To all SSC Station occupants
Thank you for the donations over the past year (2024), it is much appreciated. I am still trying to figure out how to migrate the forums to another community software (probably phpbb) but in the meantime I have updated the forum software to the latest version. SSC has been around a while so their is some very long time members here still using the site, thanks for making SSC home and sorry I haven't been as vocal as I should be in the forums I will try to improve my posting frequency.
Thank you again to all of the members that do take the time to donate a little, it helps keep this station functioning on the outer reaches of space.
-D1-
After a lot of research on the interwebs and following several projects, it is very hard to find a good Sandbox Framework for space simulation related games.
I am aware of some projects (Vega Strike, Freespace Source etc), but they lack all the features I am searching for in such a framework, while all I would need are the bare essentials which not should be that hard.
- Newtonian physics for realistic flight simulation
- 1st and 3rd person perspective for flying
- Joystick support
- Simple Space Combat
- Simple GUI interface for space stations, planets, trading (selling and buying items)
- Simple way of importing custom ships (model, texture, config file with stats)
- Able tot specify Space Station/Docks, Large ships and shuttlecrafts
- Planets and Moons
- OPTIONAL: Network support (being able to start a network map and deploy your own solar system / planets / ships)
What would not be needed: Advanced Shaders, Missions, Cutscenes, Storyline, Game design of any sort
If i missed a game/framework that already has these functions, feel free to contact me about it, but since I am not able to find one for a long time, I think the only way is to get a team of enthusiastic people together and try to do it ourself!
So I am now looking for people who would be interested in such a project to see if something like this would be possible
Creating such a barebone framework should not be that hard to do, since it is all quite basic, but could provide a good framework for designers, developers or just modders to be able to create a good space game without having to do basic integration of most of the common features.
FPS, RTS, RPG etc all have frameworks, so I think it is time to create a Space Simulation framework!
Multi Platform is very important to me (Linux, WIndows with optional Mac OSX), so this should be included in such a project imho
Suggestion for libs:
Ogre (graphics of course!), Bullet (physics), MyGui (GUI), SDL (input handeling/audio?)
Thank You.
If i missed a game/framework that could do this, please feel free to contact.
I have been waiting for more books to be made around the UDK (not Unreal 3) because to me it looks like it would fill in all the blanks for you its just a big tool to learn how to use. Planetstorm looks very impressive http://www.udk.com/showcase-planetstorm
Pioneer has this.
Pioneer has this, although third person flight is a little wooden.
Pioneer's is there, but needs refining.
Pioneer hands me my butt, giftwrapped, but it's simple according to some.
Pioneer's GUI for these tasks is simple and effective.
Pioneer uses Lua for this. It's under development, but basically it already works.
Umm... they all exist in Pioneer, although I'm not 100% sure what you mean here.
Pioneer has these, and stars, too!
Now here you are, quite literally,, on your own. No network support.
Sounds like Pioneer. Missions exist, but only in the context of ads on a bulletin board that you don't have to look at. They're written in Lua, and more can be added if you get bored.
Rather than reinvent the wheel, why not check it out, and if you like what you see, lend a hand?
Rather than reinvent the wheel, why not check it out, and if you like what you see, lend a hand?
I have looked a the project (youtube video's, browsed around on the forum) and i must say i am very impressed with the planet generation and overall feel of the sim.
There are some things that are not quite clear to me though.
- What kind of renderer is used for Pioneer?
- I have not seen combat or AI of any kind yet, is this on the roadmap?
- I have not seen interaction with AI in terms of Trading or converstation
- Cockpits and multiple ships seems to be not integrated yet
- Are there any tools available or is everything "hardcoded" yet.
- Is networking on the roadmap, or will it not exist at all.
- How easy is it to import your own ships/space stations etc
Thank you
OpenGL/Glew, with SDL for input and (I think) sound.
It's there. If you grab the latest build, you can start in the debug position and immediately get shot at.
It just needs some Lua code to be written, as far as I am aware. That part of the game is under active development, but I think it's safe to say that the Lua API will be fairly comprehensive.
You can change ship for a new one. There probably won't be a 3D cockpit; there's a console.
I'm not sure of the details (please don't mistake me for a dev). Not everything is "hardcoded".
No. Bear in mind that this game is inspired by Frontier: Elite 2, which is a single player game.
I'm not sure what format the models come in. I know it's not currently something one could leap into, but there are ideas afoot to standardise the formats and tools necessary. Again, it's heavy on Lua. Importing them is as simple as dropping them into the right directory, once they're made.
The game isn't designed to be a framework; it's a game proper. It's extremely freeform, though, and being GPL3 you can mod and extend it to your heart's content. It's also a heck of a lot less confusing than something like Vega Strike.
Joey, you had me at 'newtonian' 😉
I'm afraid I don't have much game designing skills as of yet. I have some experience in scripting and modding, but that was either a program in windows, ie. game or scripting software, running my code OR a piece of hardware running my code and ONLY my code; I've never coded anything to run in windows/linux itself. I have messed around with some 3d tools like blender, didn't do much with it in the end. However, I am very curious and would love to learn more. Also I have above-average knowledge on space environment and dynamics (to the dismay of any unfortunate soul that finds himself watching a hollywood space-movie with me).
So, if you do start someting off, or if you look into using pioneer, I would love to be involved.
@brianetta, sorry, I am guilty of not yet trying pioneer :)... decided to figure out orbiter first, and haven't played much games recently.
Orbiter is, by all accounts, a good piece of software. However, it is a Windows only application, and it isn't free (in the fun sense), so you really won't see much in the way of forked projects. Also, since it's a simulator rather than a game, plot can be lacking.
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