gameQuery 0.8

selim

Here are the possible features for gameQuery 0.8, this is just a proposal and will evolve with the community feedback:

• isometric tile maps
• polygone based collision
• key-framed movement
• transformation for tile-maps
• physic engine integration (through wrappers like for sound)
• update existing sound wrappers and add new ones
• quad-tree / BSP for collision detection
• unified control (gamepad API, keyboard, mouse - touch) access

Please just comment to say which of those you'r more interested in seeing in 0.8 or to propose new ones! 

Ashtom

Hi Selim!

at a first glance, I'd say isometric tile maps and quad-tree / BSP for collision detection.

Could you please explain what you mean by transformation for tile-maps?

 

Thanks!

selim

Well in the current state of gQ the scale() and rotate() function will break any tile maps. The way they break depends of the version you use. In 0.6 some tiles will just not being animated but in 0.7 some tiles will be missing.

blackhawx

Selim, do you happen to have a non-specific time-frame on when 0.8 will be stable and released?  I know things like this take time and are very sensitive.  I just don't want to be stuck in the middle of a 0.7 project when 0.8 comes out.

6 weeks? - 6 months?

selim

0.8 will be a major release in term of new features, furthermore I will have quite a few things do do during the next few month so I won't have as much time as I want to develop gQ.

I think a reasonable time frame would be 4 month. I will change the exact scope of this release to match this time frame.

blackhawx

Thank you very much!

TonyWu

Great engine. I will try write a small demo.

JDDunn9

I vote for isometric maps and physics engine integration.

blackhawx

Not sure if this too late, but my serious vote for enhancements include isometric tile maps and transformation for tile maps. This a very large creative base on how to build games via game query. Anything from online board games to adventure like baulders gate. I would then say the third most important thing is collision enhancements for groups or sprites, in any form.


what is quad-tree / BSP for collision detection?

EdsTan

Try this ?
http://forum.gamequeryjs.com/discussion/102/new-code-for-2d-sprite-#Item_3
Hope can help.

selim

Thanks all of you for you feedback. 0.8 haven't progressed at lot because I spend all my free time on the last months writing a book about game dev. using jQuery (http://www.packtpub.com/jquery-game-development-essentials/book).

This wasn't expected when I first posted about gQ 0.8. To start working on gQ again I will first release 0.7.1, it will include the following:

• Much improved performances using css transform to move the sprite (when available)


• An importer to create tile-maps using the JSON file produced by the Tiled editor (http://www.mapeditor.org/)


• Some bug fix and patch

After that I will resume my work on gQ 0.8. A thing I will try to do is create a benchmark to compare different ways to do collision detection and choose which one is the best. This will include quad-tree, BSP and so on.

blackhawx

Is the callback bug going to be a apart of the 0.8 or 0.7.1 release?

selim

It'll be part of 0.7.1. I'll try to fix all opened issues in 0.7.1 so if you have more just create them in Github

MinDev

Will there be ability to overlay animations in tile mapping?
Scheme:
Row #1 [[3, 5, 7, 1, 4, 2, 3, 6, 10, [7, 10]*, 9] End Tile Row
Row #2 [8, 6, 3, 5, [8, 7, 6]*, [2, 5]*, 7]]

*meant overlaying animations in the same tile where, for example, z-index property will increases by 0.5 when array index increases.

For example, animation #10 is a Jump Pad, and 7 is block of background iron.
[7, 10] tile property will show Jump Pad in front of Iron Block and we will not need to edit images additionally.

selim

I just released 0.7.1, go to the website to download it and don't forget to take a look at the release notes (http://gamequeryjs.com/documentation/release-notes/).

@MinDev no this is not supported in the way you describe it. However you can use two separate tile-map and it won't have big impact on the performance level.

MinDev

I just wonder I use 2-3 separate tilemaps, won't it cause bugs, colission trouble or erors?

For example, I use to have 1 jump pad and 1 top-collission platform in one tile.
top-collission platform is effect ingame where you can jump, sure when platform is above you, jump, collide to platform but nothing happens cuz you are below, and after platform is below you, you simply collide and you will not fall anymore unless you lose collission.

So I walk into this tile, I now collide with top-collission platform and jump pad at once. top-collission platform state is -1, or below(0 is no collission and 1 is above), means if there is nothing below this tile I will fall. As well I collide with jump pad at once, boosting my jump by additional 3 tiles and changing my gravity temporarily. Won't collission system cause trouble?

So, I will add ability to change terrains a bit with help of your guns using collission. You will be able to destroy cash machines and their drawers, and get some loot, destroy walls whose only can be destroyed and something as well as pushable buttons for your weapon.

selim

Using many tiles won't cause any bugs.

As for collision detection you have the ability to filter the detection by tiles. For example let say you have three layers and only care about collision with two of them. You can use a filter for the .collision() function that only select those two. This you will improve performance a lot and only get the tiles that really maters to you.