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Hate to break the news to everyone, but Project Monster is no longer existent. I did make progress on it and the other three guys did a good job, but the game failed anyway. I'm just going to come out and say it: Jon, METH, and Jr did a fine piece of work on the game. I was the one who messed it up by never working on it. We couldn't even find a decent physics engine, so I'm sorry I got your hopes up for nothing.

For those who want to follow through the topic anyway, here's the original post...

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Someone recommended that I create a new thread for this game because the old one is already 9 pages long. Anyway, here's the scoop.

Project Monster is my new freeware monster truck game project. Sort of along the lines of Jpez1932's Monster Freestyle Racing, this game takes mtm2's features (AND mtm1's features) and modernizes them into high-detail and high-action monster truck game.

The main reason I started the project was because mtm1 is the only true m/t drag game, yet its detail is lousy - cars don't crush, AI trucks drive through walls, and everything's pixelated at 640x480 rez.

Now that I have the introduction out of the way, let me just show you my current progress.

I'd show you pictures of the sort-of-truck I have now, but my ASPFreeServer account was deleted for some reason. So I'll just give ImageShack some business to show you this picture of a shock absorber.



To the right of the shock are the two shock rams, which are two metal poles that slide in and out of monster truck shocks. A better way to describe them would be to play mtm2 and look at the shocks of any truck. The rams are the two things that pull in and out with the movement of the axle.

I've noticed a few for-realism's-sake things that I should point out.
-Mtm2 gives us the impression that the suspention of a monster truck is extremely versatile. It might be complex, but the axles do not rotate (they would break), individual tires don't move up or down without affecting the other one, and the suspension does NOT soak up every last bounce the truck might get.
-Monster trucks do not have lights, with Monster Patrol and the older ones being the exception.
-Monster trucks do not race off road, like mtm2 suggests. I'll provide a few offroad tracks, but drags are my priority.
-The cab of a monster truck does not cave in.
-The body of a truck can be easily ripped off in a crash.

There are plenty more details, but I don't want to bore you to death. Stay tuned for more news.[/i]

Bore us to death it was just getting good

Oh, hey, cool!

The track editor is another thing I hope to include with the release. It will support the creation and editing of tracks AND trucks, with a What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get sort of style. It uses the same graphics engine as the game, so if a set of objects doesn't look good in the editor, it doesn't look good in the game either, so you can be sure to fix it.

Basically, the modes that I want to include in Version 1 are simple:
-Drag: Two trucks line up in an arena and jump over mounds, cars, etc. in their trek to get to the finish line before the other guy.
-Circuit: In any scenario, at any time of day, a circuit race consists of a few short laps around a specified area.
-Freestyle: People have a lot of different ideas about what freestyle should be. If anyone wants this changed, feel free to tell me - Each competitor goes out into an arena and does stunts, crazy car crushes, and rollovers, and basically just tries to attract the crowd, which usually succeeds.

Here's the next picture - a pretty much complete frame with axles, tires, shocks, and axle bars.

Not boring at all Matt. Keep the details coming, no matter how technical.

I used to love the drags part of MTM1. I was surprised that MTM2 didn't have that when they released it.

This is getting exciting.

Is there anyway we can have like AI that we can watch fs and race?

Couple suggestions:

The frame links look a bit thin. Anyway you could beef those up a bit?

Also, the rear shock is mounted too low.

This may be putting the cart in front of the horse, but are to things I figured I'd point out.

I knew something was amiss with my frame, but I just couldn't put my finger on what it was lol. Anyway I tried the model up to a 1:25 scale Bigfoot model and found that the frame is the same diameter. Perhaps the picture doesn't show it. Also, thanks for the tip about the rear shocks. Here's a pic of how the truck looks now (without the glow lol):



Here's the track format so far. Anything marked {comment} is ignored by the game engine.

{comment}The PMT format is used for both tracks and trucks; the first line that is read specifies which is which. Track Name specifies the track name that appears in the race selection list. Track Author is the name of the person who made the track. The Track Logo is a small icon that stands for the track, like Flatout's icons. Track Full-Screen Preview is like the Track Logo except 1024x768 size. It is displayed in the background of the track selection screen, and in the foreground if the Preview button is selected.
{comment}The race type can be 0 (drag), 1 (circuit), or 2 (rumble). So far, these are the only race types available. Skill Level ranges from 0 (Newbie) to 2 (Pro). This determines the difficulty level of the AI opponents.
{trackinfo}
Track Name
Mat's Drag Test
Track Author
Mat-Allum
Track Logo
mdtestsmall.bmp
Track Full-Screen Preview
mdtest.bmp
Race Type
0
Skill Level
2
Blurb
A simple test track for Project Monster. It is a demo only, and may not actually work in the game.
{objects}
{comment}Objects consist of any models that may be used in the game. Examples of objects include fences, telephone poles, bridge parts, houses - and trucks! All objects are treated as standard physical entities, so two objects cannot somehow get inside of each other unless one is passable. This example makes a truck axle float 72 units in the air with a white glow.
Object Model
axle3.mdl
Position (X)
50
Position (Y)
25
Position (Z)
72
Rotation (Pan)
45
Rotation (Tilt)
0
Rotation (Roll)
0
Passable
0
Invisible
0
Alpha
100
Transparent
0
Elasticity
0.3
Weight
25
Scale
1
Ambient Glow
1
Glow Map
glowwhite.tga
Dynamic Lighting
1
Light Range
500
Durability
25
{checkpoints}
{comment}Although checkpoints are, technically, objects, they are classified as something else for ease of track making. Putting it along with the objects mixes both together and makes it hard to remember where that checkpoint is listed so you can change its object model, or whatever.
[1]
Object Model
checkbox1.mdl
Position (X)
25
Position (Y)
50
Position (Z)
32
Rotation (Pan)
45
Rotation (Tilt)
0
Rotation (Roll)
0
{groups}
{comment}Groups are actually MDL skeletons that hold individual objects. This does not use bones animation; basically, it is just a bunch of cylinders that hold information about the position of every object in the group. Groups can be broken apart by force, and like all objects, objects in groups can be literally crushed. All model information is held inside the PMG (Project Monster Group) file.
Group
oldcar1.pmg
Position (X)
72
Position (Y)
72
Position (Z)
0
Rotation (Pan)
45
Rotation (Tilt)
0
Rotation (Roll)
0
{terrain}
{comment}The terrain matrix is actually stored in a separate file. PMM stands for "Project Monster Matrix." There is currently no way to paint onto the terrain.
Matrix
matsdragtest.pmm
Scale
0.25
{trucks}
{comment}Truck start points are like those in any game. All that is provided is the number, the position, and the rotation. If only one point is specified, the player goes in that spot and no other trucks will compete.
[1]
Position (X)
86
Position (Y)
52
Position (Z)
65
Rotation (Pan)
45
Rotation (Tilt)
0
Rotation (Roll)
0
{courses}
{comment}Course navigation points are used to control trucks and moving objects. There can be up to 10 courses, and each truck may be assigned a different one, with two courses to spare for other objects.
[1]
Position (X)
0
Position (Y)
0
Position (Z)
0
Speed limit
0
{positions}
{comment}Positions are like start points except that the game controls their actual use. Drag tracks use these positions sort of as start points. Race tracks don't use positions at all. Rumbles use positions to mark the X, Y, and Z limits of the summit.
[1]
Position (X)
0
Position (Y)
0
Position (Z)
0

I just wanna suggest, don't forget rumbles, rumbles are important. It's what set MTM2 apart from other racing games and it i believe has to do partially why MTM2 is so much better than EVO

You bet

I was also thinking about making rumble AI that avoids being hit and tries to hit others off the summit, just like the player would. It should be pretty realistic.

Oh good, you had me scared when you said you were focusing on Drags and were going to have circuits, and said offroad monstertrucks as unrealistic.


I had an idea, it came to me watching old bigfoot movies, a few of them show bigfoot trying to get through mud pits, mud running, or w/e its called, be cool if that could somehow be gamed. but simply holding the gas down to get through would be boring, so maybe it could be a challnge sort of thing, kind of unrealistic, but a bit more game oriented such as you need to slide thru trying to not get stuck.

Like something:

You need to avoid obstacles but when you turn you slow down and if you go to slow you get stuck, but you also dont turn very well and get bogged down, really deep mud spots that could be represented by like darker mud that really slow you down and get you stuck. its game over if you get stuck. Hitting an obstacle would put you to a dead stop and get you stuck.

I think that could be fun, you could have mud throwing effects that can gather on other peoples windshields and blind them, etc.

that may be asking for a whole lot, Slayer...that's a LOT of detail to be thrown in.



I'm sure you'd agree...we're better off letting Mat do his thing and get some stuff done, and when the main stuff is done, he could work on the other things, like mud racing, or rumbles.

What I'd like to do is get one truck drivable (steering, acceleration, gears, engine sound, physics, rolling over) and have it on a sort of interactive environment, then release it. It'll show you what the engine (GAME engine not TRUCK engine lol) is capable of and then you can do the real deciding about what you want in the game.

sounds like a swell idea my friend

Another mainly important feature is the garage and the UI. Here's what the truck frame looks like in mtm2's old garage.



I am actually going to re-build that garage into a more realistic (and more efficient) version.

yea the garage looks really ummm unrealistic compared to that sharp looking truck

everything looks great!

Okay, I did a little work on the NEW garage (minus things like texture details), so here's a video of the truck in the garage with the camera going around it like in mtm2.

http://media.putfile.com/Project-Monster---Garage-Scene-1

Wow that looks amazing! wheres the little jar drop smiley when ya need it?

I like I like!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW!!! Very nice indeed. I liked the way you made the pit for walking underneath the truck.

yes its good