Forum Software

[Xittenn]

I installed some forum software on one of my domains and set up a rather impromptu Game Design Forum as it is one of my hobbies and there isn't a Forum which delineates the design process in such a way that is fitting of me! So it has been sitting there for like a month or so now and nobody has joined which is a good thing because I plan on taking it down and installing something of my own design; I might have control issues :/ I had six visitors yesterday.... the reasoning for that is kind of upsetting oddly enough...

 

So I think for me programming the software for this site would be an extremely educational and highly beneficial process. I do believe I will be using ASP.NET MVC C# although it is usually my preference to start with a blank project. I looked over blank project and the process to defining it afterwards and it is a little involved. The only reason why I would want to start from blank would really be to allow me to define some parts as MVC and some as Forms but I don't think I'll be using Forms anyway. I know a lot of web based applications prefer the use of PHP but I'm thinking I might not go there.

 

I need some power for this thing. A few months ago I had thought to maybe just do some kind of MMO but forum type thing but that might be a little excessive. I was thinking of doing something with bobble heads and text to speech where individuals could customize their avatars appearances and also edit in a voice pattern of some sort. This would be pretty intensive stuff and would require a lot of effort on my part. I know WebGL is making its insertion into the world. I figure with the use of ASP.NET I could deploy modules for different aspects like text to speech on both client and server side. I could also interop with COM, my favorite \o/

 

Anyway just curious as always as to what others might have to say ....

 

thx,

PrettyFlower

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Take a look at this for some perspective on forum software:

 

http://area51.phpbb.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=75&t=33027

 

WebGL is also not well-implemented yet in browsers. I'd advise using Canvas in JavaScript (there are a few JS libraries to make it easier) or trying SVG with SMIL animations.

[Xittenn]

Thanks ... Yes I have heard that WebGL isn't really up and running yet. I thought maybe I could set up a rendering module on clients and simply run something in DX. If I could do it this way I might be able to save myself some time and reuse code that I have already developed!

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

You'd end up duplicating the efforts of the browser-makers implementing WebGL, and your code wouldn't be as widely distributed as theirs. You're better off waiting or using Canvas and SVG.

[Xittenn]

I will look into those. I'm not very adherent to normal developer guidelines as I am, well, not exactly tied into any of the industries. I tend to stray from portability or developed standards in favor of stand alone projects for Windows. If I can plug-in it's good by me. I guess I believe in focusing efforts and building on one platform if demands come for another platform make a second application that emulates the functionality of the first. It is extra coding but in my opinion the effort is the same in both cases. I am of the opinion that my approach tends to justify the existence of having multiple platforms in the first place; diversity is not an enemy.

 

I guess I should start looking into being a little more adherent considering my current movement into Software Development professionally. I am starting a business most likely under Government 'guidance' in Software Development and am about to leave serious skid marks on my face.... I'm just not that good! I haven't really considered this project as a professional venture. I don't think I'll be waiting on it though.

 

How hard can it be to send some bone transformations across a network and have a renderer transform a few hundred vertices client side... I mean honestly? I could get some good shading in too. I guess maybe I do focus a lot on graphics stuff Cap', you got me :\

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

You could probably do that sort of thing in JavaScript with Canvas, but I don't know how fast it would be. That'd be dependent on your JS technique and the JS engine.

 

Here's some examples of JS graphics used for games:

 

http://www.webresourcesdepot.com/25-amazing-javascript-games-some-fun-and-inspiration/

http://www.benjoffe.com/code/demos/canvascape/textures

 

Or, just play with WebGL and demand that people have modern browsers:

http://www.khronos.org/webgl/