Should there be a Game Development section in the Forums?

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These pages are a copy of the official truespace forums prior to their removal somewhere around 2011.

They are retained here for archive purposes only.

Should there be a Game Development section in the Forums? // Game Development

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Post by KeithC // Aug 5, 2008, 3:48am

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It was suggested that a thread be started to discuss the plausibility of including a Game Development section in the Main TS Forum Boards. Since GameSpace and it's Forums no longer exist, Game Developers need a place to ask specific questions (such as import/export issues, low-poly specific issues, etc.) and show off both their WIPs and finished game art (as well as in-game screens).


What does everyone think about this (don't forget to vote)?


-Keith

Post by Délé // Aug 5, 2008, 3:50am

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I vote yes. :)

Post by KeithC // Aug 5, 2008, 3:51am

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Poll added. ;)

Post by Steinie // Aug 5, 2008, 3:52am

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Caligari could remove the old ISpace Threads and make it a Game Development section instead.

We really should include everybody under one roof. (All 500,000 of us);)

Post by KeithC // Aug 5, 2008, 3:54am

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Good idea; we could eventually create a TS Game Dev Club as well (if there's enough interest).

Post by TomG // Aug 5, 2008, 4:03am

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Yep I like the idea.


Tom

Post by frootee // Aug 5, 2008, 4:10am

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I vote Yes also. Cool Beans!


Froo

Post by Jack Edwards // Aug 5, 2008, 4:23am

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Looks like a consensus so far. :)

Post by Johny // Aug 5, 2008, 4:39am

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Me vote for yes too. :)

Post by JimB // Aug 5, 2008, 4:49am

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Thats a yes from me :)



Jim

Post by KeithC // Aug 5, 2008, 6:03am

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Looks like we're on the way to an overall "Absolutely"!

Post by 3dfrog // Aug 5, 2008, 6:04am

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Hell yes! Please add this :)

Post by clintonman // Aug 5, 2008, 6:34am

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You got my vote.

Post by JimB // Aug 5, 2008, 7:44am

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Looks like we have an anonymous nae sayer LOL


Jim

Post by Tiles // Aug 5, 2008, 7:47am

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Makes the decision very hard now :p

Post by W!ZARD // Aug 5, 2008, 7:57am

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Well my first response is hell NO! I'm possibly wrong but I think it will generate excessive compartmentalisation.


As I've said elsewhare - I read all the Tech Forum posts even though many of them refer to areas of tS I have no interest in (V-Ray for example). This means I learn about other uses for tS and what other people are trying to do. I have no specific interest in Game Content - I think this is an artificial distinction - and would be unlikely to read a "Game Content" specific forum.


I believe strongly that such a forum would act to fragment the tS community int o those who use tS and those who use tS for Game Content.


We have no specific forums for LightWorks rendering, or for Animation or for V-Ray - I see no need for a game content specific forum either.


I agree that on the surface such a forum looks like a good idea - in reality I think it has potentially damaging side effects for the community and for the spirit of this community.


The multi faceted nature of trueSpace is one of it's great strengths but we already see artificial divisions between those who prefer the new interface to the old interface, those who like the LE and those who don't. Separate forums can only complicate the downside of tS's multiple capabilities.


A model suitable for game content is little different to a model suitable for animation or shared spaces - the only real difference between tS content built for games and tS content built for other purposes is the necessary knowledge of file format conversions to various game engines. Anything else to do with Game Content is applicable to any other sort of content.


Perhaps a sticky thread in the tech forum for specific conversations about game format conversions may be useful - but a full forum for one subgroup of the community like this does not get my support as I believe it would only serve to generate unnecessary and artificial segregation between the community.


I may well be the only one but I vote a firm No! See? It's already generating division!!;)

Post by TomG // Aug 5, 2008, 8:02am

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I think its good for specific issues that no-one else cares about, easily found under one roof. "How do I export to X and load into XNA?" "How can I use tS to model for Torque?" etc.


For general modeling and similar, it may be just general 3D, but some stuff is unique to game folks, like a bunch of XNA C# code examples for instance. As well as keeping that away from those who would find it dull, it does also make it easy to go and look for all such relevant information for someone who does want to find it (rather than wade through other forums filled with non-game stuff like V-Ray caustics).


HTH!

Tom

Post by Jack Edwards // Aug 5, 2008, 8:06am

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How I keep on top of the forum posts is to use the Quick Links->Today's posts to get the latest updates to threads. I find that a lot easier than hunting through each of the different categories. So for me it doesn't cause any compartmentalization. :shrug:

Where I find it most helpful having the forums divided up by category is when looking through back threads.

Post by JimB // Aug 5, 2008, 8:07am

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Sorry W!ZARD but I think it would have the exact opposite effect,I and possibly some/many others have little interest in creating scenes then making an image from them.It appears that you and I already have something in common in that both of us have little or no interest in VRay. ;)


Jim

Post by W!ZARD // Aug 5, 2008, 8:10am

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LOL - I was born to be a statistical anomaly! Now what are the odds of that?! :D


Part of my fear is based on the idea that I'll be looking through the tech forum for an answer to a question, not finding it and not knowing there's a thread about that very thing in the Game Forum which I didn't read coz I'm not a game guy.


Surely it's just as easy to skip a thread about .xna in the tech forum than it is to skip an entire forum which may contain useful nuggets of info, pertaining to games but also more generally applicable.

Post by JimB // Aug 5, 2008, 8:12am

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Hey W!ZARD just use "Search" :)


Jim

Post by GraySho // Aug 5, 2008, 8:43am

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I vote for yes. Game Development can have very specific facets as Tom already mentioned. And maybe we could get the game guys to post some more stuff here on the forums. The DX9-tech that's used in workspace may help to boost the new section and share some interesting stuff like shader development (hlsl), realtime renderer in general and so on. This would be a benefit for everyone who is interested in realtime rendering.

Post by ralle // Aug 5, 2008, 9:05am

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A Yes from me, too. i'm with you on this. ;)



Ralle

Post by W!ZARD // Aug 5, 2008, 9:25am

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Hey W!ZARD just use "Search" :)





Jim


Yeah that's all very well if you know what to search for.


I'm concerned that some one will post a useful tip to the game forum - say something about UVs on low poly game characters - which is presumably something that Game guys and gals would be interested in.


It's also something that an animator may benefit from - and may miss if it's buried on a forum that is specifically NOT about animation.


Seems to me a technical issue is a technical issue - regardless of what subcategory it refers too.


@Jack Edwards - "How I keep on top of the forum posts is to use the Quick Links->Today's posts to get the latest updates to threads." So you read every single post to every single forum? You'll be covered either way in that case so how does a specialised game forum help you?:D How many other forum members read every single post to every forum?


What happens on days that you are pushed for time - do you skip the forum that is not so focussed on you preferred subject? How often then do you miss a tip that might be useful and not even know it?


Currently the forums are divided into groups in a sensible way which does not divide focus into separate aspects of trueSpace - I believe this works well and if it' ain't broke why fix it?


I still maintain that having a separate game forum to discuss game related tech issues is unnecessary.


If we are going to have a separate forum for game topics why not a separate forum for V-ray issues, and Dribble issues and LE issues and LW issues and animation issues..... ?

Post by W!ZARD // Aug 5, 2008, 9:33am

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I vote for yes. Game Development can have very specific facets as Tom already mentioned. And maybe we could get the game guys to post some more stuff here on the forums. The DX9-tech that's used in workspace may help to boost the new section and share some interesting stuff like shader development (hlsl), realtime renderer in general and so on. This would be a benefit for everyone who is interested in realtime rendering.


Sorry GraySho - I don't buy that argument - every specific area of tS has very specific facets - which is why a catch-all 'Tech Forum" has been working so well to so far.

Post by trueSpaced // Aug 5, 2008, 9:45am

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Maybe there should be a section called "Everything else except for tech stuff" ;)

-TrueSpaced:banana:

Post by rrf // Aug 5, 2008, 10:04am

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I'd like to vote yes for this also.


rf

Post by TomG // Aug 5, 2008, 10:20am

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Well, consider the separate forum category a step up from the past, which was a separate forum so you'd never know of useful tips posted in it at all ;)


I think folks will be smart enough to post general 3D stuff in the general 3D sections. The game section will be for very game exclusive stuff - eg I have an XNA project I'll be posting soon which is a stripped down version of a sample XNA file from the XNA site, that shows how to animate sections of a hierarchical model exported from tS7.6 as an X file.


It is nothing but a bunch of C# code in a project for Visual Studio, so of no interest or relevance to anyone not doing games - no general 3D principles involved, just highly specific to games.


That sort of thing has no real place in the current forum structure, so the new forum section would be good if we get it.


Meantime if I had a tip on UV mapping, I'd post it in the general 3D category, since its about general 3D :)


Another game specific thing I'll be posting is how to position your model in world space for when you export to XNA. While it is dealing in this case solely with tS tools, it is of no general relevance to anyone not exporting to X format, and most in particular for XNA (as other apps may handle origins etc differently).


So I think we can trust users to use it intelligently :)


HTH!

Tom

Post by JimB // Aug 5, 2008, 10:35am

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I hope there will be room for other topics other than XNA if we get a game specific forum. :)


Jim

Post by butterpaw // Aug 5, 2008, 10:38am

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I would certainly appreciate a Game Development Section - I often have had questions that I did not know where to put them, except in the New Users section .. but I suppose I can just be a new user forever lol .. no worries one way or the other.^_^
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