@brlin888

Hi all,

This is Days 3, 4, 5 of solar system explorer. Over these couple of days, I mainly focused on getting the background stars to work, and started to add clickable buttons where users can click buttons to learn more about the planets. Here is summary of what I accomplished:

What worked: I made the planets interactive and created a system for displaying information about each planet.

Issue: The website needed a way to organize all of the planet information.

How I worked on it: I created a JavaScript object called planetData. Each planet stores its information inside the object. Clicking a planet calls the showPlanet() function.

Next goal: Create a planet index so users can select planets without having to find them in the animation.

Hi all,

My project got rejected again… for using AI assets. After changing the images on canva and ensuring the game still works, hopefully this time my ship will go through. If you guys want to see the new changes made to my project, feel free to check out the github for Name That Nation. Hopefully @Amu or other shipwrights will consider these new changes made as it took me over 2 hrs+ to find images and individually change the assets that were AI generated. So now I am happy to say my project does not use a single AI generated image!

Hi all,

I have made a few changes for my project in order to fulfill the shipping request so hopefully whoever reviews my ship takes this into consideration @Jack_.

Just some further instructions on how to run my code: since I am using java in my project especially libraries that call for java JFrame and JPanel, java must be INSTALLED on the device for whoever is playing the game. In my github releases, I have updated with more clear instructions on how to download java JDK based on your device, then compiling my code. This is the only way, as converting into an executable still won’t run the code as whoever has the code doesn’t have the java libraries specific for my game pre-loaded.

Thank you for reading this and hopefully my ship goes through successfully (I haven’t gotten an update in like 5 days…)!

Hi all,

This is Day 2 on working on solar system explorer. Today I learned more about how to actually use HTML to format this website, I am learning fast. Here is the conclusion of todays session:

What worked:
I created the main structure of the website and added navigation

Issue:
The sections were only text and did not contain the actual educational parts yet

How I worked on it:
I used HTML sections and navigation links. CSS was used to organize the header and page

Next goal:
Create the actual Solar System visual

Hi all,

Starting a new project today which is going to be called Solar System (Explorer)! Since I haven’t made a website using HTML before, today was really simple and just getting the basics going.

What worked:
I created the basic structure of the Solar System Explorer website using HTML.

Issue:
The website initially had no interactive features or solar system graphics.

How I worked on it:
I used HTML to create the page structure and CSS to control the background, text, and spacing.

Next goal:
Create the main website layout and navigation.

Hi all,

I thought my project would be finished but apparently there were some issues with shipping the project. To whoever is reading this or people that judge ships, I have edited my github to have a releases zip file which can be downloaded to test out my game. You may still see the youtube video still attached for my game demo, but you can now try out the game yourself in github by retrieving the required assets. Additionally, I added more clear instructions and descriptions on NameThatNation and its properties. Hopefully you guys go check it out and take into consideration when evaluating my ship!

Hi all,

This will be the last devlog for Name That Nation. I am so excited for you guys to see what I have been able to accomplish throughout the summer.

Since NameThatNation is coded in Java completely, it CANNOT be converted into a website. I have attached a video (took 2 hours to edit) to demonstrate how the game can be played, as well as attached the source code in github. The reason that it cannot be made into a website is that it reads and writes through specific files that is not possible on a website. Additionally, Java JPanel and JFrame is not compatible with websites, meaning that I would have to code the entire game again in another programming language in order for the game to function. Today I placed my finishing touches such as incorporating the achievements panel and added final touches/testings for the entire game. This game took over 20+ hours (not shown through Hackatime) because there was more time spent on individually downloading all 198 country images and organizing files to include all countries but maintain functionality.

I hope this project finds you well and thanks for those that have been following along the journey!!! Hope you guys like my project!!!

NameThatNation!!!

Hi all, for those that have been following along, there has been significant progress throughout the game. I have finally been able to get the gamepanel to work. I added powerups and different features such as lives count, hints, and changing colors on JButtons which utilizes a button listener to detect if the button clicked is correct. Although this may look simple, this project has taken me over several hours to what you see today. Java is an easy language to learn, but to implement it to this level is extremely hard, as image reading, file reading, JButtons, JCheckboxes, etc. are extremely technical and one wrong step will cause the entire program to not function. Tomorrow, I will finish the last panels which are the Achievements panel, and leaderboard panels. After that I will, post a demo of the project (as java is not compatible with online user websites and I am using read/write from files), and do my final commit before I ship my project!!!

Thank you for those that have been following along!

What is up everyone!
If you haven’t checked my last devlog, my main issue is still converting my code to a website or mainly a way for you guys to play the game without downloading the source code. I add some improvements to the game, fixing a JButton error because all of the buttons kept on lighting up when I didn’t click any of them. I also added more countries to the country info panel, so I’m pretty sure I have all 198 countries for now in the game. Next up is still fixing the website issue and adding to the game!

Stay tuned for more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know I haven’t posted a dev log for a long time…
but here is it after 2 months and what I have been working on!!!

After completely the country info and instructions panel, I started to work on the game panel which was definitely one of the hardest panels to complete. This is because working in Java JFrame/JPanel requires a lot of technical code to allow buttons to be clicked and change color when an answer choice is correct. Other than this, I had to download EVERY SINGLE COUNTRY’s image and add it to a folder which took over 2 hours to do (not included in the 6 hours) because I couldn’t find a website that had all of them. Other than that, the project is going extremely smoothly and I am currently working on adding different powerups that can aid the person playing the game.

My only concern is converting this JFrame/JPanel game onto a demo website because the game is currently reading files from on my computer such as the images and files for instructions etc. If you guys have any suggestions, please feel free to leave it in the chat!

Continued to work on the project!
Short Dev Log Today!

• finished settings and still working on instructions panel
• started working on game panel
• game hard to implement
• need to locate specific coordinates
• follow for more!

Hey everyone! It’s been a massive day of coding on NameThatNation. If you’ve been following along, you know the goal: a game where you look at maps/images and guess the country before the timer runs out.

Today, I wired up the core skeleton for the Settings Panel, Country Info Panel, and initialized the beast that is the Game Panel.

Here is exactly what went down today:

1. The Settings Panel: I wanted players to be able to customize their UI, but things got a little chaotic in the grid layouts.

The RGB Sliders: Added JSlider controls for Red, Green, and Blue. Players can dynamically alter the theme color (info.setColor).

The Continents Customization: Implemented checkboxes for all 7 continents. But I had to add a hard rule in the ButtonListener: You must choose at least 3 continents before you can leave. Why? Because guessing between just the USA and Canada is too easy everyone is going to get it right…

Image Size Scrollbar: Added a JScrollBar allowing players to scale the image sizes. Scroll down or up.

Difficulty JMenu: A nice dropdown menu (Font.BOLD, 30) to swap between Easy, Medium, and Hard.

Current Visual Bug: The continent checkboxes currently text-render in a terrifying new Color(183, 9, 9) (deep blood red) alongside a red warning label.

1. The Country Info Panel:

Players need a place to study up, so I built the CountryInfoPanel. It utilizes a try-catch block inside a custom fileIn() method to read a massive text file: countriesContinentHard.txt.

It dumps all that text into a non-editable, word-wrapping JTextArea wrapped in a JScrollPane so you can scroll through hundreds of countries.

The Aesthetic: On the left side, it renders a nice big sprite of planet Earth (Earth.png), while the data scrolls smoothly on the right.

1. The Game Panel (The Brain of the Operation)

Finally, I started prototyping the actual gameplay panel. It’s not fully rendered yet, but the logic infrastructure is going to be a lot!

I will continue to work on this panel this week and make sure to follow along the game making!!!

Dev Log: Name That Nation Implementation of Core UI Panels (Start, Instructions, & Settings)

Overview:

• Successfully built and structured the primary navigational and configuration panels for NameThatNation.
• Implemented Java Swing components across three core areas: the StartPanel (handling user onboarding and core navigation), the InstructionsPanel (displaying gameplay mechanics in a scrollable format), and the SettingsPanel (giving users control over gameplay parameters like difficulty, map sizes, background colors, and continent selection).

Key Implementations:

1. StartPanelUser Onboarding: Added a JTextField for name entry along with strict data validation. If the field is empty or left as default, a warning message (noName JLabel) triggers in red text, blocking gameplay progression. Animated Background: Integrated a javax.swing.Timer alongside a modified paintComponent method to alternate every 0.5 seconds between three unique world images (World1.png to World3.png), creating a smooth looping animation of a rotating Earth.CardLayout Navigation: Configured centralized action listeners (buttons and exitListener) to pass state data to the parent container, cleanly swapping panels or closing the application altogether.

2. InstructionsPanelLayout & Scrolling: Used a BorderLayout to organize an informative overview of rules, score tallies, powerups, and level details.

Scroll Mechanics: Embedded a heavy block of instruction text into a non-editable JTextArea wrapped in a JScrollPane, forcing explicit vertical navigation while keeping horizontal scrolling locked.

Visual Assets: Overlaid a game preview snapshot (Game.png) on top of a custom backdrop image to give players context before starting.

1. SettingsPanelRGB Customization: Implemented three distinct JSlider inputs (Red, Green, Blue) bound to a ColorHandler listener. This updates the player’s canvas background dynamically via the shared Information state object.

Game Parameters: Combined a JScrollBar to control image scale thresholds, a JMenuBar with JMenuItem nodes for changing the match difficulty (Easy, Medium, Hard), and an array of JCheckBox fields representing all seven continents.

Challenges:

Absolute Layout Positioning: Managing explicit component bounds (setBounds) in the null-layout StartPanel requires highly specific coordinates that can scale poorly if window sizes are dramatically altered later.

Validation Multi-threading: Syncing state requirements—such as throwing warnings when fewer than 3 continents are selected or managing name checks—requires seamless communication between panel instances and the core Information holder class.

Next Steps:

Enforce Continent Validation: Active counters ensuring the validation warning dynamically locks or unlocks the “Back” button if the 3-continent minimum isn’t met.

Integrate Game Logic: Establish properties inside the GamePanel constructor that ingest the finalized values set by the sliders, checkboxes, and scrollbars from the configuration stage.

Working on a game to allow people to get better at identifying countries based on the shape (will have powerups, customized settings, etc.).

This project will be done in java through vscode!

Feel free to give any feedback or advice on what I should add to the game. I currently only have the JPanels working for the settings panel as well as the start panel with buttons.

Stay tuned for more updates!!!

Issues encountered and fixed:

• panel switching
• setting JButtons in settings panel
• layouts -> placing components in the right location