On 1/18/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">Joe Evango</b> <<a href="mailto:jjadeinc@hotmail.com">jjadeinc@hotmail.com</a>> wrote:<div><span class="gmail_quote"></span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
Is it really a "3D client" or a 2D client with better bitmaps and different<br>window placements/sizes?</blockquote><div><br>Hi Joe,<br><br>It's 3D, but I expect that the most common use - for existing players anyway - will be a top-down view that looks much like the existing tactical. Wacky camera angles or trailing or zooming (maybe speed-sensitive) cameras would certainly be possible, but at the expense of lowered competitiveness.
<br><br>The real purpose is that using a 3D renderer makes it easier to add in eye candy (yes, hiss in outrage!), and I feel that the the current clients are, while highly functional, simply too stone age for today's market. As per previous discussions on this list, I believe that potential players won't take the time to find out how good Netrek is under the skin, if the skin is all wrinkled and ancient.
<br> </div><br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">What is your timeline for completing the first release?<br>-Joe</blockquote><div>
<br><br>Approximately when it's done. I'm neither committing to a timescale nor looking for assistance, this is purely an FYI at this point. Due to Netrek's liberal use of globals and fixed size arrays, it's actually a breeze to implement, and I'm currently dodging torps in the 3D window (admittedly every ship is a WWII German destroyer and the torps are all pink blobs, but the principle is there). It's actually the front end, input, and text rendering that'll take the time, not to mention modelling the ships and eye candy, although given the scales involved, the models don't have to be particularly detailed.
</div><br>I should mention that I'm basing it on NetrekXP 2006, and will be developing it on Windows only, but using a very lightweight cross platform 3D engine (Irrlicht, or I might switch to its offspring, Lightfeather) that should allow easy porting to Linux and MacOS if it ever gets to the point where anyone is interested.
<br><br>Worst case, if nobody uses it but me, then it'll still be a satisfying project.<br>
<br>Regards,<br><br>-Colin-<br></div>