Tuesday, December 29, 2009

2*2 sized units


So, I've spent some time working through my code and making it a bit more robust and less obfuscated. I have a long way to go, but out of this process emerged the possibility for larger-than-1 tile-sized units. (IE, tanks or whatever) As of right now, they are limited to a rectangular shape; there's no requirement for the dimensions to be square.

larger units are properly displayed, properly block light, properly move, and properly check for obstructions. (a 2by2 sized object won't fit through a 1by1 hole)

What you're seeing above is a 2by2 unit. it isn't necessary for a larger unit to be all the same character or color, but this one is like that for simplicity.

The only remaining issue related to this is that I need to figure out what algorithm to use in regards to placing units inside of a ship, or their initial starting positions.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Graduation

So much to do.

Theoretically, I just graduated from EMU. I say theoretically, because i only have 3/6ths of my grades. I'm not worried about two of the remaining grades, but my senior project class is scaring me a bit. Though our professor was a nice guy, he never handed any of our work back the entire semester, not even our midterm exams. My group project for that class didn't end as strongly as I would have liked, as I learned too late that both of my partners were content with mediocrity.

Anyway, that stuff aside, I've suddenly got some more free time and a LOT less stress. I plan to do some coding today, mostly related to 2*2 sized units (instead of the current 1*1 size), though eventually I'd like to support arbitrary size/shaped units, like say 2*3 or whatever. (this other shapes will make things more complicated, especially rotating, etc)

I also need to work with my equipment routine.

I also feel that soon I need to start designing my (G)UI

In general news, I've been reading and listening to some various programming books/podcasts and have some new and better ways to deal with problems that I've created for myself primarily because of my general ignorance of proper large-scale software design.