All of this talk about a Tribes Mod...

(extraordinary) #1

Yet I’ve seen no actual attempt to form one. Yes, the game is still in beta, yes the programmers can’t start working on it yet, yes details still need to be worked out and the engine still needs to be stressed… and I say again, there’s still no team. There’s not even an attempt at a team.

  • 2D / 3D artists could already be working on models, textures, skins, decals, etc.
  • Sound Engineers could be compiling sounds and creating new sounds for weapons, player models, jet packs, vehicles, etc.
  • Programmers could be compiling a list of what needs to be done and start deciding who’s going to do it.
  • Mappers could be planning out maps, taking notes on any and all maps they want to port and be interrogating the devs on engine restrictions to map sizes.
  • Programmers need to be found, they’re not exactly a dime a dozen.

Come on people. Stop talking about it and actually make something happen.

If you can program and want to work on this, respond with details for getting a hold of you.

If you’re a 2D or 3D artist, or both, you do the same. Leave contact information.

Musicians, sound engineers… do the same.

Mappers familiar with Tribes 1 and 2 maps as well as mappers familiar with the engine, leave contact details.

Lets freaking make this happen.

As for myself, I can program, make maps, make music, make sounds, and do some textures / skins. E-mail: jarmstrong5@yahoo.com

(carnage) #2

its all well and good trying to get people moving however the project has been suggested but without a clear owner or leader of the project there is no direction of the project and even if mapper start making maps and modelers start on characters etc without some kind of coordination then you going to end up with a patchwork quit of work that is inconsistent and doesn’t rely fit. The mod idea was even a tribes style mod but that still docent give enough specifics to make an actual game from it

what the project needs before anything is a solid leader who has experience of working on a mod team that has seen a TC scale mod conversion though and preferably experience in the running and orgonisation of the mod team

this person then needs to start drawing up a design brief that will include some description of that the game will be like, how the levels will play out and what kind of features each player will have (even if its the same features as tribes its useful to have them listed to show potential mod members what they will be required to make). The design brief is by no means a finalized document and the final game i likely to have differences but having the document gives everyone the same goal to work towards

the project leader does not have to make all the decision based on what he thinks would be a good allowing the community to make suggestion and debate then would be a good way to get people involved on the project and let them have some influence over it, but having someone who is ultimately in change of the project would give it clearer focus and someone to bring conclusion over disagreements in how the mod should work

aside from needing a person who is this qualified and willing to take on a hell of a lot of extra work they will also need a good idea of what its like to play tribes and other shooter games (although they don’t necessarily need any actual modding skills e.g. Paul wedgwood on the quake 3 fortress mod)

(extraordinary) #3

Then someone needs to step up. Hell, I’ll do it if people are willing to get on board. Enough talk, time for action.

(SCDS_reyalP) #4

A lot of people have talked about doing a “tribesish” mod. Basically, giving everyone the option of the skiing icarus jetpack, change it’s weapon from the current stroybomb to something more like a disk launcher, then tweak it as needed to be balanced and fun. Obviously, as you tweaked weapons and items you’d try to make them more tribes-like. Maps could either be the modified scripts for the stock maps, or new CTF maps (a terrain with a couple of tibes style bases should be relatively easy to whip out). That’s a modest project, which would essentially be adding a more tribes like feel to ET:QW

A tribes total conversion would be a MUCH bigger effort, requiring a large team and probably a multi-year development effort. It would also have to tread very carefully not to fall foul of IP problems. Such a project would inevitably face conflict over exactly which tribes flavor it should be like, so it would need strong leadership and vision to make it happen. Trying to do it democratically for the tribes community would be almost certain disaster, IMO.

The first option could of course end up becoming the basis for the second, or at least give the team the experience needed to carry it out.

(extraordinary) #5

Being a programmer, I think this project would be much easier.

The engine is there, done, finished, ready for action. That’s the hard part. ET:QW already has jetpack code. Easily modified. Skiiing is already there, easily modified. Projectile based weapons already there (Rocket Launcher, Tank Gun, Tormentor Guns, etc.), easily modified.

The real effort is making the models, textures and maps. I’m very confident that an almost complete Tribes mod would take much less time than everyone thinks. Most of the stuff is already there and just needs some modification.

Hell, I added jetpacks to Half-Life 2 and tied them to the sprint in a few hours. I converted the rod crossbow to act exactly like the disc launcher, even giving it an explosion in roughly an hour. That’s with no jetpack code available on an SDK that kind of sucked.

edit: fixed a typo.

(FishStix) #6

I’ve mapped a bit in Tribes 1 and a lot in Tribes: Vengeance. If there is a Tribes mod being made for ET, I would love to map. I’ll do some remakes :smiley:

by the way…

http://www.tribalwar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=494461

the author of that post is the original creator of Tribes 2 Classic, what many people call the savior of T2. He’s a very respected modder.

(extraordinary) #7

I wouldn’t say he was the savior of T2, personally, I think classic was nothing like T1 but that’s just me. I played T1 for years and preferred base over classic in T2.

But yes, he would be a great asset to any Tribes mod.

(FishStix) #8

I wasn’t a fan of T2 base, and by the time classic came around I had already given up on T2. I must admit, however, that I have enjoyed a few pubs of T2c, but T1 will always be #1 in my heart.

(extraordinary) #9

People need to understand that this wouldn’t be a hard en devour.

Here’s a list of things that would require only slight to medium modifications:

  • The Friend or Foe Identification system is almost identical to Tribes.
  • Jet packs are already there in the form of a “vehicle” (the Icarus)
  • Skiing is already there in the form of a “vehicle” (the Icarus)
  • Projectile based weaponry
  • Hand grenades
  • “Classes” lowered to three and given different models
  • Inventory screen - modified, of course
  • Vehicles already there (ground and air)
  • Deployables
  • Way pointing
  • Command screen
  • Quick voice chat system
  • Defend and Destroy (akin to siege) game type (potentially others, haven’t seen other maps)
  • Mines
  • “Energy” in the form of a “vehicle” (the Icarus)
  • Observer mode
  • Out of bounds grid
  • Targeting Laser

Things that would have to be added from scratch:

  • Generators
  • Packs (though the Icarus kind of works like a pack)
  • Potentially, several game types
  • Inventory and Ammo stations, maybe a vehicle station though the current vehicle spawn system could work
  • Models, skins and textures
  • Dropping weapons and ammo on death

Maybe some other stuff, that’s just the stuff I can think of off the top of my head. All of the stuff on the first list is ALREADY IN THE GAME.

(extraordinary) #10

i just want to point out that this should stay as far away from the Tribes community as possible, especially the Tribal War community. Every person on there has a different idea on how it should be done, arguing will ensue and a lot of negativity and nay saying. Furthermore, most of the people over there have a bunch of horrible ideas to contribute and nothing more.

(Torks) #11

i just want to point out that this should stay as far away from the Tribes community as possible, especially the Tribal War community. Every person on there has a different idea on how it should be done, arguing will ensue and a lot of negativity and nay saying. Furthermore, most of the people over there have a bunch of horrible ideas to contribute and nothing more.[/quote]

hehe, so true 8)

btw, no grappler plz! :smiley:

(extraordinary) #12

look at the thread, the complaining and arguing has already begun over something insignificant.

(FishStix) #13

You think there is enough talent from Tribes players to create this game? If you alienate TW, you don’t stand a chance. Tuns of oldschoolers reside there, whether you like it or not.

(extraordinary) #14

Okay, so maybe I should of been more precise in my statement…

People who can actually contribute in ways that assist the completion of such a mod are all welcome and everyone else, especially those at Tribal War should be kept away and left in the dark.

(extraordinary) #15

:expressionless:

:!:

hopefully, i made my point.

yes, i’m a smart ass… it’s part of my charm.

(gloowa) #16

i would like to do something to make this mod happen, even i only played T:V (which was cool in my opinion)

what is sad i’m not programmer (well, i can make command line caluclator in C/C++)
also i never done moddeling/art but right now i downed blender and i’ll try to make something which can be called ‘spinfusor’ if it is dark enough :slight_smile:

(gloowa) #17

lol, seems like moddeling is simplier than it looks :
(about 7h of clicking - my first model ever :slight_smile: )
http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/2721/spin1ch5.jpg

i know that model sucks but the point is - 7h by total moddeling noob = model fitting to q2 standarts. 7h by someone who knows what to do = pretty nice model good to place it in game. if 5 ppl shared 7h = we got weapons :slight_smile:

(extraordinary) #18

t1 skiing is so hard to reproduce :roll:

comparable to t1. i say comparable because the hl2 terrain has clipping issues (similar to the issue in t2 where you’d hit a seemingly o.k. area and suddenly lose velocity or come to a dead halt). also, the source team decided that you should bounce if you’re traveling over a certain speed and hit certain inclines. i’m not sure how to fix the former and i am too lazy to fix the latter.

it took me like 10 times longer to make, encode and upload that video than it took me to actually put skiing in.

(FishStix) #19

This just in:

Hi guys/gals, FeaRog here from Splash Damage. I’m the programmer that implemented the Icarus physics in ETQW, and mentioned the idea for “Enemy Territory: Tribal War”. As Wils has said before, we have had the Icarus physics far more like Tribes in the past. My initial implementation of it actually had T1-style jump skiing. We “dumbed it down” for ETQW as it was far too difficult for such a small element of our game. I am utterly convinced that Tribes-style skiing is entirely possible in the engine, and all the physics code is game side - ie it will be moddable when we release the SDK.

I am still intending to get this mod started after release!
My intended initial plan is as follows:

  1. Mod jetpacks & skiing into the core player physics
  2. Implement a base weapon type for Tribes-style weapons
  3. Implement a spinfusor equivalent

Regarding the difficulty of the rest of the game elements - most of the game flow is described in scripts. Deployables, classes, items, the lot. Most of the groundwork is already there - even inventory changing! Setting up things like generators, turrets and sensor networks is near trivial - a scripter familiar with the workings of the game could probably knock out prototypes of most of that stuff out in a day or two.

As far as a plan for such a project goes, the core plan should be to Keep It Simple, Stupid! Start small. For example, start with a small arena team deathmatch kind of thing. Jetpacks for all, only one character class, spinfusor, chaingun, grenade launcher. Slowly start building in things like inventory stations, CTF, etc. Don’t focus on the aesthetics - block out and hone the gameplay with all the existing assets.

Most of all though such a mod needs a core development group and a united community behind it. The last thing we need is a split community!

Its very important to note that a mod for ETQW cannot replace Tribes - instead it should to try to be an awesomely fun, fast-paced game all of its own, but borrowing from the best parts of Tribes.

I really want to see this happen and am absolutely behind it. I’ll want to participate
FeaRog is offline Report Post

(extraordinary) #20

i heard.

thankfully fearog posted because i really didn’t want to have to create raindance, improve my jetpack code and make another freaking video just to hear that it doesn’t count for stupid reasons.

i was simply trying to prove that coding that stuff isn’t quantum physics and it doesn’t take that long. :expressionless: