First, a description of what
FreeAC will be. FreeAC (Free SMAC) was started here on the apolyton forums. Our goal is to create a freeware sci-fi TBS game inspired by SMAC. Our goal is not to produce a SMAC clone, rather FreeAC will borrow from the best aspects of many great (and not so great) TBS games, including SMACX, Civ2, Civ3, CTP2 and non-Civ TBS games, including MOO2 and Stars!. Also any game which is still in development is fair game for idea poaching (MOO3, Stars!SNG, Clash...). Ofcourse we have a few of our own ideas too
We now have a gameplay design document, this document covers somewhat broad gameplay aspects, rather than specific details. For example it describes how units will be designed but doesn't list the specific chassis in the game.
It should be considered an alpha version, it doesn't cover everything discussed, in particular stuff related mainly to coding will be put in a seperate technical (aka boring) design doc, and also there is some stuff which probably should be in there but I havn't got around to (like a description of the simultaneous movement and turn execution system which will be used...)
Link to
design document webpage.
And
relevant thread in the FreeAC project forums:
Feedback, positive, negative or otherwise would be appreciated. This thread is as good a place as any for it or you can post in the FreeAC forums.
We dont have any sort of playable (or otherwise) software yet. There is no corporate dragon breathing down our necks to get FreeAC launched by a deadline, and I figure the longer spent on design the cleaner and better the final design will be. This translates roughly to less time actually spent coding, and a better final product. And really a few months isn't long by gaming-standards to spend on design.
Netherless, we have almost hit the wall when it comes to what can be designed in forums, and I have a "code framework" sketched out on paper so coding probably will start soon. (Actually in about a month - at which stage I'll go hunting for more coders)
In brief, FreeAC will be coded primarly in C++ using object orientated techniques. The vast majority of game data (like facilities) will be defined in text files, or using a scripting langauge of some description - I'm looking into the possibility of using Python or something simialler.
Multimedia - Graphics, Sound, Input will be done using a cross-platform library, most likely SDL (the very library Loki used to port SMACX to Linux). FreeAC will initially run on Windows and Linux (both of which I use), but it should run on any platform supported by SDL (that includes MacOS and many *ix varients....).
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