Unity, Here I Come!

Yesterday sucked.  I'm not sure if I slept wrong or maybe moved wrong during my activities the day before, but I spent a good portion of yesterday laid-up in bed with some serious back pain.  Things are a little better so far today, but only time will tell if I'll be confined to working from the laptop again.  I'm overdue for a chiropractor visit...

I tried working on a profile system for members yesterday, just to give them a little piece of the site to call their own.  It's close to being done, but there is still a lot of security setup to do before I can let members start uploading pictures to use in their profile, and since I don't know how long I'll be able to keep at it today, I'm going to use that excuse and do what I've been dying to do for days.

Today, I get back into the Unity3D client for Let's Make a MMO!  Logins are already setup and working with the existing database, which means anyone who has registered via the website will be able to login to the client using the same credentials.  Doesn't sound like much, but it's what is behind that client that is so important.

The client will look more like a chat program than an MMO to start, mainly because I still don't know what I'm building yet.  In all honesty, I'm really starting to doubt the interest in this project, but I'm going to power through and stay focused.  I suppose the worst case scenario is that I end up having ridiculous conversations with myself about what game to make, and at the very least, that should be entertaining.

So the goal today is to get a basic UI system implemented into Unity that talks to the server; just your basic login forms, a chat window, and hopefully a buddy list.  Keeping the end-game in mind, I intend to build these systems so that later-on in development, I can simply resize them/hide them within the UI, freeing up screenspace to allow for whatever world will exist in the future.

If the pace of input continues to remain stagnant, I will then be moving back to website work to hopefully make things a bit more interesting to the passing visitor.  I'm willing to continue its progress without input, but it sort-of defeats the purpose of the project.  Regardless, I'll have a nice Unity3D + SmartFox architecture setup and ready to go.

I'm starting to wonder if I would have been better off simply starting a blog/tutorial system on how to build a MMO in Unity and SmartFox yourself.  I will save that worry for a day when my mind is not being influenced by constant pain.  For now, I'm very psyched to fire up Unity and get to work on the client!

Today, much like the ones before it, is about clinging to that little bit of hope I've managed to keep alive during this year of personal Hell.

Day 4's Plans

The 100 hour mark is approaching, which sounds like a substantial amount of time, but this number includes sleep, eating, breaks, etc.  I've got a lot of plans today, and there's a good chance I won't get to the whole list, but the goal has always been about progress.

Layout as of yesterday morning...

... and 24-hours later

My database needs a config update since, for the most part, this server has been used solely as a web-server and remote testing server for previous projects.  I'd also like to start putting together a profile system for members, mostly because I'd like to make this experience as social as possible.  In order to allow uploading files to the server, a lot of new security needs to be put in place.  Boring stuff that, when it's done, looks like no progress was made at all, but I'll sleep better at night.

After down-time, I'd like to whip up at least a very basic profile page for members, including a profile image so every display name can have a face.  The code to grab those images and place them in the site is working (I manually added my twitter profile pic last night), all that needs to be done is the secure file-upload script.

One thing is nagging at my mind like a child tugging on my shirt asking "Why, Why, Why?" over and over again, and it's the sites look.  Don't get me wrong, I think I made some pretty good progress in-so-far as readability and making good use of screen-space, but this site is far from one that makes you want to sign up when you first see it.  The issue, for me at least, is that I can't help but feel that just about any design at this point would sway votes one way or another.  That, coupled with the fact that we still have no idea what game we're making, and I can't help but feel like my time would be better spent on other things.

If anyone has an idea or a free-to-use site template that they know of, feel free to let me know.  I am open to any and all ideas, from the site layout to the camera view in the games client.

For now, time to dump a second cup of coffee down the hatch and get to work.

PS.  I really need to mow my lawn...

Sharing Ideas Made Easy

I just wrapped up work on a system that allows members to share ideas for this project and also vote on ideas posted by other members.  The goal here is to get things started and hopefully make some progress in-s-far as which direction this game is going to be taken.

I figured my hard work earned me the right to share the first idea

Again, it's not much, but it's another step in the right direction.  Can't wait to see the conversation get started... this is what the last 3 1/2 days have been for.

A Chance To Vote

Since my last post I've been working pretty steadily at a status/voting system that will allow members to share thoughts as well as provide us all feedback as to which of those are most popular.

Voting half is done, now to build the form that allows posting ideas

It's not much, but it's progress in the right direction.  Coffee early today helped me realize that polls were not a priority yet, other than they need to be done and working.  We need to get the conversation going so that I know the right questions to ask.

Not sure how many more hours I've got in me, but coffee is brewing.

The 3-Day Mark

72 hours ago I was pacing in my house, pulling out my hair, asking myself repeatedly "could this really work?"  I have the skillsets to deliver, and I'm convinced that there are at least some people out there who would love to take part in making an MMO but cannot do so for one reason or another.  And that's quite literally what this is all about.  My days of proving that I can do this in such a sheltered way are over; it's time to dive head-first into this community of gamedev's and deliver something that is fun and enjoyable.  I honestly can't tell you if I will fail or not, because there are quite a few variables in that equation that I have no control over.  

Variable #1: What is it?

I don't have a clue what game I'm making.  That is incredibly exciting to me, considering I am obsessive when it comes to proving that something could work before diving into it.  For this particular project, the only thing that needed to work was the basic concept: do I have the skills to build a system that makes this entire experience enjoyable rather than cumbersome for the end-user.  I believe I do, and while I don't expect you to believe me at this point, I'm not asking for more than the time to prove it.

This is why I got into gamedev.  Not to hide in my office, having no social life, and cranking out game after game.  I got into this to be a part of a community that 13-year-old me would have cherished, and 33-year-old me does not take that for granted.  On the other hand, it is quite an undertaking, even when you don't consider the fact that the game has no plans yet.  It will be a social experience before it ever becomes a game, and for that I am incredibly grateful.

Variable #2: Your Participation

This project cannot work without input.  I am very anxious to get started on the client, but I'm a little limited in what I can do without knowing what type of game this will be.  If it's a top-down fantasy RPG, the setup of even the smallest details becomes very, very different than (for instance) a resource-managment or 4X MMO.  Because it is an MMO, it needs to be efficient, and so it needs to be scoped to include what is needed, and the rest stays out.

Does the majority of participants want a Sci Fi game, or would they prefer fantasy?  Are they looking for a laid back 3D version of Travian with more depth, or does grinding mobs sound more fun?  Or is everyone interested in a 3D community of like-minded people where everyone can have their own little piece of the world to call home?  These are the questions that I am hoping members will help me answer, so members are desperately needed.

Variable #3: Time

Right now, I have a lot of time to work on this project, but that is because I am in between freelance gigs.  As soon as I am working again, depending on the project, I'll have less time to work.  Considering I'm doing the programming solo, that can become a bit of an issue.  But I'm dedicated, and any free time that I can spare will be put into this project.  You can't fault me for needing to keep the lights on while I do this, and freelance work provides me a lot of opportunities that I would not get by other means... don't be fooled, however: it comes with its share of pitfalls as well.  For instance, not knowing when the next gig is going to come along...

I solo'd the entire process of building a working MMO architecture in six months, and I'm a lot more experienced with Unity3D and SmartFox now.  I've built a website that works seamlessly with the client/game server setup I built from scratch back on day one.  I know the limitations of almost all my porting options (Windows Desktop, Windows Store, Linux, Mac, Android, iOS, Unity Web Player).  And while I understand that the client & game server are the most important parts of this project, they aren't needed yet.  When they are needed, they're ready and already allowing logins... right now what's important is giving members a chance to share input.  I'm not asking anyone for their most cherished game ideas, it's about taking existing concepts and making something unique and fun.  Don't share anything you'll regret later, and as a whole, I think we'll all get something out of this in the long run.

This is where I need to be.  This is the right project for me, mostly because it isn't just mine.  I'm excited to see what we come up with.  I'm confident it will be a unique experience, and while it may have it's share of bugs or annoyances, it will absolutely have character.  

Let's Make a MMO!!

First Registrations are Coming In!!

After a good night's rest, I woke up to two new registered members and it has lit a fire under my hind-quarters.  Seeing my member-poll system working and being used makes the last 60+ hours of grinding out this website worth it, and from here on out, anything I add to the system will only make the experience better for all of us. 

 

As much as I want to dive into the client, I feel like that would be getting ahead of myself at this point.  What the site needs is a way for everyone to communicate openly about ideas and likes/dislikes.  There needs to be an easy way for everyone to be heard, but without overwhelming new visitors with more information than they need.

Since I am still on my first cup of coffee, I'm probably going to expand on the polls system first, since the work is relatively simple.  The first goal of the day: multiple polls rather than just one, since it's quite literally the only form of interaction members currently have.  After that, I'll be hiding in notebook work designing a system of communication for members, and hopefully some sort of voting system to keep the most popular ideas easily accessible.

There's something here... and I may not know what it is yet exactly, but that is half the fun.  That's what I am inviting you all to help me figure out.  This game is like the skeleton of a T-Rex buried beneath the sand for millions of years: grab a tool and help us dig it out, and when we're done we'll all have a fun game to play; one that we can all say we took part in creating.

Let's Make a MMO!!!!

Polls Are Live

I've just finished up work on the poll system, which will hopefully make sharing ideas with members easy... as soon as I have some members.

Thanks to Chart.js and jquery, this was pretty easy

I'm pretty burnt out at this point, so I think it's time to stretch out on the couch and watch a movie.