[Kde-games-devel] [RFC] The future of Kolf (yet again)

[Zeng Huan]

Hey Stefan,

    Just do as you like. Personally I don't think 3d view can increase much
gameplay in a mini golf game, 2d/2.5d view will be a nice choice.

On Mon, Nov 16, 2009 at 7:09 AM, Stefan Majewsky <majewsky at gmx.net> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> after Palapeli has entered kdereview, it's time to step back and have a
> look
> forward. The KDE 4.5/Palapeli 1.1 cycle will focus on improving the
> gameplay
> for big puzzles. In April/May, I plan to do a puzzle competition, to find
> some
> high-quality images for the default puzzle collection.
>
> But that is not the point of my mail. I ask myself what the direction for
> Kolf
> should look like. And currently, I'm feeling quite comfortable with the
> possibility to remove the 3D stuff.
>
> Now that I have your undivided attention, I'll explain why this could
> actually
> be a viable option:
>
> I've stated from the very beginning that I want to preserve the traditional
> Kolf feeling. There are already plenty golf games with 3D or isometric
> views,
> but Kolf is special in that regard, and I'm pretty sure that people like
> Kolf
> for its gameplay. (For the record, in the following paragraphs, "2D view"
> always refers to the classical top-down 2D view, not some isometric stuff
> or
> similar.)
>
> Nonetheless, we have decided to play with the concept of a 3D view. Casper
> and
> Zeng have written some great OpenGL code over the year, while I have
> created
> infrastructure for the interface and the editor.
>
> Up to now, I coded these parts of Kolf in such a way that the 3D view
> remains
> completely optional. I want as much levels as possible to be playable on
> the
> 2D view. And I want as much levels as possible to be designable on the 2D
> editor. However, I've come to a point where it becomes hard to follow this
> policy, for example:
> 1. It's hard to define positions on the Z axis in an intuitive way using a
> top-down 2D view.
> 2. It's hard to find the minimal Z-axis extent of an obstacle for which the
> ball will always hit the obstacle at all reachable heights. (On one hand,
> it
> would be weird if the ball just flew over the obstacle when you're on the
> 2D
> view. On the other hand, the obstacle would obscure big parts of the 3D
> viewport if it was too big.)
>
> Note the usage of the phrase "it's hard". All of this is doable, but it
> requires many time which I do not have. Also, I fear Kolf's code could turn
> into the mess that Kolf 1 has become over the years. (All of you know that
> this is not meant as an insult.) At the moment, everything's quite clean
> and
> neat, and I like that.
>
> Long story short: I doubt I can finish a Kolf that has both a good 2D and
> 3D
> view in a reasonable timeframe. (Actually, the timeframe is already much
> too
> long. I wanted Kolf 2 to be included in KDE 4.3.)
>
> So what would it mean if we throw out the 3D view?
> 1. I would possibly replace the physics engine by a 2D engine (something
> like
> Box2D). This could be a good opportunity to apply some lessons I learned
> with
> ODE (which is close to a disaster if you try to dynamically link to it).
> 2. Obviously, the 3D code gets thrown away, too. But I see a chance for a
> big
> part of the terrain code that Zeng wrote during GSoC. A terrain is
> obviously
> also needed in a 2D Kolf, though it would influence the physics simulation
> in
> another way. (While a 3D terrain is a static obstacle, a 2D terrain works
> like
> a force field.)
>
> Okay, that's all for now from my side. Now please convince me that there is
> a
> way to keep the 3D stuff. I really feel bad with nullifying the work that
> has
> been done on this part of Kolf, but on the other hand, I do nobody a favor
> if
> Kolf stays in playground forever.
>
> Greetings
> Stefan
>
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>
>


-- 
曾欢
中科院研究生院,  北京
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