Very Wierd Problem

For some reason when I use the file open dialog box, all the file read afterworld can't get to the right directory. This is a very weird problem, which I can't think of any possible reasons.
For now I have add a list box for stage selection, to avoid the file open dialog box. Later I should make the list box read the world.txt file to get all the available stages when the program startup. Also an update is needed when the users save a new stage. This design should work well. It's easy to use and easy to implement I think.
Man...moment like this makes me want to have all day working on the game or have 2 or 3 people working for me on the game. If I have 1 programmer, 1 artist, I am sure I can make a descent game out of it. But it won't even sell probably, which is the problem because I will have to pay for the programmer and the artist.
Another thing is I have decided on the adding new tile implementation. I have set things up so now the editor communicate directly with StageMaze class. I will use it to add the tile into the map, and also show the newly added tile in 3D box in the editor view. I will have a reload button or something similar in the editor, and when the user press it the system will regenerate the stage with the new map, thus give the user a correct view of the stage. The 3D box would probably have to have a number on it or something else to indicate the face it's using.

REF: 2008/04/tile-system-upgrade-progress-and-design

Tile System Upgrade Progress and Design

The tile system upgrade is progressing slowly. I am still in the stage of setting things up. The first thing is to get a stage displayed properly.

I think I have finalized the design on the tile system variety part though. There will be 3 types of decorations in the tile system, which is illustrated in the above picture. I won't go into the technical details because it's difficult to explain in words, although it's simple concept. The first one shows floor consists of similar tiles. There are small differences, but they can all be connected together. The second one is best described as a "lawn" or cover, a tiled decoration on top of the tiles. The third one is already implemented, in which 2 different sets is used in one stage.

Originally I have something that might be more flexible in mind, but it's way too complicated and might not even work properly. The added flexibility might not matter that much at all, and this design require less work. So I think I will stick with this design, unless something ingenious pop ups in my mind later.

Starts on Tile System Improvement

I finished the fire direction joint modification I mentioned in the last blog, but I think I sort of run out of steam on the weapon system. Therefore I am going to take a break from it and do some stage construction improvement. I already setup the weapon system to be quite flexible so it should be very easy for me to come back to the weapon system and finish it off later.

The stage construction improvement is actually a big job. I think it can be broken down into the following tasks in order:

1. Improvement of the existing level editor's visualization.
2. Improve tile varieties.
3. Height map offset.

For the first step, currently the editor's visual is a basic 2D display, with symbols representing each layers. It was first constructed by his excellency Mr. Evil Dan, and later on I added new functions etc. But right now it seems in order to make the stage look better and to make the construction of stages easier, a 3D visualization is required.
There are bunch of details regarding step 2, which I still need to think about. But for now step 1 is enough work for me.