Intro GSoC Introduction and new Ideas

[David Barrera]

• Name: David Kakrain Barrera
• Social: my facebook account is: www.facebook.com/kakrain and my github is github.com/Kakrain
• From: I am from Ecuador, I study in ESPOL
• Skills / Tools: I have worked in python, C, C++, Java (im a big Java and python lover), ml, smalltalk, ruby and a few others, I have worked in 3D animation, headtracking (and stereoscopy), android and I have helped modding a game named RA2
• Found via: by searching in the lists of GSoC organizations
• Interests: I would love to develop games, my particular interest is to learn and apply what I've learned.
• Extra: I have a lot of new ideas we may work on, but you can count on me on the ideas you have already thought.
  I could help adding android support for the game, even we can transform the mobile into a gamepad using it's sensors.
  I may for example help with the anatomy system, I have developed a project that is able to transform 2D stickfigures into 3D animations, we can take part of that idea to make an animation applicable to any kind of organic living thing.
  I could also help with physics based combat system, it is not something i have done before in a deep way, however i would love to contribute in that area too.
  now the new ideas:
  the game is based on voxels so these features would exploit greatly the chances we dont have with polygon 3D:
  Craters: I am not sure if the game will be strictly based on medieval times or it can be played on conventional time, if it is so, explosions from artillery shells and tank cannons should be able to leave Craters in the map (kind of a 3D version of worms) so infantry may take cover there.
  Armor plate: it would be awesome with tanks that are able to lose bits of its plate before becoming vulnerable in one side while remaining strong in other, even if the game is not based in modern times, it can be applied to castles, armors and shields.
  Building destruction: It would also be awesome if we may add realism to buildings, make the player think where to put explosives and how much so the building may be destroyed, even it would be awesome if there would be an strategy/fps game at the same time, where the player may choose between building its base and playing it as another unit in real time.

 

[Cervator]

Hi @David Barrera, nice intro! No lack of areas you're interested in working on I see

Have you worked much with destruction of vehicles/structures or is that more of a design/idea interest? 3D modelling? Way long ago we met @aherber who did the physics-based combat system and had some experience with Rigs of Rods, a vehicle physics simulator of some sort (looks like that project/website has hit some trouble with activity - just a small placeholder page there right now). Quite a few of us are interested in having sensible vehicles and structures that can react to the world and stuff like explosives realistically. So that would be a very cool option. We don't have a GSOC item written up for that but then the ideas list is more for inspiration than a set list of options.

Anatomy, combat, and an Android server management tool have all gotten various degrees of interest so far. Full Android support for the game is likely out of scope for GSOC as it would involve some major refactoring of rendering (begun in small parts by @manu3d) then likely a conversion to LibGDX, examination of various systems like asset scanning that might work differently on Android, a whole new touchscreen-based way to play the game and ... yeah

 

[David Barrera]

Hello @Cervator thank you
It is more of a design/idea/interest but i would gladly investigate and learn how to implement something like that, I did have modelled in 3D when I was modding that game (RA2) but I could be better at animating it, the game I used to mod used voxels in their vehicles so i have experience in drawing with voxels.
I would love to work in the area of buildings and vehicles that can interact with explosions and the real world (and probably explosions that can create craters in the ground too). In order to work in that area for GSoC should i first write it as an item or should i pick one idea from the list to be able to apply to the GSoC?

 

[Cervator]

Honestly I'm not sure how we might approach it, the area (more destructible structures and functional vehicles) have been on the wish list for a long time but we haven't had anybody really driving work in the area. Just @aherber for a little while long ago

I'd have to think about how we might formulate a GSOC item for it. In the meantime get a source workspace working and look for some small bugs and issues to work, check the contributor friendly list on GitHub

That should help you get a feel for the code and maybe start getting some ideas for how much work some of the GSOC items really are.

 

[David Barrera]

Thank you, i will look at it, my suggestion is that functional vehicles and destructible structures would be separated areas, and probably the same or similar logic for destructible structures may be applied to deformable terrain by explosions.

 

[Skaldarnar]

Hi David and welcome I remembered this little side note which might yield some good ideas and inspiration how physics and destruction could be integrated with gameplay.

There's currently a "rail gun" which will let you shoot and destroy blocks, even make some bigger craters. Have a look at this issue and the referenced issues and PRs to get an impression how things work or how it could be integrated with your ideas, e.g., how such explosions can be triggered, .... The closest thing we have to working vehicles is probably the Rails module with a moving locomotive. To sum it, some bits are here and there, but obviosuly the broader image is still missing. We're looking forward to your futher ideas and proposals once you've got more familar with the code

 

[David Barrera]

Thank you a lot Skaldarnar i checked it and gave me a lot of ideas on how to do it

 

[David Barrera]

Hello to everyone, i have written a proposal, and i wanted to see if anybody can help me correct it, i mean; to see if the level of detail is ok or i should add more info, thanks in advance

Terasology proposal


Name: David Alejandro Barrera Guano

Github: https://github.com/Kakrain

Email: wherethesunnoshine@hotmail.com

Cellphone: +593 997907180

I am from Ecuador, I have worked in python, C, C++, Java, ml, smalltalk, ruby and others.
I have worked in 3D animation, 3D design either with polygon based 3D or voxel based 3D, headtracking (and stereoscopy) and I have modded a game named RA2

Explosions and more destructible structures

There would be a cool option to have for the game, the logic of this solution would involve not only destructible structures but also new features such as craters, push effect from bullets and more.

The approach to which I would solve this problem is to make a block that can explode, it may release a shockwave of energy that will be absorbed by other blocks around it on a sphere. Each block would get a vector with a value of force. Depending on how much resistance this block has (that may be taken as its mass) it can either be destroyed or damaged/thrown away.

 

[manu3d]

Where is the proposal? I don't see it in the list of drafts submitted through the GSOC system.

 

[David Barrera]

I wanted to check if it is fine before submitting the proposal

 

[manu3d]

When you submit your proposal to the GSOC it can be a "draft", a preliminary version. You can then receive feedback through the GSOC website and then submit a final version later in the week.