New Q&A with Aeternus Project Lead

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Q: Why was development stopped for a period of time?
A: Development halted due to lack of a team. Kind of need one of those to make a game don't ya?

I got awards, praise and approval from many people, sites, etc. about this mod, but, unfortunately, I could never find a team. It was new, it was original, it could be something great. but unfortunately, two men can't do everything a full-scale production team can do.

I could never establish roles; it was just me and the artist, who didn't have the time eventually to do everything I was asking him to do. He did some great work, but ultimately it will amount to next to nothing for me, because in the end, I didn't have a team. He's now working for NeoTokyo or something; I don't blame him.

So, I'm looking for a dedicated, professional team. One with integrity, one with a defined work ethic. I want to make this a single player mod with a story, and a strong sense of cinematic purpose. A story that noone's seen before.

I think about ideas that I *could* have put in this mod, almost everyday. I'm scaling it down. PM me if you're interested.

Q: Is this mod still a Angels vs. Demons mod?
A: Kind of. You will be playing as characters that have a very important part to play in the Final Battle for Heaven and Earth, but, other than the character's themselves, there really isn't anything all that intensely mythical about it, such as the Angels and Demons, though they will make appearances in the story that the players progress through.

Q: How many players will this mod have?
A: This game will be a multiplayer co-op modification for the Source engine produced by Valve.

Q: What is this game?
A: This game will have you play single-player missions as tutorial levels. They will introduce you to the characters that you can later choose to play as in multiplayer co-op chapters. In the single-player missions you will learn how to handle each individual character, how to control their separate nuances; you will be given the basics on how to play as them.

Q: What are the multiplayer chapters like?
A: These will be released in a sort of episodic format, meaning one at a time to the community. Each chapter further develops the storyline and by doing so, increases the player’s attachment to the characters that you play as and are introduced to in the single-player tutorial missions.

There are two goals that I want to achieve with this. One is to have a pencil and paper sit-around-the-table-on-a-Sunday-night style bond be formed between players. I want people to play with the same people that they started to play with in the first chapter, and continue to play with them, in the same way that any Dungeons and Dragons campaign would.

Another more gameplay-oriented goal is to have players develop an attachment to a specific character’s play style. I want players to be able to brag about how good their ‘Tom’ skills are, or how they are working on playing as ‘Bob’ but are having trouble because he’s so different from ‘Tom,’ etc.

Q: What are these ‘missions’ you keep speaking of?
A: There are several missions in one chapter. They are usually composed of about three people working in unison to achieve goals set forth by the context of the chapter’s storyline and narrative. The actual number of players in any one mission varies depending on which chapter it is, but it’s safe to say it will be either three or six. Each player has a goal to reach, or a part to play so to speak. Sometimes each player has a specialized part in the mission, sometimes he doesn’t. Again, it depends on the context of the narrative.

If players do not have a specific group of people they play with and don’t feel the need to play with people they know, they can join a game serving the chapter they wish to play, and will be opened up into a chat room where they will converse and choose characters before they are thrust into the mission of choice.

Q: Damn, this sounds cool, but you know what would be even cooler?! T34M D34THM$tch!!!!W!!@1
A: Maybe so, but let's focus on the foundation first, shall we?
 
At the moment Majestic, I can only give a link to our ModDB site. Previously we were hosted by hl2files.com, and we had a good relationship with them. I designed and maintained the website with Dreamweaver and Fireworks because I had no PHP experience and didn't know anyone else with it. Once things began to slow down, hl2files.com shut down the site and I was left with nothing.

I have no material other than the Q&A a friend conducted for me and other assorted info for the characters and their initial SP levels. That being said, there really isn't any reason to spend a load of time on a website is there? Nothing more stupid than a mod with a website but no material in my opinion, :D
 
Hmmm, well, to be honest with you, it was never heaps of approval that was given, more along the lines of wow, that's a cool, original idea, and I would play it a lot if fully executed. I believe we got mod of the week from two seperate sites and was nominated for a city-17.net pre-release awards 'show.'

Lol, this Q&A isn't meant to be, wow, press release bonanza from the Aeternus team!! This is incredible! It was more along the lines of me trying to figure out how I wanted to reinvent an already original idea, into something that would be more within my and my future team's grasp, :)
 
So, no insane in the membrane level designers wish to make use of their talents? No ridiculously awesome webmasters feel the need to contact me? No so-awesome-they're-retarded modellers want to help?

;( :D
 
I'm writing one at the moment, I'm writing the first chapter's story to begin with. Then I'm writing up it's design doc, and I'll be sure to post it, :)
 
is it supposed to sound like "ate her anus"?
 
Minus the 'a' in anus and yes, you're right on the money.

BTW, done with story, working on ye olde design document as we speak...or...I speak..
 
Alright, a working version of it is done. It's rough, but it outlines the first chapter, tutorial missions and the histories of the first set of characters. There are three missions in the first chapter, and three tutorial missions. This is what's planned on for the first release.

The locations range from Scotland to Jerusalem to the Vatican itself. If you want it PM me, or I can post it here, your decision.
 
It does apply to the gameplay, just not in an intense technical manner. It describes the missions, the layout of the environment, what abilities the individual players have, etc. and how they can use them in any given situation.

It's a description of the gameplay, but at the same time it covers the story. So, yea, it's the document you're looking for if I'm thinking what you're thinking.
 
Sorry for the double post, but to anyone who cares, the rough beginning of design documentation is up on the forums, please visit and express any opinions, comments, criticism and praise there.

Here is the link: Design Document Thread v1.0
 
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