I’m a professional software developer for a medium sized company, which is really not a software company. It’s only internal software I write.

I’ve also wanted to make a game since I started playing games. That’s probably why I’m a software developer today. I’ve been doing more or less C++ since I was 14, doing (at least trying to) 3D-graphics since I was 18. Without knowledge of the particular mathematics involved with 3D-graphics it proved to be difficult.

I’ve started numerous projects with OpenGL, and some are more advanced than others, but I didn’t continue working on a project for more than 2-3 days before I got tired.

I’ve started an other project now. I don’t know what I’ll make, or whether if I’ll make anything. But I’ve started an other project. The only real difference from previous projects is that I know the value of libraries and there is no point in re-inventing the wheel for every project.

Standard template library is there, Boost is there and some other libraries. I know how to use them. And I know they exist!

For this project I know I’m going to use

• STL
• The boost libraries
• Ogre3D for graphics

I’m not so sure about the sound and physics part, but for now I think I’ll stick with

• Bullet for physics
• FMOD for sound

I must also review the licenses  for the libraries to make sure they are allowed to be used in commercial projects or not. I’m not saying my project is going to be commercial, but I won’t exclude it. I’ll also aim for Windows and Linux support. And probably Mac if it’s going to be commercial.

So far I have an empty scene with a blue background.

It’s a start! … again

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That was my first impression.

Right from when I installed it and started it, it took me 30 minutes to get started. 15 minutes of shader generation and 15 minutes of clicking through every small little popup window with “helpful” hints. I got tired after the 2 first “hints”, so I rushed through them all. That was before I got started with actual gameplay.

When the game finally started and I was able to drive a vehicle, guess what! MORE FUCKING POPUPS AFTER MOVING THE VEHICLE 2 METERS^[1]

When I got started it seemed like I needed some Games for Windows account to save my progress, and that I couldn’t save the progress without it. I don’t have an account and I don’t intend getting one either.

After about 20 minutes of uninterupted (wow!) playing, I had enough of metre wide pixels and crappy physics.
You see, it doesn’t look good at all with a game running in a default 640×480 resolution on a 26″ monitor – and without the ability to change resolution within the game, it starts to get real bad! And believe me, the graphics and physics in the original Monster Truck Madness from 1996 is miles ahead of FUEL!

And to be fair, I tried to do a second impression after changing the resolution to 1920×1200 pixels. The graphics was far better, but the physics were still crappy.

And to be fair the second time, the idea and concept was and is good. but the wrapping sucks big time! Codemasters might have forgotten that playing games is all about having fun and playing the game, not being able to select paintwork and colors and what the driver should look like. And you must be able to save the game without relying on internet access and Microsoft! And not to forget the ultra-annoying popups!

Sadly, there won’t be a third impression. I kind of liked FUEL after I got started, but without being able to save the game, the final nail in the coffin was nailed.

So, this was an utterly big fail! Its a shame though, the music was good!

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