 23:46, 8 January 2008 (UTC)
* ...

==See also==
* [[A Hands-On Introduction to Game Design and Production Processes]]
* [[Blender for Game Graphics and Animation]]
* [[Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game Research Project]]

==External links==
* [http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/ ORBITER]
* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/planets3d/ Planets 3D] - OpenGL Solar system sim

===Creative materials===
In this project we wish to use materials free as in beer as well as licensing so we have simple distribution to anyone who wishes to download from Sourceforge or receive source or executable from other sources.
* [http://www.ccmixter.org/ Source of free samples of background music]
* [http://www.jamendo.com/ More free music licensed under Creative Commons]
* [http://brendonmurphy1.googlepages.com/ Free sets of textures and materials for Blender 3D.]

=== Applicable tutorials ===
The following online tutorials demonstrate useful game programming techniques.
* [http://www.planetalia.com/cursos/ Writing a Space Invaders game in Java]

[[Category:Game design]]
[[Category:Learning projects]]
[[Category:Game Design]]

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Archive:CisLunarFreighter