Nora's Week 3 Report

what were your concrete goals for the week?

My goals for this week were to establish a strong technical foundation for the project and ensure the system could be built and run consistently across environments. I also aimed to support the initial client-server architecture and enable basic interaction between components.

what goals were you able to accomplish?

My accomplishments for this week were to set up the project foundation and ensure everything builds and runs correctly. I focused on creating the CMake build system, organizing the initial repository structure, and adding the core files needed for the client-server setup. I also helped enable position updates for the client.

if the week went differently than you had planned, what were the reasons? note that this happens regularly...I would prefer you to be aggressive in what you want to try accomplish rather than limit yourself to goals you know you will easily achieve. so answering this question is more of a reflection on the development process and the surprises you encounter, it is not at all an evaluation.

The week differed slightly from my original plan because I aimed to get client-server communication working across arbitrary IP addresses to support cross-device hosting, but I wasn't able to fully get this working yet. The main blocker was dealing with firewall restrictions, and I have not yet found a way to configure or disable them without introducing potential security issues. As a result, I shifted focus toward solidifying the project's foundation and ensuring the local client-server loop was stable, which should make it easier to extend to cross-device communication next week.

what are your specific goals for the next week?

My goals are to finish any remaining foundational tasks, including supporting client-server connections over arbitrary IPs. I also aimed to begin core gameplay work by defining client inputs and server reactions, implementing basic animation, and starting collision detection.

what did you learn this week, if anything (and did you expect to learn it)?

This week, I learned more about setting up a C++ project with CMake and how to structure a codebase for a client-server architecture. I also gained a better understanding of networking challenges, particularly around local vs. cross-device communication and how factors like firewalls can impact connectivity.

what is your individual morale (which might be different from the overall group morale)?