Newsletter #72 - SAO:R has Graphics

News

The latest demo of SAO: Redux is version 24. If you are interested in trying SAO: Redux as it is being developed, feel free to stop on by the online chat and ask for the latest demo.


From the Programmer
Written by Invisible

SAO: Redux now has graphics other than squares, lines, and arrows. Getting the background to scroll correctly was a bit of a challenge, but handling world space like a 3D space helped solve the issues. The homogeneous divide step was the main bit I was missing, although I did have to scrap most of my original idea (handling the background as a separate "space" did not work out at all).

In the current demo there are multiple characters: two stickmen, one pollenator, and one stinkbug. To help find problems, the user can plug into the characters the same way a client or AI would and control them. People seem to be particularly fond of flying the pollenator around the map. This way of handling characters is new for me, and I am rather excited to see how well it works out once I need to write AI.

I spent the previous couple days working on a new state system. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a cleaner way to represent states. The states which exist are too intertwined to easily separate them into only a few groups, which was my plan. I ended up using the same state system, although I have reorganized the code to make certain parts clearer. I also added a couple new states, and improved the state handling when walking. The world update code is still in need of some serious refactoring, but that will probably have to wait until there is more code to work with.

Be sure to checkout the community spotlight article for a video showing off the latest SAO: Redux demo.


Artist's Easel
Drawn by GreyKnight

iScribble Sketches #30

(Click to enlarge)


(Click to enlarge)



Community Spotlight
Written by jaythemage



If you have anything you would like to say in the next community spotlight article, please post it here.


Funny Quote of the Week
From the online chat

pifreak: this shushie is awesome
InvisibleMan: "shushie"?
pifreak: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slush_%28beverage%29
InvisibleMan: Oh, you mean a slushie?
pifreak: that's what I said
pifreak: oh xD