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61

Updates / Tool Review: GarageGames TorqueX 2.0

« on: August 10, 2008, 06:53:13 pm »

   For a long time, Garage Games has been bolstering the independent game development fields with their powerful Torque Game Engine toolsets. From Torque Game Engine to Torque Game Engine Advanced, from Torque Game Builder to Torque X, and even into Torque Wii, Torque 360, and Torque iPhone, Garage Games is dedicated to providing indie game developers the tools they need to reach out to whatever platform they wish, even next generation home entertainment consoles through Torque X, Torque 360, and Torque Wii (bearing in mind that, in order to access Torque 360, or Torque Wii, you must be a registered developer with the company behind the console).

   With Microsoft's release of the XNA Framework and XNA Game Studio Express, which essentially equates to an easier-to-use DirectX system (don't get me wrong, XNA is not DirectX, but it is very similar to many of the styles used by DirectX), Microsoft reached out to independent developers, and made the XBOX 360 the first console system to officially support development (I say "officially" because there has been homebrew games for consoles for years) for their system, and even provides a means to distribute the games over XBOX Live Arcade.

   So what point am I trying to make when I mention both Garage Games and Microsoft? Of course, Torque X, which is essentially the proven Torque game engine technology put into a form that is used alongside Microsoft's XNA Framework. In place of Torque's usual use of TorqueScript, it now focuses on programming gameplay systems using C# and XNA. This isn't really a negative aspect, because now you can use proven Torque technology with a language you are likely already familiar with (if you are a C# developer), and one that you can go on to use in other areas of development, and away from Torque.

   Torque X carries the same powerful features you're used to from other Torque products, save for compatibility with Mac and Linux systems (unless those systems now have an unofficial way to run XNA products). Currently, it features a two-dimensional editor (be aware, however, that you must own Torque Game Builder, or purchase a copy of Torque X Builder, in order to use it past the thirty-day trial), hardware rendering, a powerful lighting system that include normal mapping and refraction, swept polygon collision detection, a powerful physics engine, and more. For those of you who aren't aware of what swept-polygon collision detection is, I'll offer this small explanation. Most collision detections are two-step systems; first, a broad sweep is done to find objects that are possibly colliding, using collision rectangles that are usually the size of the object. Then, it sweeps through all of these possible, and does collision detection based on collision polygons defined in the editor by the developer.

   All-in-all, Torque X is a powerful tool for those who are looking to get into game development, those who wish to develop quickly, and those who wish to develop for the XBOX 360. There is currently a three-dimensional editor in-progress, but the three-dimensional features of the engine are already available. Anybody interested in developing should head over to Garage Games' website (http://www.garagegames.com) and check this, as well as other Torque products out.

62

Adverts & Recruitment / Domain up for grabs.

« on: June 14, 2008, 07:48:36 am »

Alright, so it seems I've come into possession of a domain, and have absolutely nothing to do with it.

The first person who has a use I deem decent for it (and believe me, I don't expect much <.<) can take it. I'll set it to your nameservers and if you've got a GoDaddy account, I'll transfer it to you.

Domain Name: http://www.tribal-phoenix.com

To be honest, I don't even remember why I bought it.

63

Coding / [C++ Tutorial] XBOX 360 Controller Input

« on: June 14, 2008, 04:02:33 am »

Preface
This is just a short tutorial for using an XBOX 360 Controller in your C++ Application. I assume that you have an intermediate knowledge with C++, because I will not be breaking every step down Barney-style for you. I am writing using Microsoft Visual C++ 2008, and will assume that you are doing the same. If you are not, please add the XInput library (from the Microsoft DirectX SDK) to your project in the manner specific to your development environment, and please overlook the line "#pragma comment(lib, "XInput.lib"). This is also assuming that you are starting with an empty console project, and that it is set up to be able to use windows.h and associated headers, as well as XInput and its' associated headers.

Requirements
Microsoft DirectX SDK (October 2005 or later)
XBOX 360 Controller for Windows (Obviously.)

Download
Win32 Binaries: http://files.minalien.com/XBOX360Test_Bin.rar
Source (Including VC++ 2008 Solution File): http://files.minalien.com/XBOX360Test_Src.rar

Step 1 - Setting Up
To start off, we are going to create two files: CXBOXController.h and CXBOXController.cpp. We'll start by editing XBOXController.h.

Step 2 - Class Definition

Code: C

1. #ifndef _XBOX_CONTROLLER_H_
2. #define _XBOX_CONTROLLER_H_
3.  
4. // No MFC
5. #define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN
6.  
7. // We need the Windows Header and the XInput Header
8. #include <windows.h>
9. #include <XInput.h>
10.  
11. // Now, the XInput Library
12. // NOTE: COMMENT THIS OUT IF YOU ARE NOT USING A COMPILER THAT SUPPORTS THIS METHOD OF LINKING LIBRARIES
13. #pragma comment(lib, "XInput.lib")
14.  
15. // XBOX Controller Class Definition
16. class CXBOXController
17. {
18. private:
19.         XINPUT_STATE _controllerState;
20.         int _controllerNum;
21. public:
22.         CXBOXController(int playerNumber);
23.         XINPUT_STATE GetState();
24.         bool IsConnected();
25.         void Vibrate(int leftVal = 0, int rightVal = 0);
26. };
27.  
28. #endif

Breakdown:
This defines a simple C++ Class that manages an XBOX 360 Controller.

_controllerState holds the state of the XBOX 360 Controller, _controllerNum holds a reference to which controller (0-3) is being stored by the class.
GetState() updates the Controller's state and returns the state information to the caller, so that checks can be made on the input (which will be done later when we flesh out the program). IsConnected checks to ensure that the controller is connected, and will return ERROR_SUCCESS (silly Microsoft) if successful. The Vibrate function simply provides us with a quick and easy method of vibrating the controller.

Step 3 - Making it Happen

Code: C

1. #include "CXBOXController.h"
2.  
3. CXBOXController::CXBOXController(int playerNumber)
4. {
5.         // Set the Controller Number
6.         _controllerNum = playerNumber - 1;
7. }
8.  
9. XINPUT_STATE CXBOXController::GetState()
10. {
11.         // Zeroise the state
12.         ZeroMemory(&_controllerState, sizeof(XINPUT_STATE));
13.  
14.         // Get the state
15.         XInputGetState(_controllerNum, &_controllerState);
16.  
17.         return _controllerState;
18. }
19.  
20. bool CXBOXController::IsConnected()
21. {
22.         // Zeroise the state
23.         ZeroMemory(&_controllerState, sizeof(XINPUT_STATE));
24.  
25.         // Get the state
26.         DWORD Result = XInputGetState(_controllerNum, &_controllerState);
27.  
28.         if(Result == ERROR_SUCCESS)
29.         {
30.                 return true;
31.         }
32.         else
33.         {
34.                 return false;
35.         }
36. }
37.  
38. void CXBOXController::Vibrate(int leftVal, int rightVal)
39. {
40.         // Create a Vibraton State
41.         XINPUT_VIBRATION Vibration;
42.  
43.         // Zeroise the Vibration
44.         ZeroMemory(&Vibration, sizeof(XINPUT_VIBRATION));
45.  
46.         // Set the Vibration Values
47.         Vibration.wLeftMotorSpeed = leftVal;
48.         Vibration.wRightMotorSpeed = rightVal;
49.  
50.         // Vibrate the controller
51.         XInputSetState(_controllerNum, &Vibration);
52. }

Breakdown:
This is where the code is actually fleshed out and provides functionality.

First, the CXBOXController Constructor assigns the controller number based on the player number (player 1 = 0, player 2 = 1, player 3 = 2, player 4 = 3).

Next, we flesh out the function that gets the state of the controller. First, we must zeroise the pointer to the game state, so that we can ensure no artifacts exist, due to how input is checked. We then make a call to XInputGetState, and pass the controller number and the address of the controller state variable to store the state of the controller into. This will ensure that _controllerState is always up-to-date. We then return the state of the controller.

After this, we implement IsConnected(), which returns true if the controller is connected and has no errors, or false if something is wrong. As in the GetState() function, we need to zeroise the memory and update the state, so that we can keep on top of the controller's state, in case of a sudden disconnection. If the controller is connected and has no problems, XInputGetState() will return ERROR_SUCCESS, stating that everything is okay.

And finally, we implement a feature to allow for vibration. The XBOX 360 has two vibration motors in it; one on the left, and one on the right. We take this into account by allowing a value for the left motor, and a value for the right motor. Each of these can range from 0 to 65535, indicating the strength of the motor's vibration, 65535 being the strongest. We first define an instance of the XINPUT_VIBRATION struct, which allows us to store the vibration speeds into one structure. Just as a precaution, we zeroise this memory, then set the vibration speeds, and finally set the vibration state with XInputSetState. Due to our use of 0 as the default values for leftVal and rightVal, we can call controller->Vibrate() alone to stop all vibration on the controller.

Step 4 - Testing
Now, it's time to write a small program to test this.

Code: C

1. #include "CXBOXController.h"
2. #include <iostream>
3.  
4. CXBOXController* Player1;
5. int main(int argc, char* argv[])
6. {
7.         Player1 = new CXBOXController(1);
8.  
9.         std::cout << "Instructions:\n";
10.         std::cout << "[A] Vibrate Left Only\n";
11.         std::cout << "[B] Vibrate Right Only\n";
12.         std::cout << "[X] Vibrate Both\n";
13.         std::cout << "[Y] Vibrate Neither\n";
14.         std::cout << "[BACK] Exit\n";
15.  
16.         while(true)
17.         {
18.                 if(Player1->IsConnected())
19.                 {
20.                         if(Player1->GetState().Gamepad.wButtons & XINPUT_GAMEPAD_A)
21.                         {
22.                                 Player1->Vibrate(65535, 0);
23.                         }
24.  
25.                         if(Player1->GetState().Gamepad.wButtons & XINPUT_GAMEPAD_B)
26.                         {
27.                                 Player1->Vibrate(0, 65535);
28.                         }
29.  
30.                         if(Player1->GetState().Gamepad.wButtons & XINPUT_GAMEPAD_X)
31.                         {
32.                                 Player1->Vibrate(65535, 65535);
33.                         }
34.  
35.                         if(Player1->GetState().Gamepad.wButtons & XINPUT_GAMEPAD_Y)
36.                         {
37.                                 Player1->Vibrate();
38.                         }
39.  
40.                         if(Player1->GetState().Gamepad.wButtons & XINPUT_GAMEPAD_BACK)
41.                         {
42.                                 break;
43.                         }
44.                 }
45.                 else
46.                 {
47.                         std::cout << "\n\tERROR! PLAYER 1 - XBOX 360 Controller Not Found!\n";
48.                         std::cout << "Press Any Key To Exit.";
49.                         std::cin.get();
50.                         break;
51.                 }
52.         }
53.  
54.         delete(Player1);
55.  
56.         return( 0 );
57. }

I'm not going to go into detail over most of the contents of this last chunk of code, because it should be quite obvious what it does.

However, I will go over the following parts:

Code: C

1. CXBOXController* Player1;
2. ...
3. Player1 = new CXBOXController(1);

I chose to define it this way because I like pointers when it comes to things such as controllers; It allows me to easily pass them if I want to send them in a form other than as global variables. The 1 in the constructor indicates that it will be player 1's controller (or controller #0, according to XInput).

Code: C

1. if(Player1->GetState().Gamepad.wButtons & XINPUT_GAMEPAD_A)

This is the code that checks for gamepad state. To check for button inputs, you must use a logical AND to check if the butotn was pressed.

here are the hexadecimal values of the different buttons:

XINPUT_GAMEPAD_DPAD_UP          0x00000001
XINPUT_GAMEPAD_DPAD_DOWN        0x00000002
XINPUT_GAMEPAD_DPAD_LEFT        0x00000004
XINPUT_GAMEPAD_DPAD_RIGHT       0x00000008
XINPUT_GAMEPAD_START            0x00000010
XINPUT_GAMEPAD_BACK             0x00000020
XINPUT_GAMEPAD_LEFT_THUMB       0x00000040
XINPUT_GAMEPAD_RIGHT_THUMB      0x00000080
XINPUT_GAMEPAD_LEFT_SHOULDER    0x0100
XINPUT_GAMEPAD_RIGHT_SHOULDER   0x0200
XINPUT_GAMEPAD_A                0x1000
XINPUT_GAMEPAD_B                0x2000
XINPUT_GAMEPAD_X                0x4000
XINPUT_GAMEPAD_Y                0x8000

You can also use GetState() to get the values of the Thumbstick Positions and right and left triggers. More information on doing that can be found here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb174832(VS.85).aspx

Conclusion
That concludes my XBOX 360 Conroller tutorial. I hope you've learned from it, and perhaps can make some good use of it.

64

Feedback / You all wanted your Wiki so badly.

« on: May 31, 2008, 12:54:19 am »

Now look at how often it's getting jacked by wikispammers

Wiki's been jacked by the way.

65

Entertainment / American Horror Movies Suck

« on: May 29, 2008, 04:40:56 am »

Why can't we have better horror movies, like this? (A L'interieur)

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajq9VwfU_Ss" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajq9VwfU_Ss</a>

66

Coding / [Design Discussion Part 1] Concept Document

« on: May 24, 2008, 06:10:53 pm »

Time for a series of design-related discussions. Please keep in mind that these are intended to be MATURE DISCUSSIONS related to DESIGN of Video Games. NOT kid-ish whining about what others use, and NOT a place to ask for help, but a place to DISCUSS Design Theory and issues related to them.

Part I: Concept Document
In the first part of the Design Discussion series, we're going to be discussing the Concept Document. The Concept Document is similar to the design document in the sense that it gives some details about how the game runs, but it isn't nearly as detailed and is intended to sell the idea to publishers in order to get the green light on development, or to get funding for a project. The Concept Document contains information such as the initial summary of the back-story, unique selling points of the game (why the publishers should WANT your team to make this game for them to sell), and the general concepts behind the gameplay, genre, etc.

As an example, I've attached a Word document (Office 2007 format. If you want another format, let me know) version of the Concept Document for my current project, Plix!, which was due as a college assignment.

67

Other Discussion / Vista Drivers Problem? :/

« on: May 21, 2008, 02:38:41 am »

Alright, I just re-installed Vista (again) on my Machine, which has run NO problems before, but now I'm having all kinds of video card problems.

It's acting like the Video Card isn't even installed :/ I have the drivers installed, most recent, reinstalled them about a half billion times already, and still it's running as if Vista was just installed and has no video card drivers running. EVERYTHING else is running no problems, so It's either a problem with my graphics card itself (which was running JUST fine a couple hours ago, before I did this reinstall), or Vista is being a royal pain in the ass with my drivers...

Does anybody have ANY idea how to fix the apparant problem Vista has with ATI Radeon X1300 series cards? :/

68

Other Discussion / New Myspace Theme

« on: May 18, 2008, 01:06:04 am »

I was bored, so I made a new theme for my myspace <.<

http://www.myspace.com/minalien <.<

Or for those of you who for some reason or another cant see Myspace:

69

Coding / [Tutorial] Creating a basic Command-based Scripting language in C#

« on: April 27, 2008, 03:28:32 am »

This is just a small tutorial I whipped up a little bit ago on creating a simple command-based scripting language using C#. It's not all that complicated to follow, and includes the full source code.

http://www.minalien.com/~Cassy/Tut_CommandBasedScripting.rar