RE: [VANILLA-CLIENTS:104] netrek developer newbie

[epolonsky@combichem.com (Eugene Polonsky)]

Hi Dave:

Thanks for the speedy reply. The overall mechanics you describe are
definitely helpful in understanding how the game works. I'm going through
the source code now, attempting to isolate the specific functions I'll have
to port/rewrite for my purposes.


> I don't know what you are interested in, but helping with the
> existing code may be easier than doing something completely on your own.
>

Easier, true, but not better. :) The current Netrek code is limited in its
functionality (on Windows). I would like to rewrite it to allow expansion
into several different features, for instance:
1) Paradise support.
2) Multiple resolution support. Basically, by using OpenGL to do the
graphics, I can have the user zoom in/out of the local window -- this allows
people with low resolution to play, and also adds a zoom feature to the
local window. I'm not sure how this'll affect the playability (since by
zooming out they can see more action onscreen), but I think the further they
zoom out the harder it'll be to perform fine maneuvers (kinda like
dogfighting in the galactic window), so the playability should remain
intact.
3) No need for all those pre-rotated bitmaps. One bitmap per ship now
suffices; OpenGL can rotate the bitmaps in any position.
4) Dockable, resizeable windows. (Provided through MFC/MRCEXT) No more
geometry crap, players can adjust window sizes on the fly.

Plus, since I'm using OpenGL, 3-D support is just around the corner. If the
game framework is there, I can't imagine it would be all too hard to take
the game into 3D.

-- Eugene