New game based on Sauerbraten - Teleport

by djRobbieF on 07/24/2006 03:04, 55 messages, last message: 10/30/2006 07:21, 25008 views, last view: 05/18/2024 16:03

I've begun developing Teleport; a new multiplayer first-person shooter using the Sauerbraten gaming engine.

At this point, it is still VERY young, but with our dedicated team of developers, it won't be long before we begin releasing playable demos.

To read the storyline and view screenshots, and to just find out any general information about the project, please visit http://www.blog.djrobbief.com/?cat=2

If you are interested in participating in this project, I'd be happy to hear from you, too! If the story grips you and you have something to give of yourself to this project, please drop me a line.

Thanks to the whole community for making this possible! Sauerbraten is a wonderful, configurable engine, and I look forward to giving back to the community with our programming efforts.

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#1: ..

by Stakhanov on 07/24/2006 03:35

No offense but erm... how is it any different from Sauerbraten ? Especially considering that the new release of the game features shiny new shaders. Why make a new game / mod if you can have the same result just making maps for Sauerbraten ?

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#2: Because...

by djRobbieF on 07/24/2006 04:24

Sauerbraten is not just a game; it's a game ENGINE. Teleport is not simply "maps for Sauerbraten"; it's an entire game developed under the Sauerbraten game engine, independent of Sauerbraten in many ways.

Of course, because it's so young at this point, there are way too many similarities, but once we delve further into the coding and the 3D modeling, the differences will become more and more apparent.

No offense taken ;)

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#3: Amendment...

by djRobbieF on 07/24/2006 05:31

Looking at the docs and licenses for Sauerbraten, it may actually be better for us to release as a MOD because of the fact that then we could use the included textures (sweet deal!)

We'll still keep working towards just having a functional game, and when it's all said and done, we'll see where all that stands.

But we intend to have all our own 3D models; we have character designers making all our characters, etc. The default Sauerbraten characters, maps, etc will NOT be a part of this package.

Anyways; read the story line, and if you like the idea and want to be involved in a cool project, feel free to post me. Otherwise, I welcome all feedback, too. Try to keep it positive though - we're a happy group :)

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#4: Re: Amendment...

by pushplay on 07/24/2006 05:55, refers to #3

I don't think this is a community driven by the desire for stories. Not that there aren't people around who would like it, but that's not why they're here. Maybe you would do better to succinctly explain how the gameplay will differ.

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#5: :)

by djRobbieF on 07/24/2006 06:21

Ahh - thanks for the tip :)

Yeah I can certainly understand the confusion.

I suppose rather than being redundant and explaining the differences between the gameplay on here, I will have to just take the time and post in my blog (the link I provided) what the differences are. Perhaps that would be the best way.

Well, hopefully SOMEONE in this community will like the idea of a story-driven game, and hopefully *our* story in particular will peak some interest :)

Cheers!

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#6: ..

by Passa on 07/24/2006 06:24

Had a look at the screenshots..

Your new 'features' are described with each screenshot.. but no offense, they all refer to the mapping. I attend to agree with Stakhanov.. just looks like new maps to me..

I also advise you not to announce projects that are so early into development. At the moment you have nothing impressive to show, and you are most likely going to get harsh criticism from the community.

"Sauerbraten is not just a game; it's a game ENGINE."
Yes, but it is a game first and foremost. The problem with Sauerbraten as an engine is that it ships with a fantastic FPS component. People tend to forget that the Sauerbraten engine can be used for other game genres as well.

The reason people are not too enthusiastic is because this isn't the first time someone has come into these forums going 'hey look I'm a genius I'm making a game :)'

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#7: Re: :)

by Passa on 07/24/2006 06:26, refers to #5

You must have posted while I was typing..

"Well, hopefully SOMEONE in this community will like the idea of a story-driven game"
That is slightly contradictory, in the blog you refer to it as a capture the flag game.. from my experience it is quite difficult to have a multiplayer story-driven game ;-)

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#8: Re: ..

by djRobbieF on 07/24/2006 07:08, refers to #6

Thanks for the comments, Passa. Yes, it's too young to see all the features that are still just "in my head", obviously. Sorry ;) And here I thought some people would like the idea of a focused development project. My bad, I'll just continue doing my work, and hopefully one day people will look at it and say "Wow, that was done using Sauerbraten? Sweet!"

Also, yes; it IS hard to develop a multiplayer story-driven game - but it is not impossible, and it is not contradictory... just 'quite difficult', as you say :) But I'm up for a challenge now and then :)

Well, I don't claim to be a genious, and of course I give credit where credit's due, but I still hope to be able to put together a pretty sweet game (even if it ends up being just a mod). This has been a dream of mine for some time, and I finally have the time to dedicate to a new project - so I'm going to try to put it together as best I can, and hopefully the community will embrace the new concepts I present... if not, at least maybe enjoy the game :)

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#9: Re: ..

by djRobbieF on 07/24/2006 08:20, refers to #6

"Your new 'features' are described with each screenshot.. but no offense, they all refer to the mapping. I attend to agree with Stakhanov.. just looks like new maps to me.."

Just so you're aware; we're not marketing to developers, so why would we be bragging about development changes or technical specs? :) So of course anything we show at this point is going to be "map-based". That doesn't mean that maps are all that are different ;) But... it'll keep growing and become more and more obvious... obviously :)

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#10: ..

by Stakhanov on 07/24/2006 14:01

Speaking of marketing , your dev team page caught my attention :

"Rachel Xu, Character Artist
Design of Game Characters
Promotional Artwork Design
Game and Merchandise Design"

Sorry for being inquisitive , but could you elaborate on what you intend your game to be ? Just a standalone mod , or a commercial game ? Either way , you would do well to read the game license again - only the source code is free , none of the game content is.

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#11: Of course

by djRobbieF on 07/24/2006 15:48

Yes, we know that. Hence why we have a Character artist, and all that ;)

As I mentioned before; IF we end up using Sauer textures, we will have to release as a MOD (according to the license). If we end up finding someone to make our own, we will release as a full game.

WHY does everyone need explanations of EVERYTHING? It seems so pointless. I guess the community here is much different than I expected; and that's ok - but I'm not looking for challengers to what I'm doing. I know about the licensing, I know how to build a game using a game engine, and I intend to make it as good as possible. If you would rather just play Sauer, go for it. :)

LOL

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#12: Re: Of course

by Passa on 07/24/2006 17:08, refers to #11

'LOL' indeed.

Have a look at previous topics on this forum. Alot of mod ideas. None of them successful. The reason you are not getting an enthusiastic response is because everyone is going 'oh no not again..'.

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#13: Haha

by djRobbieF on 07/24/2006 17:18

Oh man, that's kinda sad and funny at the same time. Well, I understand anyways - completely. I hadn't realized that the community has seen so many 'developers' come and go... but I really do hope this project will be different :)

I'm beyond the 'dream about it' phase now, and am in the development phase. I expect to have a working, downloadable demo within 6 months. Full game will probably be ready in about a year, maybe a touch more, depending on how much I decide to commit to the project.

But regardless - I *will* be seeing this through 'till the end.

Maybe once you see some of our Characters starting to show up in the blog, you'll start to see that we're a little more serious than just another 'mod' developer.

I mean; it may just end up being the ultimate MOD - but if I can get enough people working on various parts of the game, we could possibly meet the license requirements to release as a full game.

Well, here's to the future! Cheers!

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#14: Re: Haha

by shadow,516 on 07/24/2006 20:03, refers to #13

Storyline sounds pretty sweet. I know I'm looking forward to it :D

Good luck dude,
Hope your fate is better than the (literally hundreds) of others.

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#15: Re: Haha

by djRobbieF on 07/24/2006 20:39, refers to #14

WOOHOO! THANKS! 14 messages and counting, and I just got my first POSITIVE comment LOL - I LOVE YOU! haha

Hundreds eh? MAN that's ... sad.

Well, I know it will see release, so keep watch on my blog site... I'll be keeping it pretty up to date.

I saw the first models today for our first character skin. Oooh baby, you're gonna love it. :)

Cheers.

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#16: Good luck from me too.

by Greywhind on 07/24/2006 21:19

I hope you do succeed - especially if this mod/game includes a CTF mode - that's been missing from Sauer for far too long.

You at least sound more dedicated and knowledgeable (at least legally) than most Sauer "modders" I've seen.

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#17: ..

by pushplay on 07/25/2006 03:37

>> And here I thought some people would like the idea of a focused development project.

Most mods never see a decent release, and most that do suck. The community wants a reason to believe but you just haven't provided one yet.

>> I expect to have a working, downloadable demo within 6 months.

That could do it.

>> Full game will probably be ready in about a year

I think you're being far too optimistic there.

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#18: Good luck.

by Pxtl on 07/25/2006 03:59

I hope you're not being put off by the pessimism here - it seems like you have a decent attitude about this, a good idea about your plans. We've had a lot of people come in here and say "look at my new game" - which was just Sauer with a few new models and maps.

Nice to see you have a good set of milestones in mind, and you're respecting the contributions of the Sauer developers and content-creators. Whether or not you make your deadlines is kind of irrelevent in a hobbyhorse project, so attainability is moot.

Best of luck to you and your team.

Personally, I don't give a crap about plot, but if it looks fun I'll see you online at release.

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#19: Re: ..

by djRobbieF on 07/25/2006 04:43, refers to #17

>>The community wants a reason to believe but you just haven't provided one yet.

Oh, I will. Yes, I will. LOL.


>>>> Full game will probably be ready in about a year

>>I think you're being far too optimistic there.

Yeah, maybe you're right; but it's not an "official release date"... I'm just guessing based on current production speed. Life always presents unexpected delays, but I'm at least dedicated to seeing this thing through, even if it takes longer than I hope.

Thanks for the comments!!

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#20: Re: Good luck.

by djRobbieF on 07/25/2006 05:02, refers to #18

Thanks Pxtl. Your comments are very kind and encouraging.

>>"I hope you're not being put off by the pessimism here ... We've had a lot of people come in here and say "look at my new game" - which was just Sauer with a few new models and maps."

Neah, I'm not put off by it, the second part of your comment makes me realize exactly why the pessimism exists. Of course, when I first posted, I didn't realize you had all heard this a couple billion times, and I'm sorry for my ignorance :) But as I've said; I really think you'll have the opportunity here to realize that we're REALLY doing this.

I'm still short a couple skills - so I'm still looking for help, but we're moving forward regardless (even if I have to teach myself these skills).

>>"you're respecting the contributions of the Sauer developers and content-creators."

Absolutely. Feel free to kick me if I miss anything, but I'm doing what I can to make sure everything I do is honoring to the intended license, and I've sent out a lot of emails requesting permissions for things like textures. I have a feeling we're going to have quite the lengthy credit screen in Teleport ;) The Sauer community really makes it so that there are SO many more people involved in the development than just the core development team. Even if it's just a small script snippit, I want to makes sure to include the credits in a way that the authors are happy with.

>>"Best of luck to you and your team."

Thank you kindly.

>> I don't give a crap about plot, but if it looks fun I'll see you online at release.

The plot (or "Back-Story" as I call it) is more to make sense of the "WHY" behind the game itself. As you'll see as the project grows, the "story" will really control how our maps function, and the mission behind each level. There will be a lot of focus on molecular teleportation, mutation side-effects, and deathmatch gaming with a little more explanation and story behind it than the average "UT"-style game.

Thanks for all your comments!! All the best!

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