E
eeos
Guest
First off, I'm Greg Johnson and I head up the dev group XplayGames that is currently working on HL2:Fueled. Fueled (as we refer to it) is both a multiplayer and a singleplayer mod for HL2. The multiplayer gameplay is centered around the type of mayhem you would find if Grand Theft Auto were multiplayer, but with much more mayhem. We actually started as a mod group a few years ago working with MTA as their content creation component, but moved to the source engine shortly after. Mostly due to frustrations with the Renderware platform. We literally spent about two years hanging out in irc - waiting for HL2 and planning the development of Fueled. As well as working on some smaller stand-alone projects to keep us busy and working together as a team. Whereas the multiplayer component will is similar to the likes of GTA meets Battlefield with a twist, the singleplayer component will be allot more like Deus Ex (the original, not the sequel) in terms of gameplay. Using an in depth character and faction management system in addition to our core Fueled engine.
Currently we are developing the core engine for Fueled, and are moving along at a pretty good pace. We have some really talented coders on our team, which is (in my opinion) the most difficult component to build in a mod team. The rest of us are really jacks of all trades. At present: We have a fully detachable limb system - A dynamic vehicle deformation model that is its intermediate stages of development - Early development for the weapons. Right now this is all lending itself to an extremely early alpha built with the HL2DM base mod that includes drivable vehicles with physically attached bonnet, doors, etc. that we playtest almost nightly.
I personally know everything from web development (I've owned design companies in the past) to modeling, to mapping, to texturing - and most things in between. It's a pretty safe bet that everyone on our team is skilled in more than one area, but it spreads us around so much that it's beginning to become counter productive. Although our team is at least a medium sized mod team and we have nearly all the bases covered already, we're at a point where the mod would definitely benefit from more members.
Here's a breakdown on the the standard categories:
SDK developer
-Because we're building the equivalent to a 'new' engine for Fueled, the current development pipeline in place for content creation is inadequate and doesn't lend itself well to the development of fueled. The person(s) doing this need to be able to work the SDK kit for a particular piece of modeling software we're using - fluency in C++ and lower level systems is a must/
General Coding
-although we pretty much have this area summed up, there's room for more coders. We have so many different systems and core components to work that are in depth, that the phrase "the more the merrier" is quite applicable.
Modeling
-Fueled will use a comparatively small amount of BSP. This leaves A LOT more architectural modeling than mapping. We're modeling as much of the world as possible because of the scale of our world, and Valve is currently helping to implement new features into the SDK to aid us specifically. Experience with Source is a plus, but depending on your skill level it's not a requirement.
Rigging and/or animation
-Because of the systems we already have in place, and the systems we're building, the amount of rigging has increased dramatically. We don't use the standard Valve biped for one, and vehicle rigging can become quite involved when you're talking about dynamic deformation of the body itself to emulate realistic vehicle damage. You really need to know how work with bone structures. Being able to both rig and animate isn't essential, but it would be beneficial for one person to carry out the process start to finish. Riggers/Animators are responsible for getting raw meshes in game.
Texturing
-Texturists need to be skilled at texture creation and application Including UVmap creation (but many modelers are quite comfortable with making a UVmap themselves).
Material Artist
-Having a texture is one thing, but making it behave properly in game is another. Many texturists will already have a working knowledge of the material system, but it takes all kinds.
Shader Artist
-More of a coding job really, and at the moment we only have a few custom shaders that need writing, but it still should be known we need one.
Web Developer
-we have so many people who know php, html and the like that this is kind of a ridiculous thing to ask for. The problem is we're all needed in other areas. We just need someone to administrate a website after it is developed. I will personally get it up and running once I know there is someone to maintain it. The person for this job almost needs no coding experience at all, but we would prefer someone capable of coding in php (with knowledge of sql) and html.
Server Administrator
-I personally spend about $179 a month for the XplayGames server. It's purpose is to house all our members personal sites, and anything related to XPlayGames and Fueled. We also host a number of mod related sites including other HL2 mods. I do this because I love modding period, whether I'm developing the mod or not. We host ventrillo for clans, irc for mods etc. Our current server admins personal and business life is making him less available than we need him to be, so we need someone very well educated in the operation of linux (namely FC2) and preferable someone with C or C++ coding experience.
Beta Testers
-We need about 10 to 16 regulars that are willing to idle in the channel and beta test our latest builds. We're not just going to hand our early builds to anyone, but after you idle for a bit we'll start to let you in on our testing.
You can check our progress by joining our irc server at irc.xplaygames.com then join the channel #xplay. There's always the latest downloads vids and general news in there as well as discussion about mod development.
There's really not much more to say. I'm sorry I don't have a website to link you to, but we're just too busy developing the mod. In addition, we really don't need a bunch of press nor do we want a ton of attention. If you come to the irc server, there are plenty of screenshots and videos to download.
Thanks for reading
-Greg Johnson
Currently we are developing the core engine for Fueled, and are moving along at a pretty good pace. We have some really talented coders on our team, which is (in my opinion) the most difficult component to build in a mod team. The rest of us are really jacks of all trades. At present: We have a fully detachable limb system - A dynamic vehicle deformation model that is its intermediate stages of development - Early development for the weapons. Right now this is all lending itself to an extremely early alpha built with the HL2DM base mod that includes drivable vehicles with physically attached bonnet, doors, etc. that we playtest almost nightly.
I personally know everything from web development (I've owned design companies in the past) to modeling, to mapping, to texturing - and most things in between. It's a pretty safe bet that everyone on our team is skilled in more than one area, but it spreads us around so much that it's beginning to become counter productive. Although our team is at least a medium sized mod team and we have nearly all the bases covered already, we're at a point where the mod would definitely benefit from more members.
Here's a breakdown on the the standard categories:
SDK developer
-Because we're building the equivalent to a 'new' engine for Fueled, the current development pipeline in place for content creation is inadequate and doesn't lend itself well to the development of fueled. The person(s) doing this need to be able to work the SDK kit for a particular piece of modeling software we're using - fluency in C++ and lower level systems is a must/
General Coding
-although we pretty much have this area summed up, there's room for more coders. We have so many different systems and core components to work that are in depth, that the phrase "the more the merrier" is quite applicable.
Modeling
-Fueled will use a comparatively small amount of BSP. This leaves A LOT more architectural modeling than mapping. We're modeling as much of the world as possible because of the scale of our world, and Valve is currently helping to implement new features into the SDK to aid us specifically. Experience with Source is a plus, but depending on your skill level it's not a requirement.
Rigging and/or animation
-Because of the systems we already have in place, and the systems we're building, the amount of rigging has increased dramatically. We don't use the standard Valve biped for one, and vehicle rigging can become quite involved when you're talking about dynamic deformation of the body itself to emulate realistic vehicle damage. You really need to know how work with bone structures. Being able to both rig and animate isn't essential, but it would be beneficial for one person to carry out the process start to finish. Riggers/Animators are responsible for getting raw meshes in game.
Texturing
-Texturists need to be skilled at texture creation and application Including UVmap creation (but many modelers are quite comfortable with making a UVmap themselves).
Material Artist
-Having a texture is one thing, but making it behave properly in game is another. Many texturists will already have a working knowledge of the material system, but it takes all kinds.
Shader Artist
-More of a coding job really, and at the moment we only have a few custom shaders that need writing, but it still should be known we need one.
Web Developer
-we have so many people who know php, html and the like that this is kind of a ridiculous thing to ask for. The problem is we're all needed in other areas. We just need someone to administrate a website after it is developed. I will personally get it up and running once I know there is someone to maintain it. The person for this job almost needs no coding experience at all, but we would prefer someone capable of coding in php (with knowledge of sql) and html.
Server Administrator
-I personally spend about $179 a month for the XplayGames server. It's purpose is to house all our members personal sites, and anything related to XPlayGames and Fueled. We also host a number of mod related sites including other HL2 mods. I do this because I love modding period, whether I'm developing the mod or not. We host ventrillo for clans, irc for mods etc. Our current server admins personal and business life is making him less available than we need him to be, so we need someone very well educated in the operation of linux (namely FC2) and preferable someone with C or C++ coding experience.
Beta Testers
-We need about 10 to 16 regulars that are willing to idle in the channel and beta test our latest builds. We're not just going to hand our early builds to anyone, but after you idle for a bit we'll start to let you in on our testing.
You can check our progress by joining our irc server at irc.xplaygames.com then join the channel #xplay. There's always the latest downloads vids and general news in there as well as discussion about mod development.
There's really not much more to say. I'm sorry I don't have a website to link you to, but we're just too busy developing the mod. In addition, we really don't need a bunch of press nor do we want a ton of attention. If you come to the irc server, there are plenty of screenshots and videos to download.
Thanks for reading
-Greg Johnson
