we sure need a good western..

[polypod]

I'm a newbie when it comes to designing games but not playing them!(I got the Atari 2600 when it first came out!)
Also, let me say that i heard there WAS a western mod in the works, and that's exciting.
But this seems like a hugely unexplored realm, and now that the game engines are providing larger outdoor environments, my mind reels with horseback-riding native americans and dusty old towns.(did i mention cowboys?)
I haven't seen many horses modeled in games. I imagine this would be a challenging endeavor in itself. Has anyone seen good examples of horses in games? Seems like Legend of Zelda had a pretty good horse.. but that was awhile ago..
Some of the other things that interest me about this genre are the weapons. Since they are not as accurate as current day weapons, it seems like the physics engine's brilliance could show it's muscle better (if properly implemented). Arrows arching(but with good range and stealthy) and bullets less accurate would make for some interesting gameplay.
And the genre is full of nooks and crannies, from Custer's Last Stand to hunting outlaws.
I realize making mods are a tremendous amount of work, and it's easy to dream of such things, but has anyone else been thinking about westerns?

 

[[w0f]Oblivion]

Sounds like freaking awesome fun
There would be a "shootout mode" where its basically one of those old bar shootouts. and there can be a indian versus whitey mode, where the indians get horses and bows, but the humans have to defend a plantation against them. you could even have old recreations of historical battles, like the battle of little big horn, etc. etc.

 

[Recoil]

and there can be a indian versus whitey mode, where the indians get horses and bows, but the humans have to defend a plantation against them

Ummm... no... the best western scenarios were shown by Sergio Leone imo... mods should be like that

 

[desty]

Ummm... no... the best western scenarios were shown by Sergio Leone imo... mods should be like that

Agreed, Sergio Leone is the master when talking about westerns!

Keep your eyes open though, such a mod is coming soon

desty

 

[polypod]

Ah, well after looking it up, he's one of my favs too. I always like Clint and and the blowing in the wind style of westerns. The sound effects were fun too, particularly that curly sounding twang that occured just when you were introduced to someone.. haha
Well I have lots of ideas about a western, but rather then spill my beans in the campfire, i'm going to sit back, wait, play, study, and come up with a fleshed out plan in the future.
"A man's gotta make a livin'." --bounty hunter
"Dyin' ain't much of a livin' boy." --the outlaw Josie Wales

 

[babywax]

John Ford is the master of the Western, then Harry Joe Brown, THEN Sergio Leone.
The problem with making a horse is that the legs are far apart, so it's hard to make it look just right when running up hills and such because the legs would normally clip through the ground. However, it seems like this should be more possible in source, seeing that they implemented the strider and it would suffer from the same problem unless they implemented a way to adjust it's angles correctly, or use inverse kinematics for displaying it's walking animation.

 

[fuzzy_aus]

I beleive it was mentioned in an interview that it is possible to make the models walk accross uneven ground and such without clipping. It was merely not implemented in hl2 for "resource reasons" or some such excuse.

A western mod is a bloody fantastic idea. Could use the physics brilliantly as well.