JPO Project Status Thread

[hppav]

Currently nothing new, but I decided to break down the development cycle for JPO's levels even further. Each condition of each build must be met prior to declaration of level status. Bold indicates our current development position. I'm going to try to get us to Build 1 over the next few weeks. That's the big step. The rest should come a lot easier (Buildings are a pain). I included the development cycle for Level 2 as well since the development build level increases as we go further along. And the Delta phase of Level 2 will be the "patching" phase for Level 1.

ENGINE DEVELOPMENT
Build 0 - Pre-Alpha - Standard Trespasser Demo Engine
Build 1 - Alpha - Edited Trespasser Demo Engine/Version 1 of custom menu
Build 2 - Beta - Edited Trespasser Demo Engine/Version 2 of custom menu
Build 3 - Gamma - Edited Trespasser Demo Engine/Version 3 of custom menu
Build 4 - Release Version

LEVEL ONE
Build 0 - Pre-Alpha - Development Confined To Terrain Editing Level "Wholey Hell"
Build 1 - Alpha - All buildings and roadways finished. No vegetation, detail objects, puzzles. Terrain still WIP. Player model still Anne.
Build 2 - Alpha - Ambient Triggers Placed, Primary positioning of VO and music triggers.
Build 3 - Alpha - Large Vegetation Placed, simple puzzles (physics based) completed.
Build 4 - Alpha - New Player Model, smaller vegetation placed, some complex puzzles, most detail objects placed.
Build 5 - Alpha - Finishing up Alpha version prior to Beta version. Recording of final versions of Voice overs.
Build 6 - Internal Beta - Tentative placement of dinosaurs and weapons. Error fixing if applicable.
Build 7 - External Beta - Selected members of community test this version.
Build 8 - Gamma - Implementing suggestions made by beta testers
Build 9 - Delta - Polishing and final bug testing
Build 10 - Gold - Release!

LEVEL TWO
Build 11 - Pre-Alpha - Development Confined To Terrain Editing Level "Wholey Hell"
Build 12 - Alpha - All buildings and roadways finished. No vegetation, detail objects, puzzles. Player Model is final version used in Level One.
Build 13 - Alpha - Smaller Vegetation placed, some complex puzzles, most detail objects placed.
Build 14 - Alpha - Finishing up Alpha version prior to Beta version.
Build 15 - Internal Beta - Tentative placement of dinosaurs and weapons. Error fixing if applicable.
Build 16 - External Beta - Selected members of community test this version
Build 17 - Gamma - Implementing suggestions made by beta testers
Build 18 - Delta - Polishing and final bug testing. Fixing any issues with Level One
Build 19 - Gold - Release!

EDIT: I will report that I have the first two meshes ever completed for the Alpha version done already They are the steps/fountain/plant boxes of the VC and the dirt section for that. They include working custom "I" physics objects (a first for me).

[Draconisaurus]

Using build numbers now, are we? I wonder what inspired that?

Anyway, good idea to organize in at least some way like this. Of course, you have already done a lot of foliage..

Oh and, if you want to keep using your giant WTD, as JPDS does, my suggestion for areas which depend on terrain accuracy is to actually make objects which look like terrain and give them your own cobbled-together physics. I had to do this for the whole construction site in JPDS1.. It can take a bit of time but it's well worth it, and can allow you the massive terrain size. Just remember that your final terrain height will not be known until you've edited the terrain for the last time (or at least, when the exact distribution of terrain quads will no longer change, and I do mean exact).

They include working custom "I" physics objects (a first for me).
Nice. Yeah, mostly all it takes is the right geometry type, it seems.. GeomAdd doesn't seem to get it right when going automatic, so it should be included in the t-script before import.


PS: Who all has access to this forum, anyway?

[hppav]

You, me, TRK and the Ops as far as I know. I did have a few more team members at one point, but that was a long time ago.

And I may have to employ your terrain solution for that damn pond. Giving me hell

I'm working on the JPO Menu graphics. Finally I'm able to exit the game through the menu There are some interesting menu graphics in the demo menu folder. Even some where the words are glowing blue. And one that's a black square with a green box around it that says "SAVE" in the middle. Like it's a temp button that is left over. And an old DWI loading screen.

[Draconisaurus]

1) Alrighty.

2) Good idea Actually, if you want, try taking some retail terrain (like startlev) and terrain editing exactly what you want for the pond (for example) just in a corner of the map, having the model handy for reference etc. Then you can export that as a TPM, and bring it into Max, so you can cut out the part that you want. This will also help it seem more like Trespasser terrain in the end.

3) Yeah, I've looked around at a few of them, myself. Been meaning to go through the WHOLE thing and actually get rid of anything not used by Trespasser, so stand-alone releases will stop needlessly uploading them... But also, I do wonder if there are any old menu elements that can be reactivated. I found this file, "ngi.ddf", in the demo menu:

Code: Select all

"General Introduction:"
""
"A year after the events of \"The Lost World,\""
"the Site B island lies in ruins.  John Hammond"
"publishes a memoir, a history of the InGen"
"corporation, but no one is quite sure whether"
"to believe it.   The island is half historical"
"fact, half urban legend."
""
"Anne, the player character, is traveling when"
"her chartered plane crashes off the coast of"
"Las Cinco Muertes and washes her ashore on Isla"
"Sorna...  Site B."
""
""
"-----------"
"Introduction to the InGen Lab level:"
""
"Here, Anne has won her way through 2/3 of the island,"
"in search of escape.  Having coaxed the island's"
"geothermal plant into life, she follows a coastal"
"road toward the island's central facility, the heart"
"of Site B...  the InGen Lab Complex..."
""
""
"Press \"OK\" to Start the InGen Lab."
"Press \"Cancel\" to return to the menu."

[hppav]

I think that and the DWI loading screen were probably used for the E3 demonstration and they never removed them for some reason.

[Draconisaurus]

Hmmmm. Except, E3 took place in IJ, AFAWK... I wonder if machf reads this forum.

[machf]

What do you think?

[hppav]

machf's omnipotent. He doesn't read, he already knows

[Draconisaurus]

Hahahahahahah !!!!!