Creo Development Log

Starting Multiplayer:

The first orders of business for this development version were some unexpected additions for GMxJN:

To integrate the ability for multi-server communication. This allows for the client to communicate with both the game server and the master server.

To add functionality for inter-Java-server communication. This allows for communication between the game server and master server.

My primary accomplishment with the new game server was to give the master server a way to index them and later send them over to the client. While I briefly considered a Minecraft-style fend-for-yourself approach to users finding servers, I decided to opt for the Valve-style centralized index of user game servers. Each server carries with it a customization name, three customization tags, and a 16x16 logo. The master server also tracks the players and max players. Client-side, the index looks like a more advanced version of the single player map selection menu. The menu allows for ascending and descending sorting by max players or players, as well as searches for tags or names. This degree of indexing was possible thanks to the servers being stored in an Apache Derby database server-side.

Closing Remarks:

Flora and Fauna Part II:

Also known as The Hardly Working Update (get it? Because it hardly works?). No update video.

Next Update:

So, About Mid-December...

While I still could meet this master deadline, I’ve failed the Flora and Fauna Part 2 update deadline by two weeks (should be out within a day of writing this post). I greatly underestimated the process of adding all of the back ends for ores, trees, mobs and more. I ended up rewriting the entire server to use the GMxJN framework that I made. Speaking of GMxJN:

Open Sourcery:

A long overdue update-

GMxJN

I just want to fix some bugs, make a tutorial and add a couple more features.

gmfxer

I paid a guy to do it. I got other shit to do.

GMSUIL

On hold.

In Summation:

Quest Creation UI:

Done. (Edit: “-ish”)

Mobs Giving Quests:

Done.

Flora X Fauna Part 2:

Finishing up, hoping to get it out by Monday. I’ve been victim to some dead-weight productivity loss recently, so it is turning into a larger struggle than anticipated.

Bug Fixes:

Mob Creation UI

Mob Customization:

Finally I find myself implementing a mechanism at a faster pace than I expected! It has been hard finding the time/motivation to work on mob customization UI (something that I expected would take a long time), but the process is not as challenging as I thought it would be. The drawing code was essentially a mix of the drawing code for structures and items, with support for animations. Considering I expected this to take me a week, I’m feeling pretty good. The rest of the UI has been going well. As I write this, I am about 2/3 of the way done with it. The reason I decided to split into another development version is because I didn’t feel like GM:S crashing on me and taking all my new code with it (something that, in YYG’s defence, has only happened twice in something like 3000 hours). Should be getting the mob creation UI wrapped up today.

Monday, December 19th, 2016:

...is when I hope to have Creo on Steam Greenlight. There are a few main reasons for this:

I work better with a deadline, and with how well things have been going lately I think with a small ratcheting up of the heat I can certainly meet it.

This is a few days before my winter break from high school starts. This means I could hopefully get a good number of my classmates with Steam accounts to vote it up.

What do people do a lot over the holidays? Spend time with family? Well, maybe while they are waiting for the next Dota 2 match to start! I found this data online (from 2014 mind you) of top 10 concurrent Steam users count. Notice that all of them are over the most recent holiday break. My theory is that more Steam users will equate to more up votes. And who wants to be a Negative Nancy over the holidays?:

1 /5 /2014 - 7,806,604

12 /29 /2013 - 7,679,922 

1 /2 /2014 - 7,677,290 

1 /1 /2014 - 7,641,163 

1 /4 /2014 - 7,640,973 

12 /30 /2013 - 7,550,632 

1 /3 /2014 - 7,536,141 

12 /26 /2013 - 7,507,101 

12 /28 /2013 - 7,506,212 

12 /27 /2013 - 7,467,158

This will allows me to focus on midterm exams, which are mid to late January (basically a week or two after break ends).

Flora X Fauna Part II

And here we are, with the last devlog in what I call the “well shit, I haven’t made a devlog in over a month I should probably do that so I can look back and laugh at where I was a year from now” series. Lets begin, shall we?

User Created Structures:

I created the user interface for designing structures. This will make creating the mob UI a lot easier, because the new drawing system supports different widths and heights (other than 16) which would have been impossible under the previous system.

The Road to a Release:

Its going to be a long and tiring one, but here is what I would need to push out a release

If I finished this stuff I could release The Friendly Update:

Game Maker and Java Networking (GMxJN) finished (its mostly finished)

Multiplayer (yep, just one step... one long, tedious, painful step)

Rewrite master server

If I finished this stuff I could release Flora X Fauna Part 2:

Mob riding fixes

Weapon charge/cooldown

Undergound structure spawning

Quest creation UI

Mob creation UI

Tree, ore, structure, mob and quest saving and server-side

Sappling blocks

And if this asset is released...

Integration of asset

Bucket overhaul

Liquid block overhaul

Flight in “God mode” finally works now. This was an addition of today and the rest of this post will focus on additions made during D159. Just something to keep me away.

Ores

An unrelated GIF to spice up an otherwise boring devlog.

Trees

In this update, I introduced a client-side interface for user created trees. Inputs include min and max width and height, leaf to trunk ratio, and 6 constants to control the shape of the trunk and leaves.

Sorry

Sorry that it's been so long. I’ve been very busy with school and college applications. Now that I’ve just gotten out of a very busy month I’ve been working on Creo a bit more. I’ll be trying to catch up on the devlogs, releasing a new one every day for the next 4-5 days. That being said...

Pools

While this change probably won’t be noticed at this stage of development, it is a huge systemic upgrade that will be desperately needed going forward. All custom resources are stored in managers (IM is the “item manager”, aim the “AI manager”, etc). These resources are referenced for resource properties and are added when new data comes in from the server. This created a system that looked like this:

The problem in this system was that biomes, structures, etc spawns were begin chosen at random from their respective managers. That meant that searching for biome with “snow” in the title during flower creation would greatly increase the chance of biomes with “snow” in the title spawning. What's more, the same biomes, ores, trees, etc would be spawning in all of the users’ worlds.

To solve this problem, I added a new method of organizing called “pools”. As the name suggests, pools contain a list of all entities that could spawn in the world. Items are only added to the pools during world generation, at which time there is a chance for requests are sent to the server for random entities. What's more, each world has its own pool which, with a more diversified array of user-created entities, could foster totally different experiences. The diagram would now look like this:

Pickups

New release! The Pixel Perfect Update Includes:

Lots (I hesitate to say all, but it appears like it) of bugs from A Very Large Update have been fixed

Large graphical changes

No video, because this update is pretty small. I’ll upload screenshots tomorrow, I promise.

Edit:

See? Sometimes I do go back and add stuff I say I’m gonna add!

Day-Night:

Updated GMC Topic Screenshots:

“Yes, I’d like to exclude the background and foreground from being shaded with darkness.” “So to do that, I need to make sure everything is drawn at integer pixel coordinates with proper scaling.” “So to do that, I need to write my own rendering.” “Now none of my UI works.”

The latter half of the update consisted of dealing manually with the application surface and the resulting fallout of that decision (there was a lot).

The former half included monolith-related bug fixes.

I’ve sent out an email to my artist regarding some new sprites introduced in the previous update (I won’t say its name because then I'd have to break out the large font). I’ll introduce a few more visual changes while the sprites are in production. When they are finished, I will push out the next release: The Pixel Perfect Update. I’ll also work on some open source stuff relating to Creo, as well as The Friendly Update and the Flora X Fauna P.II (all simultaneously because sanity is overrated). Speaking of open source stuff...

Updates on Projects Mentioned in Open Sourcery:

GMSUIL:

I’m working with the developer of an alternate UI package to see if his will be right for Creo. I have a very high standard, but also very tired fingers. I’ll see what happens.

GM:S + Java Networking:

Starting today.

gmfxr:

No.

Progress on these projects as well as Creo will be slow, as I have just begun school. This will have a HUGE impact on development.

Help me weekends. You’re my only hope...

After the approaching patch, it could be a while before the next Creo update. This is for a few reasons. 

The first of which is that there are three updates left for the game before I submit Creo to Steam Greenlight. Two of these three updates include more content than this past update (which took me nearly three weeks during the summer, when I have the majority of days free), and the third of which includes multiplayer, which is shaping up to be more than a bargained for. In addition, do to my current living situation I only have access to a port-forwardable router on a week-on week-off basis. This will mean I will be working on different updates simultaneously, which will of course push back both dates.

Another reason, to which I hinted at earlier, is that school will take up a large portion of my time. I will have time outside of school to work on Creo, but I can’t be certain how much. It is for this reason that I am hesitant to set dates for updates.

The final reason is that I want and need to work on a few open source projects. Here they are:

GMSUIL

A hate my current UI package. It’s clumsy and I basically had to rewrite every aspect of it before I kind of got it working. Thus, I will create the Game Maker Studio User Interface Library. I want this to be done right, so it will probably take a while. As I’ve mentioned in a previous post this will greatly simplify monolith code, and on the user side the process will be faster and easier. I’ve already started on this.

GM:S + Java Networking

Yah, I know I already have this working, but the code is rushed and a disaster. I also need support for data being sent in multiple packets to avoid hitting limits. This won’t take too long.

gmfxr

This is a port of a port of a port (or something like that) of sfxr. It would allow for on-the-fly sound creation in Game Maker: Studio. This is obviously imperative in a project like Creo, and this isn’t something that is already available to GM:S users. This will likely be the last of the projects I start on, because I have already made a significant effort and failed, leading me to dread starting again. The good news is this should also be the shortest of the three.

A Very Large Update

Has arrived (although not as in large of a fashion as I had intended). I had to knock a few things off the checklist to regain some sanity.

Things in the update:

Custom tool types

Custom tools

Custom weapons

Better/stylized background

Custom crafters

Custom storage

Locked slots

Items now appear in the players hand

Swinging animation

Fog

Celestial bodies

An overhauled power system

A video showcase:

See yah next time!

Bug fixes and custom tooltypes.

New release in 3...

2...

I did a lot but I can’t seem to remember more than a little.

New release Tuesday. This time I think I’ll actually have a chance.

I played the game for an hour or so after a successful custom-block-inventory test. Maybe I’ll show off some gifs later.

...