JCraft Pre-Alpha_v0.1 has been released.!

WIP games, tools & toy projects Archived Projects
#1

Hi everybody.
I think now it is time to get some feedback about our project called JCraft.
JCraft has now reached pre-alpha status and is now available for download…

JCraft
JCraft is a free cross-platform tilebased real-time strategy game engine completely written in Java. The engine is confgurable and can be used to create games with a wide-range of features specific to your needs.

Screenshots
Download the http://www.nullpointer.ch/pfile/index.php trailers of the JCraft project and check out the http://www.nullpointer.ch/pimg/index.php?showcat=1
at nullpointer.ch. Here is an example how it looks:

http://www.nullpointer.ch/pimg/zoom/18_800.jpg

http://www.nullpointer.ch/pimg/zoom/24_800.jpg

http://www.nullpointer.ch/pimg/zoom/22_800.jpg


JCraft Pre-Alpha download:
http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/jcraft/JCraft_PreAlpha_v0.1.zip?download

P.S
The file is just so big because I don’t know how to play mp3 in java. I know it’s possible but I a way -Whossa Hell no. I d’rather tie this in the next release which I’ll be using Java5. (better performance etc…)

Note: Download the Readme.txt or you will not be able to run it probably…

Wan’t more information?
http://www.nullpointer.ch
http://freshmeat.net/projects/jcraft
http://sourceforge.net/projects/jcraft
or maybe even [google]
Feedback and rate it! And post any issues here!

Criticism
I am very upset about the java.net services.
They don’t respond, haven’t approved my projects since registration (That was almost 3 Weeks ago),
Slow project editing. Let’s just hope that this forum and its community is any good! Have some of you had the same issues with java.net?

Thank you! 8)

#2

It didn’t start for me… could here the harddrive work for a minute or so, then it stopped. The screen was black all the time. Waited for a couple off minutes nothing more happened.

There were no exceptions or error messages in the log and the end of the log stated.

All resources could sucessfully be loaded ...
1024
Final memory: 86
Final memory: 168

winXP, geforce4 with a month old drivers or so and jre1.5

#3

Did you read the notes provided by sourceforge.net?
http://sourceforge.net/projects/jcraft/

Further the runtime and the sdk MUST BE jre1.4.2_xxx
and the java3d lib from sun installed!
Really! (Sound etc… won’t work at the moment with 1.5)
As I said check the notes!

Try it again and if it crashed again give me a copy of the log file provided by jcraft_pre-alpha

P.S I am glad that It had started though. So you will get it to run just be patient! ;D
About the but load of resource loading this is quite normal! Currently we want to simulate how the engine behaves when acquiring a large amout of resources. And currently we do eagerly resource acquisition rather then lazy or time-dependent.
Sorry but it will come soon…

Good luck ::slight_smile: And feedback again if it was any help!

#4

Just Fing Webstart it (like JFG-it ;)). What’s this mucking about with some random instructions that you have to visit some other webpage for and it’s up to the player to do ::slight_smile: ? That’s so … 1995. It’s 2005 now - everything’s automatic, and libraries are managed invisibly. Don’t ever make someone download a 3rd party lib by hand.

Or … just wait a little (days, a weekend or two maybe) and JGF will have libraries integrated so all you have to do is upload your jars, select which libs you want installed, and it will all be handled for you ;D.

#5

[quote]Just Fing Webstart it (like JFG-it ;)). What’s this mucking about with some random instructions that you have to visit some other webpage for and it’s up to the player to do ::slight_smile: ? That’s so … 1995. It’s 2005 now - everything’s automatic, and libraries are managed invisibly. Don’t ever make someone download a 3rd party lib by hand.

Or … just wait a little (days, a weekend or two maybe) and JGF will have libraries integrated so all you have to do is upload your jars, select which libs you want installed, and it will all be handled for you ;D.
[/quote]
Well if that is too much for you! Sorry! All you have to do
-install sdk1.4.2_xxx (If you are not a developer sorry not ready not mess with fricking jars at the moment
-install java3d
-install java1.4_2.xxx (Runtime)

In fact if you’re a developer you should have installed them already anyway right?

Secondly just read the notes everything is explained there very easily…
It even has a bat file were you can simply click on (Compile & Run it! DrBizzar0 did it right he just has the wrong Runtime installed that’s all!
But you’re may be right I should have waited and waited and waited… :stuck_out_tongue:

Whatever

#6

So i just have to: Figure out which ones of the 6 links you gave to me are important to run the game, install 1.4.2 sdk and runtime (which i don’t have on this machine except in the subdir of the JbuilderX installation) and ruin my Java5 installation with that, install Java3d (i could live with that), figure out where to find the notes and read them, start a bat to compile(?) that thing and to run it afterwards.
Is that too much? Yes, it’s far too much. I would hardly do this if you were offering HalfLife 3 here…

The screenshots are looking nice though…

#7

If you read this board widely and regularly you’d know that what you’re suggesting really is too much :). I don’t mean to be offensive, but you’re making your game look so crap by not spending 10 minutes once in your life packaging it properly that most people won’t bother trying it; if you can’t be bothered to write your game properly, that suggests the game itself probably isn’t worth playing.

You may think this is unfair, but … that’s just the way it is :frowning:

All YOU have to do is:

  • zip up your files using JAR (use winzip if you prefer - no-one cares. Just make sure it has a .jar extension and a manifest)
  • write a JNLP (or, if you’re lazy, upload them to JGF and it does the rest automatically - modulo previous comment)

All your players have to do is … Click the link and play the game!

What you’re fighting aginst here is that everyone else’s games you just click and play. Your game is never going to get many players when it’s the only one that requires people to read stuff (for no reason - there’s really 0 need, it’s just htat you haven’t packaged your game properly. Only takes you 5 minutes, max).

You mean, you don’t want to “mess with” the only official distribution system, which is NO MORE EFFORT FOR YOU than a zip file? The one that runs - automatically - on EVERY system with just a double click?

Hmm…

This is INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT. Just because YOU don’t realise this doesn’t change the way the world is: Java3d requires you to have one, specific, exact version (and different versions for most games) or else it doesn’t work; and do you realise how difficult it is to have more than one version of j3d installed at once?

I’ve tested many j3d games and just trust me on this; j3d is a bitch to install, even for developers. It will save you many many hours of your life wasted in “bugs you can’t trace” if you just auto-install it for your players.

As mentioned above, no other game requires this. Why should yours?

It’s like saying “my game can’t be played unless you enter a secret password - but it’s ok because you can read a webpage somewhere that tells you this”. It’s pointless and confusing :slight_smile: and most people won’t bother, they’ll just go play someone else’s game, one that “just works”.

I can absolutely 100% guarantee you that will not work. I don’t even need to download your game to find out. I could re-write your bat file, and do some local sysadmin stuff that would force it to sort-of work. So…you’re asking us, the players, to write code because you wouldn’t “mess with” the standard, official, “works everywhere” Jar format that does this itself?

Anyway, as I said, not meaning to offend, but I think you really ought to go and learn some basics (e.g. what a JAR file is) before slamming them :).

#8

PS I wanted to play, until it became clear it was going to be practically impossible to get working.

I bother commenting to try and help you fix your game…

#9

Really! (Sound etc… won’t work at the moment with 1.5)

There is a workaround over at the sound forum. All you need to do is explictly select the software mixer (the one you’re using in 1.4 anyways).

The file is just so big because I don’t know how to play mp3 in java.

You can ignore mp3 completely. It a) sounds bad (especially with low bitrates) and b) it isn’t free.

Use ogg instead. You can decode it via jorbis to raw pcm, which can be played by about every sound lib you can think of.

I also haven’t tried the game. You’re really asking for too much there. :-/

#10

TO ALL!

a) IT IS NOT A GAME IT IS SUPPOSE TO GET AN ENGINE!

b) YOU GUYS JUST NEED TO READ THE NOTES POSTED ON SOURCEFORGE.NET!!! >:( AND DO WHAT IT’S WRITTEN!

c) IT MAY TAKE AN OTHER YEAR TO COMPLETELY FINISH IT SINCE WE ARE ONLY TWO DEVELOPERS AND ARE CURRENTLY DOING OUR M.S THESIS AS WELL!

d) I NEEDED JAVA3D SINCE I HAVE NO CHOICE HERE.
TO GET A DECENT HIGH PERFORMANCE COUNTER AND NEITHER IS INPUT POLLING FOR MOUSE AND KEYBOARD SUPPORTED! SO AIN’T SDL OR DIRECTX! WELL

WELL AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! YOU GUYS SHOULD KNOW THAT I JUST JOINED THIS COMMUNITY HERE SO
blahblahblahh I WILL FOLLOW YOUR ADVICE. :-/

AND blahblahblahh YOU’RE RIGHT ABOUT JAVA3D I KNOW
IT REALLY IS A **** :smiley:

IT WOULD BE SO EASY BUT OK
AIN’T KERNEL STUFF OR SOMETHING ITS JUST SOME JAVA! :’(

WELL I GET BACK TO YOU GUYS ASAP WHEN I GOT SOME JNLP OR SOMETHING OUT FOR YOU GUYS TO CLICK AND PLAY!

Thank you guys for all your efforts and comments!
Really!
thumbs up!

#11

I do know what jars files are really but have you seen the huge amount of stuff I got? I tried it really!!!

But I got so much files I need to read and write and when I finally got the jar and its Manifest and its Entry point done, I coudn’t read the files (during start) because the files are referenced ouside of the src…
I couldn’t get it to work! But I will try it again…

You should know that I didn’t want to distribute the source at all for a demo!

P.S What do you suggest to take as high-performance counter when I currently don’t want to port to java5 then?

#12

Use GAGETimer. There is also a hidden timer available in 1.4. Google for sun.misc.Perf.

I also think it’s too much work getting it to work. We have been spoiled on this forum since most people here use webstart.

#13

Indeed— GRRR
I totally forgot about that timer! I did a documenation on that and I didn’t even used it! sh*

Thanks for reminding me!

#14

But don’t use the hidden timer directly. Use gage instead. It wraps it up and uses it if it’s available (eg on 1.5 it will automatically use the new nano timer instead).

#15

Well guys since you can’t see how it works

You can download the trailers on my side
They ain’t very long but enought and not so big…
and the quality could also be better but OK!

Link: http://www.nullpointer.ch/pfile/index.php?filecat=1

Feedback if it was any good!

No I am going to sleep it’s 2.04 A.M here in Switzerland

#16

[quote]But don’t use the hidden timer directly. Use gage instead. It wraps it up and uses it if it’s available (eg on 1.5 it will automatically use the new nano timer instead).
[/quote]
Thanks but well you know since REALLY NOBODY seems to use SDK 1.4 anymore I might port my next release to Java5. Or I even make a branch that all NEEDS can be satisfied!

#17

Actually, most people use 1.4.2+, few have settled on 1.5 for various reasons, most of them to do with compatibility.

#18

that’s a huge file to download…47Mb! wow! I still have dial up connections…

#19

[quote]But don’t use the hidden timer directly. Use gage instead. It wraps it up and uses it if it’s available (eg on 1.5 it will automatically use the new nano timer instead).
[/quote]
Are you sure. I’ve looked at the Gagetimer-1.1 source, and I can’t find sun.misc.Perf anywhere.

#20

I was sure. Duh.

Well, it does use different timers and picks the best available one.