ATM Hunted is progressing but not in a Blitz sense. I have an artist onboard (a very good one :) ), we are currently working on a 'top secret' project that will be revealed when its completed (and let me tell you its got more eye candy than anything ive seen lately, its also got amazing playability :) ).

On a Hunted front tho, what with the problems that Quill3d and CShop have thrown up I have decided to code my own editor in C++ and GLUT OpenGL. For those curious the problems with the other packages are:
Quill3d - the editor is fine its just when you lightmap the who thing stops responding and gets terminated by XP.

CShop 4.01 - in the editor everything looks brilliant, lighting is amazing and all looks as I want it. Exporting to a b3d and what you get is every prefab (I mean every one) is unlit.


On a OpenGL coding front I have started the whole system, it will mimic some blitz commands so I can port projects around easier. I have currently completed:
1) OpenGL windows - this is a biggy as it can now allow rendering.

2) Vertex and tri creation - this is done

3) Basic camera - this wasnt as difficult as I thought

4) Keydown (EGLKeydown) function - this is another biggy

5) Vertex colouring

I still have loads to do (texturing, exporting etc) but when its complete and I start the basic editor I will post the new product here (not on the blitz basic boards because that wouldnt be fair). Who knows if it goes better than planned I may move more stuff over to C++ =).

Hi,

so the switch to XP caused some trouble ?
Any response from the developers of Quill3D or, for that matter, CShop ?
C++/OpenGl is probably more all-purpose I guess, but its gonna be a long and rocky road ;)
And now with the news on the BliztMAX progress, we will see how things look in 6 months :)
But a proprietary editor is most of the time the way to go , IMO, waiting on bugfixes for commercial editors can be nerve wrecking and kill a project :/

You could say that but taking 4-6 hours to lightmap what I would consider a simple level isnt good either :|.

From what I can gather Quill isnt gonna be updated and CShop its a 'see whats in the next version' :|

TBH I have been considering jumping to C++ and OpenGL for some time, the main thing stopping me is relearning all the 3d bits and pieces, but now I see what problems that will arise from using other programs I am now determined to learn OpenGL and create my own 3d system for use in future projects.

Have you taken a look at Torque? I've been playing around with it for the past few months and I'm really pleased. It may save you some time in the long run - having all of the OpenGL/platform-specific code implemented plus miscellaneous 'stuff' like editors, scene lighting, precipitation, vehicles, etc. is a plus.

With that said, it is a complex beast and by writing your own engine you'd know exactly how everything 'fits' together.

Something to think about I suppose. :)

I have had a look at it, didnt like the idea of using someone elses code TBH. If I wanted to do that I would stick with Blitz :)

Its also a very good learning experience :)

Dont worry tho Hunted will be completed either using Blitz or C++, I have always wanted to create a System Shock style game but never had the languages to do it as I wanted. Now I have C++ and OpenGL also Blitz there is nothing stopping me (apart from a decent lightmapping system).

Well, best of luck to ya Ed. I'll certainly be keeping my eye on Hunted so don't forget to update the worklog occassionally. :)

Any major development will normally be posted here, unless they are blitz related then they will be on blitzcoder.

I am currently working on another project which is coming along brilliantly that I want to get completed (Hunted is a pet project that I dont want to rush into :) ).

Slim shady lightmapper works with standard b3d models this means we can now lightmap our levels, I intend to use CShop to design the levels and then whack them through Slim Shady lightmapper to finish them off =).

Excellent. How does SL's lightmapping compare to Quill's quality/speed wise?

Anyway, looking forward to some new pics. :D

TBM it doesnt look that much different and is slightly faster to lightmap :).

As soon as I 'recreate' the initial area and relightmap it I will post some pics, im using Slim Shady lightmapper (by jfk) as this lightmaps prefabs as well where CShop just vertex lights them which looks tacky.