Hello I have been working on my php browser based game for awhile now but one thing stumped me, that was the map required for my game. It is a sort of radar or whatever you want to call it similar to the one at Urbandead another browser based game. Other than this I am set I just was stuck on this part. If anyone has any info or tutorials at all to make something like this, that would be fantastic!

Also if anyone would like to help with the game beyond this I would be happy to accept some experience php programmers to help get my game up and running. The game design is new and revolutionary(VERY HYPER ADDICTIVE) I figured it to be a very good idea that I don't want stolen so I won't list the details here but if you feel so inclined please contact me at:

jakobpb[at]gmail[dot]com

^^ sorry protection against spam bots. ^^

I would be very thankful to anyone who helps to make my game one of the best php games out there!

P.S. This will be for no profit, no crappy "memberships" That I hate so much to see in these kind of games. I will have donations though, for some currently unknown prize. Although nothing like you get access to this or that. Profits will most likely be low so if your looking for money this is not the place, but if you want some php experience and to help create the best php game ever!!!(okay I might be exaggerating at this point) and to have fun on the way than this is for you.

Say goodbye say goodbye Ogame, tribal wars, torn city and all the other crappy php games here comes "CURRENTLY UNNAMED"!!!

This post has been edited by Orannis: Feb 19 2008, 02:29 AM

For your case, which require interactively updated display, i would recommend a java applet. If you play with online game, i bet you have come across java applet based one, where it will show a java logo while loading, and it appear just like a application by itself. If you prefer simpler solution, you can also use flash. Both of this method require you to write codes to check on the server directly for what to display and so on.

I would always like to lend a hand in anything. But my hands all are tied up. Sometime can't even have time to get enough credit to keep my hosting alive

Thank you for your input, however I am certain there is some way to do it that does not require flash or java, however this may not be so. Are you sure games like urban dead and hells rising are made with these techniques? I am not sure if I am ready to fully commit to another language but it might be necessary.

Thank you for your information and time

~Orannis

Yes, there're actually plenty more of methods to do it. Some are less recommended. Some might even be better for you case depending on the amount of interaction and response time.

Note: I personally haven't tried urban dead or hells rising.

1. Show the map as an image. The image is generated on the fly at the server side. The image is refresh every few second or longer depending on your response time, or refresh linked to events. That way, you're spending the bandwidth to save the CPU utilization of your clients

2. If your map consist of fix objects, you can use javascript coupled with css and layering to create the map, with floating and moving symbols. You use ajax to keep fetch the latest info and update the screen. You still need to refresh the background image(base of your map) from time to time. This will help save quite a bit of bandwidth, but take up some processing on your client side.

The 2nd method is actually more or less like java app or flash, just that you need to re-invent the wheel to save from installing or loading another component.

There are still more method which I might not know of, but exist out there. You can also mix and match different method to better achieve what you want.

Good luck