Revelation - The Awakening

[Mal]

Stress Tested the Server and Client:

* Number of Clients: 20
* Length of Test: 00:27:09
* Errors: 0
* Equation: Random 1 to 5, If > 3 Then SendMsg
* Packet Loss: 0
* GUI Update Loss: 0
* Min Server CPU Usage: 0% (2 Connected Clients, Logged In)
* Max Server CPU Usage: 02% (20 Connected Clients, Logged In)
* Min Memory Usage: 12.6 mb.
* Max Memory Usage: 14.6 mb.

I recorded 22:35 seconds of the 27 minute test. All clients were started one by one, logged in or registered (then logged in) individually, started and stopped individually, and closed individually. During the test, no richtextbox or other objects on a client or the server were reset.

[http://www.twitch.tv…ylw/b/335266290](http://www.twitch.tv/purgatorylw/b/335266290)

[Mal]

Added Commands to Client, Added Clan Methods to Server:

* /clan clanname><_password_> - Creates the clan specified by name with an administrative password.

I've attached screenshots of clan creation as well as various error handling messages.

[Mal]

Added Commands to Client, Improved Client Command Methods, Added Clan Methods to Server:

**Commands**:

* /clan playername> - Adds the specified player to the requesting players clan.
* /clan clanname> - Deletes the specified clan at the owners request.

**Methods**:

* ValidateClanMembership(ByVal _index_ As Integer) As Boolean
* Try _String Concatenation_ Catch _ex_ As Exception _Report Syntax Error_

I added a validation method to the server that checks to see whether or not the logging in players clan still exists; if it does, continue as normal; if not, it removes the clan from the players account. This allows for seamless clan deletion and player removal with or without the player(s) being online.

To add a player, the player specified must be logged in and the requesting player must be the owner of the clan to perform the action.

I also added syntax error handling for clan commands. So to recap, you can now register, log in, chat, view a player's partial character information, view who is online and how many clients are connected, create a clan, add other player's to your clan, and delete your clan!

I would also like to announce that, at the time of this posting, the client and server are 110% bug-free!

[Mal]

Added Lobby List and additional lobby functionality to Client:

**Implemented**:

* You can now view a list of all open lobbies by using the menu item, "View Lobby List". The lobby list also shows the number of players in the specified lobbies as well as whether or not the specified lobbies are password protected.
* You can now create a new lobby with or without credentials . If the owner of the lobby leaves and it is password protected, the password is removed.
* You can now join an existing lobby regardless of your current state; e.g. in or out of a lobby. If you are the owner of the lobby you are leaving and the lobby is password protected, the password is removed upon exit of the lobby.

**Planned Improvements**:

* Add a "refresh" button the Lobby List.
* Add a context menu that allows users to rapidly join unprotected lobbies.
* Add command line administrative capabilities for lobby owners; e.g. /lobby setpass:_password_.

The ability to create, manage, and protect your own lobbies is a feature that I did not want to overlook or under-develop. Clans can use this great feature for hosting in-clan tournaments, clan vs. clan rivalries where outside influence is not wanted, and it also gives the Clan a private medium in which to communicate. The possibilities are endless in terms of expansion and other utilities that could be added to lobbies.

I'm not a fan of the current GUI but it suites it's purpose for now. Early in development I chose functionality and being 110% bug-free over aesthetics. Below, you can find screenshots of the aforementioned feature in use:

[iSnow]

Ever need some GUI let me know, I can make some.

[Mal]

I'm using WinForms for 100% of the workload on this project. If development ever gets as far as I'd like it to, my next project (e.g expansion for Revelation) will be 100% WPF/XAML, and I'll definitely be looking for people who can design something with a little "bling" in it. I appreciate the offer, though. =) I do plan to go back and spruce it up; this thing is nowhere near finished and it's nearing 2,000 lines (1943) just for the server, excluding the socket library!

[iSnow]

Okay, let me know if you need anything. I never did get too involved with text based games but I'm liking where this is going.

[Mal]

They definitely are something that doesn't really keep your attention for very long, but I've accepted that; since I know the flaws in text-based systems I hope to improve those elements or throw them out altogether.

[Dark Crusade]

If I wasn't working on my own project, I would have loved to apply to join the team. Your one of the few developers on the forums I respect and am sure will launch a project off the ground.

[Mal]

> If I wasn't working on my own project, I would have loved to apply to join the team. Your one of the few developers on the forums I respect and am sure will launch a project off the ground.

I definitely appreciate your sentiments, Kreator. I'm sensing there's already budding expectation about Revelation; I just hope that I can meet those expectations without destroying my original concept! lol.

[Mal]

Implemented Lobby List improvements for Client, Added additional lobby functionality commands for Lobby Owners:

**Implemented**:

* Added _Close List_ and _Refresh_ buttons to the Lobby List UI. You no longer have to use the _View Lobby List_ menuitem if the Lobby List is visible.
* Added ContextMenuItem _Go To Chat_ to the Lobby List ListView. If password protection is disabled (e.g. no password) the player is sent directly to the specified chat room; if password protection is enabled (e.g. lobby has a password) then the _Create or Join_ form is shown so that the player may enter a password; the ListViewItem that is focused is added directly to the _Create or Join txtChat_Name.Text_ field as a quality of life improvement for players.
* Added additional error handling for implemented items and commands.

**Commands**:

* /chat setpass:_password_ - Sets the lobby password to the specified password requested by the owner of the lobby.

[TheRexion]

Just wondering: can you be in more than one chat room at once?

[Mal]

> Just wondering: can you be in more than one chat room at once?

No, you cannot. There are quite a few design issues associated with allowing that. I do plan on implementing private messages and perhaps an in-game mail system in the future.

[Mal]

The project's development is temporarily on hold while I determine the best route to take in terms of handling the presentation of various combat and item related information and how to process the datum associated with each player. My goal is to take a 100% object-oriented approach, and as it stands right now I'm pretty far from that goal outside of the networking. I'm also starting development on another project that's written entirely in VC# 2010, is currently 100% object-oriented, and uses XNA 4.0\. I feel that to be competitive in the current game market, even for an indie developer, you have to be as current and relevant as possible to current market interests, and this project allows me to do both.

Development will never stop on Revelation - The Awakening, nor do I plan on stepping away from the tentative release date that I've set approximately 298 days from now. I want to thank everyone who has shown interest in the project, and I mean it when I say that this game will be playable at some point in the future; I've even stumbled over the idea of releasing the source under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/deed.en_US), for free, and in the spirit of open source code, without profit or the endorsement of for profit or commercialization of the code.

[TheRexion]

> The project's development is temporarily on hold while I determine the best route to take in terms of handling the presentation of various combat and item related information and how to process the datum associated with each player. My goal is to take a 100% object-oriented approach, and as it stands right now I'm pretty far from that goal outside of the networking. I'm also starting development on another project that's written entirely in VC# 2010, is currently 100% object-oriented, and uses XNA 4.0\. I feel that to be competitive in the current game market, even for an indie developer, you have to be as current and relevant as possible to current market interests, and this project allows me to do both.

I thought as much. This new project, have you got anything information-wise etched out? Or are you going on a thought and your own will? What are your plans for it, if any?

[Mal]

> I thought as much. This new project, have you got anything information-wise etched out? Or are you going on a thought and your own will? What are your plans for it, if any?

I've stumbled over two coherent ideas. 1) Write a platform or space themed side-scroller; this would allow me to learn how to precisely handle pixel-based collision and other physics associated with particles and objects in a 2.5D space. 2) Use the knowledge gained in number one to write a 2.5D ORPG. The current problem is that I'm spitting out ideas faster than I can code them. When I start a project I dislike being distracted, and that's exactly why I had to shut down Revelation - The Awakening for the time being. Once I get the basis for this graphical project put together I'll be switching back and forth between the two projects; this will ultimately allow me to practice and expand on the concepts I've learned in two languages at once.

[SawQuart]

A space themed sidescroller would be pretty awesome. Maybe about a guy exploring a planet or something.

[killzoz]

Looking really good.