Ok.   What does "(**#*#*^$^PLAYER 1$%" mean?  It means that the Host and Client are talking and the client is sending the Player name to the host and everyone is talking to each other. :)

What you see in the screens shots are the "join" screen, and the Lobby/Host screen.  Obviously, very much a work in progress, as one might expect, but in the background, the machines are talking to each other. :)

I will end up cleaning up some of the connection code to the UI to make it easier to use than right now.  Then get the "chat" function working to show more interactivity between the systems.  Then I will be sending ships across. It is already doing positional updates, which doesn't mean much to the client yet.

This is a MAJOR milestone for me and the game project.  I know it isn't workable on a game level yet, but it's still important. :)

Not much work on this over the weekend, but you can see there have been some updates.  Now to make it functional. ;)  You can see here with the screen maker lines and without.

This is a screen shot from within the screen maker for the multiplayer "join" screen.  It is more of  a brainstorm, work-in-progress, than it's final form.  What use to take days, now takes minutes.  Obviously the screen maker needs more and more features, but it will get them over time.  What isn't obvious here is the "listbox" allowing multiple, independant columns, which is something new.  It is amazing how much of my time is making UI controls rather than game coding.  We did start to open the hood on the AI system and the multiplayer code. A LOT to resurrect, but I am hopeful that I will get my first confirmed connection next week.  The Main AI was looked at to finally get the AI code to attack things on their own, rather than being ordered to.  It looks like it IS being ordered, but the ships are refusing to do it because they aren't finding enemies.  So it a bug issue, rather than it isn't there.  Such is coding.

Ok, what is screen maker?  Well, I realized the reality is that I needed more tools for my game, or more specifically for my engine.  Originally, the interface screens were all hard coded.  In the resurrection of the project, I have been slowly moving a lot of the screens to use the scripting engine (and new controls/UI/UX) that I had built.  The idea being that the artists could play with the scripts to change the look and feel of the game without having to recompile for each change.  Unfortunately, the artists never wanted to play with the numbers, so they used the script side very limitedly.  When I started on the multiplayer code, I was faced with that I needed to build between 2-4 interface screens.  Considering how long it took to make the shipbuilder, configuration and splash screens by hand, and honestly how badly things just didn't fit, I realized that doing the numbers by hand, even in a script, was a waste of time.  And a lot of it.  I decided to bite the bullet and spend a few weeks to make the screen maker.  While GUI/interface constructors exist, and I did look into them, I still would have had to convert their output to my script, and make "custom" objects to make it all work right in their interface, and it would only be 80% of the work, since a lot of changes still would have to have been made to the output script anyway.  By writting it IN the UI engine, what you see is what you get!  No guess work.  If it saves and loads back the way you expect, it will look like that in the game.  I was, for the first time, able to extract the UI engine from the main game and keep the scripting engine intact, which I admit, I'm inpressed by.  Now, you can just drag to construct controls, click to modify/resize things, etc.  Instead of taking days to get the numbers "mostly" right, now it can take a few minutes to an hour to do a whole screen, and everything is perfect!  I plan actually redo the current screens in the current screen maker, so the artists can tweek at will via the interface.  With a LOT more screens needed to be done, this should, in the long run, save me months of development work versus doing things by hand. 

What you see in the screenshot with all the outlines is showing the different objects, even if hidden.  Red are the "Omnigrids" and green are the OmniGrid Objects.  The lines going to a center point says that the center OmniGrid Object (known as an OGO), will move all the rest of the connected controls as one.  So it acts like a container or window.  You've seen the result of that from previous posts.  The screen shot is a test for making a properties window, and let's me test everything out.

Yes, I did mention the multiplayer. ;)  I will be starting on that this week, even if it is just to make the screens for it.  :)

In preparation of the first set of testing, the new buildings are finally in the game itself.  Here you can see them in action, along with finally flying one of the newer fighter designs.  

I found an interesting problem with the Nav Markers.  They are upside down. ;)  Another thing to fix.  But it least it is all working.

The tutorial needs a way of getting to it.  Now that way has been created.  The "effectors" have been overhauled so it has become it's own mini-scripting engine that allows a bunch of sequenced effects for the objects of the screen.  By created this midway point, it can be the launching point for the tutorials, multiplayer, configuration, etc. that are typical of modern games.  The previous screenshots now transition to this screenshot smoothly via the effectors.

The navigation (RTS) screen is working.  It will have to be overhauled graphically, and honestly, how it's controlled, but that is for testers to decide how best it should be.  So overhauled is too strong of a word, but certainly a LOT of tweaking.  To that end, many of the graphics that have been waiting to be updated to the game are now being put into place.  The idea being to update the path into the game, and into the tutorial as an option.  This will also create the path needed for accessing the multiplayer aspects of the game when that is put into place (after the tutorial).  While the tutorial overall has been written, only now is it starting to be coded into the game.  Admittedly, the interface to even GET to the tutorial needs to be created, hence this enhancement of the splash screen.  Considering that the game has hit a specific milestone of the sim and the rts being functional, it is time to update the graphics and game play on things that are more cosmetic, so that the tutorial feels more complete.  Obviously, as more features are added to the game, the tutorial will also have to be updated.  But this is a nice kick off of the new phase of the development. :)

The Navigation screen (or the RTS screen) is almost minimally done.  What does that mean?  It means, things are selectable, commands can be given, etc.  As soon as the builderbot can be told to build buildings successfully, I will declare victory and move on to the tutorial.  The graphics for the navigation screen are still being worked on, hence the minimalist pictures.  The graphics that I do have for it are stuff that I drew a while ago so I had something, and trust me, you don't want to see it. ;)  Does this mean the navigation screen is 100% done?  No, it just means that it will be functional for it's purpose, and I'm sure through play testing, a lot of suggestions will enhance it.

This also means the tutorial will start to be worked on rather soon.  This will effectively be a mini-campaign to help people understand how to play the game, of course.  But this also means the game is almost ready for a small release to testers.  Once that is completed, and applicable fixes put into place, who it is released to can be expanded.

This is an engine test of the game in the Navigation screen.  It shows using the gauge control (at the bottom) to zoom all the way in from seeing the whole solar system, to a battle around a small cap ship.  Sort of like it is saying "Meanwhile, in Mars Orbit"...

Previously, only the planets showed up.  Now they can be clicked to "auto-center" (not shown).  Now ships and their special effects show up too. ;)  They are clickable, but only in high orbit.  Still a lot to work on.