D.E.A.D. August media release.

[Sui]

Mmmm, brains. That’s what I was thinking when an email notifying me of the recent D.E.A.D. media release popped into my inbox. If, like me, you find the putrid smell of lumbering zombies strangely satisfying, you’ll find these new media shots a treat; like this chainsaw model. Especially the chainsaw model. Mmmm…. Chainsaw.
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[br]For more information, check out the D.E.A.D. website here. [br] [br] The D.E.A.D team are also looking for skinners, so if you think you’re good enough for the job, you can apply on their forums.

 

[dogboy73]

......... DEAD is a multiplayer game built around the Source engine ..... etc, etc, yawn! I applawed the efforts of anyone who gets into this mod making lark & hopefully gives us some free content for us to play around with. But I'm asking, I'm begging, I'm on my knees & pleading .......... Can't we have a few more SP mods? I guess they take more work & take longer to put together but it's strikes me as a bit strange the supposed greatest ever story driven, SP, FPS inspires so many multiplayer games! I'd love to see some more SP projects in the pipeline.

 

[Gusdor]

Did you stop to think that the reason multiplayer gaming is so big is because of the replay value. Not only that but modding for it is easier to code and the levels are easier to make. Less planning is involved and you dont need to think up a story. Plus, its fun to play after you make it, which doesnt hpapen in a SP environment. Yey, i made this level and i know exactly how to beat it. Boring.
Ever made a mod?

Back to topic. Nice weapons. Chainsaw mesh seems a little flat, whack a heavily normal mapped material on that plz. Pistol is a nice mesh tho, really appreciate that one You my have problems with the edges making up the silencer being very visible tho it is pretty low poly

 

[meegosh]

Its not so bad just showing grey shaded models in media updates, but you could atleast have added some smoothing groups. They look kinda rushed out

 

[Mr. Redundant]

DEAD looks cool from what I have seen, the axe looks nice too.
then again I love the undead... I mean err no I don't I just like to sleep with them... no wait that's not right... Im a necrophiliac.. NO NO I just like the mods.. that's the ticket.

 

[dogboy73]

Did you stop to think that the reason multiplayer gaming is so big is because of the replay value. Not only that but modding for it is easier to code and the levels are easier to make. Less planning is involved and you dont need to think up a story. Plus, its fun to play after you make it, which doesnt hpapen in a SP environment. Yey, i made this level and i know exactly how to beat it. Boring.

point taken. But I'd still like to see some more SP mods all the same. Even if it's just a collection of really cool SP map built completely from existing Source components. Following HL1 loads of SP maps started appearing on the net. Some of them were quite lengthy & rather exceellent to play. Then of course there were mods like 'They Hunger' which spawned 3 huge episodes & was a fantastic SP game that easily stood up on it's own.

I can't tell you enough how much I'm looking forward to Black Mesa Source but as far as other HL2 SP mods go .......... Well, There doesn't seem to be a huge amount out there at present.

Ever made a mod?

Not yet but it's on my 'things to do' list.

 

[dogboy73]

........ And I think the lack of responses to this news post (6 for this & the same for Bloody thirst) speeks bundles! I don't think people have that much interest for another 13 in a dozen multiplayer mod. Again, Great work on the part of everyone involved & I take my hat of to them for undertaking such a task that obviously takes a lot of time & work. On the other hand hand, given this fact, you would think people would pay more attention to what people expect of a mod. I mean how many of these multiplayer mods are likely to take off in a way that makes the whole effort worthwhile?

 

[Kadayi]

I think Dogboy makes valid points tbh. I applaud anyone who has both the time and dedication to make a mod, however like him I'd love to see more SP focussed mods. Yes they are harder to produce, but because they are SP they are more likely to reach a wider audience, and garner attention for the makers from professional quarters. Valve principally developed Source as a storytelling engine and it's a crying shame that so few people in the mod world have cottoned onto this fact.

 

[Ennui]

Anyone true to the spirit inherent in modding knows that you mod only for yourself.

We're making Zombie Master because we thought it'd be fun and we wanted to play it, not because we wanted a lot of people to download it and us get popular (though we wouldn't mind that). I expect D.E.A.D. shares the same mentality.

 

[Kadayi]

Anyone true to the spirit inherent in modding knows that you mod only for yourself.

LOL, you bought into that line? You must lack ambition.

 

[Sulkdodds]

Mmmm…. Chainsaw.

You EAT chainsaws?

 

[Angry Lawyer]

LOL, you bought into that line? You must lack ambition.

If any of my mods don't actually prove to be popular, I won't give a damn, because I'll still enjoy playing it, and crushing Ennui with a swarm of Fasties

But, Ennui's right. I'm not coding Conquest: City 17, or Zombie Master, to be popular. I'm coding them because they're damn fun to play. And I'll expect that the D.E.A.D team, even if they don't gather a huge fanbase (although, they already have a pretty large following) will enjoy countless hours actually playing against each other.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[Kadayi]

Was I talking to you? Or did you just think you'd butt in AL and hijack this thread to promote your own Multiplayer Zombie mod. Not that your interested in being popular of course ( of course not..that would be like selling out to The man and that would be plain wrong). Yeah right. :dozey:

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Was I talking to you? Or did you just think you'd butt in AL and hijack this thread to promote your own Multiplayer Zombie mod. Not that your interested in being popular of course ( of course not..that would be like selling out to The man and that would be plain wrong). Yeah right. :dozey:

Downtalk to one of my friends, and yeah, you're bringing the conversation to me. If you were talking to only Ennui, you'd have sent it in a private message.
The defining idea is that people make mods for fun. People do it in their own time, with no pay, and no benefits. Why? Because they ENJOY it. Seeing ideas take form, watching concept turn to gameplay. I enjoy coding. Hell, if I didn't, I wouldn't be writing a set of tutorials to help other people code.
The number one reason there are so many failed mods is because people follow your train of thought and think "I want to be more popular than Counterstrike!". These mods are the ones with the team leaders who have no experience beyond writing a storyline, or being an "ideas man". Destined to fail, because all the lead wants is popularity.

To bring back on topic a little more, looking at D.E.A.D., yeah, the modders do it because they enjoy it. Some of their concepts aren't usually ones found together (RPG experience system, combined with the survival game-type), and who knows if they'll work. But they chose them because they thought it would be fun to combine them. Not because they think the public will find them fun, but because they think THEY'LL find it fun.

A mod's concept (at least a mod that's going to do well) comes from a group of people sitting down and thinking "Wouldn't it be fun if..."

Oh yeah, [insert random Zombie Master plug].

-Angry Lawyer

 

[Edcrab]

Pfft, if anyone truly does it for the publicity ("OMG! Valve will see this and cover me with riches! Aren't I leet!") then they need help- the kind of help that can only be dispensed by high explosives. If you set out to create what is, in essence, a fanmade tribute with the express intention of becoming a worshipped community favourite... well, 'nuff said.

Don't see what's with all the hostlity I too crave more SP mods but I won't actively ignore an MP offering just because it feels unoriginal.

As for Angry pimping his zombie fest thingy, well, I just thought he was referring to something he'd actually had experience of so no one could accuse him of hypocrisy. I know that in the past I've talked about CS and been crucified for having no knowledge of the modding scene, so I can't blame a man for making a direct reference to a project he's actually had experience with.

PS. My tiny fanfics will make me rich!! ITS ALL SO CLEAR TO ME!!

 

[DiSTuRbEd]

Was I talking to you? Or did you just think you'd butt in AL and hijack this thread to promote your own Multiplayer Zombie mod. Not that your interested in being popular of course ( of course not..that would be like selling out to The man and that would be plain wrong). Yeah right. :dozey:

Oh shut up, christ.

 

[Asknoone]

Kadayi Polokov and Angry, could you please take it to pms, thanks.

 

[Chris D]

I'd just like to make an additional point.

Kadayi, Angry Lawyer didn't promote his mod... that was started by Ennui. And you seem to be annoyed by the fact that they're mentioning it in a thread about D.E.A.D, but isn't discussing how you're bored of multiplayer mods even more disrespectful than mentioning another? I think so...

Everybody get this back on topic or it'll be closed. This is a thread about D.E.A.D's media release. Please discuss that topic.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Chris_D wins. We all go home.

Anyways, to iterate on the topic - I really like the texturing style used on the weapon models. It's consistantly grungy, and yet strangely alive at the same time. The texturer's got some real talent there.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[Kadayi]

but isn't discussing how you're bored of multiplayer mods even more disrespectful than mentioning another? I think so...

Bored of MP? hardly. I was merely supporting the arguments of another. The truth is that MP is a very closed area of operation in terms of what you can achieve (16 + players on a fixed map...what are your gameplay options? hide and seek, DM, team DM, last man standing, capture the flag...) and unless a mod team have something really innovative to offer the playing public they will be hard pressed to capture the hearts and minds of players regardless of what genre or skins they decide to cloth their models and maps in. Investing your time and energies in a SP or Co-op mod opens up a far greater range of opportunities to create something long lasting and compelling, because you can create characters and storyline with which to engage people.

My advice would be to develop a SP mod using the premise of the mods background.

 

[Sui]

Singleplayer mods are extremely hard to make; even ones that are set in the Half-Life 2 universe, like Minerva, take a huge amount of time because of the balancing, scripting, testing etc. that sculpts the levels into something players will find enjoyable throughout. To actually make interesting characters that can "engage people" would be near to impossible, unless you have the time, skill and money that VALVe do. The thing is, there are plenty of full games out there that have sublime singleplayer- but there are practically none that have actually been built around the concept of online play. Look at Half-Life 2, for example. The official multiplayer is simply deathmatch using the story's characters and weapons, whilst the true attraction for fans is the source version of Counter-Strike, a modification. In fact, nearly all decent multiplayer games are modifications, and games like Unreal and Quake were inspired by the bustling online communities that were thirsty for online action. So, why do you want more singleplayer when you can walk into any videogames shop and see shelf after shelf of story driven games, that have all taken years to make and thousands of pounds to fund? All the truly fun modifications are Multiplayer.

D.E.A.D. is one of the few multiplayer modifications that is actually aiming for the same immersion that you would find in a singleplayer mod. The maps are intricate, the weapons are detailed and many... and it's certainly innovative with the evolution system at the heart of their gameplay. So rather than wishing for more singleplayer content, maybe you should start getting excited about D.E.A.D :E

 

[63]

I know I'm excited.

 

[dogboy73]

D.E.A.D. is one of the few multiplayer modifications that is actually aiming for the same immersion that you would find in a singleplayer mod. The maps are intricate, the weapons are detailed and many... and it's certainly innovative with the evolution system at the heart of their gameplay. So rather than wishing for more singleplayer content, maybe you should start getting excited about D.E.A.D :E

Okay then I'm now excited! :cheers:

Jesus, what have I started here? I still think it's a shame we don't have more SP mods/maps while there seems to be a never ending stream of MP mods. I suppose its a sign of the times - multiplayer has grown in popularity as more & more people have attained broadband speed connections making it viable for them to get connected & have a good game.

But must we rely on software houses to bring us the best in SP games? Obviously they are harder to make & take longer but since the groundwork is already there via Source & the development tools then surely it can be that much harder to make an SP game? Longer yes. Obviously, but harder? Some people have suggested the mod teams make MP mods because they are easier? Is that the case?

 

[Kadayi]

Careful all the Moderators will gang up on you DB if you rain on their parade as to whats possible.

The multi-player I want to see someone develop is this:-

Cross level Co-op/DM/ Team DM mode with intergrated voice-com.

Presently with regard to FPS multiplayer of any kind (co-op/DM or otherwise) we are always subject to the restrictions of having to operate our avatars within the same virtual space (map) at the same time. Our actions and our gameworld are subject to the limitations of the mapping technology with respect to size, entity numbers, etc. Consequently these restrictions impact directly upon the feasibility of gameplay scenarios when it comes to envisaging co-op/multiplayer mode (where are the crowded city street games ffs...).

What I'd like to see someone tackle is how to create a mod that allows players to participate in the same FPS gaming experience without necessarily having to be on the same map at the same time (in a similiar manner to how a mmporpg operates). So for example Chris_D and Angry Lawyer might be playing a Co-op espionage game. Chris_D needs to cross a well lit bridge at night and that requires Angry Lawyer to blow up an electrical substation, but the substation is on another map, so he tackles that task at the same time as Chris_D negotiates getting to the bridge, and they use voice coms to relay information as to their relative progress.

 

[DjBourgeoisie]

Anyone true to the spirit inherent in modding knows that you mod only for yourself.

We're making Zombie Master because we thought it'd be fun and we wanted to play it, not because we wanted a lot of people to download it and us get popular (though we wouldn't mind that). I expect D.E.A.D. shares the same mentality.

I couldnt have put it any better. Of course it would be great that something you put hundereds and hundreds of hours into got alot of publicity, but it is all about a labor of love. I map because I enjoy it, I know I will enjoy out mod regardless of how popular we get once we release.

 

[_nghtmre]

Chris_D wins. We all go home.

Anyways, to iterate on the topic - I really like the texturing style used on the weapon models. It's consistantly grungy, and yet strangely alive at the same time. The texturer's got some real talent there.

-Angry Lawyer

Thanks for the kind comments! This is my first job as a skinner and I have enjoyed it very much so I hope that it continues to show in my work.

 

[Ennui]

D.E.A.D. looks like it's gonna kick ass. I'd say I'm looking forward to it almost as much as I am ZM, which is saying a lot. I also like it better than NMRIH, not sure why.