Electron Zombie

This is another update to my third person shooter project. I have the basic framework of a functional 3rd person shooter finished, and in this video I am demonstrating drivable vehicles and the newly added enemy AI as well.

I still plan on adding some type of inventory system beyond the existing weapon inventory (trading system, perhaps) and also a save/load system.

Please comment, but remember that this is a work in progress. Most of the visual assets are placeholder art.

Over the last week or two, I have been gearing back up to work on my ongoing "3rd Person Shooter" framework. I decided to create this blog to document my progress, as well as share my experiences with others who might be interested.

I am undecided as to what I want this project to be eventually. Beyond the 3PS framework, I plan to continue developing this into a full project that I hope one day sees completion. A couple of ideas have bounced in and out of my head. My intention when starting this project was to eventually create a Tactical 3rd Person Military Shooter. In the year or so since, my desire has shifted to making some type of open-ended 3rd Person Shooter/RPG hybrid.

The lack of concrete story has not hindered the development of this project. The framework mechanics are relatively unchanged, with the exception of having to completely redo the raycasting part of the project (due to enhancements in the 3dRad engine, my previous raycasting method became obsolete). The biggest obstacle that I have faced is my own lack of expertise. I have lost many, many hours of sleep over the last year working on what I consider to be relatively simple problems. And just when it seems one problem is corrected, another one would pop up in its place.

But as the first stage of this project nears completion, I begin to look ahead to develop my vision of what I want this project to become.

Here is a brief video chronology of this project.
Feb '09


Mar '10


May'10

Onlive.com

Today we stand at the precipice of gaming history. The Onlive gaming service is set to launch in a matter of weeks. And unlike previous online gaming services which require you to download the games(and is dependent on your computer's hardware), Onlive asserts that you will be able to stream (think Youtube) and play the latest games in all of their graphical glory. If that wasn't enough, Onlive will also boast a robust social community.

The biggest draw is the potential to bring high-end gaming to mid and low range systems. If Onlive is successful, it will change the face of gaming.

Onlive must prove it can overcome the one potential technical issue critical to it's success. Will it provide a seamless streaming gaming experience? Onlive has stated that a Connection of 5 Mbps is needed for HD gaming, and only 1.5 Mbps for SD gaming. If Onlive truly can deliver as promised, I expect it to give XBox 360 and Playstation 3 a serious run.
Onlive.com

Below are 3d Rad assets and resources that I have created. This page will be updated as I add content.

Drivable vehicles

Real Time Strategy Framework

Proximity Based Object Spawning

Average Frame Rate Indicator

This is another update to the 3rd Person Shooter project. This time I have added a drivable vehicle.

This is a quick video I recorded to document my progress with my ongoing 3rd Person Shooter project.

Here are ten cheap or free development tools for making 3d games. Don't let the cheap or free part dissuade you, these are all high quality tools.

10.TurboSquid A website with hundreds of high quality free and commercial 3D models.

9.CG Texture Website Not a tool but a web page packed with high quality textures.

8.Audacity A free audio recording and editing tool. Highly recommended.

7.L3DT Terrain Generator A very good terrain development wizard. There is also a pro version available.

6.Makehuman A very good human model generator. High quality.

5.Fragmotion This is a highly capable 3d animation tool. It imports and exports a bunch of 3d formats. The registered version is $50

4.Pacemaker A free 3d animation tool. I'm not too familiar with this one, but it comes highly recommended.

3.Gimp A free, full featured image manipulator in the spirit of Photoshop.

2.Blender 3D Modeler This is a very popular free 3d modeler that rivals the best pro tools. The interface can be intimidating, but it's packed with features and worth the learning curve.

1.3DRAD This is where everything comes together, and that's why it's number one on my list. No tool lets you build a game faster or easier than 3drad. And the best part is, it just became free!