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Newcomers DBPro Corner / putting memblocks into context

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adr
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Posted: 22nd Jul 2003 18:05 Edited at: 22nd Jul 2003 18:05
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As Jeff Bridges said in The Vanishing, "Let me tell you a little story..."

During a bit of coursework at university, we needed to simulate a HardDisk Controller using C and if I remember correctly, the actual writing of the data was done using a pointer to a struct.

Now, I know I can do that in darkbasic very easily with memblocks - perhaps more easily because I can 'design' each memblock quite specifically, and then write it out. Similar idea with network play - craft each memblock lovingly, send it on it's way and pull it apart at the other end.

My question (at last) is what else are memblocks good for? I've seen people use them for all sorts of shit, but I really don't get how they can improve existing, simple methods of doing stuff.

Cheers,

Bender:Blackmail’s such an ugly word. I prefer extortion. The x makes it sound cool.
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IanM
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Posted: 22nd Jul 2003 20:56
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How about creating or modifying meshes/images/sounds on the fly?

Also, they can be used to send complex data between apps when using the multiplayer commands.
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adr
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Posted: 23rd Jul 2003 12:22
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It's the modifying meshes bit that I'm interested in. However, surely the model data in the memblock would be pretty useless as it stands? How do you know which part of the memblock to edit to get the desired effect?

Bender:Blackmail’s such an ugly word. I prefer extortion. The x makes it sound cool.
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IanM
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Posted: 23rd Jul 2003 20:24
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Ah! You could write a book on that

With the Flexible Vertex Format that DBPro and DirectX use, things can get quite complex.

Probably the best place to start with learning how to deal with memblock meshes is to have a look at Kevils matrix replacement code in the Code snippets. I also have the usual 'wavy flag' type demo that I wrote back in the beginning of April that you can look at if you want (just email me and I'll forward it all to you).

Once you got the hang of that you can move on to learning about dealing with the full flexible format.
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kevil
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Posted: 24th Jul 2003 01:46
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My memblock matrix code might be a bit confusing. This code might help though. It simply creates one triangle, but it is easy to understand. You can figure out yourself how to make an entire model with this. You could also check out my destructable terrain to see what's possible with memblocks.

Kevil

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adr
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Posted: 24th Jul 2003 18:23
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This sounds interesting - I imagine it's a very powerful tool once you know what you're doing. I've only been using DBP for a month or there abouts, so I think I'll continue learning by making games. Bit of a "cross that bridge when we come to it" situation....

Thanks for your replies.

IanM > you'll probably only get that email in a coupla of months

Bender:Blackmail’s such an ugly word. I prefer extortion. The x makes it sound cool.
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IanM
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Posted: 24th Jul 2003 22:34
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By then the way we do this stuff will be out of date
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