Time log

2004-03-27 08:11 Created this web page where the time log, screen shots and executable files will be held. The competition will start 16 April so I won't add nothing more until then.

2004-04-11 02:26 The second warm up has just finished! This time (I didn't participate to the last) the theme was robotron. Yes, we "had" to make a robotron clone in just 4.8 hours, so an hour to make the graphics (thanks to UfoZ to let me "steal;" some of his graphics) and 3.8 hours to code it. Althougth I've done it better this time than in all last competition, I have not been able to finish it again. If you want you can see a screenshot and download the source code (no Win32 version this time, sorry. It was just a test so it was tested only under GNU/Linux using SDL+SDL_Image). Even if I've overcome a lot of mistakes from last competition, this warm up served to see that the level of my "competitors" is still very high. I guess I won't win, but I can't wait for next Friday!

2004-04-17 03:02 The competition have just started. This time the theme is "Infection". Now the fun begins :-)

2004-04-17 04:50 Finally I've come with an idea. We are an operative system that must be installed in a computer network. Every level is a node from this network. Yet I still need more gameplay about the battle against the host operative system.

2004-04-17 05:34 Completed title screen, but no idea how to implement gameplay yet. Now must start to get this running.

2004-04-17 07:39 I've uploaded the first executable (actually source code) of the "game wanna be". In this version I already have implemented states and resources management. One thing to note is that until the very end I won't upload a Windows version of the game, so if you want to test the game (it's not worth) you need a GNU/Linux with SDL, SDL_image and SDL_mixer (I don't use SDL_mixer yet but as I plan to make sound and music, here it is).

2004-04-17 12:07 Well, finally I've chosen a gameplay. Instead of an arcade game that I imagined at the beginning, I've decided to make the classic stick games. I don't know the true name of the game where you must surround a square by drawing lines. So this game will be for two player, either with the computer (AI, wow... I wonder if I could) and I'll try to make it multiplayer, so I'll take a look to SDL_net (more libraries!). I made almost all graphics (this kind of games don't have a lot) but I would change some if I manage to get time (poor tux...)

2004-04-17 15:39 Umh... I'm really slow. I've spent more than twelve hours and I'm unable to make something playable (isn't interactive yet!). As I'm a bad artist I had a lot of problems with my graphics (damn points didn't align properly). Now I'm starting the mouse interface (that is kinda scaring because never did something in isometric view). I need to update this more and talk a little more on IRC.

2004-04-17 20:07 Finally some interactivity. After I remade the screen about seven times finally I've been able to make the program "more game-like". You probably noticed that I've removed some of the computers (36 now, 100 in the previous version) but it was easier to program it :-) and besides, I'm really tired: 18 hours is too much for me ;-). Tomorrow I'll make the AI and add the Network Option (don't know how. SDL doesn't come with input functions AFAIK).

2004-04-18 09:14 I've implemented a dump AI player to test the game (it just picks positions at random, cool eh?). Now I'm looking to write a minimax like algorithm (if I remember how to do it). And for the Win32 version, maybe I'll upload one earlier than expected, 'cause if I want to test the network code (when done) I have to use the Windows box.

2004-04-18 12:19 I've finished the network code. Now you can play against the AI (boring now, maybe also later) or a Human, but is difficult to play with your self and even more when the two boxes are in different rooms :-). Anyway I've created the Win32 version so Windows users can try it.

2004-04-18 13:54 I need to make music and better sound effects (I only have the crappy laugh when a computer is "infected"....). I'll try to use soundtracker but...

2004-04-18 17:32 The AI is almost done. What it does is get random moves and check which one is the best more or less like the minimax algorithm: When created the next move (at random, because I was unable to win it (-: ) it checks if a new OS is installed. If so add points and check next movement. If no, it checks if the opponent can do one and substracts a point. It's easy but it does a fairy good job. Note that I'm getting closer to the final entry (about 9 hours more), but still missing sounds, music, better graphics, enhancements like a chat window, etc... I can't do that in the remaining time (It's not that I can do it with more...) so, it's music time!

2004-04-18 21:49 OK, I thought I was almost finished but I was wrong. A recent game test ended with a AI deadlock where the AI just waited to find an empty wire and hanging the game... Then I tried to make an list with all empty wires so we don't need to look for the empty wire (Yes, I could... no, I should have thought about it before coding the AI but I was (and still I am) tired.) but then all game crashed. Oh, man! more bug hunting! At last I managed to fix all bugs, but then the AI was overwriting some wires -.-. This is now also fixed but it took a little. Now we only have 5 hours until deadline... I think that I should start making the final tests as it is now and make the final versions (both Linux and Windows)

2004-04-18 22:32 A little more than 4 hours to finish the competition. I'm packing now the final Linux and Windows version without music, the crappy sound effect (reduced in size though) and tested under both platforms (for testing the network part). I know I could have done more (even if it's far better, I think, than the entry of the last competition), but after 1568 lines of code I got very tired... So after entry uploading I'll go to sleep! See you at next competition!

2004-04-25 16:37 After almost a week from competition I've written a postmortem for my entry "OSWar". I don't know if my entry is worth it or not but I think this is a good way to know what I have to improve to win the next competition ;-) (or at least to make a better entry)

2004-05-10 12:06 The competition results have been published. After 3 weeks of voting here are my scores:

• Overall: 2.67 (33th)
• Innovation: 1.88 (53th)
• Fun: 2.43 (34th)
• Graphics: 2.63 (44th)
• Sound: 1.90 (37th)
• Humor: 2.67 (17th)
• Theme: 2.67 (44th)
• Completeness: 3.42 (20th)

They are better than the previous competition, but I hope next year do it better.