[Impact]

I thought about my dream game, which consists of a mix between Silent Hunter 4, Dangerous Waters, and Starshatter.

http://silenthunter4.uk.ubi.com/
Silent hunter 4 is a submarine game set in WW2, on the pacific seas. The US fight against Japan. You are in command of a customizable Sub, and have to do different kind of missions, like patroling, rescueing downed pilots, sometimes strike japan taskforces, scouting enemy harbours etc... key features are a fully 3D Commandstation, where you can give orders to your crew, and have to strategically plan your torpedo attacks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMd0VgGstt8&feature=related

http://www.sonalystscombatsims.com/dangerous_waters/index.html
Dangerous waters is also a submarine game, but set in modern times. The difference lies in the use of all the technology used by todays subs, which make submarines much more than just torpedo shooting iron coffins.

http://www.starshatter.com/
This is a Space Combat simulator which really attempts at putting realistic newton flight model together with serious military engagements. It not only let you fly fighters or bombers but also the bigger capital ships from corvettes and frigates up to a whole carrier including fighters and bombers. Campaigns also include bombardment of enemy cities on the planets. Too bad its not seamless like in elite frontier first encounters or the upcoming infinity: quest for earth (www.fl-tw.com).

You dont seem to understand why i put submarine sims and space combat together? For me, submarines are like Spaceships, Hulls which protect the crew from the harsh environments. How about using a control like in Silent Hunter, by seeing your crew, and giving them commands, a bit like the star trek bridge commander style, but minus the star trek. I hate ships that look like in Star Trek. You just have to aim at the obvious bridge at the top of the Saucer Section and the ships is done. Bridges should be well protected. Not in the middle of a dish telling you to eat it.

The emphasis should be on realism so no plasma cannons or shields, kinetic weapons are more than enough. You dont have loss of Power because of atmosphere so there is infinity range, only problem is hitting something in a distance (maybe implenting gravitation of planets so you can orbit shoot enemy ships, but that would only add to the power of the projectile). Rail guns or Coil guns which already exist today would be excellent armament.

One more aspect of submarines is their stealth, which is a big factor in space war. Different types of sensors should be availlabe, infrared, electric field, other emissions. The ship should be able to shut down different subsystems for as few emissions as possible.

There are so many things to consider, no developer would even think of doing something like this because there is a fanboys of maybe 10 guys who would like a real hardcore capital ship simulation.

Because this dream will never be done by others, i would have to do it by myself. But i have zero knowledge about coding, only did some 3D artwork. But thats it.

Any Tips?

[Titan]

not to dampen your spirits, but find an easier hobby.

people are willing to teach you, or at least direct you to tutorials, but don't expect any actual help.

[Jeff Vader]

Any Tips?

Learn to code. It all boils down to coding. If you want to make your dream come true and want to create such a game, there isn't any other way. You must learn the ways of the Code.

[Impact]

Any Tips?

Learn to code. It all boils down to coding. If you want to make your dream come true and want to create such a game, there isn't any other way. You must learn the ways of the Code.

but how do i start? If i have a little start there should be no problem keeping myself motivated, but there are so many different things. there are different programming languages, many of them, which should i start to learn? thats the first one which i didnt come over. The next thing is, where can i get good tutorials or maybe books.

[Polpolion]

Any Tips?

Learn to code. It all boils down to coding. If you want to make your dream come true and want to create such a game, there isn't any other way. You must learn the ways of the Code.

but how do i start? If i have a little start there should be no problem keeping myself motivated, but there are so many different things. there are different programming languages, many of them, which should i start to learn? thats the first one which i didnt come over. The next thing is, where can i get good tutorials or maybe books.

Take classes on c/c++.

In four or five years, you should know enough to be able to start the most rudimentry coding of the game.

And if you're into realistic space combat, here are some basic points about it:

1) There is no stealth in space.
2) Fighters, if they exist at all, would be completely unmanned.
3) Primary weapons would be either lasers or high velocity missiles fired as actual ballistic rounds. Kinetic weapons like mass drivers/coilguns would only be useful as point defenses.
4) There is no FTL. None.
5) There is no "max velocity", only maximum acceleration. That would be limited by both power of engiens and whether you want the people onboard getting their bones crushed or not.
6) Weapon range will be decided by (a) a laser's focusing ability and power input, (b) a missiles fuel, speed, and homing ability, (c) a mass driver's speed, and (d) above all, targeting ability.


There was an excellent website on this subject matter, in fact. Unfortunatly, my bookmark is on another computer and I forget the site, but I'm sure someone here has it. If no says, ask on IRC; if I'm on IRC, I'll be using that other comp with the bookmark as well.

EDIT: Here we go: http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/index.html

[Inquisitor]

LOTS of dev tutorials out there, but most assume some knowledge of coding principles. If you know something about writing code, you can learn what you need about C++ pretty quick.

Check the various engine sites, places like Garagegames.com or one of the freeware ones. Some don't require code ability (it helps), some do. Look at the scripting in one of hte SCP builds to get a sense for what the FS2 engine will do, might start you down the path...

[Polpolion]

Actually, I'm on a rather futile plight to convert FS2 itself into a more realistic game. The hardest part is going to be modding the physics system and weapons systems, and then modding the AI to cope with it. Course, past tabling, that's essentially all it is.

[Davros]

You dont seem to understand why i put submarine sims and space combat together?

Davros has played Subwar 2050, Davros understands

[Titan]

Titan asks why Davros talks in 3rd person.

[Davros]

Davros reminds titan that he would never refer to himself in the first person

[Stormkeeper]

[third person] Storm wonders why wouldn't Davros refer to himself in first person? [/third person]

Its not easy to make a game on your own, especially if you don't know how to code. I suggest signing up for a C#\C++ course and learning from a professional, and hopefully some one who has actually game coding experience. And I'm being nice here.

On a related note, I couldn't find a good submarine game, so thanks for the link.

[lostllama]

http://dangerdeep.sourceforge.net/

Another sub game, a free one. Reminds me of Aces of the Deep a bit. I tried it a while ago but didn't get into it - not to say it's poor, I just didn't have the time to learn the controls.

I've tried the Starshatter demo - I liked the more serious flight sim aspects of it, like handling the radar/avionics, landing on carriers and so on. Might buy the full version.