Maybe now is a good time for the X4.2-??? update

So - officially I'm on X4.002.2.

Well. So, for once - I'm not quite where I wanted to be. And as it stands, I'm still "pushing the hurdle", kicking the can down the streets.


One thing that has changed is that I take "staring at the code" as a legitimate occupation now. I don't feel bad not getting as much done as I know I can - because ultimately ... I've been there.
Like ... doing things for the sake of doing them. That's incredibly stupid, but ... if you're "in the zone" - you're "in the zone" I assume.
But, jumping from idea to idea is silly considering how often I essentially went wrong. So, just following the nose won't do. I have to give it time and ... weigh my options. Or - figure out how to best go about it - if I find it to be worth it.

Also, the whole thing has become incredibly complex. Maybe a part of it was or is due to a lack of structure. But finding a structure that is suitable ... that's another problem. Or was. Sortof.
But yes. It's complex in that a lot of things have been added and implemented - and while some code is probably just ... virtual dust ... the problems more and more entail ... reworking and refitting that which is there.


Like ... the thing I've essentially been working on for the whole year. Let's say. Now I'm in a position to have something that last year - round around new years eve - I wanted. So, in other words: My code was in a place where I would or should add some extra features. But I was in position to see them realized. Instead I worked and reworked that same problem - to then do what I should have done in the first place.
It seems pointless - unless you realize, that one doesn't come without the other.


I mean - I'm sure not entirely honest or serious when I'm calling myself stupid and a fraud or whatever, but ... sometimes. Uh, ... sorry ...




So ... to talk straight facts - what was I doing, where am I at, where am I going?

So ... that initial roadmap; Do the thing with the Logo and then move on to the other thing ... technically I'm exactly where I left off, except that a few of the systems aren't working anymore.

But yea, I've also done a full circle since then. Saying, the code that did the things at first ... is absolutely useless by now.


As somehow hinted at, one of my problems was to find the right structure. The hope was that over time it would just "Crystalize" - I suppose - which, I assume, also requires time - and a lot of ... nonsense. Give or take.
Like ... I have "so many" "activate input thingy" thingies strewn about, so many ... "Screen Frames" and ... like two or three attempts at working with files and the filesystem.

And I've tried to clean up multiple times. This is then just the ... "code I don't like to touch" side of things.

I have this weird feeling that "too much" of my code 'were' redundant, if half of it wasn't just ... un-used without function.


But, you can't make an Omelette without breaking an Egg, they say.


So, coding whith the Inner Eye Opened ... well, I was skeptical at first, but I figured that it couldn't really get much worse. Or, I had what I had and that was good enough.
Long story short, in hindsight, I'm ... glad I did. I find it to be incredible. And I'm sure that the years of ... failure ... did a part to it.

After the first session I didn't work on it for a bit and getting back I barely recognized the code. I had to go through it, step by step, drawing a map, to re-acquaint myself with it. Now, that I think was necessary - as to ... get a better understanding of the whole situation. Hmm, what am I trying to say?


So, the "first thing I built" wasn't really a 'working code' kind of achievement - but ... . I suppose I need time to get it into my head ... because ... it's kind of awesome!

I mean - from an ... artists perspective I assume. I guess we could say, well. There are parts of the code I mean for - that's how I understand it's supposed to work - and there are parts of it I have to figure out. That's the "just do it" part. So, is it fair to say that Code at some point becomes like this ... Eldritch Abomination ... that may or may not have heads and tails ... ? So, it's like a house ... but houses are these trascendental things beyond our grasp ... and all we see is like ... a fraction of it. Like ... a window. So, to our minds ... a wall and a window IS a house.
What am I ... ?
So ... I would set out on this coding journey, high as a kite and broad as a door-bar, with this vision on mind. "Maybe" - it works out that way. Maybe it's better. But the whole task is ... 'too complex'. The balance between highs and lows - matters of focus and concentration. Then sobriety. Maybe ... it was a mistake? Like ... why? But ... whatever.
But I've pulled through ... maybe as part of a bad habit ... but ... yea.

The idea was good - the realization however a bit more complicated than at first anticipated.



Uhm.
So - the "original" "System" stuff is now a whole component utilized by a secondary component. And the code-base essentially hinges on that secondary component, while that secondary component isn't ... like ... defined very much.
The point being however that I can now go and replace the System - without harming the rest of my code-base. Not saying that it would be easy, but ... yea.
Like the Titanic ... . Uhm ...

But that's part 1. Because the System is its own thing and because there's now this loose connection of code that somehow manages to provide a reliable foundation ... I'm now better off than before. But ... that's like ... just what I can put into words.



As for the eagle engine - it has gone through quite a few iterations; And has come to LOOK pretty sophisticated. The whole thing is maybe still a bit bare-bone yet ... but I'm still trying to get everything into position.

So - instead I've been working on other things.
Like ... polishing the code. Moving certain parts around. Getting things ... "clipped in" - as ... in a "this is how it's going to be" kind of way ... was difficult but I think I finally got there.

And it was so ... obvious.
Like ... why imagine a thing to work a certain way, to then not take care of it - and then wonder why it doesn't work like it's supposed to?



But, uhm. OK.

I guess ... in terms of 'good code' - there's the "Engine Core". It works a specific way; And that's going to stick around. While "what it takes" to operate it would to me seem pretty clear and simple - obvious per se - it was more of a headscratcher than I was even able to realize.

Then, the engine also has a now practical organization of layers - with only some ... things not properly integrated yet. Hull, Frame, Core and "Something" make up the base - then there's space for customization and one thing I'm still working on are the final pieces that tie the individual into the standardized.

I've also only just begun to develop an idea of how to best approach that 'individualized' section, the "Game Code" as we might call it, which is still on a "first structures" kind of basis.
Any kind of working code is basically just there for it to be there.
But ... that's also long after having had it this way and that way. Even during the last year.

Most importantly ... I've begun implementing the 'Sequencer'.


That's the thing. I once thought that it'd be a nice thing. On and off I thought about implementing it - I never quite found the juice until it eventually become one of those things I wouldn't touch.
It is though the thing I should have built from the very start. However - finding how it's best implemented ... that's ... probably why it was a bad idea.
Like ... I figure that I could tell you all about it ... and you ... wouldn't quite be able to ... do it. You might easily get something alike ... . Though, if you already have a working engine ... you ... well, might even already have something like that yourself.

I mean - in as far as something needs to play out scripted events, do cutscenes, ... or even just anything that involves time - or is strung together in this abstract, time-dependent way ... .
The Sequencer now however does everything. Like ... I struggled to find 'structure' - throwing like ... "init input" or this and that functions around here and there, hoping something might stick - but now I found the most suitable place for those functions to be the Sequencer unit(s) themself.

Like ... "duh".
The ultimate question ... for me "Coding Witch" ... when it comes to writing code, is that of "where" my ... base is. Or: Where are the pockets of air that in the abstract make up this virtual space that I mean to control?

In all simplicity it used to be "the Main Loop". And ... . I mean. Hull, Frame, Core and "Something". "Something" used to be Control because "duh", but in the end it's basically just a Knot - and the real 'thing' - are the Sequencer Units.
That's because ... well, giggling at myself, the Engine - and the system at large - is built to be like ... controlled from within. The reason the "main loop" isn't "base" is because the main loop is ... complicated. And the main reason the "main class(es)" don't make for good control interfaces is ... because ... well ... it's also complicated.
But it all works towards those sequencer units. And in that the engine now relies on those Sequencer Units - the Sequencer Units become the logical ... thing ... control units.


And. I had to dig deep into the "ancient concepts I won't touch" box also. Like ... one of the issues with this "woah, awesome" structure I wrote of earlier at first was that ... ... hmm. An "inverse nesting problem".
Normally you can {{{{{{...}}}}}} just nest things indefinitely. The only limitation is space. But if instead of nesting "inward" you're - extending outward - the "outside profile" changes with each layer. And that makes it difficult to ... uhm. So, what's needed is an interface that's intended for the "front code".

Here I find another thing that I would have done differently. I mean - the thing I dug out. The thing itself - as originally thought of - would have worked differently. Well, much of what it would take to make it work that way is also in the box.
Maybe it's still silly, but it makes sense right now.
Here - only the Sequencers are setup - and from there on, it's all in there. Or, that's basically where I'm at right now.


So, anything VR related isn't really a priority right now. But getting the engine and its components to where I can work out the control elements certainly is one.
And then I might basically be back to trying to work in some old code. I mean - really. It's baffling. My impatience ...
So, I can then just focus on that and have fun playing around.


In the meantime ... I still get "visions" and still have a hard time holding myself from jumping right in. Rarely? But, yea. Figuring out how the Gameplay is supposed to look ... that's something mostly just paper. And ... I think I'm doing without a Stamina Bar. But not without Stamina. So, there's something LIKE a stamina bar, which is a fancy way of saying ... that there totally is a stamina bar.
And yea. Vague ideas. Like ... stats and skills.

...


I do however mean to copy the "Rings/Talisman" ... uh "system" - if you want to call it that ... from ... uhm ... "games like" ... Dark Souls. But different. So far, these musings have led me to focus on what we may call "Composite Objects". The gist is, that the Body essentially is a component of the player Object; As such a "Power Core" - in that it produces and/or uses energy. So, the idea is that next to Default Power Cores, the player could equip additional power cores that all play into the overall power economy.

Overall, the idea with Ashes of War is really fancy too. But I wouldn't go as far as to just copy it. I more so like to focus on weapon types - in part for simplicity - that may or may not have unique features and abilities. Like a certain handle that enables a certain technique. In my wildest dreams, one could acquire one and bring it to a capable blacksmith to have it built/designed into some ... custom thing.

That's ... as far as ... 'taking inspiration' goes. There's more - like, proprietary stuff - which I think also needs some more time to breathe.
I figure that I should be able to draft some rough code ... but ... not so far.


Anyhoo - that's me with a quick and easy ... sortof ... update.
...