Help please?

[Lord Raven]

Ok. I realize at this rate that I'm never going to get around to the "important stuff," and that's why I want to get people more involved in resource creation (like the tree picture thread). At this point, about the only way people can help the project is by creating new areas, turfs, items, furniture, and other props, but none of these neither add new nor prolong existing game mechanics; they're almost entirely cosmetic. At present, some of these things work only if added to the engine itself, and that's something I've always done personally.

I'm thinking maybe I should take it a step further and get people to actually add/edit things in the code. I've been mostly against this since the project's inception because I never wanted to mess with mixing and matching other people's code with my own, worry about differing views affecting balance in different subsystems, or allow others to steal my code/ideas. But I don't care so much about those reasons any more, I know DF's never going to be "finished," but it would be nice to get it playable--besides, I'm more sensitive about the engine's crappy code standards nowadays (remember: some of the code is still over 4-5 years old; from Medieval Legends).

So as much as I would rather create content myself, I guess I could try to focus on the subsystems and engine proper, if other people will manage the resources for those sections. For example, someone could manage tree/plant resource development/organization (meaning individual code for each species of plant) and submit just the plants folder for inclusion in DF releases; this job might also include harvested material, different wood, and even the full spectrum of alchemy. Or those things might be divided among other developers; who knows. I think the first option is more likely at this point, however, because we have so few developers at the moment.

Anyone interested in overseeing a specific area? A few other resource area ideas include: weapons/armor/other equipment, furniture sets, building sets, alpha textures (more on this in the .21 release), magic or combat effects, hud/status icons, different crafts, animals, food/drink. Animals, plants, turfs, furniture, and food should be easy to take up right now and work with (well, after the next release at least).

Hell, if a developer gathers enough icons for some kind of craft, I may just have to code that craft up just so they can manage their resources. A quick note on .21: although I haven't finished everything on my to-do list for this version (mostly because I'm constantly adding little tweaks to the list, and I had to cut myself off somewhere), I will probably release what I have once I finish up a few bugs, but the release will require 3.5++ to develop with.

[D4RK3 54B3R]

I would love to help out. As far as pixel art goes, I'm best at doing items (weapons), GUIs, and graphical effects. Things like Environments... are too tedious for me, and I really dislike doing characters.

[EDIT]: I still need to send you that second moon, don't I?

[Lord Raven]

Alright, if you'd like to work on new equipment after the next update, that'd be great. When we have more of a need for effects, that'd be welcome, but equipment will be good for now. We need to have a discussion night sometime soon...

[Tiko]

Like I said on MSN, I'd love to work on some equipment and some effects once the update comes out. I'll probably try my hand at some alpha effects as well.

And, as always, I love doing environments, so once BYOND updates, I'll get some cities and exterior areas done.

[Soldierman]

I know this is an ancient bump, but I logged into Dream Forge and I was amazed by its beauty, definitely the most beautiful game I ever seen on Byond. I was wondering if you still needed help? The only thing I could help you with would be programming. I am willing to work on a small part of the project to help build trust and follow whatever direction you would have for me.

[Lord Raven]

Don't worry about bumping this or other old threads--it won't bother us--, and thanks for the compliments . I am generally happy to have any assistance, but I'm afraid I can't guarantee anything in exchange . Also, I often have trouble coming up with nice, modular programming tasks. Although I could probably create some grunt-work programming tasks (as those above; adding or editing definitions for lots of similar items), those are jobs that someone with next to no programming skill could tackle (or jobs that might require more graphics development). So I would prefer to come up with something more challenging that you could work on independently and I could more or less plug into the existing code.

I have a thread with some "delegable" tasks, but it needs updating. Of the items on the list, the sleeping/passing out, saving system, and readables are the only items that haven't been approached yet. I think I can add gambling mini-games to the list later (maybe I'll update the list after I finish posting this). If any of that interests you, just speak up; if you have other ideas, feel free to throw them up in a new post, or bring them to me in-game.

So long as you recognize and don't mind that I cannot necessarily offer you anything in return, I would be remiss if I didn't welcome your assistance .

[tails5]

I'd be happy to offer any assistance that I could render. And I don't need anything in return (Though thankyous are always nice)

[Lord Raven]

Alright , what sort of skills do you have to offer, or what would you like to work on?

[Tiko]

Which reminds me, I need to get the resources off of my old hard drives.

[The_Imperial]

Which reminds me, I need to get the resources off of my old hard drives.

How does that remind you of your resources?

[Zeroarmorclone]

I could help if i could get maping to work, or i just can make icons.

[sctjkc01]

Resurrection!

I could maybe help with mapping and/or a little coding. However, I can mostly work at night (i.e. 10P-2A Eastern Time). Also, I'm not so good at initiative, so I may or may not be reliable enough for a major project.

Also, I don't know about HUD's or anything even close to that.

[Lord Raven]

If you are really experienced with Dream Maker's map editor, I might be able to get you started as a world developer sometime; that would entail being assigned a small region to map, and you would be in charge of managing that area's development, giving it some background, creating interesting locations and characters for players to interact with, and coordinating with Tiko, myself, and anyone else who might take on a similar role in the future.

The way this works is I give you a stable copy of the engine and Corrupted Peace as an example, and you develop your maps and assets for the region you are assigned. You do not have to worry about much coding (for the most part, CP has examples of anything you would need to program) because all of the core mechanics are taken care of by the engine (which is included as a library, so that I can easily update the engine and you just have to download a new copy and re-compile).

The mapping is really more demanding than the programming here; things get a bit more complicated than traditional BYOND mapping, due to the way the maps are constructed. If you can follow this tutorial, then you might be good to go (although it doesn't cover some of the more complex issues yet, like multi-floor interiors).

Also, I am not prepared to take on another world developer at this moment, just because the engine is in a transitional state. After the next major update, things should be stable enough to warrant another developer or two.

[sctjkc01]

Really, I couldn't code very well without the help of the BYOND forum, but I could create a good map. Maybe I could help out with interiors? I've walked into several doors to find that they do not actually lead anywhere.

[Doomthingy]

i can do maps