Multi-Threaded Demo Competition!

[J. Harbour]

MULTI-THREADED DEMO COMPETITION

Two Chances to Enter: August 15th & 30th

Prize: New book, Multi-Threaded Game Engine Design, coming out in August!


1. CODE: You must write 100% of the demo code yourself, using C++ and the Octane engine featured in the book Multi-Threaded Game Engine Design. No recycling of old code or tweaking any existing examples. You may use open source algorithms and libraries. You do not need to buy the book ahead of time to enter--download the engine sources from this forum. Your demo does not need to support threads, but for best results it is encouraged!

2. ASSETS: You must create the artwork or use free art assets for your demo. No for-sale art assets are permitted, as this is unfair to those who cannot afford to buy high-quality art. You may team up with an artist friend. Do not plagiarize artwork from any non-free source! I encourage you to use algorithmic art for best results.

3. TEAMS: Teams are permitted as long as each person in the team lives near each other and is able to meet in person. No long-distance online teams because that would be unfair to others.

4. DISTRIBUTION: Demo must be targeted to Windows using the engine in the Multi-Threaded Game book. By entering the contest, you agree to grant the operators of this contest the non-exclusive right to use your demo for promotional purposes on the web site jharbour.com.

5. SUBMISSION: You must provide 100% of the source code and assets needed to build and run your demo. Your sources will not be shared unless you give permission.



In the final chapter of this book are several algorithmic demos which you can check out by downloading the sources and compiling them. Use this to get an idea of what this contest is all about. Check out the demo scene for even more examples!! Add sound effects, techno music, shader effects, anything to make an awesome demo!!

[Kamshak]

Are we allowed to modify the engine? And can you participate without having bought the book already(not talking about pirating it, just wondering if you're going to release the new engine as its not on the svn)? I'd love to order the book right now but i just spent 150$ on shader books and im pretty much on the rocks :S

[J. Harbour]

Hi kamshak. yes, the sources will be posted here for download. i have them up already but will need to check the URL. i'm on my iPad.. try this: www.jharbour.com/mtged/mtged_sources.zip.

[Kamshak]

For those using vs2010, i repacked everything with all needed libs and a compiled engine(the one of ch6).
Folders Look like this:
root
    -Dependencies
        -include
        -lib
    -Engine
    -Demos
        -All Demos from the chapters
    -Your Game

The demos do not have the new include paths(have to be set manually) but the "Your Game" project will compile without any extra configuration(not even directX SDK is needed).
I hope this makes it easier for people(no need to get and compile boost etc). In the dependencies folder there are ALL needed dependencies for a game(Engine, boost, DX)

One question: Are we allowed to use the assets from the book?

Edit: Max attachment size is too small, ill upload it to my hosting but the bandwith and traffic is limited. Jonathan, is there a possibility to host it here without using attachments?
Edit2: here it is: http://www.unidoxhosting.com/~kamshakc/downloads/Complete.rar
Edit3: One more question: Is this a tech demo competition so it is better to give a cool looking thing without actual gameplay or is it better to create something that is maybe not that good looking but has gameplay?

[J. Harbour]

I don't think you can embed Boost because it is too large (over a gig).

One question: Are we allowed to use the assets from the book?

I use some assets with permission but if you like the characters or vehicles, just head over to thegamecreators.com and buy one or more of the DarkMatter collections on the cheap...very good deal for what you get. I bought all three, and then got permission to use a few of them in the book... but they come with a royalty-free license for use in your own games (if you pay for them!). Also, most of the FPS Creator model collections come with .X mesh files!

I have an engine project on the way up right now so give an hour or so (uplink seems slow today). This is the final engine from chapter 18 with additional classes for audio. I am still working on a new Script class to restore Lua support--the new changes in the engine require an update to the script functions. This will give you a new engine.lib again like before, but the examples need to be updated on the SVN. I'll get around to it..just been too busy.

Final engine from book: www.jharbour.com/mtged/mtged_engine.zip

One more question: Is this a tech demo competition so it is better to give a cool looking thing without actual gameplay or is it better to create something that is maybe not that good looking but has gameplay?

You can do a game and submit that if you want, but I was aiming for a tech demo competition--i.e. see how much performance you can get with threads, like the chapter 18 examples. If you want to do a game with some cool rendering effects and threads, that's okay!

[deiong]

sounds fun i just want to make sure i know you said modifying engine is fine, i just want to make sure its ok to completely remove audio part and use directshow for audio  

[J. Harbour]

Yes, I don't mind if you make changes like that.

Btw, I ran across an old post from you from about 5 years ago, deiong on some random google search.  small world..

[Valentin]

Final engine from book: www.jharbour.com/mtged/mtged_engine.zip

Hi, i'm having some weird problems. I took the code straight from the Ambient Wireframe Demo, copied all assets to the right place, but nothing apart from a blue screen and some text is drawing. I'm really getting a bit confused now

[J. Harbour]

The assets are already in the right place.. you shouldn't have to do anything other than hit F5.

[Valentin]

The assets are already in the right place.. you shouldn't have to do anything other than hit F5.

I used the lib version. Just opened the project and pasted the demo code in, went to bin folder and pasted the assets. Nothing but blue and text

[doomtoo]

Which version of visual studio was everything created in? Haven't dabbled in C++ in awhile, but still use VS2005- downloading 2010 trial now though...

[J. Harbour]

I used 2008 for the examples in order to support 2008 and 2010, but 2005 is not something I'm willing to use anymore.