Hard Light Productions Forums

Modding, Mission Design, and Coding => FS2 Open Coding - The Source Code Project (SCP) => Topic started by: diamondgeezer on October 09, 2002, 10:22:27 am

Title: Absolute Beginners
Post by: diamondgeezer on October 09, 2002, 10:22:27 am

Just wondering... when buggering about with the source code, is a knowledge/mastery or C++ essential or merely handy?

Title: Absolute Beginners
Post by: RandomTiger on October 09, 2002, 10:44:06 am

The FS2 code is a very big codebase, I dont think anyone here can claim they know how all of it works. Im fairly knowledgable about the graphics system but know little about the rest.

First of all the code is really C with a few C++ features.
Someone who knows C really well is going to have a much easier time than a good C++ programmer.

Depending on which bits of the code you are looking at you have to know different things, WIN32, DX5/8, etc, though I imagine if you were to choose a job carefully you might just be able to program in ANSI C.

However where ever you are in the code you have to work with V's structures and functions. And since these are part of something so big it can be overwelming.

I would say you need to be fairly good at C/C++ to understand the code and very good to make any significant additions.

I suggest you download it and take a look. Doesnt do any harm to look. If you want to have a go at changing something start small.

Also this thread may be of interest to you:

http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,10563.0.html

Title: Absolute Beginners
Post by: diamondgeezer on October 09, 2002, 04:48:32 pm

So I probably won't be bothering, then.



Go lack of programming ability w00+!

Title: Absolute Beginners
Post by: RandomTiger on October 10, 2002, 09:58:50 am

Theres a fair few other things you could do to help.
We need testers, texturers and I could do with someone willing to take on a small project (no difficult skills required)

Title: Absolute Beginners
Post by: mikhael on October 10, 2002, 10:45:19 am

Quote

Originally posted by RandomTiger
... I could do with someone willing to take on a small project (no difficult skills required)

Tell us, don't hint at it. ;)

Title: Absolute Beginners
Post by: RandomTiger on October 10, 2002, 10:57:26 am

Um.. if you are asking for details:

I need someone to catalogue the game textures for me.
Not the most exciting job but its for a good cause.
I want to setup a hi res texture pack for FS2.
First we need to work out which ships have hi res textures for them and see if they need rescaling (some of them are really large). Then we need to workout which ships have no hi res textures and try and get someone to do them.

I have a few ideas to make this job quicker than doing it all manually, so anyone interested should contact me and not just drive right in because its likely I wont be able to make use of the result unless its to my specifications.

I know its going to be hard to get texturers but thats something we are just going to have to work at. We are only coders, most of the time we can only provide the functionality to make FS2 look better, its the artists that are actually the key.

And if thats all too much work then just join up with the tester list and help test FS2 DX8. See my sig.

Title: Absolute Beginners
Post by: Fry_Day on October 10, 2002, 11:16:09 am

Quote

just join up with the texture list

I wanna be a texture!!! ;)

Title: Absolute Beginners
Post by: RandomTiger on October 10, 2002, 11:47:54 am

You guys just wont let me away with anything will you? :rolleyes:
I've got textures on the brain, from all this DX8 stuff.