List of interesting engine topics/tutorial ideas

[Baker]

I'm just jotting this down because playing with FitzQuake (FitzQuake "Plus" thread) and adding a few extras to it got me thinking ...

Tutorial Ideas

1. Adding external texture support for q1 mdl to FitzQuake. FitzQuake supports external textures but just for maps.
2. Adding 5 button mouse support under Windows.
3. Adding 5 button mouse support under the SDL scheme. (Does Quakespasm have this)
4. Making FitzQuake source code 64-bit friendly (Quakespasm did this)
5. Adding a "-tc" command line option to an engine to keep the engine from using -id1 folder.
6. Double gamedir support via command line. This does have its uses if you are serious about modding.

7. Adding leileilol's engoo implementation of palettization via code from q2 lumpy or whatever util source that was.
8. Adding some engoo pitch alteration fun to an engine

9. Adding contrast control to FitzQuake (steal from teh RMQ Engine?)
10. Making palette flashes in FitzQuake instead of using hardware gamma control, use the old "GLQuake" draw an alpha blend over the screen at least as an option to get more consistent FPS.
11. Maybe playing with FitzQuake to speed up dynamic lighting which I believe MH/metslime said had to do, in part, with upload lightmap size being unnecessariily big in some situations (4 bit RGBA instead of 1-bit gray?) or using RGBA instead of BGRA which the gfx card has to convert?


Other Stuff

1. A tutorial to add Kurok support
2. A tutorial to add Nehahra support without support for those .xm music files (I'm not a fan of fmod).
3. Making a high quality backwards compatible prototype of non-linear travel
4. IP6 support.
5. Rewriting the network stuff in Quake without altering the protocol, but making it less crappy
6. Separating the client from the server in Quake single player.
7. Some mechanism to store "base" options somewhere other than config.cfg for immediate load of video options/mouse preferences and establish a 2-tier "cvar" system where certain cvars are not considered gamedir related (video mode, dinput)
8. Playing with frag machine's chase_active 2 to achieve some extra camera control functionality
9. Fixing FitzQuake SDL so that menu.c isn't messing with the mouse capture and instead putting that code in some sort of equivalent of GL_EndRendering (or whatever it is) like Windows does. Or perhaps moving that stuff out of GL_EndRendering into a separate function and calling it immediately after GL_EndRendering since it really doesn't belong in there in my opinion.
10. Separating libcurl functionality out in Qrack so it doesn't require the .dll but merely is optional like in, for instance, DarkPlaces.
11. Taking libcurl functionality and creating a very simple single file download.
12. Making a DarkPlaces-like "show the model names during map loading" as they load bar at the bottom.
13. Split screen rendering tutorial
14. Fixing in particular menu.c to correctly set the key_dest state.
15. Document viewer
16. Entity browser and client entity browser

Will likely add to this list.

[ceriux]

how bout csqc , frik_file, and md3/tags?

[Baker]

how bout csqc , frik_file, and md3/tags?

The latter 2 are good. The first is still a bit of a dream. Spike's test implementation doesn't actually include all of CSQC-needed functionality.

[mh]

7. Some mechanism to store "base" options somewhere other than config.cfg for immediate load of video options/mouse preferences and establish a 2-tier "cvar" system where certain cvars are not considered gamedir related (video mode, dinput)

Something that badly needs an agreed standard, IMO.

[ceriux]

i need an engine with those and DP's hlbsp broke =(

also i saw you mentioned tga's would you know why my alpha channel isnt working?

viewtopic.php?t=2939

[Dr. Shadowborg]

That HUD scripting thing would be nice too, since CSQC is out.

[Spike]

I keep wanting to make a voicechat 'tutorial', but I'm too lazy to figure out sound streaming in vanilla sound code, the rest is easy enough.

[ceriux]

voice chat would be nice. wouldnt you have to add in another sound channel though?

[OneManClan]

Hi Baker,

Judging from a recent thread, the overwhelming complexity involved in just compiling a working .exe frustrates and confuses many many beginners before we ever get to do any actual coding.

So I'd LOVE to see a 'Getting Started with Engine Coding for Newbies', a step by step (preferably video) tutorial showing how to load a source into a compiler, successfully producing an exe, and then actually playing it.



OneManClan
ps. Also, a jargon-free, history/ introduction to the multitude of source versions, compilers etc etc, so the newbies can figure out what the Gurus are talking about would be great
pps. Maybe a tutorial on Basic Concepts - what .c does what. I remember someone explaining this in a thread somewhere, but it would be good to have the info in an easy to find place.

[Mexicouger]

I think you should finish some earlier projects before you start yet another...

[gnounc]

arent you using his psp engine?

way to bite the hand that feeds lol.

[Baker]

Hi Baker,

Judging from a recent thread, the overwhelming complexity involved in just compiling a working .exe frustrates and confuses many many beginners before we ever get to do any actual coding.

So I'd LOVE to see a 'Getting Started with Engine Coding for Newbies', a step by step (preferably video) tutorial showing how to load a source into a compiler, successfully producing an exe, and then actually playing it.

I agree with your sentiments.

But the thing is, really engine coding requires a lot of willingness to fight, be patient and grow.

Something to be thankful of are the lower level tutorials that Team Xlink and others made that do things in the menu and such.

To some extent, that is part of the purpose of this engine:

viewtopic.php?t=2937

Since GLQuake is too "crappy" to really work with and FitzQuake is a highly polished engine that remains very GLQuake-like in most ways.

[Mexicouger]

No, I am using my own Kurok engine. So I am not biting the hand that feeds...

I was waiting for a latter version of Proquake before I even thought about using it. But with constant new projects, I don't know when we will see it.

I am not banging on you Baker, it is just that you say you have no time, but you can do this, when other projects are screaming out to you.

[Arkage]

It's his time he can spend it how he wants.

[Mexicouger]

You are totally overlooking my point.

But whatever. Just do new projects. I guess we will or will not see the light of day of your older projects.