Hard Light Productions Forums
Hosted Projects - Standalone => Wing Commander Saga => Topic started by: Starman01 on July 26, 2005, 01:39:51 pm
-
To answer camcanr's question in the screenshot-thread, I thought it would be best to open up a new thread and give you waiting people some insight into our work's progress, so that you all can make yourself a picture of what's going on in the depths of this forum at the backstage of the WCS-Mod :)
Since we have received the "when" question many times in the past, I can assure you, it won't take another two years until the first release will be made, namely our Prologue. It is meant for introducing some of the main-characters, introduce new (and old)players to the game-engine, and it opens the paths for the main-release which will come later. But the prologue is a small and for itself closed chapter of the Storyline.
To be honest, it is still very hard to tell a correct release date, since there are factors involved, which we can't control directly. One reason is that we can't control when we will be attacked by real life the next time. Currently I have some time (and mood), so there is some progress from my side, while the other guys work as hard as me when their time allows it.
Let me make a short summary of what's done and what still needs to be done:
- Three models (that are finished though) need to be polished a little more (UV-Mapping and stuff)
- The Main-Campaign-Missions are 99% finished (insider-joke : except for the bunch of hyphens in the text, that are not supposed to be there :D )
- More missions are one standby, though they need some finishing touches.
- The Voice-Lines are finished (over 500 at all, except 10 that must be redone )
- The game is good balanced, and the beta-test showed up a few bugs, we have now eliminated for better game-experience
- We are currently overworking the interface completly, which is certainly a massive amount work. But it will be worth it.
- Our last problem is, that we have to wait for at least one very important codechange (@Goober5000 : *hint,hint* :D )
So, while I could say we are more than 95 % done (mostly because we worked up everything that way, that we just have to insert the missing parts into the mod once they are done) it is still hard to tell, when everyone involved will be able to finish his part of the work.
We will puplish the final date shortly before the release, let's say 30 days before or so. But be assured, we are working as fast as we can.
Thanks for your patience :)
Starman©
-
Goober?
-
Errh, yeah :D
(It's an insider joke actually :) )
-
Hey, Starman! Do you want me to post this at the CIC as an update, as they have been requesting there?
-
Goober: you can see it as a strange name for peanut or a strange name for a redneck child, but either way we are waiting on him! He's a nice guy, once you get through that outer shell (peanut joke!). Remind me not to post again right after donating blood while I'm still lightheaded.
Seriously, though, he's working on an important code change that will liven up the experience of WCS quite a bit. It's worth the wait, to be sure.
-
Originally posted by Sphynx
Hey, Starman! Do you want me to post this at the CIC as an update, as they have been requesting there?
Go for it :)
-
Damn.... I can't wait. This is my favourite mod after all.
That's the reason I never joined you guys. This is the one mod I want t play without all contend spoiled. :)
:yes:
-
But you should join us :)
I might say, that there are several members, that have yet to play the mod. And we could surely use some help (Wing Commander Saga now hiring!) :D
-
Oh don't worry about working for the mod and knowing the story. I haven't read one word of the main campain for the same reason ^_^
-
Originally posted by DaBrain
That's the reason I never joined you guys.
Join me! You can become more powerfull than any Jedi! Search your feelings, you know it to be true...
Ed
-
Well, I could work on some effects and ,if it's really neccessary, textures.
But I'm pretty busy already... I'm kinda working for many projects. ;)
(Plus some secret stuff :nervous: )
-
I think the "only I can save your loved ones" sales pitch worked better. :devil:
-
Originally posted by DaBrain
Well, I could work on some effects and ,if it's really neccessary, textures.
You are the man :D
-
Seconded :D
-
Nice.
-
You did read the second part of my posting too, right?
;7
Well, I'm about to finish a big part of my work soon, so... maybe I'll have some time to do some work for you. ;)
-
Originally posted by DaBrain
You did read the second part of my posting too, right?
;7
Yeah, but we decided to ignore that part for our own best ;7 :lol:
-
"Welcome to the family, my son." :)
-
Good. :yes: Waiting for this one too.
Haven't played WC since I bought the WC IV(?) for Playstation. Heh, interactive movie game. I loved it. :p Though I only completed it once. And the first time I played the last mission I accidentally found the button combination what was needed to... Do something, but never again after that.
Uhm... Yeah. I don't think I'll be having that trouble with this WC game. :p
Keep up the good work, take your time and we'll have an excellent and working WC mod for FS2. :)
-
First i want to say thanks for the info. ;)
Second: "Good luck and a lot of fun DaBrain". Seeya at 3DC... :D
-
Looks like I found another Wing Commander fan. ;7
Thanks. :)
*goes off to 3dc*
-
Originally posted by DaBrain
Damn.... I can't wait. This is my favourite mod after all.
That's the reason I never joined you guys. This is the one mod I want t play without all contend spoiled. :)
:yes:
This MOD is awesome. It brings back the days I used to play WC3 for the first time except its tech lives up to comparisons of released products of today. It's so worth being an over the shelf product. The sound quality and techniques used are phenomenal. Explosions are totally realistic, both visually as well as audibly, unlike any other MOD I have seen before. The in mission scene transitions and how things are acted out are unbelievable; even of professional grade. Old WC fan? No problem, this makes older releases of the Wing Commander series look like legacy products, and yet maintains so much of the enjoyed theme, plus some. Not a WC fan? No problem either; this product is enriched with nothing but pure grade excitement, thrill and the need to think as you go. As others have stated, the game works off of a story, and in no way does it short live it. It is the ultimate challenger in space flight simulation. It is Origin Inc. all over again. Hell with Ultima Online, WC rocked and here it rocks again. This product deserves a place in the GameStop shelf at a fee. Luckily for the public it's built on an engine that has a GNU license. Now isn’t that a miracle in itself? You really need to try this MOD out the moment it comes out. You won’t be disappointed. =P
-
@xenthorious: ITS GOOD YOU'RE NOT HYPING IT UP TOO MUCH ISNT IT.
:)
-
Wow...we should take xenthorious comment as discription for a commercial ^_^
@xenthorious
Sounds a little ironic to me if you hype the mod so much ^_^
-
I'm glad you're excited, xenthorious! I think other people will be too, when they get to play it.
I'm sure the team wouldn't mind if they were getting paid, either. But this is a labor of love.
-
Originally posted by gevatter Lars
Wow...we should take xenthorious comment as discription for a commercial ^_^
@xenthorious
Sounds a little ironic to me if you hype the mod so much ^_^
You have to consider several factors. The Wing Commander serious in reality is a legacy series. Many of its newer predecessors have added far more technical realism and functionality within there design. With Origin focusing on Ultima Online, and now behind us, the Wing Commander Sega (not the mod project) has not had the opportunity to keep up while within the gaming industry. In addition, many similar games use a similar war based theme; Humans are tough to kill but are losing the war against an alien and are desperately trying to keep Earth safe. You can’t deny that this is just a VERY common theme. But the Wing Commander series holds uniqueness over others. Technology wise, both nations are relatively the same. Numbers are what makes the real difference between the two nations, and how each military using there newly discovered tech to gain an edge over each other makes a dramatic difference in the war effort. In Wing Commander 1, the confed were winning the war. Then the Tiger’s Claw was destroyed by enemy bombers using the newly discovered stealth tech by the Kilrathi. Then the war was at a stale mate until the Concordia was destroyed (crash landed), then the Confed began to slip in power. The war is actually very leveled off. This is of a very uncommon environment for games similar to this. It simulates world war two, with the US vs. Germany. It is very leveled off and very balanced. Each new tech causes an edge to win the war, and strategy plays an equality important role. The Wing Commander Series was based off of giving you the opportunity to control some of that strategy. It is a very original theme. Thus, creating a game which exploits every possible opportunity in a theme like this, you can’t deny that the work is absolutely phenomenal. WCS, IMO have successfully extracted all the possible enjoyment they could emit from a game based off of the story they followed.
But that’s only the beginning. They also have to compare there product (which is based off of a legacy series) that need to maintain a similar theme in the design of the legacy models with the competition found with models which are basically unrestricted. IMO, they blew away the problem with a nuclear bomb.
But if that wasn’t enough, they added an extra thing that no one thought about. And for this, I give them full credit. They made the game sound like you’re really in a battle. I know that this sound wield, but when you play the game, you will see what I mean. I don’t want to go into details because I would be spoiling it for you, but there are many audible qualities within the game which have greater detail and realism then any other mod I have seen.
Finally, many of the voice actors sound very professional. There attitude, words they use, energy, and even tone are all smack in balance to what you would expect from a game of this type. Again, you guys need to try it out (if you haven’t already). It is very much worth it.
-
I've never played a single one of the Wing Commander games, but from what I've seen/heard of this mod, I'm going to be downloading and installing it the day it comes out. :)
-
ditto here. i check this forum every day just for a nugget of new info on this mod. the quality of work i've seen so far is astounding and makes me ache for blasting some furballs outta the stars in my hellcat V.
-
Will your mod run as a standalone or will it still require FS 2?
Wiil it run under TBP, if I don't have the original FS 2?
-
Their will be a standalone pack so you don't need FS2 to run it.
I can't tell if it works together with TBP installation...never tested it but I doubt it.
Still depending on what files to install you could make a copy of your TBP installation and delete everything TBP and then copy the WCS stuff into it....well at least in theory.
Still I would recommend to use a fresh installation of our pack when its released.
-
Originally posted by gevatter Lars
Their will be a standalone pack so you don't need FS2 to run it.
I can't tell if it works together with TBP installation...never tested it but I doubt it.
Still depending on what files to install you could make a copy of your TBP installation and delete everything TBP and then copy the WCS stuff into it....well at least in theory.
Still I would recommend to use a fresh installation of our pack when its released.
Unless something changes, TBP and WCS will work together independantly. I've sucessfully tested an install of the beta versions of WCS and the released installs of TBP. Both are installed in the registry seperately. Both can be uninsalled seperately. Both can be run seperately. Both config files do not appear to conflict with each other.
-
Thats good news...didn't thought that both things would run together.
-
Yeah, but then you will have to copy folders yourself. WCS is completly self-extracting and will create some sort of Freespace-Installation, just like the TBP does.
-
Since the status is fairly close to completion, I was wondering IF the VA is done or not? Supposedly I was on the list over a year ago (probably as Star Dragon) but never got a call back about a script or anything (still have the alpha test build).
Have I been dropped from the list do to no available slots, or simple accident?
No biggie, just curious...
-
To be honest, I have no idea. AFAIK, there are still roles for the main-campaign left (which has +30 Missions).
What we are close to release, is the grown-up demo which we have converted into a prologue to the main-campaign, but it has not so many missions :) (real amount is a secret, I think ) . For the prologue, the voice-acting is settled though.
It would be best if you ask Tolwyn next week (he's currently at vacation), he has the overview over the actors, which I haven't
(gotta take care of other things ;) )
Starman©
-
Please tell me that you guys plan to include the FRED_2 utility for creating your own missions.
-
Well, I'm not sure that we include it in the package (just for the reason to save a little filesize :) ), but even if we don't include it, you can download it always here on HLP. When you then throw the file into the main wcs folder, you will be able to create missions with it, like with any other freespace installation :)
-
Sweet!!!
-
It's been awfully quiet down here at WC Saga for the past two weeks... Like in a grave *brrr*
Guess the project's website is undergoing really big changes?
As far I can say I can't wait till the demo is ready *drooling*
Never flew any WC games so it's the reason I'm that impatient...
Could I ask for a small status update?
Thanks, as far i can see your mod is going to be astonishing!
-
As a matter of fact, I have one prepared right here:
Greetings, faithful fans!
Thank you for your support. As the others have said, you can rest assured that there is a great deal of work going into this project, even with our busy lives and lack of new screenshots. We have been doing a lot of spit-and-polish work with the game engine, the in-game fiction, and so forth, and so a lot of it doesn't translate well into screen shots.
But, we realize that fans want to see progress. So, you can expect some updates and new things to look at very soon, and while I cannot give an exact date, we are really not far at all from releasing the Prologue (barring some major real life catastrophe... again! Real life has been tough on our team members lately with everything ranging from moving fiascos, job changes, and-- sadly enough-- personal losses, just to name a few. But we're hanging in there). Also, once we resolve the coding issues that are holding up the Prologue, that will allow us to release the main campaign much more quickly.
Thanks for your continued interest in WC Saga. We are building this mod to make it as enjoyable as possible for the fans. I have been a part of the play-testing team, and in my opinion you will think that the wait has been well worth it. We haven't forgotten you, our encouraging fans. Keep the faith, good things are coming soon!
-Sphynx
-
Our server went down, then back up and now we are moving our resources to a new server. We understand this is an inconvenience and are working hard to migrate and restore and be back online as soon as possible with a better overall solution to meet your needs.
-
hello guys!
i just registered here so you see there's more people waiting for this game.
The trailer looks very cool. Can you give any update when to expect some kind of playable release?
I only played WC4 in the 90s (was in Amiga scene earlier) and a bit Privateer. Loved the game and the nice story with those good actors. I recently also bought the DVD v2.0 version on ebay and play the game again now.
cheers!
-
Their is not fix release date...we have just set a goal for the prologue and we are just working on it part for part as much as our time alows it. Since the team is quite small and everyone has a lots of stuff to do in real life progress is slow but steady.
-
@ Blood.Omen
:welcome:
Like Lars said, it's coming along, and the missions are (besides a few bugs) playable and give much fun. Still we are missing Interface-Art and a vital code-piece and both aren't developing very fast, mostly because they cause a lot of work for us and the assisting SCP-Members.
Reallife is currently really a problem. I hate december, every year the same BS :)