A project in the works...

[Prs-Phil]

Well you will have a problem because HL2 is been delayed to 2005 :D

Another thing is that you have posted this in the wrong forum.


Well good luck HL2 Mod Nr. 231355667

[Tiletron]

First of all, that statement was later confirmed by Gabe Newell this week to a member of halflife2.net, and he said the game will ship this year.

Secondly, I stated that the mod was for 'the Half-Life 2 engine' (which means SOURCE)... but in projects such as this, which engine we use may change at any time.

At the moment the state of what engine we will use really depends on the writers, as the mod will act as an engine-test of capabilities, as much as it will be a new playing experience. I would like it to be the SOURCE, though, as it has the most beautiful and highest degree of control I've ever seen in an engine... but we'll have to wait and see.

[Matt]

Rule number 1: Don't get cocky when you're asking for help.

Rule number 2: Don't clutter up our forum with requests. Stick to the Projects forum please. Thanks.

[Grim_Angel]

sounds good. I've done a bit of mapping for Unreal Tournament 2003 & 2004 so far. Although I havn't mapped for Half Life yet I would like to join as a mapper.
All my maps can be found at
http://www.mapraider.com/Grim_Angel (http://www.mapraider.com/Grim_Angel)

real name: John Meissner
the best way to contact me is MSN... I'm almost always on it...
my MSN handle is "drwhojm@hotmail.com"

Although I do map I havn't played with any other 3D applications such as 3D Max or Maya (but have both). So I won't be making any of my own static meshs unless I suddenly feel the need to learn modeling :) I do believe I have a copy of Half LIfe but will have to look for it. Does Half life use it's own editor or does it use another 3rd party one such as Radiant?

Anyway... feel free to contact me

[Tiletron]

HL1 uses its own map-creation system, called the Hammer Editor (formerly known as Worldcraft). Very little is known what will be happening with the software when HL2 is released, except that it will be upgraded to the new map sizes, and it will support DirectX 6-9.0b.

It is possible, however, to create scenes in Softimage XSI EXP for Half-Life 2 (located here (http://www.softimage.com/community/EXP/HL2/)). This will also be used for the creation and animation of the character models.

[Grim_Angel]

so in order to map we have to wait for HL2 i guess? any chance on getting the editor early?

[Tiletron]

There has been quite a bit of talk with doing a small mod, and then expanding it after Nightfall's release for a standalone product, if there is enough interest in the project.

Whether we'll be able to get early... without licensing the engine... is just something we don't know at the moment, although I have been talking to Valve about it. In the mean time, Dementia7 Studios will be helping to set up a website and hosting for us, and will be going over what will go well for the idea in terms of game-development.

[TRyanD]

Nice to see another hl2 mod.... At least it seems your going to give it a shot anyway.

I dont see how you can say its a good engine when its not out and its only showing so far was faked (to a degree) and i dont really know where you got the impression it has a high degree of control either.... Plus it may not be out for years, they denied the initial delay for months when all sorts of sources said it was delayed.

Plus atm, youve got a mod idea, which doesnt really set you apart from other mods.... So youve got the guys permission or something thats a start, but what did you show them to get it (or are you one lol)? Do you have any models or art done yet, not to mention whats your role on the team.... Leader... LOL!!!

Gotta have something to show other than a idea man, or you might as well get in line. Their is probably alot of people here like me who have no idea what those movies are, and probably even more people who dont want to join a mod whos leader cant do some of the hardest work himself or help
with some. Need more INFO.

Sounds good though, the more mods (that dont suck) and get done the better imo, but we could really use alot less people starting mods left and right that never come through (not saying you wont).... I know myself that i would like to start one and have tried before, but im not trying again untill i have something more than a idea to get it going.

GL anyway.

[Tiletron]

The best way to understand it would be to buy the movie at the D7 Online Store (https://superusersolutions.com/d7store/online_store.php), but suffice to say, the technology is a little bit similar to Ghost In The Shell in a few areas. Some things from the movie will seem familiar, and some things won't, it's really up to you whether you like the story or not.

But like I said, this will be done with help from a film developer, it won't just be a tean in the community. I've actually spoken to my collegues at Dementia7 Studios, and here's what they've said. The Stage 1 mod will be a remake of the current DVD version, available from the D7 Online Store. It will have more characters than the original, a better insight into the universe and more vast environments.

The leaders of this mod will be the following:

Tiletron (Community-side Mod Leader / Artist / Level Designer)
Arik Renee Avila ('D7 Peacemaker' - Writer / Director / Artist)
Tony Hobdy ('D7 Peacemaker' - Producer / Story Development / Gameplay Director)

There will also be four other people from Dementia7 Studios who will be assisting with the 'retailing' areas of this project.

Now onto the gameplay I am going to try and have in this mod. Although this is in its early stages, you should probably expect combat with melee and other weapons, first and third-person views, martial arts abilities, vehicle chases and more. The levels themselves will include detail like holographic consoles and billboards, enemies with or without armoured suits, hovering vehicles, etc.

A majority of the storyline in the mod will be driven by both ingame and pre-rendered cutscenes using MAYA and Softimage. Bear in mind though, this won't be something like The Matrix. There will be acrobatics, but they won't be superhuman in nature. There will also be fixed points in the story that correlate with Nightfall's events.

[Grim_Angel]

just out or curiousity.... why was the Half-Life engine chosen? as opposed to some other fantastic engines... such as Unreal or another engine?.... just asking for askings sake....

[Tiletron]

Other engines are in consideration, but Half-Life 2 was chosen mainly for the number of features it has. I got permission from them... well... because I asked them, which is something that nobody else did, or there probably would have been a mod running for it already!

In the grand scheme of things, the only thing I care about at the moment is - when the mod is released - whether people will actually enjoy playing it or not.

[Grim_Angel]

sounds good to me :D

I'll see if anyone i know that maps/mods/scripts/models would be interested as well.... another good forum to post at would be the 3D Buzz forum (http://sv2.3dbuzz.com/vbforum/index_gr.php?forumIDs=140||144||115||114||116||117)

[Tiletron]

Recruitment will be continuing over the next few weeks, while engine-deliberations are finalised.

The website for this project will arrive a week or two after A-Kon 15 (June 4-5, 2004).

[Tiletron]

Another stipulation: all participants in this project must either be of legal working age, or have a legal guardian.

This is so that - in the event this project goes commercial at any time in the future - people who follow these guidelines may recieve conpensation from sales, or they will be at least credited for helping out, if they are under age.

[Kid-Mesh]

If...and in this business that word is key, If you are as serious as you say you are and you're actually looking to get something produced before novemeber which IMHO is a stretch. Then I highly suggest you drop HL2 for the simple fact that any respecting coding team will need a few months just to go through the SDK and truly maximize it to its full potential...and thats going to go way past novemember considering...it isnt even out.

Also if your teams aspirations in the end are in the retail market then (yoda voice) "research you must do, you must"

Might I suggest the ©Torque engine? I dont know what kinda bankroll your team has but good luck trying to finance the HL2 or any AAA 3D engine without "Real Bank"....©Torque is excellent and is available for projects such as yours. Tribes ran on it and several games have been produced with it and its only $100 dollars....not to mention your team can get started now and you could come close with some luck to having (Alpha) release by November...possibly beta by 1st of the year depending of the coding experience of your team.

Mods...been there, done that... released two of them on Quake III, and half of one on Serious Sam.

Kid, it takes a herculean effort and mad skills and very special people to pull it off. The last successful mods such a Bid for power, Day of Defeat and Urban terror were some of the few that did it right out of thousands that crashed and burned.

Being the (Leader) is cool but Id say save your self some embarrasment and (wink, wink) find you a legit programmer who can assist you in giving your team mates honest time lines before you go committing to a schedule that imho (again) doenst have a snowball chance in hell of meeting a november deadline.

Dont get it wrong man, Im not saying you cant or wont do it....but if you wating for HL2 ...forget November.

Wouldnt hurt ya to look here -----> CLICK ME (http://www.garagegames.com/pg/publishing.php)


Good luck,

KM

[Tiletron]

I am already aware of the Torque engine. The problem with that system is that it not only puts Dementia7 Studios in a difficult position with us, but it also forces us to pay a surcharge to them in order to sell any product commercially, on top of the fee for using the engine with full tech-support. There are also a number of other concerns that we would have to do first, which I won't discuss on this thread.

I said this project may go to retail... then again it may not. A standard agreement made with modteams - alongside big industry developers - means it will at least enable us the credit of making the content, and in the process, possibly also earning some revenues if the project changes from free to paid work.

Not to mention a published title on your CV has the habit of raising eyebrows at most games companies.

Now, in regards to the mod's release date. A couple of weeks ago I was informed that Nightfall's completion would take a little longer than expected... say, mid-2005 (I think). As a result of this, the original release date for the mod is invalid. Now I myself have done modelling and mapping work on the Half-Life engine, and are getting into the areas of game-programming and texturing. There will also be a very good friend of mine who worked on the JK2 and JK3-engines' primary construction, who will be helping us on this project.

Like any good project, this will take as long as it takes, and we will be recruiting more people to the mod after A-Kon is complete.

The important thing to remember here is this: a lot of mods in the past have crumbled because people who develop them are either not dedicated to the quality of the work, or want to rush off and do their own things without asking their leaders.

Commitment and hard, honest work is the key, and if we do the job right, I'll leave it up to the fans to decide our future.

[Tiletron]

Ok.

Recruitment is still ongoing. It is now confirmed that we will be using the Half-Life 2 engine for this project (or the Source Engine in general, if the game still isn't out in July).

If anyone watching this thread has also been watching the news page for the D7 Peacemaker (http://www.d7peacemaker.com/) movie-site, they will notice that there has been a convention going on in Dallas, TX this weekend... A-Kon 15 (http://a-kon.com/).

This convention not only allowed Arik and his team to show Nightfall's 20-minute opener, but also enabled some fans to hear about this mod-project. I've been told there might be a special Game Developement Newsletter out in a week or so, about their plans for this mod, and any future games in the works for the film series.

For current updates, please visit their newsletter pages here (http://www.d7peacemaker.com/newsletter/news_archive.html).

Despite what is stated in the pull-down menu on that page yet, Newsletter #14 is also available, and can be found here (http://www.d7peacemaker.com/newsletter/014/letter014.php).

[peppy]

The mod sounds great and I wish you luck, I will never be able to play the final outcome (if it evercomes out) you will also see a lot less people playing it due to HL2 becomeing pay to play (unless that changes ).

What the kid said is true, Your mod HAS to have a voice some were and make it big and fast! there are hundreds of mods you will be competing against and even if your the first to come out it doesnt mean people will like it.

In the end I guess its a risk you have to take one that can cost you your reputation but on the other hand it can also build it.

[nendo_3d]

Originally posted by Matt
Rule number 1: Don't get cocky when you're asking for help.

Rule number 2: Don't clutter up our forum with requests. Stick to the Projects forum please. Thanks.

i'm guessing the reason y he was cocky was because the person who posted before was cocky. whats he ment to do. sit there and take the abuse. i wouldn't

[peppy]

lets not bring post back from the dead, that would be called flameing... leave Tiletron his space to write.

:D

[Tiletron]

From what I gather, the reason why HL2 will also be released over Steam is due to the number of patches the original Half-Life had... but this isn't mandatory, and I doubt they will be wanting to make those mistakes with the new engine. I personally prefer a packaged disc to any P2P-based job, especially for a game that probably weighs over 1GB to download, as it tends to make people frown who have 56k connections. Ok, it has the added bonus of tech support for all their products, but this is not supposed to be a MMORPG game.

Now about the website. The approximate launch-date is June 15th, and the reason why it hasn't been out before now is partially because they wanted to get A-Kon (http://www.a-kon.com) out of the way first. Another reason is that there is an overhaul going to be done for the Dementia7 Studios website, as well as Nightfall's movie-site. Usually it's best to get things done all at once.

Think of it like this... if people spent more time trying to promote interest with a website, than actually putting together a team and starting development, the project may turn out worse and be canned due to it. Because this is being done in conjuntion with a commercial company, everything has to be done a certain way, and that way may not fall into the same priorities as other mods.

I'm not saying that a website isn't a good idea, it just shouldn't always be the first thing to do on a checklist.

[Tiletron]

It begins...

http://www.d7peacemaker.com/newsletter/015/letter015.php

[Tiletron]

Be aware: although the modsite is not up yet, changes to the D7Studios Forum have been made, and the 'Stage 1 Mod' section is up and running.

You can find it here:
http://dementia7studios.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=18

[Tiletron]

An official teamlist for the mod will be posted on the D7Studios Forums shortly.

[Tiletron]

Anyone who is still watching this thread is better to now refer to our Mod Forums, as these will provide people with the most up-to-date information:http://dementia7studios.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=18


The Nightfall game project that D7Studios mentioned before on the forums is now in full development, so as a result the Stage 1 Singleplayer campaign is on hold. There are also a few other changes going on to our schedule becaue of this.




We are still working on a large-scale multiplayer system, though, and hope to have progress pics up soon. If there is anyone still wishing to be a part of the team, please refer to the following thread:http://dementia7studios.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=122


Full instructions and how to apply are included somewhere in the thread. Be aware that all new members will have to sign a Copyright NDA that allows us to create pre-existing concepts for the mod.

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