The Project

Sol is the unofficial name of the python space game project originally laid out HERE in the keeyai.com forums. The project is a VERY big undertaking, so it is coming along very slowly. At this stage I am still fiddling with libraries and learning more about the finer points of game development. The plan is to create a series of increasingly complicated projects to hone my skills and understanding, starting with a 2D/3D asteroids-like game, then moving up to a 3D tank combat game, and finally working on the full blown Sol project.

At this point in time I have done boatloads of research and created a few small programs to test out some 3D engines and networking libraries. So far I’m loving PyOgre for rendering, but I’m still deciding about networking. I have done some work with Twisted, but it takes a lot of digging through the APIs just to make it run. I’ve really enjoyed the RakNet python bindings pyRakNet but they are GPL’d, seriously constraining the future of any project using them. In light of that, I’m working on building my own set of python bindings for RakNet, a skill that will enable me to create bindings for ANY C++ library, greatly increasing our options with regards to development tools.

For those of you who are curious, the tools I think I have tentatively decided on so far are:

• 3D Engine – PyOgre
• Physics – PyOde
• GUI – pyCEGUI
• Networking – RakNet or Twisted
• Input and Sound – PyGame

Anyone who has used these before or feels like learning them to contribute would be most welcome here, on the forums, and potentially on the development team. Right now I have to slowly learn everything I can about each tool, which is often a huge pain in the ass, so any friendly expertise would be amazingly helpful.

The Game

For the real overview you should read the forum thread linked above. That is where the idea was first put down in writing and the real life of the game is apparent there. Essentially, I want to take the great parts from games like Eve and Freelancer and include them in something that goes beyond them both. I have lots of ideas/dreams for Sol that I would really love to see happen, some are mentioned in that thread and some are not. For example:

• Nav Computers and Moving Planets/Suns/Etc

  One thing that always bothered me in Freelancer was the stationary planets. Some of them had textures that looked like they rotated, but beyond that they just sat there. Between that and the fact that they just weren’t that big, the realism went down the tubes. In Sol, I want planets and things to orbit the sun (or whatever), so you really do need a nav computer or something to figure out where things are going to be.

• The Void of Space

  Another thing I’ve found to be lacking in space games is how close everything feels. Space is massive. I’d like to quote one of my personal heros, Douglas Adams. “Space is big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist’s, but that’s just peanuts to space. ” This has led me to consider basing Sol solely in our solar system (mwahaha, pun attack!). The planets could be massive objects with orbits and rotations that are extreme distances apart. The large distances in between could be populated with space stations, satellites, asteroid belts, etc. etc. etc. etc until we have a well populated and entertaining game universe that still captures the vastness of space. With this approach, it might be fun to put the planets into their true and proper orbits, with each making its proper rotations (IE, earth completes a full orbit in a year of game time). Obviously there are some big issues to work out with this, but it will be sweet.

• Player Generated Lore

  One idea I really want to implement in Sol is player generated lore. By writing some cool software for the server, the mods will be able to track what players are up to on a broad scale. By paying attention to guilds growing large and undertaking big projects like space station or fleet construction, deep exploration, or faction wars, the mods can weave that information into the lore of the project. Imagine catching a drink at an in-game bar and reading a headline or listening to an NPC conversation about the such-and-such guilds ransack of Station Catalina or the great war between two player controlled factions. New players would join a game shaped by the players before them, from surviving factions and guilds all the way down to NPC populations and their stories.

Comments about this kind of thing are probably best suited for the forum, so start a new thread there and we can all throw some ideas around together. Beyond that, expect many more posts of this nature about Sol.