95 replies to this topic

[acadiel]

Can't wait to see it!!!!!

[idflyfish]

Vorticon, on Sun Apr 25, 2010 8:55 PM, said:

I am the biggest procrastinator in the world!!! I have started working on Ultimate Planet in January 09, but have not done any work on it for at least 6 months... I just have too many other interests competing with the project, with Owen's XB contest being the icing on the cake. Nonetheless, I really want to finish that project in time for the Chicago TI Faire, and I thought if I started some kind of development blog here it may force me to work on it more frequently. We shall see...

Ultimate Planet is a space themed wargame set in the far future where resources have become very scarce in the known galactic space, and warring factions constantly fight for the few remaining planets that still harbor some. Ultimate Planet is one of those, and you control one of the four competing space fleets trying to get your hands on it. Besides your less than amicable neighbors, the planet is also defended by an asteroid belt as well as deadly defense satellites, and rogue meteorites randomly roam its immediate vicinity. It will take all your tactical skills and probably a bit of luck to succeed in your mission.

Here are a few screen shots of the current state of the game:









The game is being programmed completely in assembly and using the full bitmap mode, which means that everything you see on the screen including the text has been put there pixel by pixel. Luckily, I had previously developed several subroutines for SkyChart which also used the bitmap mode, and that helped reduce the amount of work needed. The game space takes 4 full bitmap screens which can be scrolled, and all objects are stored in an array. The background hex field is static, and the location of the objects is updated in real time when the screen is scrolled.
The object array contains the following information:

Status (in space, stowed, or dead), unique ID, Y coordinate (global), X coordinate (global), character definition array offset, color. The offset points to the location of the character definition in a separate array, which saves space since many objects have similar shapes. The fleets consist of cruisers, fighters, infantry and armored units. The planet has several production centers as well as geographic features such as mountains, rivers, and plains. Six defense satellites orbit closely.

The visible screen acts as a window over the world map, and the objects' global coordinates are always checked against the local coordinates to verify visibility. Movement is via a cursor. Locating the cursor over a movable object will turn it from cyan to red, and the object's attributes are displayed, along with any cargo (only applicable to cruisers). Movement is not all or none, and one can move an object a fraction of its movement potential, leave it, then come back to it again later and move it some more. This should provide more tactical flexibility.

I have yet to create the combat tables, as well as the AI which is likely going to be challenging given the rich tactical environment. The game will consist of 15 turns, at the end of which the side who has conquered the most production centers on the planet wins.

Very impressive. I love these types of games.

A multiplayer version of this using a bulletin board to store all of the state/data would be sweeeeeeeeeeet!

[Vorticon]

Yes, it would be. I may consider some form of multiplayer scheme if I still have any energy left after I eventually finish the single player version

[JamesD]

For a somewhat similar game, check out Compute #74 (July, 1986) Hex War
I think that was after they dropped the TI so it's probably just for Apple II, Atari, C64, and IBM.
It could be an interesting project for someone.

[Vorticon]

JamesD, on Wed Aug 24, 2011 1:09 AM, said:

For a somewhat similar game, check out Compute #74 (July, 1986) Hex War
I think that was after they dropped the TI so it's probably just for Apple II, Atari, C64, and IBM.
It could be an interesting project for someone.

Actually no, the TI was still supported at the time, but it did not have the necessary resolution in XB to allow that kind of game. It definitely seems interesting from the description but the online Compute! archive unfortunately does not include the program listings... If anyone here happens to have that issue and is willing to make copies of the listing for the PCJr, I would love to get it from you. I could then type it in and see if how it compares to my game.
Thanks for the reference

[JamesD]

Vorticon, on Fri Aug 26, 2011 8:18 AM, said:

Actually no, the TI was still supported at the time, but it did not have the necessary resolution in XB to allow that kind of game. It definitely seems interesting from the description but the online Compute! archive unfortunately does not include the program listings... If anyone here happens to have that issue and is willing to make copies of the listing for the PCJr, I would love to get it from you. I could then type it in and see if how it compares to my game.
Thanks for the reference

I'm in the progress of typing in the Apple II version.
Are you talking about the torrent version of the archive or something else? The torrent definitely has listings.

Edited by JamesD, Mon Aug 29, 2011 1:03 AM.

[Vorticon]

JamesD, on Mon Aug 29, 2011 12:52 AM, said:

Vorticon, on Fri Aug 26, 2011 8:18 AM, said:

Actually no, the TI was still supported at the time, but it did not have the necessary resolution in XB to allow that kind of game. It definitely seems interesting from the description but the online Compute! archive unfortunately does not include the program listings... If anyone here happens to have that issue and is willing to make copies of the listing for the PCJr, I would love to get it from you. I could then type it in and see if how it compares to my game.
Thanks for the reference

I'm in the progress of typing in the Apple II version.
Are you talking about the torrent version of the archive or something else? The torrent definitely has listings.

I was not aware there was a torrent for Compute available. I generally stay away from torrents for security reasons but I'll look it up anyway. Thanks.

[matthew180]

I have that COMPUTE! edition. I just dug it out of a box that has been sitting in the attic for literally 23 years. Seems I had a subscription to COMPUTE! for most of the mid 80's. I'll make a scan of the article tonight. For understanding the program, the Amiga code actually looks like the more promising since it does not use line numbers, and thus has descriptive labels and better use of GOSUB and functions. Anyway, I'll scan all the code versions.

[Vorticon]

matthew180, on Mon Aug 29, 2011 12:59 PM, said:

I have that COMPUTE! edition. I just dug it out of a box that has been sitting in the attic for literally 23 years. Seems I had a subscription to COMPUTE! for most of the mid 80's. I'll make a scan of the article tonight. For understanding the program, the Amiga code actually looks like the more promising since it does not use line numbers, and thus has descriptive labels and better use of GOSUB and functions. Anyway, I'll scan all the code versions.

Thanks Matt!

[JamesD]

The complete set of Compute scans:
1-40: magnet:?xt=urn:btih:CA77F57982333E4A1CD435335572FF9A600E6F2A
41-80: magnet:?xt=urn:btih:537E94C794B7520CABEFBD165EA667A4123BC7FB
81-120: magnet:?xt=urn:btih:C49E6FA15143426C6EC0A3C0A4430302EEB2091A
121-168 (partial): magnet:?xt=urn:btih:4B109B6CE84C7B77430C3B3C85BB9B3AD9898F0F

[matthew180]

Here is a link. I imaged the magazine at 300dpi, so the 22 pages are about 32MB. Hope it helps.

http://test.swmirror.com/hexwar.pdf

[Vorticon]

matthew180, on Mon Aug 29, 2011 6:42 PM, said:

Here is a link. I imaged the magazine at 300dpi, so the 22 pages are about 32MB. Hope it helps.

http://test.swmirror.com/hexwar.pdf

Beautiful! Much appreciated I'll look at it and see what I can learn from it.

[matthew180]

I updated the PDF. I didn't realize that the 8.5x11 page size was cutting off the edges... No information was really cut off, but details like that bother me, so I increased the page size to hold the whole scanned page. So re-download if you want (same link).

[Vorticon]

matthew180, on Tue Aug 30, 2011 8:30 AM, said:

I updated the PDF. I didn't realize that the 8.5x11 page size was cutting off the edges... No information was really cut off, but details like that bother me, so I increased the page size to hold the whole scanned page. So re-download if you want (same link).

Thanks I was hoping to peek at the AI section, only to find out that this was a 2 player game Nonetheless, there are some interesting features like zones of control worth studying.

Edited by Vorticon, Tue Aug 30, 2011 9:08 AM.

[matthew180]

I did not look in to the code really, but it seemed a little short to have a computer AI. I think a good computer AI would be the hardest part of making a game like this, especially making one that can challenge a human, and have difficulty levels.

[rocky007]

i agree, for this type of games, it's really hard to have smart AI.. simple "conditions" and "structure" are not enough to have a brainy computer good luck

[Vorticon]

rocky007, on Tue Aug 30, 2011 12:21 PM, said:

i agree, for this type of games, it's really hard to have smart AI.. simple "conditions" and "structure" are not enough to have a brainy computer good luck

Au contraire! You'll be surprised how a few simple rules can create enormous complexity. Think for example of Conway's LIFE. There are only 4 simple rules and yet you can get an infinite amount of variability. Same goes for chaos theory as demonstrated in my Chaos Musings suite. The problem really lies in finding the judicious combination of simple rules perhaps spiced up with a little randomization, which is by no means an easy task. I have already sketched a series of 6 rules for the AI opponents which I think will create a relatively challenging game, but I won't know for sure until I test it out.

[ti99userclub]

yesterday in the Android Market, I found this game: zDefence.

I was surprised at the similarity with this ... In this way the fans of the game and have ti99 Android can experience the "thrill" to try this too:) ....

I do not know if they are equal as a concept ... But it seems that the graphics ... : D

http://www.androidea...efense/?lang=it

[rocky007]

Vorticon, on Tue Aug 30, 2011 5:40 PM, said:

rocky007, on Tue Aug 30, 2011 12:21 PM, said:

i agree, for this type of games, it's really hard to have smart AI.. simple "conditions" and "structure" are not enough to have a brainy computer good luck

Au contraire! You'll be surprised how a few simple rules can create enormous complexity. Think for example of Conway's LIFE. There are only 4 simple rules and yet you can get an infinite amount of variability. Same goes for chaos theory as demonstrated in my Chaos Musings suite. The problem really lies in finding the judicious combination of simple rules perhaps spiced up with a little randomization, which is by no means an easy task. I have already sketched a series of 6 rules for the AI opponents which I think will create a relatively challenging game, but I won't know for sure until I test it out.

yes i agree, but in your case, i'm not so sure... Is your game need computer/human to think many turns in advance to elaborate a strategy ?
It's little bit like playing chess in with pure AI and not pattern table. i'll think about this, it's really interesting

[Vorticon]

ti99userclub, on Wed Aug 31, 2011 3:20 AM, said:

yesterday in the Android Market, I found this game: zDefence.

I was surprised at the similarity with this ... In this way the fans of the game and have ti99 Android can experience the "thrill" to try this too:) ....

I do not know if they are equal as a concept ... But it seems that the graphics ... : D

http://www.androidea...efense/?lang=it

Hex-based wargaming has been around for quite a while, starting with table top games beautifully crafted and wickedly complex rules in the 60's and 70's Ultimate Planet is actually an adaptation of such a game although its original rules were simpler (I talk about this in an earlier post under this thread). If you are interested in this type of games, I would highly recommend the V for Victory series for the PC which were released in the early 90's and can be found online (hotud.com) although I own the original games. You can still run them using DosBox under Win 7. Another option is the modern Hearts of Iron III which you can still purchase, although this is quite a daunting game with all sorts of strategic, tactical, economic and political aspects and covers the entire WWII conflict and may not be your best first exposure to this genre.
As for ZDefense, I downloaded it on my Android phone and will be playing with it a bit later today

[ti99userclub]

Vorticon, on Fri Sep 2, 2011 7:00 AM, said:

Hex-based wargaming has been around for quite a while, starting with table top games beautifully crafted and wickedly complex rules in the 60's and 70's Ultimate Planet is actually an adaptation of such a game although its original rules were simpler (I talk about this in an earlier post under this thread). If you are interested in this type of games, I would highly recommend the V for Victory series for the PC which were released in the early 90's and can be found online (hotud.com) although I own the original games. You can still run them using DosBox under Win 7. Another option is the modern Hearts of Iron III which you can still purchase, although this is quite a daunting game with all sorts of strategic, tactical, economic and political aspects and covers the entire WWII conflict and may not be your best first exposure to this genre.
As for ZDefense, I downloaded it on my Android phone and will be playing with it a bit later today

Thankyou for your great explaination !
... i can't wait to be able to play to your Ultimate Planet on my ti99... so i must play with android at now