IMGD-3000 Project 1

	Interactive Media & Game Development Worcester Polytechnic Institute	IMGD

IMGD-3000: Technical Game Development I
Project 1
Due: Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 11:59pm

Objective: THIS PROJECT SHOULD BE DONE INDIVIDUALLY!
In this project, you will start to learn the basics of the C4 engine using tutorials, and then extend one of them with your own work.
There are two parts to this project: a "Preparation" part, and a "New Stuff" part.

Preparation: The aim of this preparation part is to set up your environment for running the tutorials using "The Beginner's Guide to the C4 Engine." (a.k.a. The Guide)
Download the zip files for Version 2.12 of the C4 Engine from the WPI SourceForge project for the C4 Engine, copy it to the directory where you will be doing your work, and unzip it. There will be a whole source tree, with accompanying project files for building using Visual Studio or Xcode.
Download the zip file for The Guide from the WPI SourceForge project for the C4 Engine, copy it to a folder where you will be working (different from the C4 folder), and unzip it. There will be a PDF file, as well as some other resources.
Read Chapters 1-3 in The Guide for building C4, and take it for a spin!
NOTE: The Guide is written for an earlier version of C4 (1.04.10), so the text is outdated for this part. You'll have to be creative in adapting the instructions.
Go to the C4 Forums and create an account for yourself. They know you are coming, so please consult that resource first when you have questions about how to do something. Once you have an account, place "WPI Student" as your "Profession." Alternatively, you can use a wpi.edu email address as your contact address when you register.
Then, request membership to the licensed forums through the user control panel, and you will be approved by the administrators.

New Stuff:

Go through Chapter 4 "Creating a Simple World" in The Guide.

Add 10% to your results, and save them as "YourName_1.wld".

Attacking
the Problem: Your goal here should be to gain a good intro to the C4 Engine. Don't concentrate on whether you have added 10% -- use this project to learn as much as you can from the tutorials and the book. It's very hard (though not impossible) to do less than 10% if you just spend some time experimenting.
A great place for more info on C4 is on the C4 wiki. There are lots of tutorials there, and learning by doing will serve you well. Start with something small, like the "Hello World" tutorial, and work up from there.
Next, read through the C4 Forums on the things that you are stuck on. They know you are coming, so please post to the "Beginners" forum with your questions! Of course, read through older posts before submitting.

Documentation: Create a short README outlining your 10% (or more!) extensions to the Chapter 4 tutorial.

Submission: All documents are to be submitted electronically via turnin by 11:59 pm on the day the assignment is due.

When you are ready to submit, zip up your .wld file and your README into a single archive file.
Name the file LastnameFirstname_proj1.zip.
You will use the new Web-based "Turnin" facility to submit your work. Information about submitting can be found here:
http://web.cs.wpi.edu/~kfisler/turnin.html.
Your WPI user ID should be used to login, and you should have been emailed a password.
The Turnin assignment ID is proj1.

Academic
Honesty: Remember the policy on Academic Honesty: You may discuss the project with others, but you are to do your own work. The official WPI statement for Academic Honesty can be accessed HERE.

Objective:	THIS PROJECT SHOULD BE DONE INDIVIDUALLY! In this project, you will start to learn the basics of the C4 engine using tutorials, and then extend one of them with your own work. There are two parts to this project: a "Preparation" part, and a "New Stuff" part.

Preparation:	The aim of this preparation part is to set up your environment for running the tutorials using "The Beginner's Guide to the C4 Engine." (a.k.a. The Guide) Download the zip files for Version 2.12 of the C4 Engine from the WPI SourceForge project for the C4 Engine, copy it to the directory where you will be doing your work, and unzip it. There will be a whole source tree, with accompanying project files for building using Visual Studio or Xcode. Download the zip file for The Guide from the WPI SourceForge project for the C4 Engine, copy it to a folder where you will be working (different from the C4 folder), and unzip it. There will be a PDF file, as well as some other resources. Read Chapters 1-3 in The Guide for building C4, and take it for a spin! NOTE: The Guide is written for an earlier version of C4 (1.04.10), so the text is outdated for this part. You'll have to be creative in adapting the instructions. Go to the C4 Forums and create an account for yourself. They know you are coming, so please consult that resource first when you have questions about how to do something. Once you have an account, place "WPI Student" as your "Profession." Alternatively, you can use a wpi.edu email address as your contact address when you register. Then, request membership to the licensed forums through the user control panel, and you will be approved by the administrators.

New Stuff:	Go through Chapter 4 "Creating a Simple World" in The Guide. Add 10% to your results, and save them as "YourName_1.wld".

Attacking the Problem:	Your goal here should be to gain a good intro to the C4 Engine. Don't concentrate on whether you have added 10% -- use this project to learn as much as you can from the tutorials and the book. It's very hard (though not impossible) to do less than 10% if you just spend some time experimenting. A great place for more info on C4 is on the C4 wiki. There are lots of tutorials there, and learning by doing will serve you well. Start with something small, like the "Hello World" tutorial, and work up from there. Next, read through the C4 Forums on the things that you are stuck on. They know you are coming, so please post to the "Beginners" forum with your questions! Of course, read through older posts before submitting.

Documentation:	Create a short README outlining your 10% (or more!) extensions to the Chapter 4 tutorial.

Submission:	All documents are to be submitted electronically via turnin by 11:59 pm on the day the assignment is due. When you are ready to submit, zip up your .wld file and your README into a single archive file. Name the file *LastnameFirstname_proj1.zip. You will use the new Web-based "Turnin" facility to submit your work. Information about submitting can be found here: http://web.cs.wpi.edu/~kfisler/turnin.html. Your WPI user ID should be used to login, and you should have been emailed a password. The Turnin assignment ID is proj1*.

Academic Honesty:	Remember the policy on Academic Honesty: You may discuss the project with others, but you are to do your own work. The official WPI statement for Academic Honesty can be accessed HERE.

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