OK, it builds... now what?

Added by blindahl over 8 years ago

not quite actually there yet, but i thought i'd get the conversation started...

i'll just say i'm a pretty much complete noob when it comes to actual game design. i've been a programmer for a long time, so the code will probably make more sense to me than the graphics tools will (although i've done my fair share of graphics design as well).

what's the typical workflow for actually building a world? once i've got 3dsmax installed and the NeL plugins hooked up, what are the basics for actually making a world?

i anticipate something like this, but have no idea how to get from one step to the next:

  • design a landform in 3dsmax
  • make tiles to texture the land
  • make buildings to put on the land
  • construct character skeletons, skin, clothing, etc
  • place buildings/rocks/trees/npcs/mobs
  • scripting for AI
  • write quests & storyline

i've looked at the help for the ryzom tools, and it pretty much makes sense. what i don't get is what parts happen elsewhere, and how - how do i design new creatures (monster or otherwise)? how do i do the various animations, especially if i don't have a motion capture studio?

also, are there other tools and/or resources that are helpful?

IMHO, we need to start a wiki section with all this stuff. There's a lot of info out there about game design, yes, but not much (if any) is tailored to the ryzom "way".


Replies (8)

RE: OK, it builds... now what? - Added by Kane over 8 years ago

Your server builds and runs too? There's a lot of things yet to go if not for me there is 19 diffrent services.

But I agree we need to get this wiki going fast.

RE: OK, it builds... now what? - Added by Tom316 over 8 years ago

I've got everything to build fine. The interesting part comes when trying to figure out what files each service needs access to and where said files need to be in relation to said service. Some of it can be changed via the config files but a lot of it is just try and start said tool / service and if it crash's look at the log and figure out what is missing from what.

A wiki page would be a great help in figuring out the workflow and all.

RE: OK, it builds... now what? - Added by Kane over 8 years ago

Yeah I made a post on it here [[http://dev.ryzom.com/boards/17/topics/1271]]

I work all day tomorrow but hopefully someone figures it out and puts into the wiki.

RE: OK, it builds... now what? - Added by blindahl over 8 years ago

no, it doesn't quite all build yet. getting there, tho. :)

RE: OK, it builds... now what? - Added by Kane over 8 years ago

I think the biggest step getting the server up and running for most users windows and Linux that way theirs even more people to focus on the next part.

Are you using windows or Linux?

RE: OK, it builds... now what? - Added by sunandshadow over 8 years ago

blindahl, have you ever gone to gamedev.net? It is one of the largest forums dedicated to people helping each other learn how to design and develop games.

Personally when I design a game I do it in this order:
- Decide the gameplay genre of the game and list useful examples
- Make a list of features to be implemented. This is the first part of the design document.
- Rough out the story and make an outline or synopsis of it. This is the second part of the design document.
- Create a list of art assets needed for the story. Again, it goes into the design document.
- Concept art.
- Build the landform and place cubes to mark where buildings or other objects will go.
- Either texture the land and sky or start working on non-animated models. In order to do textures you need to have the in-game lighting sorted out first. Adding looping background music is also reasonable at this point.
- The animated models are significantly more difficult, they will need a lot of testing and scripting. Whenever possible re-use an animated skeleton for multiple models. Don't bother texturing them until they move correctly.
- Collision detection, special effects, sound effects, AI, and a lot of math are all necessary if you want combat to work.
- Finalize the script for the quest(s) and give it to an NPC to speak.
- The quest also has to interact properly with the player's inventory, quest log, etc.
- Playtesting and tweaking.

RE: OK, it builds... now what? - Added by blindahl over 8 years ago

yep, been there, and at the time got thoroughly confused and had no idea which way to go. I'll go back and poke around more now that I have some actual tools and a (soon-to-be) working engine.

your list makes a lot of sense... it's not much different than planning for any project, be it software, gaming, or any other. having the order of how to tackle things will be good, tho.

however, i'm more interested in the specifics of how to do things with Ryzom Core. Once I have everything built, the first thing I'm gonna want to do (like many of us, i'm sure) is make my own world, with one little patch of land that I can walk around on. Nothing complicated, but it'll give me that bit of encouragement that i thrive on in this kind of project.

RE: OK, it builds... now what? - Added by sunandshadow over 8 years ago

The relevant part of gamedev is the game design forum. I'm the moderator of the writing for games forum there. :)

Lol I'd like to know how to do things with Ryzom Core too. I think the provided files do include one patch of land you can walk around on though, a demo area. Right now I have to figure out how to convert max files to blender files so I can start looking at the models and make a list of which seem like good candidates for reworking. I'm interested in making a game with more standard wolves, horses, cats; I'd just make them from scratch but I don't know how to do animation, and I want to look at the ryzom ones anyway so I can make mine at the same scale and polycount.

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