Source Code?

[ImpulziveMyztikalGuru]

BTW, that is the single longest post Ive ever made, save my dissertations

[Sirbomber]

While we're on the subject, I wrote a whole new engine for OP3, but then I decided to submerge the hard drive in water, so now the files are inaccessible.  But I totally did it!  You have to believe me!!!

[jcj94]

Yes, hi again, Bomber-The-Troll.

I dunno... :/


I just hope this gets DONE.  If it works is a plus.  So many projects go dead around here because people just either forget, or don't care.

Anyway, if you get some proofs, we'll be happy.
 

[CK9]

Now, the idea of two people controlling one colony.......
Yea, about that......
The basic idea is blocked out, but Ive played with some hardcode for it, and its going to be massively difficult to implement. Something like that WILL actually be in a separate file, and both players of the colony must have the same version of the file for it to work. In the end, I dunno if anyone has used this, is going to be like an advanced version of Synergy, or a dumbed down version of Remote Desktop. This will be one of the few things that will be in a separate file from the get go.
 

Why would you go through all that trouble?  Wouldn't it be easier to set it up so that it has global accessability and then add in parameters for players to determine who has access access?  Basicly the same as a forum: it compares permissions of the user to those required by the section.  Then for keeping everything up-to-date on both ends, it would just need to utilize the pre-existant data package system and only needs to keep the details of what has been done  (research, construction start, ect) between those two players.

Or even, make it so allied players can share tubes through buildings.  While not as elaborate as a shared colony, much of the functionality is the same.

[jcj94]

Or even, make it so allied players can share tubes through buildings.  While not as elaborate as a shared colony, much of the functionality is the same.

Yes please! I hated doing allied maps where the good ore is in your friends place, because then you had to build colonies close together.

I would also like the ability to overlap/ use allied players tubes.

That way, I can send my colonists over, and use them while connected to their command center.

[BlackBox]

Understandable. I do apologize for not posting anything besides, well, posts, no files, but this project is not uberly important in light of work, and therefore does not get the attention I would like to give it. I do realize some of what I have said sounds sketchy, but if you meet me in person, youd see why   not that Im a sketchy person, im just not a very people person, and horrible at explaining things Ive done.

Well that's probably the best way to explain something you've done, screenshots, binaries, anything. Until then I have no proof that anything exists at all.

But, first things first: inaccessibility of game data... The storage unit that all my hardrives are normally kept in is in, uhm, lots and lots and lots of teeny tiny little pieces right now. One of the blades crashed and burned(literally), so trying to rebuild what I have, and upgrade in the process, thus the major overhaul. I hope the sheds some light there.

So you're implying that your data was stored within some kind of redundant storage technology like a SAN but somehow this data is completely inaccessible? (SANs have redundant fabrics and storage controllers ("blades"? Most blade server clusters do not contain much if any local storage). No version control or anything like that which might include offsite backups?

Secondly: Technically, I am not doing this alone, but that is a whole nother can of worms that I really really dont feel the need to go into anytime soon, and Id prefer to not be asked why.

Again smells of fakes (I would expect a project of this magnitude to not be easily completed by a single person but the unwillingness to share details about this raises red flags for me... are you under NDA? If so, why is it expected that the community will accept it with open arms?)

As far as bugs go, yes, they are actual bugs. Well, maybe not 'Bugs'. but dead code, extra 'poop' that literally has never done anything, and some code that, when you try and mod the EXE file and it doesnt work? Sometimes its because you have to code for those pieces that dont even really need to be there.

*facepalm* this is nonsensical, the only "junk code" that I can really think of that would be inside any of the mission DLLs is library code that doesn't get called. "having to code for those pieces that don't need to be there" makes no sense, there is no requirement to do anything involving library code that got compiled into a mission DLL.

Referring to bugs as "poop" seems a little juvenile to me but that's just my personal opinion.

Moving on to compressing the file: It works kind of like a JAR file, but not really. Its something Ive tried to explain to friends through text, and not surprisingly, a LOT gets lost in translation. However, they way the file is currently designed, any program that allows coding in any of the Cs, or Java, will be able to open the file and modify it. However, not everything will be accessible unless you program in the original language, which yes, is still C#, but thats just because the compression is kinda stupid  <_<

I translate this as more nonsense. C, C++, Java, and C# all have completely different ABIs (the latter two are interpreted languages and so they have to interface to native code via JNI or P/invoke). If anyone can write extensions to this application in any of these languages that also implies that the proper runtime environment needs to be present (JVM for java, .NET runtime for C#) unless you are doing something like translating java bytecode to MSIL (seeing as how the app is supposedly written in C#).

Other nitpicks that lead me to further believe that this is all a fake:

as you all who have worked on code have probably noticed, a lot of things have to work together, and not everything is there yet.

Write unit tests to test the functionality of the pieces that do exist? That's certainly what I do when I'm working, which also helps prevent regressions in functionality when that code changes later.

Not going to mention the lines of code already written, Ive gone through 9 keyboards so far from typing so long, breaking keys off when I get frustrated

I work 40+ hours a week writing code and I am still on the original keyboard I got when I started working at my current company. Strange.

I can make the program recognize, i believe, something around 3000 different tile sets

Why an arbitrary limit of 3000?

This will allow less advanced programmers to make their own files, and the game will substitute their files for the hardcode in the EXE.

Why would -any- game data be embedded within the binary in the first place?

Either way, either show some sort of proof that any of this is actually real, or stop getting people's hopes up by writing up fake posts. It does the community no good to make up stories.

[Freeza-CII]

I dont code but given the reaction from others and knowning of the history of this place this is starting to sound like your another anti christ of opu. big stories and no proof. to put it simple you need to nut up or shut up. no more long posts about this or that. just simple unadulterated proof.

[Sirbomber]

BlackBox, he can make up an infinite number of excuses as to why he can't post any proof that his project is real.  I propose a more direct approach.

ImpulziveMyztikalGuru: Could you write a tiny program in C++ that gets a positive integer X from the user as input, creates an array of size X, and then fills that array with random integers?  I figure, you'd need to know C/C++ inside and out to be able to do something like this, so if what you say is true this should be trivial for you.  Post the code when you're done, please.  Thanks!

[CK9]

bomber, that's far too easy a test.  You just call up a cin prompt for the integer, set it to a variable, use that variable to create the array, use a loop (I like while loops myself) and a random number generation to fill the array, and a cout call if you want to display what is in the array.  That's less than a week in a C++ class.

[Freeza-CII]

you cant do those kinds of silly tests it seems like some thing that would be to easy to look up on google how to do. Proof is what is needed to remove reasonable doubt. And i have plenty based on comments i have seen stated.

[ImpulziveMyztikalGuru]

READ: The following post is not meant to insult, it is simply the fact that I tire of negative criticism very, very easily.

To begin, I came to this site because I have loved OP and OP2 since I was able to play them. I came to this forum, offering my substantial resources to solve a problem which has existed for a long time, from the beginning, if I understand correctly. I am trying to make OP2 a better, more user friendly environment, without changing the elements of the game itself, without ruining a game I have come to love.

I am not trying to post BS, and in fact, I am not. If there is wish to do so, I can tell you almost anything you want to know about my work. There is a NDA, but for the resources I am using for this project, NDA is not required, and thusly it is MY choice to disclose whatever I please, to whomever I please. I am extremely busy on a daily basis, and devoting 90% of my free time to something that is not critical for my life is something I rather enjoy doing.

I understand the skepticism, I have read through the forums, I have seen all the posts about projects writing source code. I am doing this for pure pleasure, and because it is something that I will present as a masterpiece of personal programming.

From what else I have seen, this community has stagnated. There are numerous projects that have been started, and a fair number have stalled out and died. I am trying to bring life back to OP2, it is something that I personally wish to be playing twenty years from now.

As far as referring to bugs as 'poop', I refrain from cursing in open, public forums, always have, and always will, that is a personal preference. Going through keyboards is a common occurrence for me. I type very fast, and hit keys rather hard, thus damaging keyboards. I have moved to a new, keyless system, but that is still prone to breaking.

SirBomber, I must agree with CK9, that simple program would take not but a minute to write, and in fact, I have several much more complex programs that I could show.

As far as my data storage, it is a system that can be called a database, but in reality is far more complex. Further elaboration can be provided if one wishes.

If you wish to count what I have posted as fake and fraudulent, then so be it, I will turn my free time elsewhere to more pressing matters. I am doing this project because I want to, and because I understand it would make things so very much easier in the long run, but I do not have to, nor do I want to if people will accuse me of lying. I will continue my work on this project for some more time once my data system is online again, but I think this will be my last post here. If you wish more information, feel free to email me at my personal email, Troy.Radabaugh@gmx.com

[TH300]

Now, before anyone even things about stating that this reaction is typical for fakers, lets give him a chance.

There are only two possibilities:
1. he's faking. If that is the case, no one will be disappointed, because everyone must have read BlackBox's post which will prevent people from getting their hopes up.
2. if it is real, its one of the best things that can happen to opu.

Hence its save to give him time to show some proof.

Let me add one thing: Seeing the reactions in this thread - be they justified or not - it is completely understandable that people don't want to share their projects with the public. Other people always get afraid that it won't be finished and don't miss a chance to share this concern with everyone else, whereas by now almost all opu members know that not all projects will be finished, and those who don't know this have to learn it the hard way anyways.

I have really no clue, whether ImpulziveMyztikalGuru is really doing this. I see BlackBox's arguments. On the other hand I see ImpulziveMyztikalGuru's explanations which explain at least some of the inconsistencies. His reactions (including the last one) seem plausible and the picture of his personality that he's drawing seems consistent. If he's faking it, its a good fake.

So, yea, further speculation is pointless. If he is saying the truth, he cannot give us proof right now.

Edit: This doesn't mean that I think ImpulziveMyztikalGuru is telling the truth (BlackBox's concerns are valid). It means that I care about the truth as much as I know about it - not at all. If that isn't true for yourself, you might want to think more carefully about what you believe.

[Sirbomber]

bomber, that's far too easy a test.

Congratulations CK9, that was completely the point.

[Zardox Xheonov]

...Hence its save to give him time to show some proof....

(cut off some wording)

I agree with th300, this could be a very rare opertunity for the opu...

Let us take advantage of this opertunity and not waste it away.

Because if he is actually telling the truth, and we shun him away, that would be a major loss on our part.

He has somthing to offer, so what do you do? You accept it.

[Sirbomber]

He has somthing to offer, so what do you do?  You accept it.

That's the point exactly; all he's done is claim he's done something, and whenever we say "prove it" he just makes excuses or cries about how we're being mean to him.  If he really had anything, he'd either post it or make a single short post, something along the lines of "just making some finishing touches, give me a week/month/whatever", instead of these long winding walls of text designed specifically so nobody will read them.  I would like to be proven wrong, but experience shows I probably won't be.

[CK9]

you know bomber, as soon as I shut down for the night, I knew you were going to say that

But if your intent was to see if he knew anything about coding at all, think about what it says that I knew what to do

[jcj94]

Wow.. I feel like a failure.. I'd have no clue where to even start with that... (the test).

Question: How in the world do you even read a debugger/disassembler (Ollydbg is what I have been playing with)... I remember in IRC spike saying something along the lines off 'it'd take a month per .dll, even if you know how to read the disassembler language'

[BlackBox]

He has somthing to offer, so what do you do? You accept it.

I'll certainly accept something that can be backed up with more than empty promises. As far as "negative criticism" is concerned, to me it seems kind of expected when very little solid proof is offered (and from the standpoint of someone who writes software for a living, that someone being myself, some very highly improbable explanations are given instead, which to me have not even proven that any kind of development progress is being made, such as comments about hard drives being unusable and explanations about how it works that are very shaky and unclear on technical grounds).

In other words, the software engineering equivalent of the "dog ate my homework" excuse.

This combined with the outcomes of previous similar attempts at recreating OP2/OP3 in this community is enough to make anyone skeptical who has been here at least some amount of time, I'd think.

I would love to be proven wrong and someday come to this thread and see a link to a working binary or even just screen shots, but I'm not holding out hope for that to happen either. Like I said before, I'm not trying to sound like a troll or be negative for the sake of being negative but in this community where many of these attempts have gotten people's hopes up and then failed, you either need to provide proof or it might be best to keep it under wraps completely until there is actually something to show.

--

Edit: to answer the above question, the best place to start would probably be picking up a book on the x86 assembly language. The missions are all written in MS visual C++ 6, which (along with many other languages and compilers) inserts library code into the DLL that is probably likely unused (in any case it can be ignored by the person reading the assembly dump because it is common code that is well documented).

The useful code that has anything to do with the function of the mission is probably no more than 30-50 pages of assembly and the rest of it can be entirely ignored.

As far as understanding logical function, most compilers generate recognizable code that can be translated to the higher level operations in C/C++. A great book to learn about this that I'd suggest is the following (it has a huge focus on security related reverse engineering and does assume that the reader knows how to program in assembly already, but the concepts can be applied elsewhere): http://www.amazon.com/Hacker-Disassembling...g/dp/1931769222

[jcj94]

Thank you blackbox!

And I, though enjoying this project, am slightly skeptical...
 

[Hidiot]

My personal stance on this is wait and see. Sure, his demeanor doesn't inspire me, but I've refrained from bashing, because he did say something will come.

Now, my biggest question is: When can we expect to see that concrete evidence you claim to want to bring to us, IMG?

[ImpulziveMyztikalGuru]

I apologize for the way some things may have come across. This project has my full attention during my time away from work. Ideally, the parts I am waiting for will be here in the next two weeks or so, but for now, I am blocking out ideas that will be incorporated into the current code. I would love to give screenshots, but I am pretty sure everyone here already knows what OP2 looks like. That is something I am not going to change without unanimous community decision, as I feel it would change the game from being OP2.

I apologize sincerely for not being able to show proof, as much as I want to, as proof is what I constantly strive to give, given my job. It is not my intention, nor my desire, to let this project fail and die as others have. Failure is not an option, not just quoting, but because it is true in my line of work. You either prove something the best you can, or it gets ignored.

I am coming up on a vacation period after a major test in a week and a half, and that time will be used extensively on fixing computer issues, resuming coding, and posting working, or at least semi functional code, to the community so progress can be seen.

So my deadline is now set for something to give to you all. Two weeks, three at max, and something will be posted for all to see. It wont be pretty, but there will be something.

[jcj94]

So my deadline is now set for something to give to you all. Two weeks, three at max, and something will be posted for all to see. It wont be pretty, but there will be something.

1: Since when is programming ever pretty?  To me, its lines of code that don't do much by themselves... they are only pretty when you've compiled it.

2: Proof is good.  Very good.

3: Advice: If you need to upgrade hard-drive/hard-disks, us an SSD (Solid State Drive).  They are much, =much= more durable.  This laptop currently has one in it, and it can take a good beating before hard-disk failure.

4:  :op2:  (thumbsup)  :op2:  Don't stop because were skeptical.  Hey, I'm even skeptical about some of =my= projects.  

[Freeza-CII]

code can be very pretty with the proper structure comments notes ect.

Any way I am waiting for the deadline for proof or excuses.  

[jcj94]

Agreeing with CK9 here.

Well, maybe if I can get allowence to post our Java code for our bot sometime...
we try to /**comment**/ as much as possible.
 

[Nightmare24148]

So my deadline is now set for something to give to you all. Two weeks, three at max, and something will be posted for all to see. It wont be pretty, but there will be something.

Hum dee dummmmmm

Also, lol at coding while drunk