Thanks. Yes, it runs quite nicely under hardware acceleration as an application (lwjgl), but I hadn’t actually considered a hardware rendered version in the applet, as I am not really fond of signed applets.
Thanks.
Yes, it seems a couple of people are finding it a little difficult. If anyone else finds it too difficult please let me know, as I am now thinking I need to make it (at least the first level or 2) a little bit easier.
Ironically, I originally thought that I wouldn’t be able to make the AI challenging enough without major ‘cheating’…
[quote=“ben,post:21,topic:32416”]
Hooray! A fellow believer! I thought it was just me & DzzD…
BTW It is too hard - you’re just too used to playing it! Put in a devtweak so (say) < & > change the car’s acceleration, then I can find a good start point. On the first game I want to come maybe 3rd or 4th so I’ll want try again.
People don’t always flee when they see a signed program. More than 600 people added a signed Java game using JOGL (that I don’t need to say the name :D) into their bookmarks.
Woohoo! I got last!
I’m awesome.
PS - Fun game.
[quote]Quote from: SimonH on October 12, 2008, 05:52:02 PM
Hooray! A fellow believer! I thought it was just me & DzzD…
People don’t always flee when they see a signed program. More than 600 people added a signed Java game using JOGL (that I don’t need to say the name ) into their bookmarks.
[/quote]
just a parentesis
(
Java Web (either Applet & Webstart) deployment is already very very not user friendly and boring in comparaison to flash smoothness, so adding signed stuff and using lastest JRE are two things that make an Applet completly unfriendly…
I rarely launch a signed Applet myself (when I dont know the author) but I know that nor everybody is a programmer. I know someone that have used such Applet as a door (trojan horse) to hack the computer of a webmaster and stole all of its passwords… it is a kid game to do that…
A good way is to start something unsigned that show a bit of the game and switch signed later this way user have an idea of the program quality and than will decide to accept certificat easier if he have already a good impression.
)
hehe tks, be sure that we are still working on it!! and on at least three more projects… I just finished a new race, maybe I will put it online this week. about your game I found it very diffcult to win too, I never finished in third pos :(, but if car have same speed and same feature I guess that with some practive I will win my first race soon, but maybe making the first race easier than the next one will help ?
LOL
You are right, I think I am just too used to playing it.
However, I have just realized something crucial with regards to difficulty. The version I have linked to from here, is in fact a demo, where each race is exactly 1 lap long. This makes the game much more difficult, because the player only has a very limited time to catch up with the AI and overtake them. This is something that even I can only manage to about half of the time (when the race length is 1 lap).
If I could ask some of you to try a more ‘normal’ version of the game <a href="http://www.JavaGamePlay.com/offroadrally/rally.html> here you will probably find it significantly easier (race length is 3 laps). If people are still finding it too difficult, then I will certainly make it easier, as you have suggested.
Thanks in advance.
Agreed.
I am quite paranoid about launching signed applets from unknown sources, which is probably one of the main reasons I don;t use them.
However, your idea of showing something ‘high quality’ and giving them user the choice to later switch to signed/hardware mode, is a good point, one which I had not considered before.
I can’t wait to play your next version, particularly while I am in still in a racing game dev frame of mind.
In terms of the difficulty of my game, please see my previous post, about the ‘normal’ version of the game, it should be easier.
Ben.
[quote]In terms of the difficulty of my game, please see my previous post, about the ‘normal’ version of the game, it should be easier.
Ben.
[/quote]
I have given it another try and I am still unable to win even one opponent :(, but maybe there is an issue that could explain, I have the strange felling of keys lag sometime, that make the car continue to turn even when i stop pressing right/left keys. I will try it on another computer if I can.
Wow, impressive!
I found the controls and physics to feel quite natural, I think the build up of difficulty can be just built into the track layouts.
As an aside, I also keep being impressed by jPCT’s performance.
As for signed applets, I never really understood the big deal about them. I think if the presentation of the website looks trustworthy enough, and if the game is really worth it and has some good publicity, there’s no difference with a locally installed game except that an applet is much easier for the user.
If you really want to compare java with flash, then don’t try to emulate a flash game in java but make the most of java, for example by using OpenGL! Nothing flash will compare to that, and it will make the user much more forgiving towards clicking one more dialog and forget about flash in an instant.
But whatever you choose, I’ll keep an eye on your game!
The key lag might happen if the computer you are running on is having difficulty rendering the game quickly enough. Please try lowering the graphics detail (maybe disable the skybox, or change rendering detail to low), and see if that helps. The screen size is quite large for software rendered applet (640x480), so it needs a fair bit of cpu power.
I will lower the difficulty in the next version.
Thanks.
[quote]As for signed applets, I never really understood the big deal about them. I think if the presentation of the website looks trustworthy enough, and if the game is really worth it and has some good publicity, there’s no difference with a locally installed game except that an applet is much easier for the user.
If you really want to compare java with flash, then don’t try to emulate a flash game in java but make the most of java, for example by using OpenGL! Nothing flash will compare to that, and it will make the user much more forgiving towards clicking one more dialog and forget about flash in an instant.
[/quote]
the problem is when you go to a casual game website and have to install something each time you try a game, lot of people/player doesn’t know what is Java and when seing a security popup they get bored as for any other plugin technologies by maybe thinking they are going to an installation setup. this is all the interrest of casual gaming vs “cdrom” one, with casual you should be able to play everywhere in a second : lite/fast, no-plugin/no instal , no-security dialog, no need of admin right, just a standard web page that you can open/close when you want to.
[quote]The key lag might happen if the computer you are running on is having difficulty rendering the game quickly enough. Please try lowering the graphics detail (maybe disable the skybox, or change rendering detail to low), and see if that helps. The screen size is quite large for software rendered applet (640x480), so it needs a fair bit of cpu power.
I will lower the difficulty in the next version.
Thanks.
[/quote]
reducing detail seems to help but not reallly sure, I still feel some trouble in controlling, it is hard to describe just like if I turn (press right or left) and it turn a little after (very few but enought to be disturbing) then I release the key and it continue to turn a little, this is for a very little time so the game is fully playable but the sensation is quiet unpleasant after playing for a moment.
Yes, I get that and you’re right.
My point is that an applet/JWS game does not need to be a casual game like a flash applet. I think it’s a good thing when your game demands more from a user’s PC that the user will have to accept a dialog that informs the user of potential risks. If the game is good enough and is well known for being a great game and not a trojan, the security dialog is a non-issue.
For flash, it’s easy to be a smooth experience because has a much more limited scope of possibilities.
Especially for a game like this, it’s so easy to surpass flash by adding proper OpenGL support (the game being based on jPCT and all) that I really don’t understand why the option of OpenGL is deliberately omitted. I think players would be glad to be able to click a security box when that gives them a gameplay experience that is 100x better than the software-only version.
[quote]Especially for a game like this, it’s so easy to surpass flash by adding proper OpenGL support (the game being based on jPCT and all) that I really don’t understand why the option of OpenGL is deliberately omitted. I think players would be glad to be able to click a security box when that gives them a gameplay experience that is 100x better than the software-only version
[/quote]
sure, but in the same idea if I wanted to play an highend game I would be happy to donwload and run a setup program. also lot of people doesn’t have admin right and have increased security browser managed by an admin at work, university, and in some other case… also using recent JVM => 1.4 (requiered for OGL) is sometime impossible, and also basically “what can do the less can do the most”. if your program run 1.1 it will run mostly everywhere and lot of time program requiere higher version for very few things that can be done in a lower version, IMHO this is a big error that sun made by increasing so much the JRE size and releasing so much version when they could have add external/optinal libraries, thinking that everybody is constantly upgrading with a high bandwith, also there is a lot of countries/place where internet is slower and where you cannot always download more than maybe 20Mo jre. also you can do a lot of thing faster with opengl but there is also a lot of thing you cannot do (you are less free in programming) or that requiere special opengl extension, and there are a lot of difference between configuration and lot of more bugs that can popup with opengl. so you are right that some people will enjoy the security popup for a better experience but think about this :
- using Java 1.1 with low memory and low bandwith your game run on maybe 99%
- using above 1.1 you loose n%
- using more memory (more than the standard setting) you loose n%
- using a signed applet you loose n%
- using more bandwith you loose n%
- using opengl extension (ARB or stuff like that) you loose n%
one case is at my work I am admin of my computer and can install java, but we are only a cupple able to do that maybe 20/2000 and other 2000 people cant istall the jre update and have security increased on theire browsers. same for other guy I know in other compagny.
If I was planning to use lastest jre wth opengl I would certainly make a program downloadable with a full featured setup.
IMHO, web game target a totally difference audience. really when I play web game I play simple one running in a second as flash game or ben librio games 
and for those games I only request that they have a good gameplay and decent(not perfect) grapics and when I want to play highend game I download and install 1GB games.
I agree with you, the author could allow the user to choose between the unsigned version and the signed version to please everybody.