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General discussionBirth of the Empires - a 4x turn based space strategy game(228 posts)(228 posts)
(228 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted October 11, 2015
Got it .installed .yet to play.
Posted October 14, 2015
Good news for everyone with smaller screens (phones for example). With the latest update (should arrive today in about 2 hours or so) now you can zoom the UI completely. It should improve readability and control.
Posted October 20, 2015
First Tutorial-ish video.
Posted October 25, 2015
One more bump
Posted November 03, 2015
Watch out for the bump.
Posted November 08, 2015
I haven't bumped this for a while now.
Posted November 23, 2015
Updated PC version to match latest Android version.
Posted November 23, 2015
Hi. I'll start with some background questions, since the original game's homepage is mostly in German.

I could not find a link to the source code. Is it in Java, like yours? What is the license?

I'll take that the bitbucket repository contains your work (fork?). Is your PC code in it, or are your contributions merged upstream?
Posted November 23, 2015
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Gede: Hi. I'll start with some background questions, since the original game's homepage is mostly in German.
I could not find a link to the source code. Is it in Java, like yours? What is the license?
I'll take that the bitbucket repository contains your work (fork?). Is your PC code in it, or are your contributions merged upstream?
The original code is here. It's C++ (Visual Studio + GDI+), using the MSFT license. I have permission to port it to java. The bitbucket repository is entirely my work (except assets of course). It's java and multi-platform so it works on PC/Android and in theory iOS.
I have sometimes submitted fixes upstream, but some of my changes are only in my own version (AI invasions, wormholes, zooming the interface). The PC version still needs a bit of love (hotkeys etc.)
Post edited November 23, 2015 by blotunga
Posted November 23, 2015
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blotunga: The original code is here. It's C++ (Visual Studio + GDI+), using the MSFT license. I have permission to port it to java. The bitbucket repository is entirely my work (except assets of course). It's java and multi-platform so it works on PC/Android and in theory iOS.
I have sometimes submitted fixes upstream, but some of my changes are only in my own version (AI invasions, wormholes, zooming the interface). The PC version still needs a bit of love (hotkeys etc.)
Thank you. But I was wondering in what way is your work limited? Do you retain the copyright for your version of the work? This sound a bit complicated.

What was the most challenging bit about porting the game to Android? As in "they clearly have not taken this into account". Screen size or aspect ratios? Right-mouse clicking? Keyboard use? CPU power?...

I have a few (likely Java-related) projects in mind, that might result in a phone/tablet port (assuming they'll get off the ground). What tips would you offer in order to facilitate such an effort?

One more thing: from Java to iOS. How do you plan on doing that adaptation? The last time I read about it, it was not easy, and Apple was insisting on pure Objective-C. A lot has happened since, hence I ask how is it done now?
Posted November 23, 2015
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Gede: Thank you. But I was wondering in what way is your work limited? Do you retain the copyright for your version of the work? This sound a bit complicated.
Yes, i have full copyright on my own work and since i haven't decided upon a license, even though it's open source, others can't do anything with it without my aproval. For the assets i have only permission to use them non-commercially so i'm not allowed to make money off my game. But that never was the purpose anyway.
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Gede: What was the most challenging bit about porting the game to Android? As in "they clearly have not taken this into account". Screen size or aspect ratios? Right-mouse clicking? Keyboard use? CPU power?...
Lack of right click was one big limtation, screen size being an other and lack of precision while tapping compared to clicking. Keyboard was never necessary for the game though it helps if you use hotkeys on the PC, cpu isn't a big problem here. Lack of mousover events is a bit annoying since i still haven't implemented tooltips because of them. Probably long press is the way to go, but i haven't had time for it yet.
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Gede: I have a few (likely Java-related) projects in mind, that might result in a phone/tablet port (assuming they'll get off the ground). What tips would you offer in order to facilitate such an effort?

One more thing: from Java to iOS. How do you plan on doing that adaptation? The last time I read about it, it was not easy, and Apple was insisting on pure Objective-C. A lot has happened since, hence I ask how is it done now?
Choose an engine apropriate for your needs. For me it was libgdx because of scene2d which is a pretty ok UI handling library.
As for iOS, there is RoboVM which enables Java code to run on it. I haven't tried it though because i own no Mac nor an iDevice.
Posted November 25, 2015
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blotunga: Yes, i have full copyright on my own work and since i haven't decided upon a license
Since you wanted to "translate" the game to another platform, and that was not a very creative process, I was under the impression that the original copyright holder could maintain somewhat of a claim to the end product. I know litte of the legal world, so I ask you if your case was the result of common practice in the porting world, or was the result of your agreement with the original author.

BTW, I understand that the above is a very faulty description of the work you had to do, but the law makers don't care about that.

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blotunga: Choose an engine apropriate for your needs. For me it was libgdx because of scene2d which is a pretty ok UI handling library.
Wow! libgdx seems to open so many doors! Sound, GUI, generous multi-platform access... It seems to compete with Haxe.
Maybe I don't have to consider QT that seriously. How easy is it to make a non-trivial "desktop application" UI with libgdx? Does it scale well with complexity? QT is quite mature.
Posted November 25, 2015
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blotunga: Yes, i have full copyright on my own work and since i haven't decided upon a license
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Gede: Since you wanted to "translate" the game to another platform, and that was not a very creative process, I was under the impression that the original copyright holder could maintain somewhat of a claim to the end product. I know litte of the legal world, so I ask you if your case was the result of common practice in the porting world, or was the result of your agreement with the original author.

BTW, I understand that the above is a very faulty description of the work you had to do, but the law makers don't care about that.

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blotunga: Choose an engine apropriate for your needs. For me it was libgdx because of scene2d which is a pretty ok UI handling library.
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Gede: Wow! libgdx seems to open so many doors! Sound, GUI, generous multi-platform access... It seems to compete with Haxe.
Maybe I don't have to consider QT that seriously. How easy is it to make a non-trivial "desktop application" UI with libgdx? Does it scale well with complexity? QT is quite mature.
My agreement with the original creator is that I retain ownership for the Android port's source code.

Libgdx was mainly thought for games, and it's good for that, but Qt is much better for desktop applications. I mainly went with libgdx because I wanted to do something else (in my normal life I write code in C++, which does involve Qt at some lower levels).
Posted December 09, 2015
The long awaited tutorial is here. Research items have tooltips now to help figure out what should you research next. More will follow.
Posted December 10, 2015
I did not have the chance to play the PC version as for the past few years I have had limited time on PC at home, plus was always too tired to go that deep into it, but now with this port I get to play it while traveling which is great as I have been looking a lot for something deeper to play on my phone (usual app games are very shallow).

I only played it for a bit so far (found it yesterday), but I have to say I am super hyped about this and I want to give a warm THANK YOU! to you Blotunga for the port and the work you are putting into improving it, as well a thank you to the original team for the great job they've done in creating this game.

My only feedback so far would be:
a) if somehow there is any possibility to add the battle visualization as well - what would it take in case the community can pitch in? This would add to the immersion a lot. If there is even a possibility for future tactical battles like in BOTF, it would be great ... i can imagine it will be no easy feat.

b) in play store you have linked the original wiki of BOTE, while politically correct it seems more like a dead page (not updated since some years now) and no mention of the android port. Could you get rights to update the news page with the android release as well? Might be nice for anyone clicking on it, it would also be nice to have a forum link to it so people could interact easier with you then posting feedback in the app store, this gog thread I found by mistake after lots of google searching for information about BOTE so it's not really visible.

c) The tool tip for the research - I think it's a great feature, I would just aim for a visual improvement to perhaps change a bit the background (right now it's a pure yellow box, but does not fit that much with the rest of the game's visual aspect).

d) I understand you cannot commercialize this, but maybe you could open up a patron page or something where grateful people can donate some money for this amazing work. Maybe it will help you develop it further, it would also feel nice for us to give a reward to someone for his hard work.

Again big THANK YOU Blotunga, your work and drive here is amazing!
Post edited December 10, 2015 by NyxDraco
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Community
General discussionBirth of the Empires - a 4x turn based space strategy game(228 posts)(228 posts)
(228 posts)