No Mutants Allowed

[mvBarracuda]

Hey guys

Just wanted to inform the community that I'm working on a document that will be called "Fallout II versus IanOut - clash of the engines" and will describe the differences between FOII and IanOut.

My intention is to bundle all the useful information about IanOut into one document so modders can easily decide if it's worth working with ianout or not. I'll update the thread at least one time per week and add missing stuff / change information that is wrong / outdated.

Here is my first concept; {"Plz" bitch-slap me.} post your ideas which things are missing, or which aspects aren't worth talking about, so I should stick to more important aspects of the engine. The main focus will be on ianOut but there will always be some small information how FOII handles these things. This guide won't be possible without the genious modguide by dude_obj were I got the major information about FOII from. Thx dude_obj

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First concept (just an english summary; my german concept paper has a shitload of information, but I was to lazy to translate all the stuff)
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Version numbering with last edit date

Short introduction -> talk about the purpose of the document; relations to the ianout bible; persuade people to use this thread for feature input
-> inform modteams about ianout and persuade them that ianout is worth working with

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Aspects that exist in FOII, too; how it's handled in IanOut
-> Origin, history of the engines
-> Fallout II history [some words about BIS]
-> IanOut history [link THREAD from NMA]

-> Used software
-> FOII as an updated FOI engine
-> talk about restrictions and problems
-> binary based _> speed advantages, modding disadvantages
-> IanOut Engine as an open source project; short introduction to the ideas of OSS
-> Link the OSS license; talk about contribution
-> coded in C++; luabind; zlib; boost libary; sdl _> short introduction to SDL _> cross platform etc.
-> .txt-like files _> speed disadvantages, modding advantages

-> Cross platform abilities
-> FOII only works under Win32
-> IO B4 only works under Win32, too; B5 hopefully got llinux support
-> cross platform support as long period aim, but it depends on the the devs

-> Ruleset
-> FOII calculations aren't fully known to the ianout dev team _> please help us finding the calculations / rules
-> talk about the SPECIAL system _> problems because in FOII it's hardcoded
-> IO tries to use this system
-> IO's SPECIAL system isn't hardcoded_> FOIII possible, because we can introduce new perks, stats, etc.

-> Graphics
-> FOII @ 640x480
-> FOII image formats, converters _> frm 1 format (8bit)
-> IO can use all FOII graphics _> frm 1 support
-> IO @ up to 1024 _> frm 2 format (16bit)
-> IO blending effects _> but performance drop is caused
-> IO doesn't lhave these „grainy“ look like FOII

-> Sound formats
-> FOII with acm support
-> IO with OGG und WAV support (.wav doesn't work because of a bug with the bundled sdl version!)

-> Archives and filesystem
-> FOI & FOII .dat architectur
-> IO .dat support _> direct reading from the FOII .dat's
-> IO with additional .gz archive support via zlib

-> Movie formats
-> FOII with .mve support
-> Talking heads in FOII _> describe the system
-> IO currently without movie support; not a top priority;
-> XviD / OGG / .mkv would be a good solution IMHO
-> Talking Heads ATM not possible _> ask the community about ideas how to realize it

-> Performance
-> FOII with its engine restrictions very fast
-> binary access
-> 8bit Palette
-> no additional effects
-> IO in comparision very slow ATM
-> .txt-like access
-> luabind
-> blended roofs & objects aren't hardware accelerated which makes them real performance killers

-> Scriting and modding abilities
-> FOII scripting language _> How to use, possibilites, restrictions
-> IO uses lua _> "everything" is changeable; even the game / editor interface
-> IanEd b5 as an IO-mod -> show the potential
-> IO sample code and how to understand it

-> Restrictions of the engines
-> FOII name conventions of the animation files _> DOS 8.3 system
-> FOII sound conventions _> link thread dude_obj
-> IanOut no real restrictions cause still under development

-> Mapper and their functions
-> Official FOII mapper _> by Interplay
-> mapper by Dims _> for FOI & FOII maps
-> IanED _> map formats aren't standarized ATM; PipMapper introduction
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Aspects that FOII didn't support; mindmapping for later IanOut versions; talk about the priority of the features

-> OpenGL acceleration
-> Multiplayer ideas
-> Interface changes
-> Scriptdriven, not hardcoded, SPECIAL system
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