Post by Adam on Jun 29, 2008 9:07:36 GMT -5
So Vassal is kinda neat, but playing DoS on it, with all its complexities, will be kind of difficult in the communication department. You can't put damage grids into the chat. 
So... I might write one myself.
Obviously this'll take a lot of time, which is something I don't have much of. Well, with dedication and the right books I could write the thing in a couple of weeks probably; it depends on how much functionality I put into it. I'm tempted to add some kind of autofire mode, so you can press a button and it'll automatically resolve attacks and damage relevant to the situation, but until we've firmed the mechanics up we're probably better off not doing that.
As such the program will likely be Vassal with a better interface, relevant DoS stuff on one side (like the damage grid, weapon info etc - shows whenever you select or mouse over a model, so you can check out enemy models easily and don't have to refer to an army list once you've made it in the program) and a chat/dice rolling/other stuff pane on the other side. With a board in the middle. I'll likely use DirectX for the central bit, because I don't know Java (well I do have a basic book on it, but Visual Basic plus DirectX is something I'm proficient in, whereas I don't even have a compiler for Java yet...).
I'd like to hear your thoughts on the idea? Any input/etc? If anyone wants to create graphics for the program (mech and terrain sprites) I'll be very grateful; I have some mech sprites and could easily create the graphics myself, but terrain would pose a greater problem. Square/rectangular terrain pieces of any variety are best, because they'll be much easier to program, especially if I add some kind of movement system.
Any further ideas or thoughts (positive and negative) before I delve in?
So... I might write one myself.
Obviously this'll take a lot of time, which is something I don't have much of. Well, with dedication and the right books I could write the thing in a couple of weeks probably; it depends on how much functionality I put into it. I'm tempted to add some kind of autofire mode, so you can press a button and it'll automatically resolve attacks and damage relevant to the situation, but until we've firmed the mechanics up we're probably better off not doing that.
As such the program will likely be Vassal with a better interface, relevant DoS stuff on one side (like the damage grid, weapon info etc - shows whenever you select or mouse over a model, so you can check out enemy models easily and don't have to refer to an army list once you've made it in the program) and a chat/dice rolling/other stuff pane on the other side. With a board in the middle. I'll likely use DirectX for the central bit, because I don't know Java (well I do have a basic book on it, but Visual Basic plus DirectX is something I'm proficient in, whereas I don't even have a compiler for Java yet...).
I'd like to hear your thoughts on the idea? Any input/etc? If anyone wants to create graphics for the program (mech and terrain sprites) I'll be very grateful; I have some mech sprites and could easily create the graphics myself, but terrain would pose a greater problem. Square/rectangular terrain pieces of any variety are best, because they'll be much easier to program, especially if I add some kind of movement system.
Any further ideas or thoughts (positive and negative) before I delve in?
