Creating new retro modding community

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DoomJedi
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Creating new retro modding community

Post by DoomJedi »

I'm spending most of my time lately developing a retro racing engine/crafter in C++ (SFML). Struggling much (with fps mainly), as I'm not a good coder at all, but the love for retro racers keeps me on track :)

The big plan is to try to make an indie game/engine, but in case I'll fail to do that - I plan to at least try then to start a modding community/forum around the engine - for all the retro racing "OutRun"-style lovers. I'm making the engine very craftable, and it sure can be endlessly enhanced.

Do you think it's possible in our modern days to succesfully build modding community around retro-ish engine that was not modded before at all?
Should I even try?
Is retro racing a thing? With some potential modding fanbase?

P.S.
...if someone is a good C++ coder and wants to join...you know my PM. SFML experience is an advantage.
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troublesomekeen
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Re: Creating new retro modding community

Post by troublesomekeen »

I wonder. Does this modern era help or hurt such an undertaking? It would probably be a very slow pace, taking on new members, until a few cool mods are released.
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DoomJedi
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Re: Creating new retro modding community

Post by DoomJedi »

Well, my question/wonder exactly.

Added to that is a huge wonder retro racing communities and mods NOT existing, and like a whole area of retro gaming not represented in modding - and one with pseudo3D look and HUGE modding potential.
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Re: Creating new retro modding community

Post by MoffD »

Just laying down the fundamentals from what I've seen; either there's a community of people that come together based on nostalgia/interest from a specific game (like here) or it has to be targeted at a niche interest. Now that being said, I really love classic racing games and will take them over newer ones. I honestly don't know how much interest there is, especially with the modern gamer having titles like forza, need for speed etc...

If you get it into a playable state I'll definitely try it :D
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Re: Creating new retro modding community

Post by DoomJedi »

MoffD wrote: Sat Sep 15, 2018 14:58 If you get it into a playable state I'll definitely try it :D
Thank you :) Really far from demonstration, still struggling through, with great love to the subject to keep me going through many moments of frustration.
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Re: Creating new retro modding community

Post by Nisaba »

I don't really like classic racing games nor do I play any new ones. The only racing game i've ever enjoyed playing is called "Road Blaster" from 1985. It's gameplay consists of on-screen instructions overlaid over pre-recorded full motion video animated footage of high-speed chases and vehicular combat.

That said I have to add that I do have a zest for modding and indy projects. So i'm really curious to see what you are up to, which routes you are about to take, which ideas you have in mind, what kind of game you will bring to life.
out now (link) : Image
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Re: Creating new retro modding community

Post by DoomJedi »

Thank you :)

I'm not a fan of drive&shoot, maybe I'm not a majority representative, but that's what I prefer.
For me driving is fun enough.
Today played again "Top Gear 1/2", "Lotus 1/2" and such retro racers on SNES and MegaDrive (retropie) and what I can say - so much fun, just fun as a game, challenging, interesting, all those interesting settings, obstacles, competing other cars. Maybe it's just my thing, but who knows, in such a big world - I think there is a chance there are more retro racing fans like me, even if those are not in majority.
I'm not against adding shooting option eventually, but that will happen only much later and only under pressure.

...currently working on adding cars to the road, wrote AddCars and DrawCars functions, somehow cars still don't display on the road, will look into that.
First to display stationary cars, then make them move, then add them AI, then - collisions.

Yesterday improved hills and curves generation.
which routes you are about to take
My Route is track crafting - in a direction of world/settings crafting (scenery, objects, backgrounds, landtypes) and not manual curve-shaping + more modern arcade NFS-type gameplay (still with fixed view). In such games I love to experience different settings, almost like traveling, I love to travel in car, even as passenger. I want to make the driving fun - and worlds - easy to build and edit, mix and match (like for different road sides)...don't want to reveal too much yet.
There are some big ideas like Travel Mode and World Map, but I'm yet far from there.
Eventually the goal is the make ultimate retro-style racing crafter where people will love crafting new worlds like in MineCraft - and such will be easy and intuitive. Then - share, combine, play, mix and match :)
Recreate famous movie scenes, your local settings/roads/city, your nostalgical trips, memories, new imaginary worlds...In Travel mode you can actually feel like travelling the world, seeing new places, meeting people, their stories etc....

You get my route now? :)

All of that would have been done by now, but coder wanted 4200 USD to make the core engine...So meantime fighting through it myself and my daily goals are of a type of getting a damn car to display in the road :(
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hr4zkc58t4xjn ... t.png?dl=0

I might get more help later from our team coder, in a direction I can't yet reveal.
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Re: Creating new retro modding community

Post by Nisaba »

... Road Blaster isn't really a shoot'em up. It's more like a quick time reaction game like Dragons Layer...
DoomJedi wrote: Sat Sep 22, 2018 8:57 Image

[...] In such games I love to experience different settings, almost like traveling, I love to travel in car, even as passenger. I want to make the driving fun - and worlds - easy to build and edit, mix and match (like for different road sides)...don't want to reveal too much yet.
There are some big ideas like Travel Mode and World Map, but I'm yet far from there [...]

Oh, that sounds like fun! I'd love to see a game where you can just cruise through beautiful landscapes without the need to do something competitive. Just traveling from one place to another, taking different road sides from time to time and doing all that in a relaxed pace. Music would of course be the key...

Allow me to share further ideas that come to mind. Looking at you image I could imagine a somewhat open world with a bunch of bifurcations where the player can choose to ride the highway, offroad, the city streets and so on. Maybe at the next traffic lights there is a group of douchebags who provoke you to impress them with some kick start skills. Or one has to jump obstacles off road... and so on. I'm thinking of lil optional minigames alonge the road.
DoomJedi wrote: Sat Sep 22, 2018 8:57[...] Recreate famous movie scenes, your local settings/roads/city, your nostalgical trips, memories, new imaginary worlds...In Travel mode you can actually feel like travelling the world, seeing new places, meeting people, their stories etc...
That's actually a super awesome idea!!! I'd love to see that!
out now (link) : Image
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Re: Creating new retro modding community

Post by DoomJedi »

Oh, that sounds like fun! I'd love to see a game where you can just cruise through beautiful landscapes without the need to do something competitive. Just traveling from one place to another, taking different road sides from time to time and doing all that in a relaxed pace. Music would of course be the key...
This is my main inspiration, childhood memories of me and my family traveling with our car (red Zhiguli :) ) to the Black Sea (all-day trip) through Ukrainian landscapes, I always loved to stare at the window, loved the sudden stops, directions asking, villages, crop fields, road picnics for breakfast with eggs and such.
This is my biggest inspiration in making this engine. Get back to that safe and curious feeling, of exploring, safety, family warmth.
I just need coding help, heh.

In "Travel mode" I plan to allow for track creator of that particular track part to set Road Stop to share thoughts, personal and family memory stories and memories (or to memorize someone important), ideas, agendas...like places you visit. As tracks and worlds can combine to big worlds this can have a huge traveling feeling, with visiting, talking and even leave guestbook remarks those track makers can later read...Stopping to hear someone.
Allow me to share further ideas that come to mind. Looking at you image I could imagine a somewhat open world with a bunch of bifurcations where the player can choose to ride the highway, offroad, the city streets and so on.
Well, alot of themes are pre-planned with easy new theme crafting as well, I did plan road splits and blocks like in OutRun too.
Still, this is not a full 3D world, just road with possible splits, maybe even merges.
That's actually a super awesome idea!!! I'd love to see that!
Find me a good coder to help :) My current coding skills currently can't ensure this great idea will come to...a good ending.

Meantime implemented - road, hills, curves, collisions, player car/driving, offroad managing, centrifugal, road lanes, landtypes, easy setting of different themes - from road strips and while road side themes (mix and match), scenery managing by scenery type (tree type, bush type etc. engine knows already how to spawn, what amounts, gaps, offsets etc.), scenery mirroring on road sides, smart by-landtype scenery generation - for example automatically not to spawn non-sea-type scenery over sea landtypes....

Alot yet to code - other cars, tunnels, cliffs, bridges, road obstacles, particles, weather effects/fog, crossing traffic and much much MUCH more.
Didn't even start on UI/interface.
This idea needs futher coding assistance, what can I say.
Meantime struggling myself, spending all of my free time on it.
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DoomJedi
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Re: Creating new retro modding community

Post by DoomJedi »

Got cars to display...
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now to write "UpdateCars" function to make them move
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Re: Creating new retro modding community

Post by MoffD »

Speaking of pre-rendered video+sprites, might as well throw MegaRace into the discussion (One of my childhood favorites)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Len7miONm5Q
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Re: Creating new retro modding community

Post by DoomJedi »

Thank you :)

Struggling with UpdateCars function meantime.
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Re: Creating new retro modding community

Post by Roobar »

Oh wow! That's actually looking really cool!
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Re: Creating new retro modding community

Post by DoomJedi »

Thanks :)

Started from this tutorial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N60lBZDEwJ8

Re-wrote it from base up to fit RaceCraft concept/craftability, all the features added since are mine and/or inspired by this javascript tutorial:
https://codeincomplete.com/posts/javascript-racer/

Doing all can, but with my limited coding skills I'm not sure I'm succeed eventually to build something worthwhile.
Got good understanding though of retro racing code/rendering.
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Re: Creating new retro modding community

Post by Nisaba »

How are things progressing?
DoomJedi wrote: Sat Sep 22, 2018 15:59 [...] my main inspiration, childhood memories of me and my family traveling with our car (red Zhiguli :) ) to the Black Sea (all-day trip) through Ukrainian landscapes, I always loved to stare at the window, loved the sudden stops, directions asking, villages, crop fields, road picnics for breakfast with eggs and such.
This is my biggest inspiration in making this engine. Get back to that safe and curious feeling, of exploring, safety, family warmth.
that sounds like a really relaxing game. I love it! the guestbook idea sounds pretty unique to me. haven't seen this before. I'm very curious how you gonna implement something like this...
looking forward to further updates of this thread.
out now (link) : Image
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