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I decided to make a WIP to post my progress with the next version of the Game Template.

Quick Overview:

The Game Template is a bunch of classes useful for Dark Basic Pro. Most programers write the same code again and again and spend a lot of unnessesary time on debugging, design, and writing the video game. This products goal is to reduce development time as much as possible.

After two months of development I have finally finished the Game Template! I put a hold on a few features and cut down the price to release it earlier. This is an expansion on a bunch of classes I wrote on one of my threads. What makes this different is I re-wrote and added on over 218 functions. Each class is designed to work with each over. An example would be Dynamic Resources using the File class to access the database of resources for loading and searching. I created the Game Template with several things in mind: Automation, Performance, Management, and ease of use.

Cost: $5 via paypal. Order anytime. The price for updating is less then buying the new Game Template with Updates. I will soon change this to google checkout. Click on the link to my website. I will send you an email with 24 hrs. A portion of the profits will fund the Game Template Mini-Competition.

How updates work:
- Free Updates are added when it is a small addition to one of the classes.
- Some updates cost money and are just a few dollars on top of the price of the Game Template.
- The Game Templates price will increase as I add more updates/classes to the Game Template.
- You can buy the Game Template anytime. I keep track of what version you have and calculate the cost of updating to the newest version. It would only be a few dollars normally to update to the newest version.
- Updates are distributed via a link sent to your email. The link will expire once you download the update.

More Details: Product Announcements: Game Template Source

Updates are posted on my blog:
http://digitalfuryblog.tumblr.com/

Let me know of any Thoughts, Questions, Comments, Ideas, or bugs.

DigitalFury

Game Template Updates

I have finished the Update so it will be released to anyone who bought the Game Template!

Modular version:
- Separated Classes and created examples for every possible combination of classes.
- Created several Game Template builds for: with Dark Data Database or without Dark Data Database and with Unity or with Barnski's Lua.

Other additions:
- Added the Competition starter code

Bug Fixes:
- ShutDown Flag for Command Center wasn't working both ways. Fixed by closing via the Executable's Handle.
- Other various bug fixes with Animation and File were fixed and updated before the Game Template sold one copy.
- Instead of Closing the thread using CloseThread I found a better command ExitThread for shutting down the thread correctly.

Changing Payment Methods: Paypal charges a good chuck of change for their services so I am going to use Google Checkout soon.

Check my blog for more up to date updates.

DigitalFury

Game Template Update

Updates:
- Performance Tutorial: Completely explains how the Performance code works. Topics include: How to keep the loop running at a constant Loops Per Second Rate and how to recycle wasted loops and return the wasted time back to the CPU.
- Game Template Update 1.0: Separated out classes, make some small examples showing how to use each class separately, finished up the competition starter code, and fixed the bugs listed above.

What I am working on:
- Animation: Parse Model Packs, FPS Creator Models, and Character Shop Models for the animation indexes automatically sorting and extracting the animation. I finished parsing Gun Model Packs made by Errant AI.
- GUI: I have finished the basic framework and got a button to work correctly. I am going to re-write the framework using the Game Template.
- Class Tutorials: Explaining how every class works. These tutorials are very in-depth!
- Examples: How to make a video game using the Game Template. This will be released after the mini-competition.

How updates work:
- Free Updates are added when it is a small addition to one of the classes.
- Some updates cost money and are just a few dollars on top of the price of the Game Template.
- The Game Templates price will increase as I add more updates/classes to the Game Template.
- You can buy the Game Template anytime. I keep track of what version you have and calculate the cost of updating to the newest version. It would only be a few dollars normally to update to the newest version.
- Updates are distributed via a link sent to your email. The link will expire once you download the update.

DigitalFury

Some questions for the community:
- Is the price point right?
- How much should I charge for the Game Template?
- Who would use the Game Template if they had enough money?
- What features would you want in a Game Template?
- What features would sell you the Game Template?
- Does anyone buy open source code or just buy plugins?
- Is it better to sell open source or as a plugin?
- Would anyone buy the first version of a product that will be updated or wait for the final version to be released?
- Would you buy the Game Template? If not then what do I need to improve the Game Template?
- If you bought the Game Template then why did you buy the Game Template? What did you need that the Game Template fulfilled?

Thanks for answering these questions. I will try and improve my Game Template based on input received.

DigitalFury

I think the price is perfect. Considering how much work has (probably) gone into development, and how useful it might be, 5$ sounds very fair.



That's a bit hard to say. I mean, the current features already sound quite interesting. Another thing I'd find interesting would be the possibility to register certain variables/arrays, bound to some sort of container, and letting the Game Template handle saving and loading of these variable-containers. This way, you could easily realize profiles, own level-file-formats, savegames etc. (I haven't seen the whole command list yet, so if something like that is already possible, then sorry)



While plugins provide some sort of DRM-possibilites (at least to a certain extent, see BlueGUI), I personally would probably prefer code.



I'd buy the first version, if I had a PayPal account and a big upcoming project. However, I don't, so there's not really a need to buy it, on my side. To be honest, I probably wouldn't even buy it otherwise - not because it's not worth it, but because for some reason I want to code everything myself, as long as I'm able to do so. Your template surely includes several features I couldn't handle myself (at least not within a reasonable amount of time and work), but these are mostly features I don't need anyway (Animations, for example, since I'm just making 2D Games).

However, I (and possibly others) would probably be more convinced after seeing some bigger examples of what the Game Template is capable of.

Always a hard question. This template has a lot of code in it. It is completely modular with a lot of flexibility. It handles the majority of the technical parts of scripting games that stump most new DBP scripters. I would say that it is worth about the same as a TGC DBP plugin. About $20USD. The problem, of course, is convincing people who haven't purchased it yet. I'd advise that you keep the first couple of versions cheap until you get more customers using it so that people see the quality. Then start to raise the price slowly as you upgrade it.

I'd say that it's most useful for people with a moderate level of DBP coding experience. Although the code is all very well written and you have a ton of examples with very good instructions... Someone new to scripting may find a lot of the base logic over their heads. A few of your more advanced systems (Multi-threading and such) would be hard for them. At the same time, your tutorials and help files are good enough to explain it in such a way that it would probably make an excellent learning tool.
Advanced BDP scripters would find less use in it. It would be a potential time saver, and they may find a few new code snippets useful. But, chances are they've already scripted their own systems if they're that good.

So, beginner to intermediate level scripters are your target.
I consider myself in the intermediate level. I plan to use it for a smallish 3d RPG.


You already sold me on your game template.
The main features that I would love to have in a game template (Most of it is already in there) are:
Modular. Easy to update/integrate with existing code.
Easy GUI system (I hate building UI's the hard way...)
Options to use common systems needed for games such as physics and model controls. AI/Pathfinding would be great. Some system that would allow easy placing and control of special effects such as dust when a character slides or muzzle flashing. An easy system to connect FX to Objects/Bones. Multithreading.
Most games need to keep track of several different stats on all of the characters. The player character may need variables that track health and strength and skill with a rifle. The NPC's may need vars for the same stuff and extras for things such as different AI's(A dog won't do the same stuff as a ninja), movement speed, etc. It would be great if you had a quick and easy pre-made way for us to assign any variable we wanted to any specific model we wanted.
Something like SetModelInt(<Model Number>, <Int Name>, <Value> So that beginer scripters could track stats in an easier fashion.
Also, the idea of a full set of stats. A Goblin may need Gender$, Str, Health, Speed#, Name$, AIType, Etc. If you found some easy way to define arrays and allow us to do something like...
SpawnNPC("Goblin", ModelNumber, LocationX#, LocationY#, LocationZ#)
And have a goblin appear at Location$ with his proper stats and model all set already, it could really help to populate largish levels that may have many enemies. If you also had a way to identify that goblin later when a character shoots it, that would be great.
Say, I use a raytrace to see what I hit. It hits the goblin. If I had a pre-made function that could auto figure out what my raytrace hit and return that array so that I knew how much health that goblin had left, that could be handy and time saving when used with the auto goblin generator code.



For this, I prefer code. I need quick and easy access so that I can customize it for my own game. If it is something where it is a list of functions that can be performed faster via a plugin, then I'll go with a plugin. If you found a way to get better multithreading with a plugin, for instance, I'd buy it. Most of this stuff, I prefer code. I hate it when I have to say "Well... It almost works. If I could just tweak this function to return X instead of Y...".



I bought it.
The main part that grabbed me was that it was modular and already had a fully functional set of functionalities, such as physics, that will allow me plug my own game logic in and be done. It was a huge time saver, and I'm fairly sure that your scripting is better quality than mine right now. I've learned quite a bit just reading your code.

Oh, and a quick note: The link to your blog is borked.

It should be: http://digitalfuryblog.tumblr.com/
You have: http://www.tumblr.com/tumblelog/digitalfuryblog

@Wyldhunt - Thanks for your feedback. I figured my target right now might only be intermediate users considering the complexity of the code. My goal is to target every user but in order to do this I would have to complete my editor. I am considering re-writing one of my games and releasing it with the Game Template. This would be released in the next version if possible. Thanks for your review and fixed link. Thanks.

GUI:
I know GUI would bring in customers just for the GUI. The GUI classes are always hard and I am looking for a way to generate styles. This might not be possible in the first versions of the GUI class but later I want to combine images into a .style file for easy loading. This takes a lot of work though. You could have some images missing and there would be several formats to think about. Every control would have it's own format and it can't be handled automatically. The best way to do this is to use Visual Basic .Net or a program to select images. I could setup some basic naming rules in order to automatically create .style files. I would have to manually name every file in order to do this though.

Animation:
I am now working on making animation extraction/loading completely automated. You can buy any Model Pack and it will automatically convert/setup everything for enhanced animation. I also want to make my own system for anyone who doesn't own enhanced animation.

Where the Game Template is going:
I am working on every possible concept anyone would need for their games. Eventually I am going to tie everything into one massive editor. There is also an editor for anyone who creates 2-D games. The editors will be pre-compiled and not open source for many reason. The editors will output all the code for you so you don't have to do any work. Eventually everything would be automated enough that you won't have to write much code. Some people think this means that it is limited. It isn't limited if it is all open source. You can easily add something like better AI, lighting systems, shaders, or whatever. The editor is not open source because it would go down in value for those who have there own code to do certain things within the editor. I have spent a great deal on time working out the controls, visuals, and concepts for the editor so it will be very easy to use. I am looking to write a standard editor that everyone can use. There is no need for independently creating editors anymore if one editor has done it right. This community has the power to do great things. I want to enable the community to develop better quality games and a lot faster then just writing them on their own.

You can eventually expect it to be like the FPS Creator but more flexible. No FPS creator scripts. Just Lua tapping into the editors capabilities. Eventually you will be able to create a complete FPS in my editor and you wouldn't need to do much coding to finish the FPS. The other editor would be completely 2-D meaning all the 2-D enthusiasts will be able to design games in real-time. The 2-D editor will be a lot harder to design then a 3D editor because of the complexity of the code. There is a lot of ways to render the 2D and some are faster then others. Advanced Sprites is a good plugin but it is a bit buggy. I hope someone would have something better out soon to ultimately replace sprites. Maybe the Image Kit would prove itself to be a good choice. I will have to do a lot more research into the topic.

@Everyone: Read: "Some questions for the community" post and give your opinion if you haven't already.

DigitalFury

More Ideas:

Resource File Formats: I am creating a new custom file format for adding resources and arrays. This is a flexible format. It contains an index for telling what kind of information is stored. It is also encrypted.

Modding: Lua can be used for Modding. I want to tie Lua into the Game Template for modding. I am creating a secondary editor for modders that uses Lua. The editor will generate a Lua script that is loaded into the game automatically.

DigitalFury

A quick bug report.
I tried to compile the Barnski Lua And File Database version of your template after I removed the animation stuff (I don't own the animation plugin) and I got a couple of errors.

Specifically, in File.dba there are two places where you have Lua_FileAdd instead of Lua_AddFile.

Easy fix. It compiles fine now.
Now, I just need to find enough time to make something with it.

@Wyldhunt -



I updated the problem after releasing the Game Template so it might have not been in your update. I fixed the problem though.

Thanks for the input.

DigitalFury

I am going to release the second update for the Game Template. I found several bugs so they will be fixed in this update. This is a large amount of source to maintain so sorry it takes so long!

Bugs:
- Load Resource Functions: Had to correct some code to make sure and index is returned and the type is correct.
- File: Some remaining code from the GetFolder re-write. When database is created it is closed. Have to load the database after creation. (Dark Data)
- FileAdd/FileGet – Some commented out code isn’t correct. Updated.
- Multi-Threading: Load time is different depending on what you are doing with your game. Instead of waiting 750 milliseconds I am waiting for the CanRun flag to equal 1.
- Multi-Threading: Isn’t running at a stable speed. Just tested speed and it is running a little faster than it should be. Will tweak in next update not this update.
- Resource Search: Fixed Less then 0, Equal to -1, Equal to 0 = Index not found.
- FileGet/FileAdd: Changed Index to 1 instead of 0 so it can determine if the index was found or not.

Additions to the Update:
- Class Examples: Showing how to use each class separately. (Input class needs Multi-Threading re-write. Will release in next update not this update)
- Ball Game Example: Showing how to use Game Template to design a game
- Updated Help Files
- Bug Fixes listed above

Next future update:
- Stabilize speed of threads by re-writing performance class to incorporate threads. Thread controlled performance instead of performance controlling the threads performance.
- Stabilize performance before Game Starts
- Mutexes: Expanded use of Multi-Threading for other purposes other than Input. Full examples as well.
- Animation: Enhanced Animation alternative. My own format.
- Finish documentation and Examples
- Massive re-write in a true modular format.
- Additions to the Command Console for more in-depth debugging. Warning outputted directly to the screen. Messages posted on console and errors are reported to the screen and the Game Pauses when an error is reported.
- Object Viewer (Alpha)

DigitalFury

Development of a large portion of source code is proving to be very difficult. I am working on a massive smart parser to help development along. Hopefully this won't slow the development of the Game Template to much.

I've been working at least 3 hrs or more a day on this project. I put 2 months or so of work into this project and it is more and more difficult to work with as the project expands.

Bug Reports:
- Styx + Matrix1Utils Mid$() function causes a problem. Going to write a few replacement functions to address the issue.

DigitalFury

Modularize Classes by adding code from another class in the classes setup functions.

Some of the classes share code from other classes so I will add the code the class needs from another class. There will be a flag for determining if the File class is being used so it doesn't do the same action twice. This will make everything truly modular. I will also make classes stripped of functions that depend on other classes.

I should have these updated added sometime soon. I spent a lot of time trying to modularize the classes without adding any code from another class and it didn't work very well.

DigitalFury