Privateer: Ascii Sector

How come the simplest solution is often the hardest to think of? :D

I'll just film the screen with my girlfriend's digital camera...
 
This is a dos program? Did you try the video capture stuff in dosbox 0.65? As well, I had no problem recording wc2 in dosbox with FRAPS though the sound ended up wierd.
 
I've had similar problems some time ago: all the conventional capture programs only worked with D3D or OpenGL, and I needed to record a video from a Java game run in a browser. but there was this one app that made my day, called SnagIt. it can grab any region of the screen, and encode it using any codec you have. maybe it can manage capturing a dos screen, too? either from a window, or directly... could be worth a try.
 
It just occured to me that DOSbox renders, or at least can render, with openGL. That should record easily in FRAPS or anything simila.
 
I finally managed to get three video clips of the game -- took me a couple of hours. I filmed the screen with a digital camera, then transfered the files to my stationary computer, then converted the three 15 mb AVIs to much smaller WMVs. The quality isn't very good, but they should give you an idea of the game:


http://www.asciisector.net/development/07-01-15/1.wmv
Here I encounter another ship (a Talon, but that's pretty hard to see) and shoot at it until it explodes. As I haven't programmed the AI yet, the Talon doesn't move or anything.

http://www.asciisector.net/development/07-01-15/2.wmv
Here I pass by a planet. I can't land on it yet, as I haven't finished programming the bases (planets, asteroids and space stations).

http://www.asciisector.net/development/07-01-15/3.wmv
Here I jump to another system. The jump point at the other system is surrounded by asteroids, so I shoot at them a bit. Then finally fly into one too many and explode.


I haven't done all the sounds and music yet, so there's only one tune playing in these clips and not all sound effects are working.

Shere Khan: I actually tried using SnagIt, but it could only capture the game in a window, which doesn't run smoothly.

Andrewas & AD: I couldn't capture any video in DOSBox. Don't know why.
 
wow, a lot of progress! targeting works, damage indicators work, even some FX are in place! very impressive.

you know, I've got an idea. there's this Belgian artist making damn good ascii portraits, Otium from Galza art project: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=145805637 . he's a good friend, and says he's willing to help with gfx for the game (talking heads, starbases etc) if you're interested. I'll PM you his e-mail; please contact the guy.
 
Shere Kahn: Thanks for the suggestion, but at the moment I'm not sure what ASCII art I'll be needing. The characters in the game will be represented by a single ASCII character (just like the smaller ships). I've decided not to use face ASCII art for the characters because all non-plot characters are randomly generated and there will be a LOT of them -- the most populated bases will have 30-40 other characters walking around for you to interact with. It would be impossible to make pictures for all these characters, so they'll just be represented by their name, which will be randomly generated by combining a randomly selected first name with a randomly selected last name. When you talk to them, two dialogue boxes will pop up -- one for you and one for the character you're talking to. I'll probably only need ASCII art for the cutscenes or insert shots (like the shot of the alien artifact given to you in the beginning of Privateer). As I haven't begun working on the plot yet, I don't know what kind of cutscenes and inserts I'll need. I'll keep your friend in mind when I get so far in development that I can begin compiling a list of the art I'll need.

NinjaLA: I'll need testers for the demo, which is probably still a year away. I'll post here looking for testers when the time arrives, so be sure to sign up then! I'll also need testers for the first episode, but of course that's even further off in the future than the demo... :)

Andrewas: I'll check this out the next time I need to capture video. Thanks!
 
Ijuin said:
The gameplay demos look neat, but that asteroid field looks a bit too dense to fly through.
Click to expand...

If you don't fly full throttle, it's actually quite easy to navigate through. I hit as many asteroids as I do in the demo on purpose, as a demonstration. In the original Privateer you couldn't fly full throttle through an asteroid field without a high risk of hitting something -- I want it to be the same in Ascii Sector. :)
 
Haven't posted here for a long time but need to say excellent great work. I'm impressed very much!!
 
Chris Knudsen said:
In the original Privateer you couldn't fly full throttle through an asteroid field without a high risk of hitting something
Click to expand...

Unless, that is, you exploited an issue with the game code, and pitched or yawed back and forth fast enough that the game engine couldn't draw rocks in front of you fast enough for it them become a threat. :)
 
Death said:
Unless, that is, you exploited an issue with the game code, and pitched or yawed back and forth fast enough that the game engine couldn't draw rocks in front of you fast enough for it them become a threat. :)
Click to expand...

I've played Privateer quite a bit, but haven't noticed this bug. I guess I just haven't pitched or yawed violently enough for it to happen.

I don't think I'll be copying this particular bug, though... :D
 
in wing commander 2 I used to play with a trackball mouse.. because if you gave the ball a spin you bounced around the screen so fast no missile could hit you :p
 
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