TURBU

When I started changing some of the data types to work with SDL, it immediately broke several sections of the Map Viewer that were used to the old framework. I’ve been working on it since then, and yesterday I finally got the project to compile. Of course, when I tried to run it, it promptly started raising exceptions left, right and center because the conversion isn’t complete, but it means I’m getting there…

In the Currently Working On page, I explained how I’m in the process of replacing the old Asphyre graphics framework with a new one built on the SDL library. I knew that using it would slim down the code base and speed things up, but the glimpse I just got of the scope of the improvement still shocked me.
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I fixed a few problems that were keeping certain maps from loading. I’m still waiting to hear back from the PascalScript people about one of them, though, so not everything has been fixed yet.

Also included in the latest download is the new version of the Evaluator, which is now capable of reading common events.

Enjoy, everyone, and thanks for the bugreps and feedback!

EDIT:  It’s not ready yet.  Should be ready later today.  I decided I needed to add Common Event viewing to the Evaluator, and building the interface for that takes a bit of time.

I’ve gotten some very informative bug reports from various people about a few issues, mostly having to do with data sections I missed in the RPG Maker 2003 support. I’m working on updating the code for it, and should have a bugfix release tomorrow.

Also, I made a mistake when putting together the latest installer package, and it shipped with the old version of the Evaluator. (The one without RM 2003 format support.) Tomorrow’s release will have the right Evaluator in it.

Thanks for your patience, everybody, and for all the bug reports. Together we’ll make it work right!

The new update’s up.  This one includes RPG Maker 2003 map support, and a handful of bug fixes from the last version.

This will be the last version of the Map Viewer and the Evaluator, unless any more serious bugs are found.  I’m working on rewriting all the graphics and input code for SDL, and rebuilding the map engine from the ground up in a much simpler design which will do away with most of the errors that have plagued the TURBU engine development thus far.

Wish me luck!

(No idea why this didn’t get posted on Monday.  It should have been…)

The multimap update is finally up. Teleport events are working now. Also, there’s a new option in the Open File dialog box at the start of the program. If you open the RPG_RT.LMT file, it will set up the initial party and place it at the Party Start Position, at the start of the game.

I’ve gotten rid of a lot of bugs in this, but I have the feeling that there are probably still some left that I missed somewhere. Please let me know if you find any.

The update should be ready tomorrow. After that, I’ll work on adding RM2K3 support so the users of that fine engine can see what the fuss is all about. But once that’s finished, work on the Map Viewer in its current form will cease.

I’ve had a minor revelation, an epiphany of sorts. For as much as working on TURBU has been an exhilarating experience and a source of a great deal of personal growth to me as a programmer, the end product has been somewhat less than what I’d hoped for. I started writing it when I barely knew what I was doing, and as I hacked my way through the project from the ground up, the code grew into a big tangled mess. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve gotten it to the point where you can switch from one map to another.  Trying to switch back to a map you’ve already been to, on the other hand, tends to cause trouble.  Still trying to work that out.  Plus there are problems with the transitions.

And it really doesn’t help that I’ve been horribly sick and doing my level best to hack up one or both lungs ever since mid-Saturday.  But it’ll get done, and soon.  I just don’t know exactly when.

This has been going a lot faster than I thought it would.  I’ve gotten the map data decoupled from the game engine and set up in its own data structure.  I’ve gotten a preloader set up, to load other maps quietly in the background so they’ll be ready when you enter them.  I’ve fixed several dozen bugs that my hasty attempts to do these first two things ended up creating.

Now all I really have to do is actually make multiple maps work.  I’ll work on that tomorrow.  Maybe, if we’re very lucky, I’ll have a release tomorrow, though it’s doubtful because a good bit of my day will be spent celebrating Easter with the family.  But it should be ready very soon.