View source for OTT3D Development

= General information =

Getting the source : svn://svn.transportempire.com/branches/ott3d

''Current version on svn - 0.02beta rev 198 (new resource loading system and plug-ins)''

''Latest stable revision: 197''

Getting the medias : [http://www.transportempire.com/downloads/ott3d/ OTT3D_media]  (updated readme included and precompiled exe for win)

''Current version on ftp - 0.02alpha''

''Corresponding revision: 197''

Coming soon: autoClamp facility to make the building system non-buggy and a xml feature for reading checkpoints.

= About =

The purpose of this project is similar to TransportEmpire. The distinctive main feature (and goal): progressing from a tile-based game to full 3D.

'''Getting the code to work''' (a.k.a. Prerequisites):

[http://www.ogre3d.org/download/source Ogre3D source]. Compile and build this yourself! don't use the SDK it's something acting like a princess and may toss nasty assertion errors although you just create a renderWindow (it depends on your machine and OS or i don't know). Anyway it's safer this way. Also download the dependencies from that page.
If you are new to Ogre check these out first! [http://www.ogre3d.org/wiki/index.php/Building_From_Source How-to-compile], [http://www.ogre3d.org/wiki/index.php/SettingUpAnApplication How-to-setup] and [http://www.ogre3d.org/wiki/index.php/Ogre_Tutorials Need-to-know-Tutorials].

CEGUI - often comes shipped with the ogre dependencies.

[http://downloads.oddbeat.de/ETMv2.3.1_source.zip Editable Terrain Manager] Great thanks to the coders of this little library, saved me the effort of reinventing the wheel. It uses Heightmaps rather than modifying the VertexData of a terrain mesh (waaaay more clean and fast).

[http://www.ogre3d.org/wiki/index.php/Caelum Caelum SkyManager]. 

== Additional libraries ==

These will be added in the future release: 

Particle universe. I can't seem to find the free version again, i'll upload an outdated version but it's way more good than the Ogre-ParticleSystem built in feature.

[http://www.fmod.org/ FMOD sound].


== General artist creation ==

Interface: see the CEGUI wiki, tutorials, forums if you're new to it. Also, the interface so far was Code-implemented, instead of using the LUA scripts. If you'd like to redesign the interface using scripts, check the source for window names, then be my guest. Quick guidelines: TaharezLook.tga is the basic skin of the GUI changing it and it's imageset will reflect on default skinned windows.

3D and 2D artists: the 3Dmodels are .mesh format exported by oFusion for 3dsmax or from Blender (see ogre forums/ downloads for blender exports or other modeling programs). Ogre supports everything up to Parallax mapping so if you want to script the bump maps, normals, cgs, check the Ogre::Materials documentation on wiki and write the code in the .mesh's .material file. For 2D "models" like plane trees or grass will be imported as billboards(particles), or you can check my tutorial on Ogre Speed-tree looking files 
[http://www.filefront.com/6439361/tutorials.rar Link] also present on Ogre Wiki under Artist Creation. Depending on the machine the game will run on, we should code a setting to change between 2D trees and the better looking ones in that link. Discussion here needed.


= Uploading your work =

Since this is still kind of related to TransportEmpire and the dev forums there are kinda dead let's bring them back to life a little!
After you chose a topic from the ones '''below''' and worked on it create a new forum topic on
[http://www.tt-forums.net/viewforum.php?f=43 Coding Section] and/or [http://www.tt-forums.net/viewforum.php?f=48 Artist Section]. It should have <nowiki>[OTT3D]</nowiki> in the subject. Even if i'm not a forum moderator, i will check those sections and respond as i see them. Attach the files there and i'll download and update the svn / media as necesary after your work reaches a final point.

About svn access, since no one seems interested in coordinating the projects and forums, let's just use the forum posting mentioned above.

Finally the interesting part about it:

= Creating content =

[[OTT3D_Programming]]

[[OTT3D_Content_Creation]]

New general sections will be added here.

= Screenshots =

[[OTT3D_Screenshots]]