Viewpoint Fixed

Just a quick note, fixed the duff view mover in the 3D window. The problem was that it was taking the roll,pitch and yaw directly from the x,y component of the mouse. This only happened when you held down the mouse. However if you moved the mouse when it was up, the next time you moved it the view jumped. Fixed this though, by moving the view by the same degree the mouse has moved, not based on it's actual coordinates.

The starting point

So here's a quick screenshot of what's been done so far:

















It's basic - but this is a journal of creation! This will be the framework for the galactic view of the simulator which will be turn based (note the rather naff looking turn button). This is where you can navigate the galaxy using the Google Earth type interface, as the galaxy is in 3D. From here you can click on a system. The chosen system appears in the window beneath and here you can select individual planets and look at their attributes. The pane on the right also allows building or actioning items (i.e. build a Fusion power plant).

I've got it to a point where you can build multiple items associated with individual systems. Or to put it another way, you can start building something somewhere and come back later and it will still be building or be complete. I haven't got structures stored once they're built - but we'll get to that.

Short Term Next Steps:

-A turn manager class (to manage each time you click turn, i.e. what actions to perform, display steps / date etc)
-Fix the view system which is a bit bust at the minute
-Associate structures with planets once they're done
-Clean up the UI which is messy
-Extend the system summary pane so more planets can fit

Introduction

Hi There,

In a nutshell: this blog will cover the development of a "Masters of Orion"-esque galactic empire simulator game. It's been done before for sure - and I'm not aiming for eye candy either. In fact, herein lies the disclaimer, on this project I'm looking to go for a depth rather than superficiality. In my opinion that's the strength of this type of game - the complexity and the replay factor.

One of the triumphs of the human condition is curiosity and by extension the pursuit of knowledge. I'm hoping this will be an appeal of the game - but to do this, I have to create a universe full of possibilities. A system if you will, that conforms but is never linear. Exploration, expansion and experience will be big factors. To satisfy this, I have to implement a highly complex game system that is organic and borrows from chaos theory, astronomy, social sciences, economics and a liberal dose of sci-fi. All grandiose claims here I know, but that's the challenge.