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Submitted by , posted on 19 May 2002
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Image Description, by
These are a couple of images from my (finally) completed project: Orbus.
I've been fiddling with game programming projects for years, but this is
the first one I've been able to call "finished", even if it isn't
perfectly "polished".
The official description from all the other websites is:
Orbus is a classic arcade-shooter style game with 90 waves of gameplay
both in space and over 9 different planets. Features include stunning 3D
accelerated eyecandy from huge explosions to weather effects,
customizable playlists, 7 original music tracks and all the tools needed
to create and play custom campaigns with new levels, graphics, sounds
and music.
Here's a short list of some of the
APIs/features/techniques/tools/knick-knacks that were used:
DirectX 8
Custom archive file format (*.CLS) to keep the assets neat, with
an editor put together with MFC
The CLS file system supports (a slightly hackish) patching
system, similar to PWADs
User-editable playlists in *.M3U format (you can even edit them
with WimAmp, etc)
Seriously over-powered particle engine (Orbus doesn't exploit
even a third of its features)
"Pluggable" campaign files, which allow new sets of levels and
data to be used
Simple scripting language and compiler for the levels
Rain/Clouds/Water effects (which can be simplified for
less-then-ideal hardware)
Support for virtually any resolution (640x480x16bit is the
practical minimum), and FSAA if the hardware supports it
Automatic screen shot system - when active it takes a screen
shot roughly every 2 seconds. This made getting mid-explosion shots much
easier then trying to time it by hand. (It also meant I piled up nearly
5 GB of screen shots before I was done, but.)
NSIS from NullSoft for the installation program
You can see more screenshots and download the shareware demo from
http://www.orderlychaos.com/software/games/orbus.html
Orbus will run on a system as old as a 350Mhz Celeron with a TNT2, but
the framerate is really not acceptable.
Anything from the 700Mhz range and up with a GeForce (and the newest
drivers) shouldn't have any trouble.
A version of the debugging display is still included in the release
version and it displays the framerate, press 'D' while your playing to
see it.
The target framerate is 70 FPS.
Feel free to email with any comments or bugs.
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