Goals

• New makefile system which builds pak files
• Customized QW-protocol engine with client-side camera code
• Gameplay features required below
• Implement the current Hack and Slash Role-Playing System rules

Key

• Black normal text is for completed steps that are finished
• Red bold text is for incomplete steps that still need to be worked on
• Gray italic text is for comments (and should not be entered as commands)

Tools and Tips

• Releasing files for a SourceForge Project
• The Corel Linux Platform
• Cygwin - GNU developer tools for Windows
• Mingw - Minimalist GNU tools for Windows
• CVS - Concurrent Version System

The QuakeForge Engine

• Get the Code
• Build and Install the Engine
  • Compile in Linux for Linux
  • Compile in Linux for Windows ("cross-compiling")
  • Compile in Windows for Windows - Mingw
  • Compile in Windows for Windows - Cygwin
• Using the Engine
• Important Features already Implemented in QuakeForge
  • QuakeWorld Network Protocol
  • Animation and movement "tweening"
  • NQ client-side camera modifications
  • QW client-side camera modifications
• Change the default game directory
• Force the Aspect Ratio
• High precision model format
• Allow larger than 8192 unit wide maps

  A Quake unit is about 1/32 meter (20% longer than an inch, although many people mistakenly believe Quake units are inches) and the network protocol allows for 1/8 Quake unit or 1/256 meter precision (less than 0.5 cm) with 16 bit coordinates, so the playable area is 2¹⁶/256 or 256 meters wide. (If the protocol were changed to 1/2 units, the precision would be 1/64 meter (less than an inch) and the playable area would be more than a kilometer wide)

  • Open quakeforge/libs/util/msg.c
  • Change the number 8 in MSG_ReadCoord and MSG_WriteCoord to another number (it must be the same number in both functions)
  • Make this a variable (a worldspawn feild, console variable, or serverinfo?)
• 32 bit textures with alpha transparency and triangle sorting
• Making a Patch with your Modifications

Hack and Slash

• The Makefile System
• Compile Hack and Slash Quake-C
  • Go into your Hack and Slash Quake-C directory
  • Create a make file and mingw.bat file to streamline your code path (assuming this actually helps)
  • Run "mingw.bat" (without quotes)
  • Run "make progs.dat qwprogs.dat" (without quotes) (this will compile just the code)
  • copy /y *progs.dat "c:\quake\game" (WITH QUOTES) (quake is your "engine directory" and game is your "game directory")
  • To track player info bring up the console in game and type "edict 1" (edict 0 is the world)
• New Play Control Features
  • ATTACK button (left button)
    • Using the attack button produces a lower HP attack, depending on HP distribution that round
    • Using the attack button with the run button at the same time produces a higher HP attack, depending on HP distribution that round
    • Each time the attack button is pressed, the "best" target is automatically selected:
      • closest to the your line of attack with a missile weapon
        • player should not automatically get closer to target when using a missle weapon
        • "your line of attack" means the direction the player model is facing
      • closest to you if you are using a hand to hand weapon, and they stay selected until:
        • the target is out of range or out of sight
        • there is a closer target
  • RUN button (right button)
    • Holding down the run button causes you to un-select your target
      • UNLESS the attack button is already being pressed
      • Holding both the attack button and run button is for high HP attacks
    • Moving into an object makes you push the object
    • Moving into an object and pressing attack makes you try to pick it up
• Animation
  • Implement missing animation (model animation its self already exists for "New School Gym")
    • Getting hit/taking damage (same)
    • Blocking/ducking (same)
    • Climbing
    • Pulling self up onto
  • Scale speed of appropriate animation to movement speeds (like climbing)
  • Stay at appropriate distance from characters longer than bounding box
  • Current swimming may be too low in the water
• Weapons System
  • Weapons players or bots start with can be specified
  • Weapons are carried over when you change levels
    • (Use bit flags allowing up to 24 weapons per class?)
  • Multiple weapons can be collected
    • Armed weapon can be selected from collection
      • Bots need extra rules for weapon selection
  • Projectile weapons
    • ONLY when they should, missiles ALWAYS disappear or explode
    • Missile weapons have a optional homing ability
      • This is needed for RPG "to hit" rolls
        • Can be turned off for explosions or non-RPG games
• Monsters and other NPCs should become classes of monster_player
  • Be able to select a specific class for monster_player
  • Have character classes that can't be selected randomly
  • Class/weapon options for all abilities monsters may have
    • (Like flight, swimming, spread attacks, jump attacks, explode, etc.)
      • These could be useful PC classes as well
  • Specify movement speeds in the class to fit monster animation
  • Create variations of "monster_player" spawn function
    • ("npc", "monster" functions can call "monster_player()")
  • Friendly NPCs, NPC teams, not-combatants, guards, etc.
    • Friendly NPCs who follow specific PCs (between levels?)
  • Non-combat abilities, like conversation, trade, trigger events
  • NPC spawning weapon classes, traps and triggers
• Latest Hack-and-Slash Role-Playing System Rules
  • Role-Playing System should be more modular
    • Like calling "neutral" functions like rps_isDead (self) instead of accessing "system-specific" feilds like self.rps_lastingDamage
      • So in theory, only rps.qc knows HOW damage and death is calculated
  • Update rules now used in Quake C
    • Armor
    • Hit Points (or "HP," the most important rules in Hack and Slash Role-Playing System)
      • Hit Points are Strength doubled, minus damage
        • For example, if your Strength were 4, and you had taken one point of damage, your HP would be 7 (4 times 2 equals 8, minus one is 7.)
        • Strength is an "Ability"
          • Abilities are measured more or less on a scale of 1 to 10
            • They are measured on levels and half levels: 0, 1/2, 1, 1&1/2, 2, 2&1/2, etc.
            • Most "player characters" would average around 5 strength or 10 HP
              • On this scale, ability level 8 borders on super-human
              • So, maximum HP would be 20 HP even for most super heros
      • The HP used by each attack should be part of the class entity: HP can be used to damage, manipulate, maneuver or recover
        • So, each attack should have a damage and manipulate value
          • animation_jab_damage, animation_kick_damage, animation_push_damage
          • animation_jab_manipulate, animation_kick_manipulate, etc.
          • OR you might combine them into a single .vector value
            • animation_jab_hp or animation_jab_hitPoints or something
            • The vector '1 2 0' might represent 1 damage, 2 manipulation, (and 0 kick?)
              • (Kick is not actually part of the Hack and Slash RPS, but it is a nice visual effect)
        • Missile attacks should not use hit points like hand to hand attacks(see player.qc, player_attack)
          • In addition to the 1 required HP to point at the target, the player also spends the required HP for the weapon's pull or Kick
            • Except for Thrown weapons, which usually use HP as a bonus to damage
  • Implement important rules now missing in Quake C
    • Size (second in its importance only to the HP rules.)
      • Size Levels Measurement (simple formula)
        • Double every two levels as they get infinitely larger
          • Half every two levels as they get infinitely smaller
        • Are used in increments of half levels
        • Size Level 0 is 50 kilograms (or 110 pounds)
        • Official Hack and Slash Size Level Table
          • Quake C formula does not have to match Table exactly
            • should match with Table closely every two levels
            • should still use half size level precision, reguardless of how it matches the Table
      • Size Level is a bonus to Attack Power and Toughness
      • Encumbrance is the counter balance of size
        • Encumbrance is the opposite of Size Level (Size Level times -1)
          • (For example, see Official Hack and Slash Encumbrance Table)
        • Encumbrance is a bonus to Combat Bonus
          • "Combat Bonus" is the default defensive and offensive bonus in combat
  • When a Character's Class Changes, it should affect their stats
    • (Call an rps_function that copies stats from the class entity)
  • Characters should have extra stats in addition to class defaults
    • (Changing levels should not make you revert to class defaults, so maybe the difference between your stats and the default are calculated before changing classes instead of being set to 0)
• Menu
  • Finish character save and load system (code.qc, rps_save.qc)
  • Finish menu.qc system (develop character, select weapon etc.)
  • Implement a class selection system
  • Implement a character generation system
• Cameras
  • Always use Client side cameras when available
  • Camera triggers should support more camera options such as fixed, moving, over-shoulder, auto-rotating and fixed auto-rotating
    • First person play should be an option
      • May already be an option
        • May work best if camera is manually controlled until you target an enemy, then your camera locks onto them
• Levels
  • trigger_changeserver, so multiple levels can run on one machine (on different ports) and worlds can be spread across machines
  • Random level elements (makes random mazes and stuff possible)
  • Use stuff like serverflags ("runes" in Quake) to track major plaot elements in multi-level story-based Hack and Slash Games
    • (Get "rune" by triggering entity instead of touching object, so any trigger, inlcuding killing enemy can advance plot) make game different depending on which plot elements trigger (entities with certain flags do/don't appear depending)
  • In-game cinematic and "machinima" technology for storytelling
• QuakeWorld Hack and Slash
  • QuakeWorld monsters (first in OpenQuartz, then Hack and Slash?)
  • 3rd person view (use client side cameras?)