View Full Version : Testers needed: Totally non-DDO related project
Hey guys,
I have this long-term project that I am working on. It has absolutely nothing at all to do with DDO. But I think it is something DDO players might be interested in (at least some of them).
This is a game project, but not a MMOG, so it doesn't compete with DDO. I hope the forum moderators don't have an issue with me posting this here. If so, if I am breaking any forum rules, just take this down.
I like to have people poking around in complex projects from a very early stage, in order to get their input as to what works as fun and what does not, not to mention find all the bugs. As such, the very first system I coded was a patching system. This allows testers to update their local builds and go into the project and poke around in the newest build at will.
There is an overview of this process here, the first post of this thread:
http://www.rjcyberware.com/forums/showthread.php?725-Testers
(note that at the end of this post it says I'm not ready for you yet. That is no longer the case, the patching system is done, we are ready for you! I'll have to update that).
There is an overview of the game project here, the first post of this thread:
http://www.rjcyberware.com/forums/showthread.php?219-The-New-Project-An-Overview
(this is an old post, and some of the tools section is out of date now, but the overview of the game is still relevant. Note that the game project was put on hold about a year ago, which is why this post is so old [I had to change engines, the one I was going to use proved to be...inadequate. The new one is much better]).
Finally, I publish a Milestone list so you know what is coming down the pike in the near future
http://www.rjcyberware.com/GameProject/MilestoneList.php
My goal is to finish one milestone per month. We will see if I can keep to that :) I publish one of these lists as I work on them (so when I finish M2, I will publish the list for M3, and so forth).
If you are interested in this sort of non-traditional iterative testing and game development, please do contact me. I have a few people, but could always use more. It is a windows based program, so you need to be able to run on windows. If you have questions, I'm always available. It will require you to register on my forums (as you will be reporting bugs and having discussions on a private subforum in order to keep spoilers down for the general public).
Ron
I wish you luck I looked at what your doing and while midly interesting I have no interest in modern age games I prefer Fantasy or far future, or maybe Mad Max type. But good luck with it.
I wish you luck I looked at what your doing and while midly interesting I have no interest in modern age games I prefer Fantasy or far future, or maybe Mad Max type. But good luck with it.
Thanks man. Although just to be clear, it is a fantasy game. In the overview, I mention GTA, but that's just the *mechanic* I'm after, not the setting. I guess that was a bit confusing. It is, actually, a fantasy based RPG dungeon crawler with sandbox mechanics. That's why I thought it might be of interest to some DDO players.
Tertriary
04-29-2012, 02:20 PM
Sign me up!
We could still use help with this. We don't really have enough active testers (although, granted, there's not a whole lot to test yet).
We're still early on, but I like to have people walking through the dungeon, looking for (and reporting) problems as early as possible.
Here is a shot of one area we are working on. The texturing is not quite finished, but it gives you an idea...
http://www.rjcyberware.com/DCScreens/DCMilestone2Thumb-3.png
doomboy
08-13-2012, 12:09 PM
sign me up my friend! now, what is it about? the OP was kinda tl, dr
Asmodeus451
08-13-2012, 12:19 PM
what the hack, sign me up!
one question i didn't see a answer to i your overview: what type of interface will it use? 1st person? Over the shoulder 3rd? Point and click?
if i were to have a vote, i'd say 1st person, one of the things i love about a certain other FP RPG is that the 1stP view gives you the "feel" of actually casting spells/swinging your weapons yourself.
i guess what i'm trying to say is tht, for me at least: 1st person=greater immersion
CrimsonSpectre
08-13-2012, 12:41 PM
Sign me up too. =D
Open-world dungeon sounds rather intriguing.
Thanks guys, I really appreciate it.
I should mention in the interest of full disclosure that we are very early on. The only major systems we have working right now are the patching system and the camera system (and the latter is only basic, it will be getting a major upgrade in the next milestone).
So don't go in expecting much just yet. There is no real "game" there yet, just a level to walk around in. But it is coming (in the next milestone I will be putting together the mission system, so there will be more "game" to play with).
If you want to opt in, you have to sign up on my forums (rjcyberware.com) and just PM me there (or post a message asking for testing access). I will set you up with access to the testing section of the forum from there, and add you to the patching system database so you can log on and get the game.
sign me up my friend! now, what is it about? the OP was kinda tl, dr
It's a dungeon crawler with open world aspects to it. Which just means you can wander around pretty much at will (with some limitations) and do whatever. There are a number of side activities to do, exploration rewards, collectables, and so on.
And then there is the missions. Which is basically the main part of the game, and advances the games storyline (which is fairly extensive). It's a branching mission system.
what the hack, sign me up!
one question i didn't see a answer to i your overview: what type of interface will it use? 1st person? Over the shoulder 3rd? Point and click?
if i were to have a vote, i'd say 1st person, one of the things i love about a certain other FP RPG is that the 1stP view gives you the "feel" of actually casting spells/swinging your weapons yourself.
i guess what i'm trying to say is tht, for me at least: 1st person=greater immersion
Right now it's over the shoulder 3rd person, similar to DDO. We have talked about having a first person camera as well, which we will do (I just haven't yet fit it into our Milestone plans anywhere yet, so I don't know when). So ultimately you will be able to go either way, or use both.
Sign me up too. =D
Open-world dungeon sounds rather intriguing.
Thanks, I think so too :)
Jay203
08-13-2012, 05:56 PM
It's a dungeon crawler with open world aspects to it. Which just means you can wander around pretty much at will (with some limitations) and do whatever. There are a number of side activities to do, exploration rewards, collectables, and so on.
And then there is the missions. Which is basically the main part of the game, and advances the games storyline (which is fairly extensive). It's a branching mission system.
Daggerfall? :D:D:D
^^;;;
Daggerfall? :D:D:D
^^;;;
Heh, well, not quite. There is no outdoors in my game. It's all dungeon. One BIG dungeon. More like Ultima Underworld, or Arx Fatalis than Daggerfall.
My main problem with the Elder Scroll games (especially Daggerfall) is they are a little TOO open world for me. I want some amount of structure in my games. I want to explore and do random things when I want, but then sometimes I want story. That's what I'm going for. The missions are the structure of the game, they drive the story forward, but when you don't want to do that, you can just wander around, kill things, do side activities, or whatever. That's why I mentioned GTA:SA in the OP. It's kinda like that in mechanics.
doomboy
08-13-2012, 11:19 PM
Heh, well, not quite. There is no outdoors in my game. It's all dungeon. One BIG dungeon. More like Ultima Underworld, or Arx Fatalis than Daggerfall.
My main problem with the Elder Scroll games (especially Daggerfall) is they are a little TOO open world for me. I want some amount of structure in my games. I want to explore and do random things when I want, but then sometimes I want story. That's what I'm going for. The missions are the structure of the game, they drive the story forward, but when you don't want to do that, you can just wander around, kill things, do side activities, or whatever. That's why I mentioned GTA:SA in the OP. It's kinda like that in mechanics.
hmmmm. sounds interesting! just give a link to download the different versions for testing when they are ready.
Jay203
08-14-2012, 12:05 AM
Heh, well, not quite. There is no outdoors in my game. It's all dungeon. One BIG dungeon. More like Ultima Underworld, or Arx Fatalis than Daggerfall.
My main problem with the Elder Scroll games (especially Daggerfall) is they are a little TOO open world for me. I want some amount of structure in my games. I want to explore and do random things when I want, but then sometimes I want story. That's what I'm going for. The missions are the structure of the game, they drive the story forward, but when you don't want to do that, you can just wander around, kill things, do side activities, or whatever. That's why I mentioned GTA:SA in the OP. It's kinda like that in mechanics.
ah, okay :)
i liked daggerfall, complete freedom, never running out of tasks to do even though it's pretty much the same thing but with a bit of variations, the rest of the elder scroll series couldn't hold a match against daggerfall imo xD
but back to your game, seems like basic concept is dungeon dwelling, how big do you plan on having the explorable areas be? plans for quick travel? how detailed do you plan on having a player customize the character? :p
and you're right, Arx Fatalis would probably describe your idea better :p
sounds promising with the basic concept :D
hmmmm. sounds interesting! just give a link to download the different versions for testing when they are ready.
It doesn't really work like that :)
The game has a built in patching system (like an MMOG). I update the testers build a few times a week (I call them "Daily Builds" although they aren't really, it's more like a couple times a week). So it is continually being updated over time with small changes. There aren't any "different versions" in the manner you are talking about.
So you get a base build that you download, and from then on, you just use the patcher to update to the current version. In order to use the patcher, you have to log in, because I don't want just any random people in the test builds. Just the testers (there are several reasons for this, I won't get into them here).
To become a tester, you must register on my forums (because that's where you will get info on the new builds, and where you will tell me about problems you see). They are here:
http://www.rjcyberware.com/forums
Once registered, you can shoot me a PM asking to become a tester, and I will set you up (you will get access to both the game and to a private testers forum).
I know, it's a bit more involved that just downloading a test build. But once you are in the system, it's very simple to grab the latest version (just start the game, log in, and hit the update button).
We have a handful of testers right now, but people are busy. Some are not active, some are. I feel like we probably don't have enough to really test out the game (although, again, we don't have a whole lot of systems in place yet, so as of right now there's not a lot to test out, but that is going to change very soon. Especially once I get the mission system in place).
but back to your game, seems like basic concept is dungeon dwelling, how big do you plan on having the explorable areas be?
It's planned on being pretty large. Of course, we don't have it all built yet (by a long shot!). But it will go down for a ways :) You will be spending quite a bit of time there if you only plan on doing all the critical path missions (even more if you add in all the side stuff).
plans for quick travel?
Teleport system that has nodes every couple of levels.
how detailed do you plan on having a player customize the character? :p
Ah, tricky question. There are a lot of aspects to character customization.
Looks: Very customizable. We're working with morphers so you can morph your face and body to be exactly what you want. We are using morph targets in some cases. In others more basic deformers (stretch/squash, etc). We want you to be able to build the exact character you want to play with (similar to what has been done in Elder Scrolls games, Saints Row 2, etc). Hair styles will probably be preset choices (hair is tricky, heh), although we will try to give you a bunch of different choices. I'm toying with the idea of using a morpher for the hair length, but I have to play with it and see how that works out.
All of that (other than the hair thing) is in development right now. It's not planned to be finalized until Milestone 3 or 4 (I forget which off the top of my head). But we should have some basic starting morphers for testers to play with fairly soon now.
Clothing/Weapons/Armor: We have planned about 300 pieces of clothing and armor, and a similar number of weapons. Each of these will affect how your character looks. We will probably have color variations as well (not sure about that yet, but I've seen that done in other games a million times, and I know the basic idea behind the technology, it shouldn't be hard. But since I haven't yet planned it out, I can't say for sure right now that it will be a feature, I can only say "probably" ;) ).
Stats: Yes, there will be stats. There is a whole character sheet being developed (still being planned out, I haven't locked down a final version yet). I'm starting to get into spoiler territory here, so I don't want to say too much. But there are no levels in my game. There are no classes. You won't gain any XP, and you don't improve your skills by repetition. Rather, you improve them by performing actions (like the side activities, for instance). Each time you perform some task, there is a reward. In some cases, those rewards are an increase in one of your stats.
That is sort of a hybrid between a typical sandbox game system and an RPG system. You (as the player) will have less direct control over your stats than you might be used to in a standard RPG game. But in return, there are no limits either. If you want to work at it, you can create a completely bad-ass character by doing all the side activity, exploration, etc, stuff. Or do some of them and have a fairly standard character. Do none of it and have a fairly weak character. Your choice.
doomboy
08-14-2012, 09:17 AM
okay. i signed up. i'll throw you a PM with username details in a bit.
Jay203
08-14-2012, 03:41 PM
It doesn't really work like that :)
The game has a built in patching system (like an MMOG). I update the testers build a few times a week (I call them "Daily Builds" although they aren't really, it's more like a couple times a week). So it is continually being updated over time with small changes. There aren't any "different versions" in the manner you are talking about.
So you get a base build that you download, and from then on, you just use the patcher to update to the current version. In order to use the patcher, you have to log in, because I don't want just any random people in the test builds. Just the testers (there are several reasons for this, I won't get into them here).
To become a tester, you must register on my forums (because that's where you will get info on the new builds, and where you will tell me about problems you see). They are here:
http://www.rjcyberware.com/forums
Once registered, you can shoot me a PM asking to become a tester, and I will set you up (you will get access to both the game and to a private testers forum).
I know, it's a bit more involved that just downloading a test build. But once you are in the system, it's very simple to grab the latest version (just start the game, log in, and hit the update button).
We have a handful of testers right now, but people are busy. Some are not active, some are. I feel like we probably don't have enough to really test out the game (although, again, we don't have a whole lot of systems in place yet, so as of right now there's not a lot to test out, but that is going to change very soon. Especially once I get the mission system in place).
It's planned on being pretty large. Of course, we don't have it all built yet (by a long shot!). But it will go down for a ways :) You will be spending quite a bit of time there if you only plan on doing all the critical path missions (even more if you add in all the side stuff).
Teleport system that has nodes every couple of levels.
Ah, tricky question. There are a lot of aspects to character customization.
Looks: Very customizable. We're working with morphers so you can morph your face and body to be exactly what you want. We are using morph targets in some cases. In others more basic deformers (stretch/squash, etc). We want you to be able to build the exact character you want to play with (similar to what has been done in Elder Scrolls games, Saints Row 2, etc). Hair styles will probably be preset choices (hair is tricky, heh), although we will try to give you a bunch of different choices. I'm toying with the idea of using a morpher for the hair length, but I have to play with it and see how that works out.
All of that (other than the hair thing) is in development right now. It's not planned to be finalized until Milestone 3 or 4 (I forget which off the top of my head). But we should have some basic starting morphers for testers to play with fairly soon now.
Clothing/Weapons/Armor: We have planned about 300 pieces of clothing and armor, and a similar number of weapons. Each of these will affect how your character looks. We will probably have color variations as well (not sure about that yet, but I've seen that done in other games a million times, and I know the basic idea behind the technology, it shouldn't be hard. But since I haven't yet planned it out, I can't say for sure right now that it will be a feature, I can only say "probably" ;) ).
Stats: Yes, there will be stats. There is a whole character sheet being developed (still being planned out, I haven't locked down a final version yet). I'm starting to get into spoiler territory here, so I don't want to say too much. But there are no levels in my game. There are no classes. You won't gain any XP, and you don't improve your skills by repetition. Rather, you improve them by performing actions (like the side activities, for instance). Each time you perform some task, there is a reward. In some cases, those rewards are an increase in one of your stats.
That is sort of a hybrid between a typical sandbox game system and an RPG system. You (as the player) will have less direct control over your stats than you might be used to in a standard RPG game. But in return, there are no limits either. If you want to work at it, you can create a completely bad-ass character by doing all the side activity, exploration, etc, stuff. Or do some of them and have a fairly standard character. Do none of it and have a fairly weak character. Your choice.
sounds fine so far :)
just don't forget about the replayability of the game :D:D:D
Thought I might share a "class photo". These are all the creatures I have ready so far for the game:
http://www.rjcyberware.com/DCScreens/ClassPhoto.png
From Left to Right:
Back Row: Wyvern, Ent, Mountain Dragon
Third Row: Ogre, Demon, Chimera, Rock Golem, Griffon
Second Row: Werewolf, Barbarian, Lizard Warrior, Assassin, Watcher, Dragonide, Spider, Skeleton
Front Row: Giant Rat, Wolf, Viper
KingOfCheese
10-11-2012, 05:28 PM
Your local DDO intellectual property forum lurker here.
Whenever you have content (whether it be a movie, tv show, game, etc.), you'll want to be careful about clearing rights for all of the bits and pieces of your work. In this case, the beholder is a no-go without a license (owned by Wizards of the Coast) --and I suspect no license will be available.
Failure to clear intellectual property (all of your music and sounds and graphics and words and phrases and the name, etc., etc.) can be the doom of media content. You may have your life savings invested in a project. And then get sued as soon as you release it. Recreating the content at that point might not be viable--and going forward with the lawsuit is almost always a death knell for a small entity (the cost of the fight is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, into the millions--even if you win: losing might cause an injunction, shutting down your product and causing you to pay the content owner(s) a substantial sum).
It is a topic that few learn about or know about--and that makes it a real trap.
Something to think about before moving forward too far.
Yeah, I'm aware of the IP issues. Better than most, I assure you. That's why there is no Beholder in that picture :)
Obviously, he is inspired by the D&D Beholder, but he's not an exact copy. In my understanding, if he is sufficiently different from the original IP, it's okay to use him. I know it's hard to tell from that picture because of the guys standing in front of him, but if you look close, you can see he has fish-like fins on either side. And behind he has a tail-fin. I think that makes him okay for us to use, because you aren't going to confuse him for a Beholder.
Having said that, your point is taken. I'll double check on that. If he turns out to be a problem (or even a risk), I won't use him. I certainly don't want to get into a fight with WotC.
Everything else is okay, I think, it's all straight out of common mythology. The only other one I may have an issue with is the Ent, since he is out of Tolkien. I'll have to check on him too.
scottmike0
10-11-2012, 07:29 PM
the pictures do look amazing, i can say that.
I cannot imagine the scripting involved, since i fine scripting to take forever, even though im starting with the basic Lua scripting....
The scripting is in C#, with a mix of a bit of C++ in there.
To me, that's the easy part. I'm a programmer, it's what I do :) I can bust out a script in no time, heh.
It's the artwork and modeling that I find incredibly difficult and time consuming. I didn't do any of the artwork in that last picture, I'm not that good (I am, at best, a middling modeler, and a pretty terrible photoshopper, you can see the results of my artwork efforts in the first picture in this thread). Those models in the latest picture were done by someone who knows what he's doing, and it clearly shows.
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