What is under the hood and why!
irrLicht.NET (No longer supported or being developed)

irrLicht.NET is no longer supported or being developed, but I like it. It’s simple and does everything that I need it to do. I was able to make a managed scene system that is based around the irrLicht.NET wrapper.

irrKlang (Not open source…)

irrKlang is not open source but like irrLicht.NET it’s simple and it works. If you want to make a commercial product out of Hallow[Online], then you’ll either have to buy the license for irrKlang or redo the sound system to work with something like OpenAL… which I didn’t feel like being bothered by. I’ve managed to make sure that you can easily redo the sound system.

MySQL Connector (for connecting to MySQL)

I preferred MySQL over MsSQL. I wanted to use PostgreSQL, but I still don’t know how to use it too well. SQLite wasn’t in the cards because it’s not good for the website side of the deal.

Hallow[JS] (Written in JScript….)

I admit it… this IS a bad move on my part but it’s the only way I feel safe with parsing JSON. I’ve looked at some of the C#.NET libraries and they just don’t do what I want. I considered XML too. I prefer JSON over XML because it’s not as bloated.

Some of the other things I’ve probably done wrong deal with the packets themselves. I anticipate having to fix the loop where all the ASCII characters that are decoded and strung together. I’ve noticed some things in that area that I can’t test properly at this point in time. I’ll be able to bench it when I have more done.

The entire logic behind my organization…. I’ve posted about this before. I very much fancy Flash AS2. I love the entire scene management and I want this to somewhat resemble it without being FLASH! The GUI has been split up and setup with functions that make it possible to manage the GUI and everything else that is rendered with it, in different classes that are separate from the GUI class. Making it easier to read and manage.

When programming this, I’ve always kept in mind about what’s efficient and how. Not using something native to C#, like DirectX, is potentially damaging, but at the same time, using irrLicht.NET is not very damaging. It renders fast enough to be usable. My standards have been to answer all 3 of the following questions as “Yes”:

• Easy to use?
• Easy to read?
• Preformance loss is not noticable? 

It is now:

• Cleaner/Well organized
• Easier to read
• Easier to comprehend 

1 Packet (old way)
COMMAND, DATA
The data would look like: “value1|value2|value3″

1 Packet (new way)
COMMAND, DATA
COMMAND, DATA
COMMAND, DATA
COMMAND, DATA
The data now looks like: ‘Data_Name’ : ‘Value’, ‘Data_Name’ : ‘Value’

UPDATE
The JSON wrapper has been MADE! It’s simple as hell. Written in JScript, it’s a .NET wrapper that is accessible by any and all .NET applications. It’s a good idea to use Microsoft.JScript to manage the JSON objects. The download is licensed under an MIT license. The README.TXT file explains how it works in C#.

Download: Rapidshare (5kb) Hallow[JS].ZIP

I considered XNA for the development but I’m not fond of making users download the XNA framework on top of the .NET 3.0 framework that I’m forcing upon them. Also other options flickered across my computer screen, I just didn’t like them. irrKlang won, the end.

Also, I’d like to mention, Hallow [Online] WILL come with the irrKlang dependencies, so that people can compile the source from the fresh download.

Requirements From ALL
All artists must work together to blend their final products together, where they’re needed to put together. The game style that I’m looking for is like kawaii anime with a halloween/midevil feel to it, without emphesizing on a halloween theme. IE: No jack-o-lanterns. I’m quite fond of a vector anime art style with cellshaded-like shading and thin lines for the shading while the outter lines are thick. A good example would be the maple story concept art. Like in the wallpapers at http://maplestory.nexon.net. Knowing how to save .PNG files with transparent backgrounds is REQUIRED. All works that you submit must be submitted under terms of the MIT License.

GUI Artist
Must be able to come up with a GUI style that can be used throughout the client, which includes the windows, frames, buttons, and ect.

Concept Artist
Must be able to produce kawaii (cute/bubbly/adorable) anime characters that have a midevil/dark halloweenish feel to them.

Font Artist
Hallow[Online] needs it’s own fonts. I want it to be smooth, clean, clear, and crisp (IE: No pixelation, like my test fonts that I’m using). I’ve always been fond of the font used in World of Warcraft, so something similar to that would be nice. I need a few versions of it done. I don’t want it done in a font format. I need it done in a .PNG format with a transparent background.

How to help!
Well, if you wish to help me in my quest for a desirable game, just hit me up at master.furom@gmail.com with some examples. You can only do ONE of the three tasks. You can’t be dedicated to making the concept art and the GUI art. You either do one or the other. This is for the better interest of team management. If I like what I see, I’ll be more than willing to talk to you directly through MSN, AIM, or Yahoo. Also, I’d like to make it noted that I don’t need ideas! I already have a vague storyline sketched out (I just need to write it up and post it). I know how I want the game play to be (I’ll be adding in mini-games and such AFTER I finish up the primary game play, IE: I have plans). Last, but not least, I don’t need pixel artists! I’m not doing “pixel” art for the game. If you want to do the character art, like equipment, characters dolls, ect.. just hit me up with examples. I’ll definitely need you later, but for now I don’t have that stuff planned out. I’ve not yet decided how I’ll format the images for executable use yet.

MySqlCommand mysqlCmd = new MySqlCommand("SELECT * FROM accounts WHERE (username = ?username) and (password = ?password)", MySqlConnection);
mysqlCmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("?username", "MY USERNAME");
mysqlCmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("?password", "MY SECRET PASSWORD");
mysqlCmd.Prepare();
MySqlDataReader mysqlReader = mysqlCmd.ExecuteReader();
while (mysqlReader.Read())
{
// Reader stuff here...
}

• Make User Login Possible

1. Add Login GUI form elements
2. Add easy access controls for GUI form elements
3. Upon login, switch from LOGIN -> GAME_MAP (they’re GUI scene titles).
4. Add MySQL check on serverside.

• Detach connection from client and reserve it for after the login is established.

• Create an easy to manage Scene Switcher that can switch between the following Scenes: Login / Character Selection / Character Creation / Game Play – Explore / Game Play – Turn Based Battle.
• Create an event handler that switched in sync with the current scene.