[tcaudilllg]

As discussed in the "Game Creation System discussion" thread, I am making a new kind of GCS. This system will be XULRunner based and will provide a universal platform.

I am trying to make this system very easy to use, by using a technique called "sequential patching". Sequential patching involves leaving "holes" in code that can be "patched" by snippets at compile time. The program designer does not need to know how these snippets work, only what they do. The patching system relies on specific tools which take the base file and apply snippets to it, which themselves can have snippets applied to them. This modularizes the code base and allows designers to build engines with just a few mouse clicks.

HOW IT WORKS

Each code base has "left out" sections, segments of code whose contents are not relied upon by other segments and which perform a specific task. The particulars of these tasks are defined by modules which are patched into these sections.

Task segments are defined by the "TASK" tag, which is placed at the beginning of a code line. Each task has a description which is specified as the "desc" attribute."

Example:

[Hajo]

[tcaudilllg]

Here's a screen shot of the alpha.



The idea is that you load files as patches by making definitions for them. The definitions are looked up and loaded into the patch list box at runtime. You click the arrow button to assign the selected patch to the selected module slot on the project tree. Once you've filled all the slots, you select "Patch and save" from the patch menu and all of the patches are applied from bottom to top.

[DeveloperX]

Don't take this the wrong way, but man that all makes zero sense.

My advice is to get a working prototype that actually does something before you post any more about it, then you might get a better response.

Good luck.
_________________
Principal Software Architect
Rambling Indie Games, LLC

See my professional portfolio

[tcaudilllg]

Here's an alpha.

http://www.progressivesocionics.co.cc/downloads/SequentialPatcher.zip

It's a VB6 project. It doesn't support multilevel trees yet, but the rest of the functionality is there. (aside from the "patch and run" function)

You work it by making "task" tags in your source code.

[tcaudilllg]

Comment?

[Malignus]

I don't have/use VB6, so while I'd like to comment, I don't think I'd be able to even use this. Sorry!

[tcaudilllg]

OK....

[Jinroh]

It's a novel idea for a GCS I think. I've not seen too many that do anything similar if at all.

I'm interested to see how it turns out and though it's unorthodox if the end user can easily make games with it then who cares. ^_^ Your scripting syntax looks nice and clean too so I don't think there should be end user problems either.
_________________
Mao Mao Games
The wolf and his mate howl, taking solace in the silver moon. Pressing ever foreward to see what the future holds.

[tcaudilllg]

Yeah one thing I've begun to notice is that it doesn't really gel with professional techniques. It's more an indie designer's tool for getting small, functional ideas out the door quickly, particularly when you have lots of choices to choose from.

I'm not making an XUL version of this until somebody puts together a decent free IDE for XUL. I've been thinking of how to actually make the game engine, particularly what platform to use.

...And I can't decide! Well I'm making this for you guys so... which platform do you want me to use? I want to see this system get used, and for that reason I want to produce it for the platform(s) favored by the people who would want to make use of it.

[Hajo]

I'm using Java. Even that half the world screams that Java is unsuitable for games.

While there are no game makers for Java, there are very good IDEs for the programming part. Also, interface builders.

[Jinroh]

[tcaudilllg]

The main benefit of Java is joypad support. That's very important.

Using the keyboard is an invitation to carpel tunnel syndrome.

My motivation for making the game I intend to make with this engine is to share what I understand about character -- this game will have all kinds of different characters in it, and their relationships will be vividly illustrated. The ideal platform for this effort is the internet, however the browser is not regarded as a competent game platform. (thanks to its limited device support) Java is actually faster than Javascript, and everyone has access to it. Flash is another option; however again, no joypad support. People don't play Flash games for long because of this, unless they require a minimum of keyboard interaction. Flash is absolutely not an option for the content creator itself.

There is one issue with the content creator and that is saving. This makes things difficult because HTML has dropped the ball a little when it comes to selecting files on the server. Really, it has. File selection on the internet hearkens back to the dark ages of DOS.

Instead I think that the internet, at the present time, is only a platform for the publishing of finished games, with the exception of MMORPGs. (which require still a very large amount of know-how no matter what). In our quest to create an accessible creator, we must come down to earth and ask what would be easiest for the user. Internet-driven design IS NOT easy.

I'm gonna look at XBasic. I know that it has both graphics capabilities and GUI elements, which are what I need for the content creator. I would like to make a Java version eventually, but it's much easier to design programs in BASIC than in Java. Linux compatibility is also important.

[Mattias Gustavsson]

[tcaudilllg]