Pandora Tincs - Multiplayer Shooter For Pandora (video)

[Butterman]

@ Butterman:

I've got a question: Can I move all the pages about JModel into one? Make the menu easier.

Yeah, good idea, make a JModel section.

 

[Mithrildor]

Made the JModel page, changed the purpose of the Design page from a gameplay purpose to a ingame design purpose. The title was misleading and the page was better done with Gameplay. Hopefully the page feels much better now.

Butterman, youve got some updates about the game?

 

[kattle87]

Published my idea of single player campaign/training story:
CODE
http://tincs.jottit.com/kattle87_sp_story


I also had an idea about how the cyberpunk-ish augmentations might work:
-When you spawn, you can choose between some predefined classes that will have several combinations of bionic parts (one might get eye and arm, or 2 legs and a generic bonus, and so on). You can get even a almost-completely bionic player.
-You have something like a limited "energy" to operate your augumentations. Your energy will refill slowly while you are playing or will refill faster in some spots of the map or using some items.
-The augumentations can be "on" or "off". When off, they draw very little energy (stand-by) and give you no bonus on a non-bionic player. When on, they will draw quite a lot more energy and when you have almost completely depleted it, they will stop working properly and give you a heavy malus (EG: unpowered legs means you will be almost unable to move). This malus will disappear when your energy recovers a bit.
-If you have less than 3 or 2 bionics, if you keep them off they will draw less energy than your refill rate (so energy will still increase over time), but if you have too many of them you will be energy-dependant, since they will keep lowering your energy even if they are off. This way a heavily mecchanized player will only have a specific role (EG: a "behemoth" will never get enough energy to rush an enemy base! But might defend an energy refiller).

Examples of some augumentations that came to my mind:
-eyes: the enemies and the items become much more spottable (like with an aura on them) (idea taken from Left 4 dead ). Malus: you will get distorted vision / random 128x128 pixels black quads.
-single leg or double legs: bonus on jump, slight or mediocre boost in speed. Malus: really slow when moving, won't be able to crouch nor jump.
-arm: better aim (less spread of projectiles, both standing and while moving) and bonus on melee weapons. Malus: of course bad aim, and really slow when using objects/operating stuff)
-bodyshield ®: when activated, you will recieve less damage from enemy fire (tiny metal plates under your skin will align a magnetical field in order to decrease projectiles momentum ). Malus: the tiny metal plates get mad and hurts you over time.

Please tell me what you think about it.

 

[Butterman]

^^ Nice idea. The augmentation system sounds like it's going to be a pain to balance, but also like it could make some good game play.

Made the JModel page, changed the purpose of the Design page from a gameplay purpose to a ingame design purpose. The title was misleading and the page was better done with Gameplay. Hopefully the page feels much better now.

Butterman, youve got some updates about the game?

Hopefully I'll have something tonight.

 

[Mithrildor]

I think we don't need to add that in the main version and will always have to a possibility in games. Don't forget we (well actually you) are making a CS clone or maybe even a Quake Arena/Live (live is so awesome btw) clone.

 

[OrR]

@kattle87: Those are some interesting ideas but they should not become overly complicated. I think a player should be limited to one weapon and one "other" augmentation (sight, movement etc.). The whole on and off switching and energy draining sounds too complicated in my opinion. Remember that all this stuff has to be balanced, too!

One consequence of the augmentations I'd like to see is that you choose one weapon in the beginning of a match and then are stuck with it since it's permanently embedded in your arm. In a deathmatch game, you might be allowed to choose a new weapon when respawning but in a game mode without respawning, teams would have to coordinate their weapons in the beginning so that they have the right mix available. The weapons (combined possibly with other augmentations like kattle87 described) would then pretty much be what classes are in other games.

 

[Butterman]

Progress you say?

Got that character model in game. Looks pretty good. Also, got multiple textures per face working in the JModel format, the picture only shows different ones per mesh, but it's working off the multiple-per-face code, just happens that all the faces are using the same texture.

I'm still not ready to say I'm finished with the format. I've got to add in a few last things. But I'm close!

So ya, it's all model format stuff at the moment. But, this is most of the preliminarily work for maps.

 

[kattle87]

Yeah I know it's a little bit complicated, and balancing was what I was really worried about, but posted anyway to help people coming up with a solution toghether. Maybe a player should just be able to choose 1 augumentation at spawning (then we can always decide to keep the energy draining like if it was a stamina bar or give a permanent bonus) and then he will start with a related default weapon.
The only thing i would like to see is the possibility of changing your weapon in-game (unless it's a special weapon embedded in your arm!): if I am defending base and I'm alone, I want to shoot with my fallen comerade's autoshotgun, not with my sniper rifle .

 

[retort]

Got that character model in game. Looks pretty good. Also, got multiple textures per face working in the JModel format, the picture only shows different ones per mesh, but it's working off the multiple-per-face code, just happens that all the faces are using the same texture.

I'm still not ready to say I'm finished with the format. I've got to add in a few last things. But I'm close!

So ya, it's all model format stuff at the moment. But, this is most of the preliminarily work for maps.

sounds great. working on a few weapon models, will try finish and texure by weekend.

put back story up too, but it needs work

CODE
http://tincs.jottit.com/retorts_backstory

 

[centralnoise]

Hohoo, I like retorts backstory, sounds logical, realistic and quite interesting. I'd go with that one.

 

[retort]

Hohoo, I like retorts backstory, sounds logical, realistic and quite interesting. I'd go with that one.

cheers mate.

it's a vague intro, i have a rough idea of details, but anyone with suggestions to develop it more, and tie scenarios with the back story and art direction, i'm all ears.

muzz, now that we have your art style as a guide, are you able to link us to some more visual references (doesn't have to be concept art from you, but maybe some photography, or drawings that reinforce and articulate your vision) to aid our understanding of environment.

 

[Muzz]

Yeah mate, i intend to get a start on that tonight, i've just been busy as fuck getting some stuff done in the last 2 days.

 

[Butterman]

Everything is progressing nicely. We've got Dutch, Doric, Italian, French and German covered in terms of translations. Lots of backstory ideas up, so I'm going to put a deadline.

Backstory deadline: 14th March

That's the Saturday next week, not the coming Saturday. I hope.

 

[giovanni]

@ Muzz
[If you have enough time]
I (I would never ask something that's only for me, I think it can be useful for all the modeler and artists) would like to have a rigged arm to use it in my models and make a complete animation (it's strange to see weapons that shoot floating in the air).
Maybe we can simply animate the armature to make it compatible with more characters....
I don't know if I can obtain a good result but maybe another animator can....

Thank you

P.S: I tried to make it by myself... But I suck and I don't really know how will look the character...

 

[Butterman]

@ Muzz
[If you have enough time]
I (I would never ask something that's only for me, I think it can be useful for all the modeler and artists) would like to have a rigged arm to use it in my models and make a complete animation (it's strange to see weapons that shoot floating in the air).
Maybe we can simply animate the armature to make it compatible with more characters....
I don't know if I can obtain a good result but maybe another animator can....

Thank you

P.S: I tried to make it by myself... But I suck and I don't really know how will look the character...

I was thinking about this, but I have no idea how it's done.

 

[Muzz]

Yeah i would love to see that as well. if you go back through the thread somewhere i posted a vid of a terminator arm exactly like that.

About implementation, only thing i can think of is if we can make a model that only the player can see, (not their opponents), and animate that in front of them, and playing back the animation at the correct times. It would all have to be baked in vertex animation like the rest of it though.

Also remember we would have to have one set of animations for every gun. Unless we break the guns into classes and make sure they have the handles in the same spots for each class. But even then we would probably have to bake out the full animation with each gun.
God damn this sounds messy without bones!

I think that it is a pretty difficult thing to do (hands have to be 100% anatomically correct as well or it would look like crap), but if it is done well well it adds to the immersion and badass levels of the game.

Im looking forward to the weekend, i can actually get some shit done!

 

[retort]

@ Muzz
[If you have enough time]
I (I would never ask something that's only for me, I think it can be useful for all the modeler and artists) would like to have a rigged arm to use it in my models and make a complete animation (it's strange to see weapons that shoot floating in the air).
Maybe we can simply animate the armature to make it compatible with more characters....
I don't know if I can obtain a good result but maybe another animator can....

Thank you

P.S: I tried to make it by myself... But I suck and I don't really know how will look the character...

i should have a test gun modeled and textured by the weekend, i can attach a basic arm to it, but really, does it need to be animated? most games just have the gun/arm constrained to the crosshair. i guess theres a little animation between weapon changes, and when the weapon is idling.

but yeh, i can give rigging in blender a try. i think i'll rigg/skin it in max, and export bones as objects (as a guide in blender). how good are the snaps in blender?


butterman, i'll be making bumpmaps with every diffuse (even if we can't use it at this stage) but is there a point in making specular maps? or even environment/reflection maps???

and last but not least, anyone know much about creative commons for open source games? specifically, IP on art content? i'd like my art/design to be exclusive to TINCS, but still legally available to the community. i don't want my maps being exported out to UT and sold, etc.

anyway, back to work/RL.

 

[(naw)mcx]

Whoops that Doric one was not meant to be there!

(but I can get my granddad to help translate that if you want, along with announcers http://www.aboutaberdeen.com/doric.php)

For example. You have died = YER DEED.

 

[retort]

About implementation, only thing i can think of is if we can make a model that only the player can see, (not their opponents), and animate that in front of them, and playing back the animation at the correct times. It would all have to be baked in vertex animation like the rest of it though.

I think that it is a pretty difficult thing to do (hands have to be 100% anatomically correct as well or it would look like crap)

crap, i didn't even think about that, arg, your totally right. i say we worry about it when it comes to polish. we should aim to get a test level and some models ingame first, for testing.

 

[PoisonedV]

black is corrupt and evil.

smooth