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Openc2e

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Revision as of 03:42, 23 April 2006 by ElasticMuffin (talk) (→‎Technical Bits: boost)
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The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. The correct title is openc2e.
Editnorn.png This article is about a project that is in development.
Information may change significantly as the project progresses.
Openc2e logo.png

openc2e is an in-development 'clone' of the Creatures Evolution Engine. The primary developers are Fuzzie and Bdonlan, with Nornagon, ElasticMuffin, and Dylan having coded various bits. ElasticMuffin is also responsible for the website and the Windows builds, and Pez for the logo.

The intention is to have an engine capable of running all the games in the Creatures series, allowing people to run them on unsupported operating systems and to extend the engine in ways impossible without access to the source code. Note, however, that openc2e is not a game by itself; it needs game content from elsewhere (either official Creatures games or community-created ones) to be playable.

File:Openc2e nornmeso buggy.jpg
Recent screenshot of the Norn Meso

Technical Bits

openc2e is an implementation of the Creatures Evolution Engine (Creature Labs employees often abbreviated this to 'c2e', hence the name), built using C++, SDL, Boost, and the STL.

It currently consists of a CAOS parser and runtime (supporting multiple versions of CAOS, to allow support for all of the Creatures series) an implementation of many of the CAOS functions, code for simple agents, compound agents and vehicles, a basic physics engine, some preliminary creature code, including genomes, and sprite, PRAY, and MNG file support.

It is known to run on Mac OS X, Windows and Linux.

Status

openc2e does not currently correctly simulate physics, nor does it simulate Creatures themselves. However, it manages to run a great many of the Creatures 3 and Docking Station agents, to some extent. The main aims of development at present are fixing the bugs which are causing some Docking Station agents to behave erratically and adding in a Creature biochemistry system.

Other missing elements at present include network abilities, serialisation (world saving/loading and creature exporting/importing) and music support beyond a preliminary implementation (thanks to work done by GreenReaper while developing MNGPlayer).

The eventual aim is being able to 'emulate' any of the Creatures engines, and hence run all games in the Creatures series. It seems likely to eventually be the basis for Freetures and Lifandi.

A Norn is born!

Tools

The project also includes some useful tools, such as a PRAY dumping utility similar to REVELATION and the start of a genetic editor.

External Links