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Well thats the thing..  The engine would be specific to Adventure gaming.

I am thinking of now using Revolution3d as it has DX9 support and from what I understand, it can be ported to other OS's if need be. So I might use that.

You know what, I am also going to make the engine free. I will only ask that a copy of any commercial game goes to me as a reward and I would leave a donation system up.

I will start programming my engine, I will also make it open source so that we can all add improvements and will post here for the first few builds until we actually have something useful and then it will be hosted on my own site.

What do you guys think?

Just moving my suggestion from my old list... Also SSH is running a voting poll for most wanted features. Should all check out his blog site...

Anyway, not sure if these are  3.0.2 or 3.0.3 or a 3.1 suggestions, but I would love to see this happen: From Rulaman:
- multiple speech.vox (or music.vox)
i.e. speech.en, speech.de, speech.es (or german.spf english.spf, ...)

- sprite-en.pack ( contains some sprites, shown in-game that was translated )
i.e. in-game a sign shows "Le Bakery" and in the translated version "Bäckerei" [graphical translation]

My suggestions: 1024x768x32 resolution. - Not having to resize images and keeping it at this resolution would make it a crisp looking background. Its easier for me to make a background in a 3d editor (That I made myself) and save it in that resolution.

And the next and last for now:
Regarding dialogues, can there be an option when you add a dialog option that says "show on all dialogs"?  In other words, we have a "say" option and a "show" option in the editor. But this option would allow that line to be displayed on all dialogs at the bottom. Is that possible?

Another script function I was hoping to get... Actually a few... Are:

AddDialog(DialogName)
AddDialogOption(DialogNameToAddTo, Dialog String, ScriptToRun)
And is there a way to check what the current dialog option is?

These are some crucial items for this particular project I am working on. And it SEEMS (But I know its not as easy as it sounds) that this is not too difficult to add, I hope. The first option is really for convenience, but this can be done, with a lot of coding by just using the script functions I Requested. But at least it would be possible, unless this is possible already.

Agreed! Using OGG Theora instead of the "Codecs" would be a wiser thing to do, for any port.

And yes, it would be a trek to port the engine using SDL, but in the long run, once accomplished, it can easily be continued and the MAC port will also be easier to port.

As far as distribution, I think there are a few other distributions that are widely used such as SUSE, Knoppix and RedHat as well. A more universal linux port would be appreciated, especially since I use SUSE and Knoppix mostly. But if its Ubuntu, thats better than not having it on Linux.

Whether you continue or not, thanks a lot for the port!

LOL. Then maybe I will just make my game engine free. If thats the case though, would you mind actually allowing the DLL to be used as a reference object in VB6.0 (Without API calls)

EDIT: PRODUCTION HAS STARTED ON THIS. PLEASE SEE THE 11TH REPLY IN THIS THREAD TO KNOW WHERE WE ARE AT AND HOW TO PARTICIPATE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP.


Would anyone use it at all? The reason I am asking is because I have been toying around with VB6.0 and DirectX graphics. I barely ever bothered before, but recently, I have.

I started out using third party libraries such as revolution3d, nemox 3d, irender3d, xsuite, etc... I was doing ok. Then I started out working directly from vb with DX8.1 and realized I am not doing so bad with this.

Lately I have been working on trying to come up with something for a game for AGS. So I set up 3d rooms in VB and import models into it, place lighting and fix coloring etc... Then I position the camera and I take a snapshot. I have been doing OK. But it seems that I can make a 3d room editor easily.

I can also make a character walk with some basic physics. I can do Object Selecting and some other stuff. It looks fairly well. And I have a script engine I Can create.


So basically, I compiled this into a library and figured I can easily create a 3d engine. In partlicular a point and click 3d engine.

My question would be, would anyone make use of it? Well, here are the down sides to it:

*I would charge $15 for it. But upgrading will be free for life. Recently with gas prices and bad economy, I need some income. And I think $15 for a 3d game engine is not so bad...
*Limited to importing md2 and md3 actor files. With time though I may be able to import others.
*Limited to importing .x .dxf .md2 .md3 .3ds models for objects.
*Scripting language will be VBS language.
*Rooms will be created in real time with Texture and color applying. OR you can import a BSP file.
*The engine will be available for Windows only. Unless I learn how to do what I do in VB with Real Basic. Then that changes.
*I Will be doing this by myself, so engine progress will not be constant.
*I might use DX 8.1 as a graphics library, unless I use a 3rd party library like Revolution3d which uses DX 9. If I use DX8.1, not sure if it will work on Vista.

So my question is, would anyone actually buy this for $15? What if it were free then, would you still use it? Let me know. Your opinions will either let me do it or not.

Hmmm... Not that I have released anything. But if I were to, I like the fact that rather than holding out that SCUMMVM will include AGS games one day, I would like to know that people would play it on all platforms.

An option would be to use Winelib.

Another option is if you could port the engine over using SDL rather than Allegro. I heard SDL is faster, offers more functions and subs and is very powerful and feature heavy and extremely portable.

And to tell you the truth, I am seeing WAY WAY more modules being programmed than plugins. Unless people want a windows only game, thats what they use. I do however see tons of plugins used for the editor, which shouldn't affect the ports at all.

So, I still see a reason for a linux and a mac port.

Yeah, the graphics are high resolution, 1024x768 I think. Everything had a lot of hi color graphics put into it. There are tons of animations for the characters and the scenes. There is no detail left out.

Plus they have large intro and cutscene movies. And its a talkie. And keep in mind there are tons of characters and 50 playable rooms in hi res. And a lot of scripting and dialogue(More than most games) had gone into it.

So that would account for the 1.6 gigs.

The rest are extra's that come with the game, DX9, XVID, cd covers, manual, extra images and a demo game that they are also developing. All in all, its feature filled download.

I just finished the download. As far as I can tell... The game is fantastic! The graphics and gameplay are great.

One problem... I dont understand as much as a normal German does. My German is extremely limited. I cant get passed the intro because of it...

But so far, it does not seem like it will disappoint. I want that English version though!

Have you seen the demo video? The graphics? The gameplay style? The intro video? Heck they even had a little help here in there from advice from David Fox and other fans of the game. If your fan of Zak, you will be a fan of this game from what I am hearing....

Play the video here: http://www.zak-site.com/
And see screenshots here: http://www.zak-site.com/zak2a.htm
http://www.zak2.org/zak2/cms/front_content.php?idcat=9

You might have been looking at the english side of the site.

If you click on the link that the german side of it gives you, you will be directed here:
http://www.zak2.org/wbblite/thread.php?threadid=399&sid

And there you will find a bunch of links to download the game.

Thats because it has over 50 locations in top quality high resolution graphics!

I am pretty sure they have an English Translation, but I thought they mentioned it would be out in german first, then english would follow after...

Its done. Goto the German site on zak2.org and click on the link to the forum thats displayed in the news section. The game is 2gigs so mine is still downloading. I am not even sure if english is included in the game... Hopefully it is.

Here are some links for the PCX stuff: http://www.thefreecountry.com/sourcecode/graphics.shtml
http://libclaw.sourceforge.net/index-en.html
http://www.herdsoft.com/catalog/davinci.html
That last link is actually for windows C++ programming. But if AGS actually imports the file and converts it to its own format, then this might work. Also has some capabilities for image editing which could be useful for the AGS editor... But apparently, its not that easy to add PCX to AGS.

2.5d would be really hard to implement I would think. There are libraries that work with Windows that Chris could use. But, they would not work on the Linux or Mac versions.

Anyway, not sure if these are  3.0.2 or 3.0.3 or a 3.1 suggestions, but I would love to see this happen: From Rulaman:
- multiple speech.vox (or music.vox)
i.e. speech.en, speech.de, speech.es (or german.spf english.spf, ...)

- sprite-en.pack ( contains some sprites, shown in-game that was translated )
i.e. in-game a sign shows "Le Bakery" and in the translated version "Bäckerei" [graphical translation]

My suggestions: 1024x768x32 resolution. - Not having to resize images and keeping it at this resolution would make it a crisp looking background. Its easier for me to make a background in a 3d editor (That I made myself) and save it in that resolution.

And the next and last for now:
Regarding dialogues, can there be an option when you add a dialog option that says "show on all dialogs"?  In other words, we have a "say" option and a "show" option in the editor. But this option would allow that line to be displayed on all dialogs at the bottom. Is that possible?

Another script function I was hoping to get... Actually a few... Are:

AddDialog(DialogName)
AddDialogOption(DialogNameToAddTo, Dialog String, ScriptToRun)
And is there a way to check what the current dialog option is?

These are some crucial items for this particular project I am working on. And it SEEMS (But I know its not as easy as it sounds) that this is not too difficult to add, I hope. The first option is really for convenience, but this can be done, with a lot of coding by just using the script functions I Requested. But at least it would be possible, unless this is possible already.

http://www.zak2.org/zak2/cms/front_content.php?idart=33&idcat=1&changelang=2

EDIT:

The game has finally been released:
Its done. Goto the German site on zak2.org and click on the link to the forum thats displayed in the news section. The game is 2gigs so mine is still downloading. I am not even sure if english is included in the game... Hopefully it is.

Any news on how far you have progressed with the game? I am really looking forward to play this game above any other right now being that I am a huge Star Wars fan... Any Website?

I am looking for a team who is willing to make a remake of Zak McKracken with me. The update to the game would include updated graphics, AGS game engine, actual Dialogue, small extra features and additions to the story line while still keeping true to the original game. The game will also feature Language translations, and a full talkie.

The main thing about this game and all its graphics is that it will all be open source and widely available for everyone to edit, make their own version or create a sequel with the graphics.

If anyone is interested, please sign up at my Zak site located within my transformers site: zakmckracken.org, eventually, when I have a team, I will update the site a little better.

What I am looking for is for any background and character artists and animators willing to make graphics as a cross between Day of the Tentacle and Curse of Monkey Island.

I am also looking for anyone interested in making a GUI and inventory items. Help with editing the game plot and story are also accepted as team members.

Musicians are also needed at this team. No voice acting accepted as of right now and no translators as of right now either.

If your interested, post here in the sign up thread:

http://www.zakmckracken.org

Thanks!

EDIT: This is what I put in the forum for signing up:
Hello and welcome to the unofficial Zak McKracken Remake Project. We are anxious to get this project underway. But we are looking for some to join our team. This is what we have currently:

*Programmer
*Writer for story and Dialog
*Minor Voice Role- Actor
*Webhost
*Italian Translator

What we need more immediatly:
*Assistant Story and Dialog writer (Looking for Max two more People)
*Background Graphics Artist, Colorer, touchups or all in one. (What I am looking for is a cross between "Day of the Tentacle" and "Curse of Monkey Island". I want the crisp clear graphics of CMI, but the goofy look of DOTT). An example of this can be found here: http://energon-plant.com/zakmckracken.org/zak2room.jpg

As far as background artists go, I can use as many as possible. There will be a process for this. We sketch the background based on what we need. We then See how we can improve it.Then trace it onto a digital image basically. Touch it up. Color it. Add shading and other needed essentials. Then we touch it up for one more final time.

After the main background is done, we do the same for objects in the room, like a bed or a desk, etc.. These will then be placed as objects in the room in the game engine.

*We are looking for Character artists.
*We are looking for animators for helping with both the background/character/gui/inventory animations as well as with animators for cutscenes.
*We are looking for musicians. We basically want to modify the original music content, but to sound more modern and with a mix between and alternative and hard rock sound.
*Anyone looking to help with designing a GUI and inventory items.

Needed, but not as badly:
*Translators for:  German, Spanish, French and several other languages.
*Voice Actors. Just remember some of these characters in the game: Zak, Annie, Leslie, Melissa, Caponians and Caponian king... There are several other characters, but these are the main ones.

In order to join, here are the steps:
1) Find the right thread for the job your looking for.
2) Sign up and post what role you want to have in that department.
3) Provide on the forum, a link to some samples and try to wow me. In other words, make it the best you and show it to me. Just because your work may be incredible does not mean that you will automatically be accepted to the team. We are looking for a unique style for music, acting and art. Please provide more than one or two samples of your work. We want to see that you can be consistent in your work. So, if your applying for backgrounds, draw two or three of the typical work you can do. Same with Voice Acting and music.
4) Wait for me to get back to you.

What are the requirements to join the team:

1) Noone will get paid. If someone offers a donation to you, thats fine. But dont tell me about and dont sell any work related to the project.
2) Since noone is getting paid, I do not require constant work from you guys. I would like a status on what you did during the week every week, not to pressure you, but just to know that your still interested in the project. We understand that life comes at you fast and you have family, religion, school and many many other things. So I wont be upset if work doesn't progress as quickly. I am full aware that this project may take years to complete. So there is not pressure.
3) You must be a team player. Even though we have programmers and writers, it doesn't mean that you cant voice your opinion about features or about story lines etc... We all need to get a long and be able to communicate well. Everyone is important on the team.

Tips on rapid progression of the project:
*Set aside time in your schedule. Take 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 minutes a day to think about what you want to do and how to do it. Then once a week or two weeks, take an hour or two and work on the task.
*Communicate with team members
*Accept criticism.
*Try to find a way to keep yourself motivated for the project. Possibly play the original game over and over. Look at fan projects, fan stories, fan art. Think of the outcome once the project is over. It could be something to add to your resume. It could be a reason for you to be famous in the end. Perhaps if this goes well, we can create a commercial game together. Find ways to motivate yourself continuosly.
*Improve on your skill with PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!

Benefits of joining the team:
*Your remaking the greatest game of all time.
*Your gaining experience and adding something to your resume.
*Your improving on your skill.
*You will get your very own @zakmckracken.org email address
*You will be mentioned in the credits
*And surely there will be much much more.

So, if your interested in joining, please sign up in the forum. Thanks for your hard work. Any private questions, please email me at joey@zakmckracken.org

-Joey DiPerla
Team Leader

Congrats Dave!!!! Pssstt... See if they can get rights to Zak McKracken and Maniac Mansion and develop sequels. Those are casual games...

Not continuiing this conversation...

I was thinking of a way to add a certain feature for a game I am helping to program.  Regarding dialogues, can there be an option when you add a dialog option that says "show on all dialogs"?  In other words, we have a "say" option and a "show" option in the editor. But this option would allow that line to be displayed on all dialogs at the bottom. Is that possible?

Another script function I was hoping to get... Actually a few... Are:

AddDialog(DialogName)
AddDialogOption(DialogNameToAddTo, Dialog String, ScriptToRun)
And is there a way to check what the current dialog option is?

These are some crucial items for this particular project I am working on. And it SEEMS (But I know its not as easy as it sounds) that this is not too difficult to add, I hope. The first option is really for convenience, but this can be done, with a lot of coding by just using the script functions I Requested. But at least it would be possible, unless this is possible already.

Thanks for listening.

Oh for the love of.... This project must achieve completion. Now if we can only get someone to make one for characters, objects and animals and such, we would need to art skill what so ever...

Great job Mari! Keep it up.

I replied with some references and offered myself as a team member on your boards under the post "Help wanted".

Let me know if your interested in my help at all.