Nuclear Dawn - CGW Scans

[Crispy]

​

The month of media May-hem is officially over, and what a way to finish it. The Nuclear Dawn community is bigger and stronger than ever. Thanks to mentions by PC Zone, Computer Gaming World and Valve Software (to all of whom we extend our gratitude in the customary style of the "double thumbs up" salute), we have increased in number by 35% over the past month. But sheer numbers are meaningless if the community's deader than the Sony E3 Conference's after-show party! That's why Wii're proud to reveal that forum activity has doubled since this time last April.

The Fan Fiction forum is a shining example of community involvement, with almost one new story cropping up every day since it was opened. You'd be surprised at the quality in there, too (I know I was), so to illustrate this point we've chosen to feature Gatecrasher's One Minute To Midnight as an outstanding short story worthy of true recognition. With community projects like the ND Multiplayer Pickup just around the corner, there's never been a better time to join in with the forum fun and frolics.

And if you're wondering what all the fuss is about, our next item will most definitely help you make up your mind. Yes, the wait is finally over! The exclusivity period has terminated and the scans you've been waiting for are here! In our three page spread in Computer Gaming World our project manager Dave waxes lyrical on how the capture points and resource system will work in ND, some of the team's industry professionals explain what motivated them to work on a mod outside of their studio hours, and there are brand new alpha screenshots of the commander's view, some of the RTS structures and a sneak peek at the stealth suit in full effect.

​

The alpha screenshots in these magazine scans are clear evidence of just how far along Nuclear Dawn is in development. With the beta stages this summer fast approaching, we are looking for a few talented level designers to prepare some new maps for this period that can be playtested right up until public release. If you think you have what it takes, drop us an email with examples of your work to [email protected]

So the mayhem's over... or is it? Next month promises to be bursting at the seams with media and game information. We'll be revealing more on the commander and stealth classes, releasing the rest of the story timeline with additional information about the factions, and to top it all off we'll even throw in an interview. Add to that a bunch of community activities for you to get involved in and you've got yourself one jam-packed June to look forward to!

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

I think I'm busy in June. Sorry.

 

[Majestic XII]

I'm busy in June too... playing Natural Selection!

 

[Kangy]

Holy shit, a chance to hear more of what DaveL has to say?

Shit, are we lucky or what?!

 

[Pax]

One word: "propaganda".

Boasting isnt PR. And this post shows yet again that the mod community is subsequently raped by ND and it's office of propoganda with cries of "Let's make a mod that's _successful_" rather then the community friendly "Let's make a mod that's _fun_".

The amount of people who are on a forum doesnt make a mod successful, and boasting about it is ,besides ego stroking, very, very sad.

I'll give you a few pointers Cripsy

1) ND is a mod; not an actual game. So figures don't count unless you are trying to sell this idea or any future idea's.
2) We all know about the little 'getting into a magazine' incident. So the actual fact that you got in via special means is debatabel.
3) Once again; ND is a mod. Not a game. So basically posting this as a news post on a mod who claims to be non commercial really shakes the vision of 'a happy mod development family'.

For all you ND plants out there. Have fun trying to twist the world into your leaders vision.

On to you, Crispy.

- Pax

 

[simon]

I don't know what i'm tired of most, about DaveL or about everyone always bitching about it whenever they hear something about Nuclear Dawn.
Yes, i'm more tired of the second part.. (but who am i)
To get this thread a bit on topic, i think the mod looks really good, the top view "command" stuff looks like a nice touch. But somehow i believe they are making a futuristic counter strike game (wich is also nice). Mapping needs work on some areas (but i know howmuch time goes in a map, so i'm sure they'll fix that up aswell when the time comes).

 

[Asknoone]

I used to believe PCZone was the UK's best PC mag.

 

[Hazar]

Holy shit, a chance to hear more of what DaveL has to say?

Shit, are we lucky or what?!

OMG YESH


(btw, I thought scans were illegal D: )

 

[^Ben]

Wow cool! Natural Selection!!!!!!

 

[Kangy]

I used to believe PCZone was the UK's best PC mag.

What the hell were you smoking, it was clearly PC Gamer D: Especially in the Golden Era with Pierce, Gillen, Atherton etc round about the time of the 100th issue. Legendary days!

 

[Javert]

Console jokes in a mod news? It's not bad, it's just that I thought I'd never sii the day...

 

[Crispy]

with cries of "Let's make a mod that's _successful_" rather then the community friendly "Let's make a mod that's _fun_".

Which mods have been most successful in the past, Pax? Oh, let's see- the fun mods. If your mod isn't fun you have no chance of it being successful, I can assure you, making a mod with interesting, challenging and, above all, fun gameplay is our central goal with ND. You know, it's probably best not to comment if you don't actually know what you're talking about.

The amount of people who are on a forum doesnt make a mod successful, and boasting about it is ,besides ego stroking, very, very sad.

You're right, the amount of people on a forum doesn't make the mod successful. That's why I said:

sheer numbers are meaningless if the community's deader than the Sony E3 Conference's after-show party! That's why Wii're proud to reveal that forum activity has doubled since this time last April.

It's the activity we're interested in, and we pay homage to that fact by mentioning Gatecrasher's fanfic. If you wanna call that stroking his ego then that's your perogative.

1) ND is a mod; not an actual game. So figures don't count unless you are trying to sell this idea or any future idea's.

We put a lot of effort into making ND a fun, welcoming and tolerant community to be a part of, whether it's organising community activities such as competitions and weekly multiplayer gaming sessions or how we go about moderating the forums to keep them troll and flame free. Figures do count because we want as many people as possible playing ND on public release so that they can help us quash any bugs and balance the gameplay as quickly as possible so we don't have exploits or unbalanced teams ruining the fun.

2) We all know about the little 'getting into a magazine' incident. So the actual fact that you got in via special means is debatabel.

I have no idea what you're talking about. CGW approached us for an article. We agreed. The end.

3) Once again; ND is a mod. Not a game. So basically posting this as a news post on a mod who claims to be non commercial really shakes the vision of 'a happy mod development family'.

Erm, no. Nobody's getting paid to work on the mod, thus it will always remain free to the players.

I used to believe PCZone was the UK's best PC mag.

Me too, actually.

(btw, I thought scans were illegal D: )

Not if you have permission from the author.

---
What's funniest about you guys who obviously have taken a dislike to ND, is that you keep posting in our threads keeping us near the top of the thread listings, which only maximises our exposure. So despite the attempt on a smear campaign, you're helping more people read about ND and make up their own decisions. In situations like these, I like giving credit where credit's due, so:

Thanks for the help guys, you're doing a great job! :thumbs:

 

[DiSTuRbEd]

So despite the attempt on a smear campaign, you're helping more people read about ND and make up their own decisions. In situations like these, I like giving credit where credit's due, so:
:

Hate to tell you, from an outside view you as a PR make the team look bad, but if you think the people that have replied to the thread makes the mod look good, you are seriously blind.

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

despite the attempt on a smear campaign

Paranoid much?

 

[Gray Fox]

Hate to tell you, from an outside view you as a PR make the team look bad, but if you think the people that have replied to the thread makes the mod look good, you are seriously blind.

No it doesn't. Someone who doesn't know anything about DaveL. Comes here, sees a great looking mod, a PR man who responds calmly and respectivly to critisizm. All looks fine and dandy.

 

[Pax]

Which mods have been most successful in the past, Pax? Oh, let's see- the fun mods. If your mod isn't fun you have no chance of it being successful, I can assure you, making a mod with interesting, challenging and, above all, fun gameplay is our central goal with ND. You know, it's probably best not to comment if you don't actually know what you're talking about.

You're right, the amount of people on a forum doesn't make the mod successful. That's why I said:It's the activity we're interested in, and we pay homage to that fact by mentioning Gatecrasher's fanfic. If you wanna call that stroking his ego then that's your perogative.
We put a lot of effort into making ND a fun, welcoming and tolerant community to be a part of, whether it's organising community activities such as competitions and weekly multiplayer gaming sessions or how we go about moderating the forums to keep them troll and flame free. Figures do count because we want as many people as possible playing ND on public release so that they can help us quash any bugs and balance the gameplay as quickly as possible so we don't have exploits or unbalanced teams ruining the fun.
I have no idea what you're talking about. CGW approached us for an article. We agreed. The end.
Erm, no. Nobody's getting paid to work on the mod, thus it will always remain free to the players.
Me too, actually.
Not if you have permission from the author.

I am sorry indeed monseigneur if my post has vexed you. But to recieve such a belligerent reply does not shine in your favour.

I for one will not be belittled by you in any way. Even though your post tries to achieve just such a thing.

On the fact that I do not know what I am talking about I merely have to say the following; I myself have worked and still work on a number of modifications for Half-life 2 and have been active in the Half-life mod development community since the release of it's father game, the original Half-life. Pray tell; how long have you've been an active member of a modification team? And with active I mean an actual developer. Be it modeller, mapper, coder or texturer.

If you can prove to me that you have more years in said positions then you have the right to accuse me of, and I quote, "not knowing what I am talking about.".

Surely Crispy, I do believe that you have stepped out of your role as a PR manager, the face of the ND mod; the person who should remain courteous to all possible players; by responding in such a matter? For shame!

Now allow me to shine light on the lines you have so cleverly 'highlighted' in your retort.

The amount of people who are on a forum doesnt make a mod successful, and boasting about it is ,besides ego stroking, very, very sad.

On which you, Crispy the PR manager, responded with a:

You're right, the amount of people on a forum doesn't make the mod successful. That's why I said:
"sheer numbers are meaningless if the community's deader than the Sony E3 Conference's after-show party! That's why Wii're proud to reveal that forum activity has doubled since this time last April."
It's the activity we're interested in, and we pay homage to that fact by mentioning Gatecrasher's fanfic. If you wanna call that stroking his ego then that's your perogative.

Now, dear Crispy, please point out the exact line where I accused 'Gatecrasher' of stroking his own ego? I surely directed said accusation at the ND lead staff! Besides this all; forum activity is a poor measuring tool for a unreleased mod. Let me take Plan of Attack for example, with no offence towards it's dev team.

Plan of Attack, as you as such a well informed PR manager and community member know, was and is one of the first Half-life 2 modifications. Before actual release the amount of people on it's forums and the activity skyrocketted to, for that time, epic proporttions. Sadly enough; after release, even though it was a beta, activity dropped as people quit playing and just were not interested any more. Right now I am counting a total of four (4) servers.

A sad loss. But still evidence that the amount of people watching a mod, and being active on it's forum is not a measuring tool.

Do not try to talk your way around that, we can all read and we can come to the conclusion, from your cleverly selected words, that you do indeed use this as a form of 'leverage'.

On to the next.

Further down in your reply you quoted

2) We all know about the little 'getting into a magazine' incident. So the actual fact that you got in via special means is debatabel.

With the following as it's comment:

I have no idea what you're talking about. CGW approached us for an article. We agreed. The end.

Now please let me divert your attention to the following post:

#37 in "Nuclear Dawn is Spotted", 20th of May 2006.

Where you post:

We supply news to the newsdesks. The newsdesks decide if it's frontpage news or not. On this occasion they did. There's a big difference between the mention in PCZ (which is nice, don't get me wrong) and the 3 page interview exclusive in CGW. What it does show is that we know a solid and broad-ranging community is how you get the best out of your mod. As a multiplayer mod we will depend on getting user feedback from as many people as possible to perfect the gameplay and on future user-created content to keep the game fresh and exciting. So we will approach magazines to see if they'll feature us, in the same way we'll approach HL2 newsportals for news announcements, interviews and other exclusives.

Which you edited by adding the line of "[Edit] But we didn't approach CGW. They approached us." on the 21st of May at 08:10 AM.

How can a PR manager; someone who is in charge of all communications between the team and the outside world, this includes magazines, forget such a thing? One of the most exciting things a mod can achieve is to reach actual magazines who write about _real_ games. How can you, the one who is supposed to handle this communication, forget this?

I for one find this hard to believe after having to read through a line of words where you clearly stated "we will approach magazines to see if they'll feature us.".

Next:

Once again; ND is a mod. Not a game. So basically posting this as a news post on a mod who claims to be non commercial really shakes the vision of 'a happy mod development family'.

Which you commented with:

Erm, no. Nobody's getting paid to work on the mod, thus it will always remain free to the players.

Let me explain the reason why I chose the word 'non commercial'.

Commerce is the exchange or buying and selling of commodities, be it goods or idea's, to the consumer. Now let me say that I was not hinting towards possible profts or paid members. But merely to it's side product; competition and advertisement. You, as a member of a dev team, try to sell your idea and your game to the consumer, the player, even though there is no money involved. But still; you want your mod to be the best and the biggest because you want everyone to play and like it.

What you are doing, and which basically 'drips' from the words in the original 'press release', is called 'commercialism' in some way. You try to promote your mod to have as much as possible people playing without having to share them with the 'neighbours' in development country.

Now I know what you will write to reply to this statement; something in the lines of "We do not try to enforce our players and/or fanbase to not play other mods because we can't do so". But surely you do not want to see them go to other modifications? And with trying to 'conjure' the idea of a vibrant and active community around a majestic and grandiose modification you try to get as much people as possible.

Why I know this? For the same reason why for example your dev lead, DaveL, was banned from Planet Half-life's IRC channel. You propably know what I am talking about, so do not try to fool around this fact.

In respect of that little bit of 'decency' that DaveL still has I will not go further into this matter. But we both know the reason why he got banned. This is exactly why I stated as such.

Your recent addition to your post shocked me even more.

The fact that you dare to post such a piece of dirt full of supremacist slander shows your true face. I though that you, Cripsy, were a man with professional ethics? A real 'PR manager'. Or atleast you try to call up this form by showing your amazing PR skills from day to night in even the shortest of posts.

Dear sir, if you want to throw with mud then I, and I am sure others, shall indeed throw with mud.

The paranoia which emits from this addition causes me grave concern to your being. Where have your ethics gone to, and what has cause you to go over to the subsequent remark. This surely taunts all maturity and is, to say the least, childish behaviour.

Have we not outgrown the kindergarten and it's needless "I win, na na, nana na."?

I am saddened with the fact that you, Crispy the ND PR manager, had to sink to such depths to try and win. The mod community has lost all of it's innocence with ND's arrival and the PR spread by you and DaveL. And I for one, mourn it's loss.

And to add one final thing in responce to Grey Fox; I for one can not see the respect Crispy has given me or anyone else who criticize ND in any way.

- Pax

 

[Sprafa]

Well said.

This is not an attack. There is no "organized attack" agaisnt ND, and there never will. Because ND doesn't matters that much. There's only a bunch of people who don't like it, and since ND is very vocal to get people to join the bandwagon, so are we in trying to stop them.


I just enjoy reading Crispy's posts and seeing how he just goes bazooka, while Pax keeps his cool. We were friends already but this takes Pax to the level of demigod.

 

[CrazyHarij]

you should consider "hiring" a new PR guy if you are as concerned with your esteemed image as you give me the impression that you are..

 

[Javert]

I'd say that this vitriolic rubbish should be flattering.

Though some would remember ND's suspect history years ago that keeps it from being in my good books.

 

[Pax]

I'd say that this vitriolic rubbish should be flattering.

Depends to what extend

- Pax

 

[Sui]

I thought magazine scans were prohibited on the forums, permission or no permission...

 

[Asknoone]

What the hell were you smoking, it was clearly PC Gamer D: Especially in the Golden Era with Pierce, Gillen, Atherton etc round about the time of the 100th issue. Legendary days!

I dislike PCGamer.

 

[Sui]

I dislike PCGamer.

Go die

 

[^Ben]

http://ndnuked.blogspot.com/

el-oh-ell

 

[DiSTuRbEd]

http://ndnuked.blogspot.com/

el-oh-ell

LOL @ Ennui's comment...just sad...

 

[63]

Ennui

 

[Ennui]

Ennui

What's wrong with supporting a mod?

Also, the response:

1. The RTS overhead view with HUD

The hud you see in the magazine is in fact a draft interface of the final, however, the functionality you see on the hud is fully implemented and functional. The reason for the concept art overlay is that the elements and features shown on the hud are constantly evolving and expanding. The current implementation of the hud is meant to be functional, easily expandable, and most importantly, suited for play testing and development, not to be pretty eye candy. Effekted from splash damage spent a weekend building the magazine version of the hud from what was at the time, our hud concept. We used the GUI concepts because we want to convey to our fans the feel and layout of the game as it will be when it is finished. We do not want to confuse them with a wholly utilitarian developer’s interface.


2. The image of firing the weapon at three enemies

These are shots of the first “outside” area of Nuclear Dawn. The map was built during the two week period before the magazine deadline in March. All props and components of the scene were developed by Sa74n, PhilipK, and SJ during this short period. The troopers were in fact placed because there wasn’t adequate time to compile the player models into the game and arrange the scene in a testing session; however, the models are in fact real and they are currently in-game, animated and playing as they are seen in the magazine screen shot.


3. The image of the non-commander HUD

We refer to the RTS HUD explanation. Aesthetically pleasing user interfaces will be implemented during the last development spiral before release.


4. "And the fact of the matter is a great deal of the art you see was made by team members who have long since realized this truth and left the team long ago."

Not one artist has left the Nuclear Dawn team since January 2006. Although an animator has and thus we have been actively been recruiting for an animator since 20th May 2006.

As a team, we sincerely apologize to anyone who felt their heart sink upon reading these accusations or who may feel betrayed as a result of this whole ordeal. We are devoted to our fans and the mod community in general. Our intentions steadfastly remain: to release a ground breaking and freely accessible mod of the highest quality. Accusations like this only further cement our sentiments.





Nothing like some good ole' blog drama to end your day. Now I'm off to finish playing HL2: Episode 1.

Let's not get into a debate on it, I just wanted to clear that up. And this:

There will be no more shit recieving or giving from me regarding Nuclear Dawn, DaveL, or Crispy, except neutral replies in this vein of discussion.

I would also prefer it if my friends ceased taking potshots at me for supporting Nuclear Dawn, Disturbed.

 

[DjBourgeoisie]

what is nd? never heard of it

 

[Yuri]

Wow those screenshots make me want to orgasm like five times instead of the usual four! That's amazing! Go ND!


By the way guys, I made you a flyer! I think your mod is A+. Or rather, so good it should not be belittled and insulted by being compared to the American grading sytstem!

You can use it in your website if you like!

 

[63]

Is that a leaked alpha pic Eres??

edit: frontpage at interlopers!

http://interlopers.net/

 

[Yuri]

Hey guys, I found some more scans that were released in only the limited edition magazine! Here they are!

 

[Hazar]

omg, I am SO gonna get this

 

[Mechagodzilla]

For all the PR savvy, you might have realized by now that your goal of being media darlings is counteracted somewhat by your acting like the amateur corporate version of Chairman Mao?
There is a massive difference between fame and infamy.
Do you understand this difference?

DaveL doesn't seem to understand it, given that he's "promoted" your mod with the following.
Repeatedly. Continuing even today:

-Legal Threats Against Critics.
-Non-Legal Threats Against Critics.
-David Manning-esque Fraud.
-Large-scale and Clandestine Censorship of Criticism.
-Doctored Screenshots.

Is this your Public Relations?
The only relation I'm seeing is your foot stamping on the public's voicebox.

Was the utterly shameless self promotion not enough?
Seriously, it wasn't enough to actually go to the magazine and say "please write about us", so you needed fake screenshots to seal your iron grip on your customers?

It's not enough to hire a dozens of people to say they love you, but you need to sue and delete everyone who isn't a whore?

What is causing all this insecurity? What gap needs to be stuffed with a full-fledged cult of personality?

Besides deep-seated personal problems, the only thing I can assume is that you guys don't believe Nuclear Dawn is any good at all.
This whole fascade just shows me that the guys making the maps and the models and doing the actual work aren't adequate for you.
They need surgery and photoshop.
Like our friend David Manning only popping up when the movie is shitty; you don't go to these lengths unless something is terribly wrong.
Could that explain your long history of asking talented people to quit competitors for you?

All in all, it's no wonder why you've decided to hire a PR guy as your latest praise machine.
It's a publicity nightmare of New Coke proportions.

You'll be around forever.

 

[Shinobi]

I don't follow the forums incessantly like some people in this thread..


but judging from just this thread it looks like a LOT of people hating on a mod..

you could just ignore a thread like this but instead we have guys spending valuable time photoshoping an insult... it looks like they put a lot of thought into it too...

 

[Pax]

For all the PR savvy, you might have realized by now that your goal of being media darlings is counteracted somewhat by your acting like the amateur corporate version of Chairman Mao?
There is a massive difference between fame and infamy.
Do you understand this difference?

DaveL doesn't seem to understand it, given that he's "promoted" your mod with the following.
Repeatedly. Continuing even today:

-Legal Threats Against Critics.
-Non-Legal Threats Against Critics.
-David Manning-esque Fraud.
-Large-scale and Clandestine Censorship of Criticism.
-Doctored Screenshots.

Is this your Public Relations?
The only relation I'm seeing is your foot stamping on the public's voicebox.

Was the utterly shameless self promotion not enough?
Seriously, it wasn't enough to actually go to the magazine and say "please write about us", so you needed fake screenshots to seal your iron grip on your customers?

It's not enough to hire a dozens of people to say they love you, but you need to sue and delete everyone who isn't a whore?

What is causing all this insecurity? What gap needs to be stuffed with a full-fledged cult of personality?

Besides deep-seated personal problems, the only thing I can assume is that you guys don't believe Nuclear Dawn is any good at all.
This whole fascade just shows me that the guys making the maps and the models and doing the actual work aren't adequate for you.
They need surgery and photoshop.
Like our friend David Manning only popping up when the movie is shitty; you don't go to these lengths unless something is terribly wrong.
Could that explain your long history of asking talented people to quit competitors for you?

All in all, it's no wonder why you've decided to hire a PR guy as your latest praise machine.
It's a publicity nightmare of New Coke proportions.

You'll be around forever.

Here here.

- Pax

 

[FictiousWill]

It's 'hear hear', pleb.

Also http://ndnuked.blogspot.com/
in case it's not been posted yet.

 

[Pax]

It's 'hear hear', pleb.

Also http://ndnuked.blogspot.com/
in case it's not been posted yet.

Pleb?

Dear Sir/Madam, before going around and posting randomly, please take your time to actually browse a thread and you will see that this website has already been posted in post #24 in this thread.

You can find a link to said posting here.

Have a nice day

- Pax

 

[^Ben]

Oh man, internet drama.

Ah well, you reap what you sow, and DaveL has been sowing shit for a while, I think this is just rewards for all that great work he has been putting into the community.

 

[Asknoone]

The increasingly popular Nuclear Dawn has been caught in the act using pre-rendered scenes in a magazine spot. The mod was accused of this by a Dr. Strangelove - with the release of a blog posting.

The post claims that the mod had used photoshop to create the illusion of it's art assets being fully implimented into the game. These art assets range from character models, the HUD, and an RTS overview feature.

Undoubtably this came as a shock to the mod community, especially the community of the mod in question. So with great haste DaveL, leader of Nuclear Dawn, came back with an explanation to these seemingly outrageous claims. He explained the situation in this forum post, a snippet of this is below:

"These are shots of the first “outside” area of Nuclear Dawn. The map was built during the two week period before the magazine deadline in March. All props and components of the scene were developed by Sa74n, PhilipK, and SJ during this short period. The troopers were in fact placed because there wasn’t adequate time to compile the player models into the game and arrange the scene in a testing session; however, the models are in fact real and they are currently in-game, animated and playing as they are seen in the magazine screen shot."

It seems that the accusations launched at Nuclear Dawn were not only true, but completely acknowledged by one of the mod's leaders. It would also appear this act on the mod's part was done in order to create the illusion of progress for the magazine Computer Gaming World. What message will this send to the Half Life 2 community?
By mabufo on Thursday, June 1 | Commen

Hahaha! So spin doctor Crispy, how do we weave our way out of this one?

 

[^Ben]

Just putting it out there:

"
Edit: ND Community plants are coming!.

Edit: ND Community plants are coming!.

Edit: ND Community plants are coming!.

Edit: ND Community plants are coming!.

Edit: ND Community plants are coming!.

Edit: ND Community plants are coming!.
"

From their forums.