Enter the Matrix..

Hi guys so I have just found out that to fix my model I need to create a matrix for it which is similar to that in the Chase camera sample from the XNA website

So I need to figure out how I would port that to my engine. I am happy though as I managed to fix the problem

that the models center was not where I wanted it to be. Although hopefully when I get back from school I can

quickly find someway to create a matrix for my model. After that I am going to force myself to create a skybox because

the background looks a little dull. I might also texture the flat terrain model I have with something that resembles

grass. And also find a way to texture the tank that I have downloaded.

So my list of tasks for today is as follows:

texture ground

create skybox

create matrix for tank model

texture tank model.

research how to make solid ground

- this should be easy as I think I know what I am doing here. Just a quick bit of collision detection and

if this returns true then I will simply move the models position up a bit.

anyway time to get ready for school.

Yet another update :D

Hi guys Just thought I would show of a picture of my current game engine. As you can see its still very primitive but that will hopefully change soon. There is a small bug with the drawing of the tank that I need to correct but other than that its coming along pretty nicely(although a bit slow) But since this is my first proper 3D game I am just thinking that any progress is good progress. Hopefully tonight I will be able to fix the object center point bug and I will get some cubes attacking you and some missiles firing from the tank. After that is done I will probably change the terrain to something that resembles grass. Its going to be flat though but to make it more interesting I might add some bill-boarded trees. The skybox as you can see is not up and running yet. I have been too busy helping my dad dig up the garden. All in all I have gotten less than I would have liked to this weekend.

Anyway time to go Cya later!

Small update

I have just joined technorati to try and get a few more people to my blog. I will keep you updated as to whether or not this is any good. Hopefully it will be :D

Anyway I am having a tough time figuring out how to make it so that the model goes in the right direction. Hopefully I will find something good and useful in the sample I just downloaded from XNA. I am actually astounded that XNA have such high quality samples which allows a lot of beginners the ability to dive straight into game programming. It has lots of samples ranging from animation to networking and beyond! I should have the basic gameplay mechanics up and running soon though :D

Stay tuned!

Update

I changed the model in my game engine to a cool looking tank model, which I downloaded from turbosquid.com- This is a great site that any game creator should use when trying to look for models(free or otherwise). Anyway right now I am trying to figure out a way to make my tank move in the direction it is facing. Right now I only have the option to move in a positive or negative direction along the X and Z axis. I also fixed a minor bug which caused my model to load facing downwards. Thank god we learned about radians in school last week or else I would not have had a clue!

While I am waiting for some help on the model direction problem. I am going to get the tank firing missiles out its turret. Then I can set up some targets(boxes) which I can try to shoot at! :D It will start to look like a game really soon! I hope :D

Also since getting a new tv yesterday and finding that nobody really needs my old one. I am going to get 2 birds with one stone. My little brother is quite addicted to the PS3 but since it is in my room and connected to the screen my computer is connected to then that means he doesn't get to play it as often as he likes. So It will allow him to play next to me while I am on the computer. And also I have not found a way to record movies of my PS3 on my new screen so by keeping my old screen it will essentially let me get that second bird I was talking about earlier.


anyway it is morning here so I better go grab my breakfast.

More updates Soon as well as a link to download the current version of my game engine.
Although you must have the C# express edition downloaded :D More details to come!

Birthday

Hi guys Its my birthday today and I got a great TV which is a 32" 780p LG from the lh2000 series. I am using it right now and the picture is insanely good I love it. It so big as well. I am just about to try it out with the PS3 and see how much better the picture is. Already I am noticing a difference. Hopefully I will be writing games soon that test the resolution of this thing :D. Anyway I am going to try it out and get a new video walkthrough of another game level so that I have more and better content to put onto my website.

The game I am creating is coming along well I have gotten the forwards and backwards left and right camera working as well as up and down so that I can change my view to see things better. Although I need to add a rotation functionality to it which should be pretty easy. Then I can finally get to work on setting up the animations or importing a new model. I haven't quite decided.

Anyway I will talk to you later I have alot fun to do! :D

Sucess!

I have gotten my camera and movement to work so I can cross of the first thing on my list. Now I am working on getting the animation to work and look good :D. Hopefully with this addition I will start to have the beginning of a decent looking game :D. Remember all the games I make will hopefully be added to my website for free download. How I am going to do this is beyond me but if there is a will there is a way. Also It is my birthday tommorow so happy birthday me! :D Although it will be a working birthday as I am helping my dad dig up the garden so we can lay down some foundations for our new extension! We decided that doing most of it ourselves will be good character building and will also teach us alot about building a house. Which I think is one of my dads dreams. Also it is nice to be working with my dad on a project like this. Although I wish we could just stick to kiteboarding. I am hoping that tommorow will bring a new tv which I can put up in my room. It will be alot better than the one I am currently working with now. Which is about 16" I have had it for years now, and I am thinking that a new tv would be nice. As a celebration me and my friends are going to the cinema. Not this week but next week(jewish new year for some of them)

Anyway back to programming. Right now I am working on getting some basic animations for tiny.x(my model that I use as placeholder) I am thinking that maybe I will need to hire/ask a decent modeller to build me some good(hopefully free) models. I think that the first game I make will be a space game as it will be rather easy to create. Atleast compared to a FPS or something similar. And once I have made it feature complete I am hoping to add networking so that if my friends download it they will be able to play each other. This should hopefully bring a bit of fun to the game and will teach me alot about networking! :D

So tommorow my main goal is to create a skybox for my game and put in some collision detection so you cannot go past it :D I will also add a new spaceship model which I am thinking of stealing from a game example courtesy of XNA game studio. So I better not talk to long or else I will get very little done tonight!

More updates tommorow!

XNA game engine update

Hi guys I am currently working on lots of little things that might make this project remotely interesting, heres a list of things I want done before the end of september:

camera working
animation working
decent level model created and loaded in to scale
decent skybox up and running
maybe add a weapon to the tiny.x model I am using as my test model.
get some sort of physics up and running so I can jump about the game.

Thats all atm as I think this will be more than enough for me to try and accomplish! after all I am still only starting out at this. Although I do have help in the form of the new book I recently purchased which I have to say is quite good. It is providing me with alot of helpful ideas on which I will hopefully expand upon.

Right now in my game/engine I am using a model known well to all directx users as tiny.x which I dont think is that good a choice for me as it will be hard to get it looking quite good with a human model. I am thinking that I will create a small spaceship model which I can make a flying fps with. Or I could try and create a truck with a movable turret which will fire missiles :D

anyway I will post later tonight If I get much done!