News Archive

17:45 02.10.2008
Progress Report: September 2008

State of the Art
The project rebuild in C++ has gained a lot of momentum.  After a speedy reclamation of earlier progress, we have well surpassed the previous engine.  Instead of working on libraries and theories, the project has turned a corner into developing actual prototype product. 

Model Viewer
A small standalone application has been created for preview of OGRE .mesh models.  This was requested by our Assets Manager Stephen (AKA Banditkills) and allows modelers to easily preview exported work from modeling applications, such as Blender.  It will be available for download in the coming weeks.  This will be our first application to test our Quality Assurance process.

Content Tool
The official Shadowrun: Awakened Content Tool is currently under construction by Lead Software Developer Erik (AKA eralston).  Its currently implemented features include point-and-click object placement, light creation and manipulation, visual manipulation of Physics properties, in-editor simulation, and saving/loading to file.  It supports importing OGRE .mesh models.  The editor combines the 3D rendering technology of OGRE and the simulation technology of PhysX into a single application utilizing the QT widgets library (http://awakenedmmo.org/wiki/QT).  This cross-platform UI library will maintain our current commitment to multi-platform support, including Windows and Linux.  Screenshots of the editor in action are available in our gallery (http://awakenedmmo.org/gallery/index.php?c=3).

Where to from here?

Quality Assurance
With the joys of creating product come the obligation of testing it.  Both the Model Viewer and Content Tool will need black box testing in the coming month, meaning we must assemble a small group of detail oriented testers.  While this is not the most glamorous part of open source development, it certainly carries its own excitement.  The sooner the product is tested, the sooner it can be released. Internal releases will be used to distribute working executables to testers, allowing them to write up bugs for the first time.  Look for the first internal releases to happen in October.  Current members will be given the task of writing our first officially tracked bugs and fixing them.  Details on our planned release can be found on the wiki here: http://awakenedmmo.org/wiki/Releasing_an_internal_build

Release?
Work on the content tool is progressing so well, there is already talk of our first release.  The prospective release would be an open review of the current design and hopefully satisfying proof of progress in the project.  It will include the model viewer and prototype content tool.  It will be deployed from an installer, not just source code and will include installation of prerequisite software, such as PhysX drivers.  It is likely to be Windows only initially, but Linux support will be forthcoming.  The first distribution available on the main site (and sourceforge) will likely be in November.

Linux Support
A linux developer, Ulrich (AKA Bruzee), has been diligently submitting patches to get the Awakened Engine running under Linux.  The conversion is progressing well, penguins out there should already be able to hear sounds, watch rendering, and even simulate physics using the current code.

01:17 26.07.2008
Progress Report: July 2008

The game has recently undergone some changes under the hood.  If you are familiar with programming at all, you may be interested to know that the lead software developer decided to change from the programming language C# to C++ in order to gain greater performance in the final product and speed up development (ironic considering the change eliminates a lot of work already done so far).  However, the project will be better in the long-run and it is better to do this now than later.  Here are the lead software developer Erik's words on this:

When 2008 rolled around, we realized we were trapping ourselves in an interminable struggle to support not only a game, but also a complete engine. With limited resources, this would be unwise. We re-discovered our "rapid development" approach by shifting our stance back toward finding mature third party components that could cover graphics. Unfortunately, this brought us back to C++. While initially skeptical, when we found the PhysX API runs about 10 times faster under C++, it became a no-brainer that the server could definitely benefit from authoring in C++.

The PhysX he refers to is the part of the game that will handle the physics, the destruction of objects and behavior of items in motion.  Because an outside party has written this code and distributes it to developers, it will save us time over writing it ourselves.  Plus, Nvidia's new video cards will be able to increase your physics performance in the game.

Speaking of saving time by using outside help, the graphics in the game will be largely supported by the third-party library called OGRE.  While the name implies that it must be as ugly as an ogre, it will actually make the game look great and allow us to focus on the game's mechanics instead of the basic building blocks needed to create visuals.  Erik's words again:

In the early days of the project, when we were in [Crystal Space], people kept recommending OGRE. At the time, we dismissed it as CS had so many more features and it was never revisited before or during the change to C. So, here we were back in C++ and looking for a graphics engine. We looked up OGRE and found it to be very powerful. We quickly kissed and made up with it, adopting it as our visualization engine for the time being.

So, we're taking care of the physics and the graphics.  What about sound?  That too.  We've got a fresh new developer on the team, JBudOne, who has done a great job on integrating a third-party sound package into the code called FMOD.   Erik says it well:

Since OGRE does not include a sound system, we had to resort to a third party in order to get it. After some googling, we found some candidates. When JBudOne showed up to the project, his first true task to bring honor to his name was integration of FMOD. As it turns out, they lived up to their "easy and intuitive" promise and we were able to muster a basic 3D sound system packaged into one class. FMOD also includes support for complexities such as sound occlusion (simulating sound with respect to 3D surroundings, not just distance) which will come later.

While we're talking about new developers, we'd like to give a shout-out to Bruzee, who is hard at work on ensuring that Shadowrun: Awakened has a good chance of running on the computers of those of you running the Linux operating system instead of Windows.

The beauty of open source is that we can share and share alike and this project is getting help from volunteers both indirectly through shared code and directly with donated time.  We're excited with the progress we are making and hopeful for the future.

Thanks for your patience and dedication,

The Shadowrun: Awakened Team

17:56 29.03.2008
Development Reboot

For better or worse, the old XNA baseline has been moved (now named "SRA_XNA") and a new codebase using C++, OGRE, and PhysX has been added in its former location ("SRA_Development").

At the moment, I can tell you this:

The new SRA project is a Visual Studio 8 (2005) project, able to be used in all editions of 2005 (no XNA-edition crap).  To open it in 2008, you will need to convert into 2008 (just like converting projects from 2003 to 2005).  There are tutorials in place for getting started with Ogre & PhysX (physX having been updated for the C++ SDK).  I encourage even non-devs to check-out the new projects and help flag the kinks (Chris, I'm looking at you).

There are a few items of interest:


At the moment, the project is 2 small libraries and 1 test application.  A much smaller seed than last time.  However, I will reiterate that the libraries hook into OGRE, meaning that anything you can do in an Ogre application can currently be done in our engine (pretty much verbatim from any sample).  This means all visual features (lights, shadows, animation, particles) are technically checked off in the current engine.

I have already updated some documentation on the wiki and will continue through this weekend.  I will add Doxygen compatible comments to the code, etc, along with really kick off with creating samples and expanding the libraries (coding with source control to back me up always makes me more comfortable).  Thinking realistically, it will probably be another week until the stuff in source control becomes useful to other programmers, but I would definitely mark today as the official reboot of development back into C++.

02:06 03.01.2008
Progress Report: 2007

Introduction
2007 marks the first year of significant progress for Shadowrun: Awakened.  Let's see how far we've come and far we have yet to go.

State-of-the-Art 2007
Near the beginning of 2007, Shadowrun: Awakened started down on a long path toward creating an immersive MMORPG based in 2070 Seattle.  Through the year of 2007, we gathered a core group of developers, created a set of game mechanics, and reached our first major milestone in producing a working game.

We created a web presence through a website, forums, MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/awakenedmmo), and our online collaboration infrastructure.  As of December 31st, 2007, we have 124 forums members, 27 MySpace Friends, and maintained around a 90% activity percentile on Sourceforge.Net.  In less than one full year, the project has grown from an idea into a movement (by reading this message, you are a part of it!).

Awakened Engine Alpha
Starting in July, after a couple changes of direction, construction on game engine started using our current palette of technologies.  After 6 months, we now have a game engine written in C# that produces 2D and 3D graphics via Microsoft XNA, simulates physics & collisions via Ageia PhysX, networks utilizing Microsoft .Net Remoting, and collaborates with databases utilizing Castle Active Record.  The engine itself is more than capable of simulating and visualizing simple games, but it has far further to go until it is ready for the world of Shadowrun.

Where to in 2008?
The year of 2008 will be about crystallizing the collective goals of the project and churning out real demonstrations of our visions.  By the end of this year, we hope to have a complete engine and a working, small-scale, demonstration of our game.

Awakened Engine v1.0
The current game engine code achieves all of the basic components needed for a game, but would produce a game that lacks the visual appeal of modern games.  Also, the complexity of SRA's game mechanics demand a complicated scripting system that is yet to be realized.  Last, but not least, the collection of specialized tools necessary for creating a game from content will be created.  The core goal for game engine in 2008 is to infuse the system with equal parts beauty and brains, preparing for its duties as the platform for Seattle 2070.

Shadowrun: Arena Brawl
As the game engine matures, its test bed will move from several small unit tests toward prototypes of each application.  The culmination of these prototypes will be a multiplayer game modeled after Shadowrun's in-universe game “Urban Brawl”.  Our version will be played in a stadium, but will be no less deadly.  The game will implement many of the action-based foundational features of the final MMO, with the advantage of being very small scale.  Also, it will feature models, music, sound, and animations representative of the final product.  For more information on “Shadowrun: Arena Brawl”, look on the wiki here: http://awakenedmmo.org/wiki/Shadowrun_Arena_Brawl.

Organizational Goals for 2008
For the year 2008, the project of Shadowrun: Awakened would like to realize some goals beyond just code and content.  We are a living, breathing organization that must always be growing and improving.  Here’s how:


Thank you,
The Shadowrun Awakened Team

13:14 03.12.2007
Progress Report: November 2007

Introduction
November, 2007, after 4 months dedicated to C# & XNA, we are nearing our first major milestone.

State-of-the-Art
Server Reaches Game Engine Alpha!
Near the beginning of the month, the first network synchronized simulation was demonstrated using the Awakened Engine (http://awakenedmmo.org/gallery/view.php?img=90).  This system was refined into several classes that provide the core functionality for the server.  This includes managing a “Zone” (a single, discrete area of gameplay), allowing players to enter and exit simulation of that zone, and very basic user management.  All totaled, server has working library classes for networking, data, and simulation.  Once its documentation is complete, we will be ready to start building capabilities for AI & Scripting, plus game mechanics.

Client Nears Game Engine Alpha!
Once server met its GEA requirements, attention turned back to client capabilities.  The Graphical User Interface system was fixed and extended into its complete, but unpolished form (perfect for Alpha).  Generic post-processing features were added (http://awakenedmmo.org/gallery/view.php?img=91). The core client-side classes were all modified to comply with the XNA Game Component model, allowing them to be used more efficiently and in any XNA application.  To unify the system, the “AE.Game” class was created.  This single class is the culmination of our work in 2D and 3D XNA graphics, XACT sound, and PhysX simulation.

The only feature remaining for our system continues to be animation.  However, a working example of the XNA Animation Component Library, our chosen animation solution, has been created and will soon be utilized as the foundation for incorporating XNACL.  After the animation feature is completed, the client code will have reached the Game Engine Alpha milestone.

Game Engine named “Awakened Engine”
Given all of the progress on the core technology, the game engine has really taken to life.  Wanting to distinguish it from the game code, there was a short naming discussion before settling on the straightforward moniker “Awakened Engine”.  All core features are now that of the “Awakened Engine”, an XNA-based game engine written in C#.  The Game Engine documentation (http://awakenedmmo.org/wiki/Game_Engine) is being slowly updated to recognize the new name.

Where to from Here?
Achieving Alpha
The Game Engine Alpha milestone is planned to be achieved by January 1st, 2008; the December, 2007 progress report will contain an official announcement.  Achievement of the milestone means we have achieved a working platform on which we can build the game.  We will begin working on features relevant to the game and start work on Alpha version of each application (client, server, content tools, and server tools).

In addition to just working code, the GEA milestone also requires that the entirety of the code is documented at a high-level on the wiki and at a low-level in the code comments.  After coding is finished, the rest of December will be about editing comments, finalizing a set of unit tests (possible work with NUnit here), and building a complete guide to using the engine on the wiki.

The transition to our next phase of construction will be outlined beginning in the start of January.  A “roadmap” from the software’s current state to the next milestone will be published in the wiki and much talked about in the December progress report.  This guide will take us from the close of 2007 into the milestones yet to be achieved in 2008.

Thank you,
The Shadowrun Awakened Team

20:36 04.11.2007
Progress Report: October 2007

Introduction
This is the Shadowrun: Awakened monthly progress report for the month of October, 2007. Another month gone, any progress?

State-of-the-Art

100 Members

On October 18th, our forum population finally broke 100!

MySpace The Place For Shadowrunners & Website

There was a major addition to our web presence that occurred at the beginning of the month. We set up our MySpace page, an
avenue of communication to the masses to keep people informed of our progress and recruit testers and players when the appropriate time comes around. As of now it includes 19 friends. Concept art, models, music, and a brief description of the project all serve to entice users quickly and stir up interest. This medium also allows us to exploit the process known as viral marketing where friends tell their friends and so on.

In addition, the main page of the website now has three random samples from each of our major image galleries: concept art, 3D models,
and screenshots. These serve to highlight our artists' work and balance the text on the page with additional visuals.

Server Development

As we approach the Game Engine Alpha milestone we find that client has met much of the criteria while server is lagging. We have refocused a new effort around integrating server with current work.

Castle Active Record was picked up for use as our database technology. It is an "object persistent" and "object-relational mapping" technology. What does that mean? It means that instances of objects in our system can be saved and loaded from the database automatically, based on the definition of the class and without any SQL work on our part.

An example of this system, "Test CAR" in the SVN demonstrates how Castle Active Record will be used.

Previously, the "Internet Communication Engine" was being utilized by our project for networking. Unfortunately, since our change to completely C in both server and client, the extra work required to move objects over ICE has problematic. Due to this, ICE is being dropped in favor of .Net Remoting for the short-term. In the future, we may change back to ICE or find a new solution when we reach a stage where performance is more important than development convenience.

We created 2 small "proof of concept" apps using .Net Remoting: "Test TicTacToe Client" and "Test TicTacToe Server". They utilize our new .Net Remoting layer.

SVN Makeover

There was a big overhaul to the solution and projects, unifying the naming of the namespaces, projects, and output libraries. This should make the code more organized.

Where to from here?

Server Still on the Move

Now that we have a functioning networking layer, server team will bring together a shared, real-time physics simulation in the month of November. This will be a PhysX scenes on one server and many clients that are synced using our "Commands & Snapshots" design (literature on this design will be placed on the wiki as it improves). A demonstration across the internet is planned for December or earlier.

Client Catching Up (?!)

Due to the shift in October to server, client progress has been poor. The client-side networking technology is solidified as a result of the server change and the client is an equal player in the server's shared simulation plans for the month of November. Still, there are specific client goals that need met.

The XNA Animation Component Library is being analyzed as this is being typed by a new member: Toffer.

Game Engine Alpha?

Once Toffer's rite of passage, adapting the animation library, is complete, the client program will have achieved the Game Engine Alpha milestone and will be a complete, though unpolished, single-player game engine.

Once server successfully syncs its simulation to other clients, server's GEA criteria is also complete. Both systems being at Alpha means we can start work on honing the system to not just play games, but to play a Shadowrun game (what will ultimately become Shadowrun: Awakened). A big step along this path is that the small unit test applications we have been creating will offer code to coalesce client, server, and content editor applications that begin to fulfill the requirements of the Alpha milestone, where coding our game mechanics and building a Shadowrun game really begin.

Other odds and ends

Winter Vacation

Dragonbrute (AKA Jonathon), the Lead Server Developer, is taking a vacation for the rest of 2007 to get out and live a little (And work a lot). In the mean time, eralston (AKA Erik) has been re-dubbed the "Lead Software Developer" will be keeping both client and server on course while Jonathon is away.

Also, Raven and GhostSoul are each taking winter-time breaks for various life living reasons (mostly school).

Thank you and see you next month,
The Shadowrun Awakened Team

21:15 18.10.2007
100th Forum Member

Today,October 18th, 2007 on our 222nd day of operating the forums, we reached 100 members!!!

13:40 05.10.2007
MySpace! A Place for Shadowrunners

Come be our friend!

The Shadowrun: Awakened project has created a page on MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/awakenedmmo) in order to connect to people enthusiastic about Shadowrun.  Some of our gallery materials and music are available on the page.  Also, our blog will be updated with breaking news, development ruminations, and all around info on the project. 

We hope to attract energy amongst the young and entertainment hungry audience on MySpace.  Come be our "friend" and be the first to hear our achievements and, one day, play the game as it is built.

12:13 10.09.2007
Founding Member Steps Down, Lead Server Developer Steps Up

Due to numerous life issues, the greatest of which being finishing his latest academic degree, our founding member: James (AKA ajediknight) is taking a hiatus from official capacity as an active member in the project.  While he promises to take a look at the boards and his e-mail every once in a while, James has some living to do and some homework to finish.  He did a lot for the project, including initial and continued contact with Microsoft and the continuation of the project through 2006 despite no progress.  His leadership will be missed, but he will return, with a bigger brain, and as an even greater asset to the project.

As James had once stated as his desire, the project will continue to exist without him.  Jonathon (AKA DragonBrute) will be taking James' place in the three-man core senior members group, the official committee responsible for maintaining focus in all development aspects and adherence to the project mission statement. 

As for replacing James as chief peanut of the gallery, applications are still being accepted...  Cheesy

18:19 08.09.2007
Website Updates

With all the recent news topics regarding the client and server development, it's a fitting moment to discuss recent changes affecting the website.  Most important is that all the web applications now use one unified logon derived from your bulletin board account.  Password and email changes on the forums will be reflected elsewhere once you log on to the individual systems. 

Secondly, a new mailing list has been created to take advantage of an SVN hook that will send out notifications whenever new commits are made to the source code, detailing the person committing, the files affected, and the differences between the old and new ones.  Mailings will be condensed into digests to prevent a heavy day of coding from overwhelming people's inboxes.  To sign up, visit here.

Also, a custom hook has been added into the SVN and configuration options set to integrate it with the Mantis bug tracker.  Commits made with comments referencing "bug #XXXX" or "issue #XXXX" will have information regarding those updates added into Mantis as notes on the respective entry.  Any comments stating that an update "fixes" or "fixed" "bug #XXXX" or "issue #XXXX" will cause the entry to change status to Resolved and have a resolution of Fixed.  However, I was not able to set permissions to allow execution of the hook through Tortoise SVN, so it may or may not work through Sourceforge.

Both the task tracker and bug tracker have new logos incorporating their own with the project's.  The task tracker has some useful filters available now.

Finally, with Erik's prodding and assistance, I've completely revised the existing information within the Overview section of the main website, revised the organization of the content, and added quite a bit of new content on the game's mechanics for people new to the project.  It took a few tries, but it finally has a good marketing sound to it.

12:02 30.07.2007
Client Team Follows Server

Following the Server team change-over to Internet Communication Engine (ICE) technology under C#, the Shadowrun Awakened client team decided to unify our efforts and changed over to using Microsoft XNA using C#. This change should allow client and server code to be very homogeneous, including more flexibility in the development team and more portability in the future.

As a consequence of this decision, the project has moved into supporting only Windows.  As a whole, no one had emerged as a vanguard for any alternative technologies and the available free software tools from Microsoft, such as our officially adopted IDE Visual C# Express, would encourage a more rapid development cycle (and a much easier startup time).

19:07 07.07.2007
Server Team Changes Direction

As a result of the July 1st meeting, the SRA Software Development team has unanimously decided to drop Java/DarkStar as the primary server solution technology.

During testing and evaluation of the DarkStar API, several issues were raised regarding compatibility and stability. The reality that DS is a beta product was found to be a larger issue than anticipated, introduce a risk of extended development time due to undocumented bugs and behaviors. One major area of concern was the DarkStar team's reversal on release the C API in June, stating that they were not going to be making it a near-term priority. The C API is critical component for the development of client network services.  In summary, this meant we would have to fight against unstable technology that we had no out-of-the-box means of communicating with.  Additionally, the development of darkstar as a heavily Sun influenced and designed technology seemed to be incongruent with our relationship with the Shadowrun license holder (Microsoft).

Taking all these factors into consideration it was decided that development should progress with a different choice in technology. In keeping with the mindset of using a rapid development, less error-prone language, C# was chosen as the next best solution. We will be utilizing .NET libraries and other .NET wrapped APIs (ODE.NET, etc) to aide in the development of the server.  The use of third-party libraries should allow for comparable acceleration of development with none of the instability of Darkstar.

23:25 11.06.2007
Client seed collaborative development begins

There is now information on the wiki talking about the client seed project.  There are also tasks in the job tracker waiting for people to do them.  Basically, all the information necessary for everyone to jump in and help with client/content editor's seed project.

21:40 10.06.2007
Client Code now in SVN!

The client & content editor seed projects are now up in the SVN repository. 

Information on how to download the code can be found on our sourceforge page or on our SVN tutorial on our wiki.  Either way, it is best to review our tutorial on getting the project to build and run.

This makes the breaking of ground on both client and content editor.  For the moment, we will continue to expand this code base into the foundation for both applications.  After further development, they will be separated into distinct projects, each honing in on their own responsibilities as the client game application and content editor.

17:28 11.05.2007
Server Team Officially Adopts Project Darkstar

Following much discussion, the server team is officially moving forward in their designs with Project Darkstar as our solution for networking (and much, much more).  Project "DS" as we like to call it, is a recently open sourced project that helps eliminate the need for game developers to continually rewrite a networking and server resources solution.

CS will be coupled with other libraries to support the shared simulation.  At the moment, Crystal Space, the same simulation library that provides graphics (and much, much more) for client is being examined by our Lead Server Developer.

19:10 17.04.2007
SRA names management team

During the IRC meeting of April 15th, 2007 SRA formally announced the installation of the following offices:

Project Manager - Stephen AKA Banditkills: oversees project goals as well as Assets and Game Mechanics for the time being
Quality Assurance Lead - Cristobal AKA CrisLander: Makes sure we have quality people and make quality product
Lead Server Developer - Jonathon AKA Dragonbrute: Analyst, designer, and manager for server technology and networking
Lead Client Developer - Erik AKA eralston: Analyst, designer, and manager for client technology and graphics

This is not a monolithic bureaucracy, do not let the fancy titles fool you!  Rather, this recognizes those who are taking up responsibility.  Also, it is the first sign in a shift toward team-oriented design.  While developers may work across borders, ultimately their work product must be done at behest of a manager who is responsible for tracking that product. 

13:30 05.04.2007
Design Underway

Technical design proposals for any aspect of both Client & Server are coming in from within the development team.  Anyone with a good idea is encourage to draw up such a proposal, just a short descriptive document on your idea, and put it up on the main development e-mail thread for discussion.  Proposals evaluated as both feasible and "good" will be elaborated and ideas will be filtered.  Managers for each section of development will be named based on the quality of their designs and the group's belief that they are highly capable.

This is intended to keep our design from being a monolithic effort of a single person.  Every proposal should offer its own insights and by exposing our knowledge to the group in this way, we should be able to settle on an adequate design very quickly.

Good luck!

00:51 26.03.2007
Shadowrun: Awakened Rejects "Merger" with Shadowrun Online

The proposed merger between Shadowrun Online (another SR MMO) and Shadowrun: Awakened (this project) was rejected today by a unanimous decision.  Primary reasons listed that it would not be a "merger" so much as an absorption of our resources into a completely different project.  The goals and values of SRA did not mesh with those presented and everyone agreed that we're more than capable of going it alone.

21:23 13.03.2007
Latest News Operation

I thought I'd let everyone know that the home page of the website is now linked with the board so that the first posts in the Latest News section of the board show up on http://awakenedmmo.org.  Only the first 500 characters and the latest three entries show up on the main page.  There's also a link at the bottom to a news archive page that shows all the characters for the first posts and the latest 20 entries.

This is just something to think about for those who might be posting in here, in that the Latest News section is now more powerful than it was before (and should be treated with the associated respect).

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