Armoured Cycles Extreme (ACE; aka ArmaCycles Extreme)

[Luke-Jr]

In my opinion, Tron Legacy set the expectations far too high for the existing Armagetron codebase and protocol to ever meet. I'm interested in beginning a new version from scratch... wanted to get these ideas out there:
- NOT based on Tron Legacy, but a simple light-bike game flexible enough for not only for the gameplay seen in Tron Legacy, but even more
- No client. Players will use their WebGL-enabled browser (I think this includes Firefox 4, Safari 5, and Chrome 9). All code will be dynamically generated by the server in realtime. Your browser will only maintain a description of the visible world (all as a function of time) and render-- all other logic will be server-side.
- Faster graphics. Made possibly by the oversimplified client. The goal is to be playable on an iPhone w/ Safari mobile.
- Resource market. Resource authors can (optionally) sell maps, custom cycles, and whatever else seems sensible.
- Central authority, if unavoidable. Any ideas on alternative ways to make the market work, as well as configurable keybindings in a browser environment?
- Licensing to-be-decided, but possibly AGPL with exceptions. AGPL requires anyone who hosts a server to make the source available to players.

And actual gameplay features:
- Fully functional borders: Flat surfaces that can be bent (sharp or curved) with configurable appearances (including a window to another part of the world) and behaviour on crossing (including teleportation and a wall-style hard-stop, which is what you'd also be using for a normal floor surface-- yes, you need a horizontal border for a floor).
- 3D zones: These now represent basically every object in the game, including your cycle. Same visual and functional properties as borders, except that instead of behaviour 'on crossing', you have behaviour 'on entry', 'on exit', and 'while inside'.
- All borders and zones can be created, modified, or destroyed by the server in realtime.
- Physics engine, to handle things like cycles flying off the edge of one floor, and falling to the next, as well as simple gravity. Configurable to allow objects to fly (like "Light Jets"), and rotation of an object's "gravity direction" (such as by floor tiles that rotate while you're on them).
- Configuration based on DCT and vValue design: all game and physics logic will be implemented as mathematical functions which server operators can tweak at will. The server will then reduce these functions to equations based only on time for visual aspects to send to clients, and emulate the world based on them.
- Extendable through ECMAScript: The game server itself will be written in ECMAScript (aka Javascript), and can be scripted in the same. This gives a single programming language to write plugins that affect both visuals and game logic.

For full disclosure, I am currently also considering making the game available only through my own hosting services, in part due to the necessity to maintain a central authority for some of the features. I am in any case open to the possibility of making exceptions, especially to other hosting companies/individuals, mainly because I don't like the idea of monopolies.

Of course, all this (including the last statement) depends on numerous factors, including:
- Ideas others might have for reducing or abolishing the need for a central authority.
- Financial contributions toward the cost of development (if there is any interest, I can possibly track the time I spend on each commit)
- Other contributions toward development (including other programmers willing to join the project)
- Any other ideas people might suggest.
- probably other stuff I can't think of

Obviously, one goal of this endeavour is to monetize Armagetron. Not just for myself, but also for anyone who contributes in any way-- including testing.

[17na]

could I perhaps uplaod a standard design for the lightcycle if you are going to embark on such an adventure?

[Luke-Jr]

could I perhaps uplaod a standard design for the lightcycle if you are going to embark on such an adventure?

sine.wav already volunteered to do that, but I suppose multiples couldn't hurt either. Just try to avoid anything Disney might think infringes on their trademarks or copyrights.

[17na]

there very looseley based on the ones disney made but before we do anything else you should take into consideration a detail from tron 2.0 where there are two different lightcycles both have different capability's like you get the regular cycle at first wich is ok and the other lightcycle requires more skill to use Ive got atleast 3 or so desighns including a realy bazzare one

[nsh22]

i know u said the server wold be written in emca or w/e but is that the only language that will be used?

[Z-Man]

One thing I like:
- the uniform scripting platform. Scripting interfaces are a thing to avoid.
Three things I think will not work:
- no client. You need clientside prediction and extrapolation for smooth gameplay.
- no client means more work for the server. If the server is implemented in a scripting language, you'll run into performance problems.
- WebGL is new and unproven. You'll run into compatibility trouble and other worries. It looks like a standard worth promoting, though, so I applaud that courage.

[teen]

Can we implement a lobby according to forums. Like i have players saved as friends on forums, maybe we can add to the option "mates" that we have now but instead say what server the friends are on and if we would like to join or not.

[sinewav]

I think there is something to be learned here from FLTron. I would suggest those interested in the project head over there and play around for a while.

[Luke-Jr]

i know u said the server wold be written in emca or w/e but is that the only language that will be used?

Unless you consider vValue/mathematics to be another language. There will also probably need to be some C layer (possibly V8-based, which is a JIT compiler, and should take care of z-man's speed concerns to some extent) to execute the ECMAScript server-side.

Three things I think will not work:
- no client. You need clientside prediction and extrapolation for smooth gameplay.

As it is, I think most players turn off prediction anyway. But it should still be possible, given formulas that account for it, or at least scripts that add explicit ECMAScript prediction for things.

Can we implement a lobby according to forums. Like i have players saved as friends on forums, maybe we can add to the option "mates" that we have now but instead say what server the friends are on and if we would like to join or not.

Since basically everything will be in the browser, it should be trivial for anyone to setup a lobby. (Not commenting on whether the main site would or wouldn't have it)

[Z-Man]

Three things I think will not work:
- no client. You need clientside prediction and extrapolation for smooth gameplay.

As it is, I think most players turn off prediction anyway. But it should still be possible, given formulas that account for it, or at least scripts that add explicit ECMAScript prediction for things.

I was more worried about prediction of your own cycle's movements with the input you already made, but which hasn't yet traversed the client-server-client loop, taken into account. If you don't implement anything like that, you'll get horrible "input lag". Of course, you're right, enemy prediction is entirely optional.

[Luke-Jr]

Three things I think will not work:
- no client. You need clientside prediction and extrapolation for smooth gameplay.

As it is, I think most players turn off prediction anyway. But it should still be possible, given formulas that account for it, or at least scripts that add explicit ECMAScript prediction for things.

I was more worried about prediction of your own cycle's movements with the input you already made, but which hasn't yet traversed the client-server-client loop, taken into account. If you don't implement anything like that, you'll get horrible "input lag". Of course, you're right, enemy prediction is entirely optional.

Yeah, I'm sure that will be the first script... :p

[Luke-Jr]

BTW, in case anyone missed it, here's a prototype map.

[Luke-Jr]

And just in case anyone wants to donate some BitCoins to the project... :p

bitcoin:17qE3YELV2HNXi1zxL7MmESmbCCnWGxxaJ

qrACE.png (742 Bytes) Viewed 4668 times

[mrsanderz]

this is a high poly count that i am working on for a skin that i was going to use in UDK from blender3D the out put can be obj if you need it let me know ill do more thanks

[mrsanderz]

oops here is the pic atched