March 16 2009

Pulsar development has started

Pulsar is my latest title for XNA Community Game under Development.  It's a redesign/rewrite of the 3DMUVE space engine, done exclusively for XNA.  I started it about two weeks ago and its already further along than any other 3D engine I've developed.  I think it’s a testament to the great job Microsoft has done with XNA and C#.  I also think it has a lot to do with my own skills development, and the fact that I learned so much when developing the 3DMUVE/C++/DirectX engine and then working on BlockBUSTER, that things are just coming much easier now.  I had originally expected to develop Pulsar with TorqueX3D, but decided it wasn't worth waiting for it, as its not been released yet.  I felt I had enough skill and knowledge to try it myself.  As of today I think the core engine is complete with the exception of networking, which I'm working on.  The latest engine has the following core features: Shader based effects and lighting 3D collision detection with proper transforms     o range/sphere collision     o bounding box for more detail on simple models     o sub bounding box for more detail on complex models     o ... I might add detail to the poly but not sure I need it for this engine... Full 3D/6DOF flying Cockpit HUD Reticule HUD Gauges HUD (with full working graphics) Lens Flare with Occlusion Culling Animated explosions (animated texture billboards) Colored light filters for some interesting effects including:     o Redout     o Blackout     o Whiteout     o other color effects to simulate being inside a nebula or in an area        of very low light Aligned billboards (special effects such as flame exiting the back of a ship)     o Flames sized based on throttle Advanced flight controls for different vehicles     o acceleration     o handling/maneuverability     o hull integrity     o max speed and afterburner Star field as you fly, adjusting for speed as well as reverse High-res skybox for stars     o this was redone from the BlockBUSTER engine which used a shader that        I don't think worked quite right, but was find for the type of game BlockBUSTER        is.  The new skybox leverages tiling for a crisper image and correctly renders        while rotating and flying without any weird artifacts     o High-res nebula images against background for a more detailed and enjoyable space        scene

February 4 2009

BlockBUSTER Approved and Released on Xbox Community Games.

BlockBUSTER has made it to the show! You can now download BlockBUSTER directly to your Xbox 360 Console. Just go to the Xbox Live Marketplace, select Community Games, then select BlockBUSTER from the list of available games. You can download a free trial allowing you to play the training levels, or purchase the product for only 400 MS points (less than $5) to unlock then entire game, including 22 levels of increasing challenge and fun.

October 1 2008

Submitted BlockBUSTER XNA to the Microsoft Dream Build Play 2008 Competition.

Although it didn't place, I learned a lot, and really polished up the user interface including including High Scores (save to XML) User Preferences (Sound, Music, Inverted controls

October 1 2008

Reset 3DMuve Website

Cleaned up all legacy items and starting over.  This has always been my personal site, but I tried to make it more of a company site.  I'm only one person and decided to focus on indie development as a single developer and not try to be more than I am.