Im looking at making a new project, for after exams so im gonna decide early what to do then find the resources and then do it in the summertime, so im looking for suggestions as to what i could create! Im thinking either something PHP Related and web based (like a Text Based Game or something) OR, and this is more my idea some kind of openGL (using C++) program/game. If i were to use Opengl, i wouldnt be looking to make a game, just something great, like a sun simulator, or a star trek style battle creator is a good one ithought of (which simply creates 2 really cool looking ships and slaps them into a pre-defined scenario, saves you hacving to re-watch star trek episodes which have the fight scenes in them just for them scenes). Another possiblity was a physics simulator. Im sure there are lots of them around, but none which offer lots of customisability, and show the true nature of physics (like you can set parameters, then maybe engineer something and the program will simulate it to theoretical rules!). So im looking for some really good ideas! nothing too small, but at the same time, nothing too big Thanks Bogo
I love the idea of a physics simulator. I've tried to make basic physics things such as balls bouncing around the screen and you've probably seen my Orbit Simulation program. Once I was going to make a simulation of a cube bouncing down some steps. I just managed to figure out how to rotate a cube but the collision stuff was impossible. I couldn't get my head round all that trig! Other ideas like maybe a photo organiser that uploads your images, sizes them makes thumbnails etc. You could make it completely webbase or have client software to go with it.
whats a flozoid ? dex, yeah the physics simulator would be a tough one, but it would also go in with my course next year, astrophysics, so its nearer the top of the list! I though what I could do is create a mini civilisation. My idea is to create a world in a computer, and put people on it, but give them all the abilities of humans, including to think and to learn (to an extent), and then leave it to see what it does The only downside is the huge amount of codingwhich would have to be done. Id need allsorts of functions, like one to make their heart beat, one to make them breathe, one to make their digestive system work etc! i justwondered if theywould work stuff out and get cleverer, then, as there computer programs, once they get really clever like us, they would make scientific breakthroughs that i could copy and get lots and lots of nobel prizes for it Just a thought
If you want something physics based that will let you practise some OpenGL, how about a lava lamp simulator. You could start with a simple simulation, just spheres heating-rising & cooling-falling and concentrate on the graphics. Then add more and more accurate physics. Or start with a 1D model, just a vertical line with points at the bottom which rise, fall, join etc, then move up to 2D, coloured regions in the plane then go for the full 3D simulation. If you manage to simulate full thermodynamics and viscous fluid flow you would have a very powerful simulator that could be tweaked to model all sorts of astrophysics! Another idea is an optics simulator. Not a full-blown ray tracer but a simple lens model. Have it so you can import an image and move a lens over the image so you can observe the distortion. You could have user defined lenses (different curves, refractive index, prisms, etc). Optics will be part an astrophysics course at uni. These are the sorts of projects you could start now and continue as you learn more maths & physics. Max
hmmmmm, interesting. Not bad ideas atall. I cant visualise me making a lava lamp tbh, itd be just too... stationary but your idea of thermodynamics type physics programs is nice. I could build some sort of building with lots of corners and stuff then put smoke in the and see what happens (not fantastic smoke, i think itll take a bit longer than 3 months to get a descent smoke engine working ), or maybe just lines of heat, or particles of heat or something, thatd be quite a nice idea If i did that I could also experiment with collision detection techniques which could be fun Im not such a fan of the optical one, i want something a little more exciting then movign a magnifying glass over a picture i need something to really wow people visually and what it does. a magnifying glass over apicture may well be technically difficult, but my friends wont appreciate that Thanks MaxWiz! - Back to some of my own ideas, what do any of you think about me doing a demo sort of thing, but with realistic physics and random variables so its a differant demo every time ? Im always up for creating differant stuff Or a demo creater. you tell it the scenes to do and it does them! Bogo edit: oh, and i have just decided (due to an insanely tedious half hour of searching for one) to create a midi file viewer! I need the sax solo for rocky horror !!!!!!! but istill need ideas for the summer
flozoids are a way of modeling group behavouir, google can find millions of these for you. a java example http://www.anfyteam.com/anj/flozoids/flozoids.html
wow, thats pretty cool. I dont like the idea of having people move their mouse around and having the things follow, but i do think they could be applied to somne pretty cool weapon effects, like streaming them... Big space gun glows and make charging sound Big spacwe gun fires lots of these "flozoids" out of it Flozoids blow up stuff Good idea Thanks!
You can get a midi program called Anvil Studio. I haven't used it for ages but it's not bad. It'll certainly do what you need. I actually had that lava lamp simulation idea too after reading this thread. I found some guy's final year project on it. There was an animated gif of their simulation but it didn't look that good to be honest - that may not have been the final version of the simulation though. I couldn't test the simulation since I don't have a c++ compiler to test the source code that was given. About that life simulation, you could make a more simple version of something like that. I know a guy on my comp sci course in Cardiff made a population simulation with rabbits and foxes I belive. It would model how rabbits reproduce, consume food, die of starvation if there's no food left, be eaten by foxes etc. I think he even managed to introduce mutation in there somehow.
He he build a cerebral cortex subroutine ? or was it taken for granted that they breathe and stuff like that? edit: oh and dex, i think i will make my midi program anyway, it seems like a good project to get me into c++ GUI programming Thanks for that program name, im getting it right now
