[ALPHA] Re-Spawn Distributed UI System
Next Alpha Release scheduled for 1st April 2014
After I did the first release in October last year there was something that was bugging me ... it turned out that the authentication and master server were not to my liking and they needed to be replaced.
It was around this time that Torque 3D 3.5 was released and I thought ... hey why not upgrade to the newer engine at the same time. Simple hey ... well it is also during this period that I discovered Awesomium and then came across the T3D Awesomium Integration Pack by Stefan Lundmark and an idea came to me ... why don't I do the entire game gui using a web based server ... I was playing Guild Wars 2 at the time ... and I suspect I was heavily influenced by that.
So I set out on my mammoth rewrite and I am happy to say that I have some results ... some very nice results ... even if I may say so myself.
So what does this Distributed UI System (as I call it) bring me?
Well because it is web-based, I am able to rapidly change it and get new versions and prototypes out quite quickly.
I also am able to use the session for the Distributed UI System to control user access to the game, this allows me a whole lot of flexibility when it comes to testing, server administration, and other role based functionality (i.e. developers have access to debug screens, etc.).
Internationalisation is an absolute breeze, as we stand right now I only need to get translators for a messages file and make it available on the Distributed UI system and a player will be able to play the game in their own language.
Fancy schmancy effects and UI elements are easy, the current system is based off a heavily modified Bootstrap system using Font Awesome Icons and other web based gems that I am highly familiar with. With the new HTML5 and CSS3 features, I am able to do fairly decent UI visual effects without having to implement a tweening system or some other type of animation system.
So what am I using?
As I am a Java developer by profession and Spring MVC is my main forte ... it was an obvious choice to go that route. So I am using Apache Tomcat Web Application Servers behind an HAProxy server running JavaEE 7 off a Ubuntu 13.10 64bit Linux Server.
With this setup, I am able to bring localised versions of the Distributed UI system up and running quite quickly and I am able to load balance the service as and when it is needed.
Why Java and Linux?
I recently completed a system using the same type of architecture that handles 500+ concurrent connections, doing 30 000 page views a day in less than 500ms ... did I mention that Java is my forte.
But in all honesty ... it was easier for me to use Java and iron out the kinks in the system than trying to do the same in PHP or raw HTML.
Where can I see more?
I have put an album up on Facebook of the new GUI, and you can see it here.
You can also find more information on the social links listed at the end of this post.
Where to from here?
Well I have a few more screens to finalise and then I have to build a few new maps, I have earmarked the next 2 weeks for those jobs and so I am looking at a new release by the first week of April.
This will mark the next round of Alpha and based on the feedback will dictate whether there is another Alpha or whether I move on with the next set of tasks in preparation for a closed Beta.
I will be uploading a video of the new gibs and the general improvements in the game play ... just need to fix a few items first.
Social:
Official Forums: http://respawn.gobbogames.co.za
Official Website: http://respawn.gobbogamessa.com
Official Blogs: http://http://ggrespawn.tumblr.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ggrespawn
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/111655141078939611311/posts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ggrespawn
Skype: ggrespawn
G-Talk: respawn@gobbogames.co.za
E-mail: [email]respawn@gobbogames.co.za[/email]
Stay tuned for more updates and hope to see you all in game real soon.
Next Alpha Release scheduled for 1st April 2014
After I did the first release in October last year there was something that was bugging me ... it turned out that the authentication and master server were not to my liking and they needed to be replaced.
It was around this time that Torque 3D 3.5 was released and I thought ... hey why not upgrade to the newer engine at the same time. Simple hey ... well it is also during this period that I discovered Awesomium and then came across the T3D Awesomium Integration Pack by Stefan Lundmark and an idea came to me ... why don't I do the entire game gui using a web based server ... I was playing Guild Wars 2 at the time ... and I suspect I was heavily influenced by that.
So I set out on my mammoth rewrite and I am happy to say that I have some results ... some very nice results ... even if I may say so myself.
So what does this Distributed UI System (as I call it) bring me?
Well because it is web-based, I am able to rapidly change it and get new versions and prototypes out quite quickly.
I also am able to use the session for the Distributed UI System to control user access to the game, this allows me a whole lot of flexibility when it comes to testing, server administration, and other role based functionality (i.e. developers have access to debug screens, etc.).
Internationalisation is an absolute breeze, as we stand right now I only need to get translators for a messages file and make it available on the Distributed UI system and a player will be able to play the game in their own language.
Fancy schmancy effects and UI elements are easy, the current system is based off a heavily modified Bootstrap system using Font Awesome Icons and other web based gems that I am highly familiar with. With the new HTML5 and CSS3 features, I am able to do fairly decent UI visual effects without having to implement a tweening system or some other type of animation system.
So what am I using?
As I am a Java developer by profession and Spring MVC is my main forte ... it was an obvious choice to go that route. So I am using Apache Tomcat Web Application Servers behind an HAProxy server running JavaEE 7 off a Ubuntu 13.10 64bit Linux Server.
With this setup, I am able to bring localised versions of the Distributed UI system up and running quite quickly and I am able to load balance the service as and when it is needed.
Why Java and Linux?
I recently completed a system using the same type of architecture that handles 500+ concurrent connections, doing 30 000 page views a day in less than 500ms ... did I mention that Java is my forte.
But in all honesty ... it was easier for me to use Java and iron out the kinks in the system than trying to do the same in PHP or raw HTML.
Where can I see more?
I have put an album up on Facebook of the new GUI, and you can see it here.
You can also find more information on the social links listed at the end of this post.
Where to from here?
Well I have a few more screens to finalise and then I have to build a few new maps, I have earmarked the next 2 weeks for those jobs and so I am looking at a new release by the first week of April.
This will mark the next round of Alpha and based on the feedback will dictate whether there is another Alpha or whether I move on with the next set of tasks in preparation for a closed Beta.
I will be uploading a video of the new gibs and the general improvements in the game play ... just need to fix a few items first.
Social:
Official Forums: http://respawn.gobbogames.co.za
Official Website: http://respawn.gobbogamessa.com
Official Blogs: http://http://ggrespawn.tumblr.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ggrespawn
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/111655141078939611311/posts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ggrespawn
Skype: ggrespawn
G-Talk: respawn@gobbogames.co.za
E-mail: [email]respawn@gobbogames.co.za[/email]
Stay tuned for more updates and hope to see you all in game real soon.
Next Alpha Release scheduled for 1st April 2014
Comments
After I finished the last few issues last night I ran a play test and scheduled screenshots to fire off every 15 seconds ... the gallery is the result of two very brief play sessions (will do a much longer one this weekend) -- https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.773615492649316.1073741830.353075714703298&type=1
I have a few more things to finalise before the next Alpha Release ... but last night was the completion of a major hurdle and cleaned the Game Play up to a stage where I am very happy with the result.
The video and the screenshots are still the original Factory map (re-textured and modified version of Q2DM8) and I will add more screenshots and videos of other maps when I test them.
My next update will talk about the Stats Tracking System that I have in Game Flow now ... oh yes ... we are tracking almost everything. Update will come through next week some time. 8-}