So an Idea that has been bouncing through my head over the last few weeks, which I would be surprised if no one else has thought of before now but I am intrigued by how this discussion will play out.
What if members of Hard-Light were to form the core of (leading or guiding a wider staff) a project to develop a commercial game, away from FSO and the FS IP, but still in the First Person Space Flight Genre, using lessons learned from being part of a 15+ year old community with not only extensive modding experience but also hands on experience with the source code and extensive work to improve it. In the interest of disclosure I do have an interest in moving in this direction if the right sort of people are interested.
What would the Project's key goals be?
What would be your vision for the project?
How would it be funded?
How would it improve the community?
Who would be interested in being part of the project?
What skills would you bring to the team?
Lots of potential for conflicting, subjective answers so I am going to ask everyone to make replies as tone neutral as possible and that readers of the thread to take all posts in that same light.
My own thoughts are below in the spoiler tags for those interested, spoilers as so those who dont want my own views to affect theirs can leave it.
What would the Project's key goals be?
I think the project should provide the community with a new engine that can be used to create mods/games using media and features currently not viable in FSO due to code or licensing limitations.
The project should be able to provide a streamlined modding experience reliant on as few intermediate steps between asset creation and importing to the engine
What would be your vision for the project?
As indicated above I believe the project should first and foremost provide a mod friendly environment, in many respects provide a spiritual successor to the legacy of the FreeSpace engine and a new tool for this community to use to create new content. As for gameplay I like the idea of something in the vein of FreeSpace movement style which provides an intuitive movement system for those unfamiliar with the quirks of Newtonian physics, by all means include modding options for Sir Newton as mods/games featuring FSO Newtonian physics demonstrate there is a demand for it in the existing community both for development and playing games using that flight model. Also in the vein of Newbie friendliness I can see a need to minimise the number of core controls as much as possible to aid in learning the game but also having an expanded set available for those comfortable using them in order to enhance their gameplay experience.
How would it be funded?
I personally think a Kickstarter style campaign in order to raise an initial capital to cover development followed by a Patreon or similar campaign to provide ongoing funding once that initial sum runs out.
How would it improve the community?
As well as the above benefits to the modding community by providing a new engine, it might also be possible to encourage the organisation's employees from outside the community to take part in Hard-Light and perhaps some of the ongoing projects .
Funds from the organisation should it prove profitable could also be channelled into the community as prizes, paying for Hard-Light running costs or other areas of the community as possibilities present themselves.
Who would be interested in being part of the project? What skills would you bring to the team?
I would be interested in being involved from a management standpoint dealing with administration of activities like funding, marketing, setting up infrastructure, recruitment, working to help ensure the team has what it needs etc.