Clarifications on sandbox

thorneakavar · Post by **thorneakavar** » March 13th, 2011, 9:04 am

Hi, the questions I am about to ask have problem been asked a thousand times, but I couldnt find the answer anywhere. I have been playing around with the program for a few days now and before I invest a whole bunch of time into a major project, I am wondering at the full potential of Sandbox and had the following questions:

1. Can the menus be customized (I.E. The green menu is kind of tacky for the project I have in mind)

2. As far as game design with the current version of sandbox am I able to program in custom features (I.E. If I wanted to make a fishing game could I, or if I intended to make a RTS)

3. Is it possible to make a stand alone game.

4. Is it possible to make it so a player cant go into edit mode and change the maps you have made

5. Are you limited to one map in your game or is there some way of a allowing a player to go to a new level or zone when they are finished with the first (I am hoping to have some method of allowing multiple zones in my project.)

6. If I create a full game am I free to make profit from the sell of the game.

7. What programming language should I know to work with sandbox (I am aware you dont need to program to create maps, but I am referencing adding new features)

8. Am I able to set one track for a zone, the music included with sandbox is relaxing but in my project it does not fit.

9. Are there any limitations to sandbox (I.e. is there something that it cant do without a little coding or creativity, such as not being able to build a custom character creation screen or in game cinematics (I am aware of the movie included im just citing examples) or an inventory system (citing examples))

10. I am assuming yes, but I am going to ask anyways. Is it possible to have random events happen (such as a 1 in 100,000 chance of a car coming by or a genie appearing) and also is it possible to do time based events for a map (such as an ingame clock and calander system that would display certain maps at certain times i.e. can I have a winter map, spring map, summer, a map for holidays.)

I do apologize if these questions are over saturated I just couldnt find a satisfactory answer anywhere.

Oh and since this is my first post, (after proof-reading this I realize it sounds very arrogant, keep in mind I would trade all this for a 925 job and a practical vocation like welding or farming or something as my humor comes off as dry to many people) Ill give some background on me (game design related anyways). I know how people (including myself) dread the kids that come in and start the "I HAVE A REALLY COOL IDEA FOR A GAME AND IM GOING TO NEED AN ARTIST A MUSICIAN A CODER..." threads. I assure you this is in no way one of those threads, I am merely looking to be pointed in the right direction. I also ask that no one please respond with the "GAME DESIGN IS A SERIOUS UNDERTAKING AND TAKES YEARS TO LEARN..." replies. I get those all the time with other software I use, and I am well aware of the skills and time it takes to learn them, I also have the time, intelligence, and patience to teach myself new artistic skills (I tend to learn them quick). I can assure everyone that as far as my projects go with this program you wont see many, if any posts from me along the lines of "NEW RADICAL PROJECT NEEDS ARTIST, MUSICIAN, CODER, GUY TO MAKE DONUTS, GUY TO DELIVER DONUTS, AND GUY TO PUT DONUTS IN MY MOUTH..." as I tend to be self sufficient, and I own several different studios for such purposes anyways.. I have been composing music since I was 4 (18 years now) I play over 20 instruments, and can naturally learn a new one in moments. I play in a couple of bands. I am a state certified graphic designer, and have been working with 3D for the last couple years and have started making great strides of personal growth in the field. When I wasnt playing music or drawing as a kid I was always reading, which eventually lead to me developing very strong creative writing skills (Also having a background in Theology, Mythology, Philosophy and etc helps). In the last few years I have been working in the film industry and have started a film company where I labor endlessly without pay (: as an actor, writer, director, and producer. I am very skilled in many artistic pursuits but have no practical skills (my biggest downfall). I have a understanding of BASIC and Flash Actionscript, nothing fancy yet. Other artistic skills I possess include Blacksmithing, Chainmailing, Wood working, Interior Design, Fashion Design, Sculpting, Painting, Movie Effects and Prop design, Puppeteering, Special FX makeup and many more. I dont claim to be an expert in all these fields but I am good enough to make a living with them, I dont believe the human being is limited in any degree, the only boundries are the ones we make. I have been looking for WYSIWYG sdk (Game design from an artists view lol) for awhile now (since my programing skills are wanting) and I believe sandbox might be what I have been searching for.

Post by **arcones** » March 13th, 2011, 2:14 pm

I have to say, since I read everything in that post, I probably should respond

I'm going to give the simplest answer possible for each question (as each can go really in-depth (most likely a yes or no answer)).
1. Yes
2. Yes (for the RTS no)
3. Yes
4. Yes
5. You can have the maps linked in order for the player to go to a new level.
6. Depends on the art assets used (Sandbox' or your own (also depending on the license Sandbox is under (I checked recently and it was gpl (that's General Public License))))
7. Cubescript for scripting
8. Yes
9. Yes
10. Yes, just a little creativity would need to be used.

thorne wrote:Oh and since this is my first post, (after proof-reading this I realize it sounds very arrogant, keep in mind I would trade all this for a 925 job and a practical vocation like welding or farming or something as my humor comes off as dry to many people) Ill give some background on me (game design related anyways). I know how people (including myself) dread the kids that come in and start the "I HAVE A REALLY COOL IDEA FOR A GAME AND IM GOING TO NEED AN ARTIST A MUSICIAN A CODER..." threads. I assure you this is in no way one of those threads, I am merely looking to be pointed in the right direction. I also ask that no one please respond with the "GAME DESIGN IS A SERIOUS UNDERTAKING AND TAKES YEARS TO LEARN..." replies. I get those all the time with other software I use, and I am well aware of the skills and time it takes to learn them, I also have the time, intelligence, and patience to teach myself new artistic skills (I tend to learn them quick). I can assure everyone that as far as my projects go with this program you wont see many, if any posts from me along the lines of "NEW RADICAL PROJECT NEEDS ARTIST, MUSICIAN, CODER, GUY TO MAKE DONUTS, GUY TO DELIVER DONUTS, AND GUY TO PUT DONUTS IN MY MOUTH..." as I tend to be self sufficient, and I own several different studios for such purposes anyways.. I have been composing music since I was 4 (18 years now) I play over 20 instruments, and can naturally learn a new one in moments. I play in a couple of bands. I am a state certified graphic designer, and have been working with 3D for the last couple years and have started making great strides of personal growth in the field. When I wasnt playing music or drawing as a kid I was always reading, which eventually lead to me developing very strong creative writing skills (Also having a background in Theology, Mythology, Philosophy and etc helps). In the last few years I have been working in the film industry and have started a film company where I labor endlessly without pay (: as an actor, writer, director, and producer. I am very skilled in many artistic pursuits but have no practical skills (my biggest downfall). I have a understanding of BASIC and Flash Actionscript, nothing fancy yet. Other artistic skills I possess include Blacksmithing, Chainmailing, Wood working, Interior Design, Fashion Design, Sculpting, Painting, Movie Effects and Prop design, Puppeteering, Special FX makeup and many more. I dont claim to be an expert in all these fields but I am good enough to make a living with them, I dont believe the human being is limited in any degree, the only boundries are the ones we make. I have been looking for WYSIWYG sdk (Game design from an artists view lol) for awhile now (since my programing skills are wanting) and I believe sandbox might be what I have been searching for.

Honestly, I think this should be a post-script

Arcones
Support Team

Post by **Hirato** » March 13th, 2011, 5:41 pm

thorneakavar wrote:1. Can the menus be customized (I.E. The green menu is kind of tacky for the project I have in mind)

If you had a look in the Options menu for about 10 seconds, you would've answered your own question

thorneakavar wrote:2. As far as game design with the current version of sandbox am I able to program in custom features (I.E. If I wanted to make a fishing game could I, or if I intended to make a RTS)

Entirely possible, but both would probably require you to delve into the C++ code. to achieve your ends.

thorneakavar wrote:3. Is it possible to make a stand alone game.
6. If I create a full game am I free to make profit from the sell of the game.

Yes, provided you adhere to the respective licenses of sandbox and the included content.
contrary to what arcones said, the actual license or sandbox is zlib/libpng

thorneakavar wrote:5. Are you limited to one map in your game or is there some way of a allowing a player to go to a new level or zone when they are finished with the first (I am hoping to have some method of allowing multiple zones in my project.)

Of course, but keep in mind that the RPG is currently the only module truly programed for a multiple-map setup.
The SSP does state transfer, but all the other modules don't keep anything between maps.

thorneakavar wrote:7. What programming language should I know to work with sandbox (I am aware you dont need to program to create maps, but I am referencing adding new features)

Cubescript is required to more or less do things in sandbox.
C++ is the language sandbox is written in, we only use a subset of C++ so it shouldn't be too difficult to read.

thorneakavar wrote:8. Am I able to set one track for a zone, the music included with sandbox is relaxing but in my project it does not fit.

assuming 3 and 6 are related, you'll need to replace the music anyway as they prohibit commercial use.
related paths are packages/music and data/music.cfg
Typically you'd place per map music tracks into the map's cfg

thorneakavar wrote:10. I am assuming yes, but I am going to ask anyways. Is it possible to have random events happen (such as a 1 in 100,000 chance of a car coming by or a genie appearing) and also is it possible to do time based events for a map (such as an ingame clock and calander system that would display certain maps at certain times i.e. can I have a winter map, spring map, summer, a map for holidays.)

Technically possible, but this is probably more effort than it's worth.
You'll definitely have to be creative to accomplish this.

Post by **arcones** » March 13th, 2011, 7:21 pm

Hirato wrote:Yes, provided you adhere to the respective licenses of sandbox and the included content.
contrary to what arcones said, the actual license or sandbox is zlib/libpng

Well, it wouldn't be the first time I missed something, although I could've sworn I saw gpl. I guess that's what happens when browsing ModDB's engine list really fast

thorneakavar · Post by **thorneakavar** » March 15th, 2011, 6:32 am

Thanks for the reply, Im used to a ton of different software so yes and no was basically all I was looking for. I like that I got a lot of yes responses, means I will probably be calling a few offices and assigning out tasks for a project (As well as doing a lot of work myself). I think I might have installed my program wrong, it runs "Since this is your first time using sandbox." each time I click the batch to start it. So getting more technical the way Im understanding this program to work (at risk of over simplifying it) is along the following.

Theres a main folder (Sandbox)

The folder is divided into sections containing Art, Models, Code, Music, ETC

Theres some kind of compiler that calls all these assets as they are needed and looks in the specific folders for them.

So everything thats in my game (obviously) needs to be in the proper folders. The engine (sandbox) draws what is needed in a level.

So if I am correct, to simply code a new feature I need to write some cubescript and drop it in the proper folder and have sandbox call it?

In response to question 5.

Then correct me if I am wrong, it would be possible to set up a map (in the case of zoning, where a player will return to a location such as the interior of a castle, and the outside being a seperate map) so that when the player steps at the percieved edge of the map it would load another map, and then its a matter of placing teleports on the new map linking to the old map?

My crude example of this would be

MAP1:

0-------------------X2

MAP2

X1-------------------0

if player steps on x2 it ports him to the specified location in Map2 and if he is on map 2 and steps on x1 it would port him to a location on map 1?

by state transfer do you mean health and mana and etc? By Modules keeping things between maps does that refer to say Having item X in inventory.

Codings not really my forte *(yet) so a lot of the terms are foreign to me though I understand most of them.

Please clarify "This Should Be A Post-Script" I dont understand the context

My thoughts on 10 is if there is some way of tracking Varibles then I shouldnt have a problem. I havent had a chance to look at Cubescript and jump in, but my understanding is all programing languages have some form of Variables, Functions, and If Then/ If/Else statements. If it works like another engine I have used then I should be able to make a code that generates a random set of numbers (lets say between 1-100) and saves that number to a variable (lets call it Dog Barks!) so lets say that every 15 minutes the first code generates a random # 1-100 then I should be able to write some sort of IF THEN that says IF Dog Bark!= 25 THEN run BARKING DOG which would make the dog bark.

Sorry if I ramble, the more I discuss and think about this program, the more excited I get, I started out just wanting to make a hobby game for a few friends to play, but now I am really tempted to make a game that really pushes sandbox to its full potential

thorneakavar · Post by **thorneakavar** » March 15th, 2011, 6:32 am

Duplicate Post

thorneakavar · Post by **thorneakavar** » March 15th, 2011, 6:32 am

Duplicate post

thorneakavar · Post by **thorneakavar** » March 15th, 2011, 6:38 am

Oh and forgot, to add on 10 that perhaps there is a way of making a timer variable that would increase in certain increments (lets say +1 every 24hrs) so that then when a player steps on a teleportal to go to map two instead of having a set map on the portal code it would be something along the lines of IF Date = 1-30 THEN Load map CastleSummer IF DATE = 31-60 THEN Load map CastleAutumn. I know that this is alot of pseudo code but thats the best way I can think to describe it without more knowledge of coding.

Runescapedj · Post by **Runescapedj** » March 15th, 2011, 1:48 pm

I can't code, so I don't know if that's possible, but it's possible to create keys/triggers that open doors, and behind those doors, you can make your teleporters, or when you've collected let's say 30+ fish, a door will open, so that you can teleport through the teleporter behind that door

thorneakavar · Post by **thorneakavar** » March 15th, 2011, 6:56 pm

If thats the case then theoretically I can do what I am thinking. It would be as simple as having a map and then placing portals where I needed them and then ones leading back on the new maps. I have decided before jumping into a major project I am going to build several smaller projects with features I want in the bigger one and then start combining them.

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