Unification Project?

[Herio-san]

Ok, so we all know how to make maps on Warcraft III World Editor Right? And many of us know how to use WE Unlimited right? But how many of us actually can make a career out of this? Either very few or none of us can.
Now I understand that its just a hobby or pasttime, but what if we all worked together on learning something other than WE and used our pre-learned skills to develop a real videogame for our online community to enjoy?
We already have people who can make models, animate them and wrap textures on them. We have talented artists who can make icons and GUI. And we have people who know how to program! In fact, we could even have management through the mods (since, in a way, that is already their job).
Anyway, this is really just a thought im throwing out there to see what people think. Personally I think it would be great for us all, but then again, thats just my opinion.

Note:
Yea I know we'll need software. But thats not a problem either
■ GDD reference site (Christian Lynæs) http://www.ihfsoft.com/designdocuments.htm
Contains downloads and links to more documentation, including GDDs from the arcade era!

■ Aurora Toolset Resources (Bioware) http://nwn.bioware.com/builders/

■ CryENGINE (Crytek) Software demo http://games.bigpond.com/pc/resources/files/details/html/5216

■ Gamemaker (Mark Overmars) - freeware http://www.gamemaker.nl/download.html]

■ The Games Factory (Clickteam) - free trial http://www.clickteam.com/English/download_section.php?PID=11&SID=5&Sname=Main+Download

■ Maya (Alias/Wavefront) - free trial http://www.alias.com/eng/community/downloads

■ 3D Studio Max (Discreet) - free trial http://www4.discreet.com/3dsmax/3dsmax.php?id=403

■ Unreal Developer Network (Epic Games) http://udn.epicgames.com/Main/WebHome

■ Software downloads:
http://www.discreet.com/3dsmax
http://www.alias.com/eng/community/downloads

So now I ask, what do you think?

Edit:
I've had these links for awhile now, some of them may be broken.

Edit 2:
People who are willing to help in the project:
brad.dude03
PrinceofIce
Scyth-Master

 

[brad.dude03]

Well, if we got enough people interested, and the admins and mods also got involved, then I think it could work. That the CryEngine and Aurora sounds pretty powerful, both coming from huge name developers. If we get the support we need, then i'm all for it.

 

[Herio-san]

I actually havnt run them yet (although im sure they are great quality). I have looked at Maya though. Beautiful graphics engine. Game maker is more or less a waste of time though lol. (no offense to anyone else who runs it) Its just very simple and limited.

 

[Jacek]

haha... gamemaking != art making... Gamemaker is very basic tool that can't go further than Pac-man. Same with Maya gameengine, also it works only for people who have Maya license, you can't go standalone with that.

Same with people who make tools... making tools and games is a way different things. To make games you have to be skilled in networking, graphics API - OpenGL or DirectX and many other things. Also it takes veeeeeeery long time.

I think that way easier game would be just find some other game to mod, I've heard Supreme Commander is good for modding, although I'm not sure.

 

[Captain Griffen]

You need an engine. Unless you mod a game, that means a programmer. I don't mean someone who knows a bit of JASS - I mean a programmer. Someone with hundreds of hours of time, a good knowledge of programming (ie: knows a proper programming language), and even with that you'll need a base engine to work from.

You have no clue what you are doing.

 

[HappyTauren]

just get C++ and ure done

 

[Sansui]

Jacek, actually gamemaker, can be used to make a detailed FPS with physics ect its actually very powerful if used correctly.
Gamemaker can also be used to make very complex rpgs, and even multiplayer games.


And yes making a game from scratch or off a base engine is a shitload OF work.
I know I have done such work before.


Happy Tauren its not just get c++ and your done, its much more complex than that.

 

[Jacek]

Sansui, could you give me some link? I can find only basic 2D games there

 

[brad.dude03]

Uh hello... there are several game engines listed above, so Captain Griffen that shouldn't be a problem. But, if we were to mod a game, I would suggest HL2. It's extremely powerful, high quality, easy to use (Hammer is a great and highly effective level designer) and best of all... no limits on crap unlike WC3. What does ye'all think?

 

[PitzerMike]

I loled .

 

[Jacek]

Roflmao...

@Pitzer:

 

[Captain Griffen]

Stand alone game...? And you quote Unreal...?

That's like...$250,000 license. Up front. And 3% royalties.

Heck knows how much CryTek licenses are.

 

[Captain Griffen]

To make a stand alone game, you NEED to pay the license. If you don't, they WILL sue your arse. Mega-ly.

You have no clue how IP or copyright laws work.

 

[Herio-san]

Ok, first of all. There is really no need for us to use something as powerful as Unreal Technology because were not that advanced. (no offense to anyone of course) It was just simply mentioned because it had an avaliable FREE trial. Therefore I was just pointing out that WE COULD OBTAIN A FREE COPY of the software.
Secondly, according to Unreal Technologies licensing terms:

We generally only do business with groups that have a registered corporation and physical business address.

Technically we have neither, so the pricing of this is not an issue. If we could afford it they wouldnt sell it anyway.
Thirdly, I'd appreciate it if you would stop assuming im ignorant to both copyright laws and game design because I am neither. And, furthermore I will not sit here and allow you to continually slander and defame me by saying I have no knowledge of law and other matters mentioned in this thread. If you do not want to be a part of this project then stop harrassing me and trying to bash me over matters which you obviously have little desire to be involved in.
To the rest of you I apologize for this thread getting off topic.

 

[PitzerMike]

Lol, the line you quoted means the exact opposite of what you think.
I literally rolled on the floor laughing over your last few posts.
Please don't stop

 

[Herio-san]

Well, just nevermind this whole thread then.. I see now the idea was a waste. I'd delete/close it but i dont have the power...

Edit: Btw, i removed my threads that may have shown any aggression towards Griffen as to not promote flaming or any other form of arguement.

Congrats Griffen, your right. I "have no idea of how copyright laws work" and I "have no idea what im talking about". You can feel free to take control of this idea/project because you obviously have much more knowledge on the subject than I do.

 

[Jacek]

haha... Griffen doesn't care, this project is doomed to failure anyways.

 

[brad.dude03]

Eh, just like you Jacek.... doomed for failure....

 

[SentryIII]

Not once have I heard anything about documentation or the basic foundations of the game in this thread. All I've seen is talk about game engines, graphics, and programming languages. Do you even know what you're going to make?

 

[Herio-san]

Not yet. I was hoping the community could work together to develop the game storyline and characters/races and so on that way we could all get a better idea of everyone here at the hive and learn everyones strengths/weaknesses. Then, by combining our strengths come up with something awesome. But, since theres no cooperation among us, it wont work..

 

[Gausslander]

I'll do voice acting. That's about all I think I can do for it though.

 

[PrinceofIce]

Those of you who are putting this idea down need to stop this community is big really big and growing theres bound to be some of us that can do something.

Some of us might be in the backround(me for instance ill jsut be an idea person) but everything counts!

Plus I've known Herio-San ever since he came here so im backing him up!

 

[Jacek]

Not yet. I was hoping the community could work together to develop the game storyline and characters/races and so on that way we could all get a better idea of everyone here at the hive and learn everyones strengths/weaknesses. Then, by combining our strengths come up with something awesome. But, since theres no cooperation among us, it wont work..

Listen... Me & Sentry are trying to make a game for some time (working on separate projects). No one cares about storyline and races, everyone can make that. If you take a look at game development forums, they are spammed by users who have great idea for a game, classes/races/quests/spells et cetera but they don't know how to program. Similarily you say about modelers... art isn't important in the beginning of game creation. When you get the main engine running with basic gameplay, you can replace your temporary models with art masterpieces.

 

[Herio-san]

Thanks PrinceofIce for your kind opinion. Honestly I do know that you need to replace your start models with more advanced ones. However, if we were to make a real game, usually the programmers are creating the engine as the modelers make all the characters and the artists create the icons etc. Then all the objects are added together (test icons are replaced with working icons, test models replaced with characters etc.). To be honest it does matter what the story line is because, although mindless violence is great for warcraft games, it doesnt work if your making a "real" game. For instance, can you name one marketed game that doesnt have at least "some" form of storyline? (excluding sports games seeing as those simply recreate something by making it virtual)

 

[PrinceofIce]

Anytime Herio this might be hard and a lot of us might only contribute ideas like me but it all helps one way or another so instead of putting it down try to think what you can do.

 

[Jacek]

ok lets put it another way:

do you know any programmers here on hive capable of writing engine for you?

 

[PrinceofIce]

Not me no i just think it a great idea and could go somewhere...

 

[Jacek]

try posting your idea on gamedev.net

 

[PrinceofIce]

Its Herio-San's idea if he wants to he can i don't want to take any credit.

 

[Herio-san]

lol i had a game.dev account. Everyone there thinks im insane because I wanted to make a MmoRpg with only the help of 7 other people (close friends who live near me, some of which have programming experience). The end result is, however, that im not looking for someone who has programming experience, but someone who is willing to learn it.

 

[Kuhneghetz]

Multimedia Fusion 2 (much newer than The Games Factory), plus a pack of extensions, is a kick-ass when you want to make nice 2D games.
I've made many silly games since I was a teenager (began with the old Klik & Play), and I'm improving my skills thanks to TGF and MMF2.

Game Maker is meh for me. Tried to make a test game using it, but got fooked up.
And doesn't the FPS function require a registered version of GM?

 

[SentryIII]

It seems like you're simply relying on other people to come up with ideas instead of actually envisioning the project yourself. You're still talking about technologies, which is completely pointless at this stage in development. All you're really doing is hyping yourselves up too much without doing any work at all, setting yourselves up for disappointment.

Right now, you should be documenting your ideas. In other words, figure out what you want to make.

• What genre will it be? RTS? FPS? RPG? Write it down.
• What does the basic gameplay involve? Control one unit? 10? 100? Write it down.
• What features would it have to make the game interesting? Write it down.
• Why would this be fun? Why would anyone want to play this? Write it down.

For your sake, don't go any further until you can answer these basic questions. It's a waste of time and money without knowing what you're gonna make.

 

[GST_Nemisis]

if we were to mod a game, I would suggest HL2. What does ye'all think?

YES! ! ! ! !

there are alot of things that can be done with the source engine, i mean dark messia of might and magic is basically a FPS/RPG. anything could work.

 

[brad.dude03]

See! Nemesis is here I've done a bit of noob-ish level designing with Hammer for fun, but damn, it's a very powerful tool, and it's easy to use, and the engine is great... I mean look at Gmod... also, Nem, Shados would probably be on board as well since he plays a lot of Source games

So yeah, if we make a mod (Which is becoming increasingly more likely) then I recommend we make it for a Source game, such as Half Life 2. The engine is incredible, and you can do just about anything with it.

 

[GST_Nemisis]

half life 2 has an insanely powerful engine and the SDK tools arent too challenging while being more than capable of makign something sweet.

 

[brad.dude03]

Exactly! So lets do just that

 

[Jacek]

LOL HF2 won't run on my comp ^_^

 

[brad.dude03]

That's pretty sad... I mean my computer is like 6 years old now and even IT runs HL2....

 

[Jacek]

well actually it might run it

 

[Sansui]

why not just work on something such as a top down, game to get started.
Jumping directly into larger projects will simply = fail.


Look for some 2dengines, and make a game like pong or a top down shooter... maybe even a pacman clone. then try to actually make a new game.

 

[Herio-san]

I agree with Sansui. Thats why I havnt even bothered to detail what the ideas for the game are yet. Very few of us are ready to begin such a large task as a high quality (or even medium quality) 3d game and actually be able to get anything done. Therefore we need to start learning with easy stuff. Learn to crawl (simple 2d or text based game), then to walk (more complex 2d game - like zelda), then to jog at a steady pace (step up to 3d). Then we can start running (making a complex 3d game).

 

[Sansui]

if you cant get a good 2d engine..
I would actually recommend game maker, start using the gml and code a game in it. Its pretty nice starting block.
game maker can also do 3d so if you want to try out 3d in a very beginner friendly way check out game maker.