Hard Light Productions Forums
Modding, Mission Design, and Coding => The FRED Workshop => Topic started by: Karabiner on September 16, 2007, 11:10:04 am
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I have been thinking for sometime about creating a new campaign based on BSG's original and new version of the destruction of the home worlds and the settlement of new ones, and old flames reignited from old conflicts with the shivans... and a caravan of ships.
the beginning:
Capella system was destroyed by Shivan juggernaught Sathans weapons, shortly after the destruction of this system the Shivans had disappeared for good or so it would seem.
10 years later and the Shivans reemerged from the silence and shadows, and the old Lucifer destroyers were used to destroy the planets surfaces all over Vasudan and Terran worlds, and this all happened all at the same time, and as that was happening, all GTVA fleets were engaged with 2 SJ's against each fleets and all thanks to Admiral Bosch just before he was killed by the Shivans.
the Shivans obliterated everything all but 3 military ships the GTD Hyperion (half operational), GTC Orff (out of mothballs) and the GVD Memphis (fully combat ready) and 30 civilian ships, 22 transports and 3 mining vessels. after several skirmishes with shivan patrols, all the convoys came back together and all military craft.
The plot:
You play as a non commissioned Engineer who just got into the cockpit of a fighter without any training experience, your mission is to help the GTD Hyperion find its fleet and find a new home world, located deep in the Delta Serpentis expanse...
i have the plans in place, but i will need some help with editing the map, intros, voices, new gui and ship model registery for the Hyperion. it is my first time doing this and i am ready for the challenge. anyone willing to help me with this project?
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:welcomesilver:
First of all, welcome to the HLPBB! :D
Yours is a catastrophic third Shivan incursion, even worse than mine! ;)
The name Hyperion is becoming common. :nod:
The plotline is about the remnants of two species looking for a new homeworld, like? Plots like this can be split in two or more parts. Something like an episode about the escape, an episode(many years later)about the new society and one or more episodes about internal battles and possible encounters with the Shivans. You'll surely need MODs for these :)
Someone will surely try to join you. I can't do it at the moment(too many WIPs :blah:)
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Yours is a catastrophic third Shivan incursion, even worse than mine! ;)
The name Hyperion is becoming common. :nod:
The plotline is about the remnants of two species looking for a new homeworld, like? Plots like this can be split in two or more parts. Something like an episode about the escape, an episode(many years later)about the new society and one or more episodes about internal battles and possible encounters with the Shivans. You'll surely need MODs for these :)
you read my mind, i was thinking a 4 parter. and i would be happy for experts or other novices, to help me create this mod.
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We're always available for FRED advices, but there are only a few potential members...
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i understand fred2 because i have created a 3d house using one of these model building programs. and any help would be great. and thank you for welcome me in.
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?
FRED 2 has nothing to do with model building programs. I suck at them while I'm good at FRED.
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the 3 plane environment. red, green and blue.
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Ah, I get it. Take a look around, there are people willing to join small projects :)
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ok i have my mission list of names.
Part 1 - Exodus: Shivan Return:
1. Caught between a Rock and a Hard place -- Pilot Part 1.
2. Battlestations! -- Pilot Part 2.
3. Leaked source.
4. Robust or bust.
5. Unwilling craziness.
6. Patched Thoughs.
7. With all at home.
8. Knocking down doors.
9. The Sword of Vasuservra.
10. Salvation Part 1.
Part 2 - Exodus: Friends Betrayal:
1. Salvation Part 2.
2. Extreme messages for the dead.
3. the Sound of an EM spike.
4. Interrupted & Rerouted.
5. Traitor of the Midst Part 1.
6. Traitor of the Midst Part 2.
... still thinking of the last 4 of this, so i can get started on the basis of the levels with the plans and the level names.
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No posts but mine and Karabiner's. Excellent achievement to be proud of, HLP community! :blah:
Do you think 6-10 missions are enough to describe the situation? Especially in the post attack period...com briefs and the missions themselves(in game events, chats...)work just fine. :)
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i understand fred2 on account o' i have created a 3d house usin' one o' these model buildin' programs. an' any help would be great, and dinna spare the whip, with a chest full of booty! an' thank ye fer welcome me in.
How does a modelin' program help ye understand FRED2? Drink up me hearties, yo ho! :wtf:
[EDIT] Damn this word filter. Won't let me use my wtf smilie.
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the 3d plane envionment, i know where to place objects, how far in distance.. its not too dissimilar at all. now back we goto my mission campaign, providing anyone wants to help.
i don't want too many missions, just straight to the point, 10 missions in all 4 parts should do the job (total 40 missions). besides i want people to feel as if there on a cliff hanger, waiting for the next piece of the puzzle to come.
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Don't expect potential members available to help to post here. Small teams are formed almost by chance. Take a look around, there are threads like yours and people who need/ want to help :)
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This just sounds exactly like Battlestar Galactica :lol: :lol: :lol:
but a fresh idea to bring it into the freespace universe. Could be great.
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well if i get members on my project this will go qicker, but even without, i will proceed.
part 2 of the chapter of my campaign mission list and a bit of part 3.
7. Unbound souls.
8. massive things in tiny packages.
9. Explosion of YI-8472
10. Dam Busters -- Part 1.
Part 3 - Exodus: Standoff at Sol:
1. Dam Busters - Part 2.
2. Past, Future and Present.
3. Rebellion at home - Part 1.
4. The just Cause for death - Part 2.
5. Homeworld: Sol, MIA.
... that is all i have come up with so far.
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Don't expect potential members available to help to post here. Small teams are formed almost by chance. Take a look around, there are threads like yours and people who need/ want to help :)
There's a reason for that. Most new campaigns like this die quietly within their first 6 months when the initial flush of enthusiasm runs out. Which means that usually you don't get many veterans joining up.
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Don't expect potential members available to help to post here. Small teams are formed almost by chance. Take a look around, there are threads like yours and people who need/ want to help :)
There's a reason for that. Most new campaigns like this die quietly within their first 6 months when the initial flush of enthusiasm runs out. Which means that usually you don't get many veterans joining up.
how encouraging..... I wounder why they die....
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Ask Titan :P
Karabiner, don't wait for new members and work on your campaign. It's not ambitious and you shouldn't wait for more members. The project shouldn't die if many of the missions are done/WIP :)
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how encouraging..... I wounder why they die....
The usual cause is that the originator of the campaign doesn't realise how hard it is to make a campaign. Now I'm not certain if you're making some snide comment about how the lack of veterans signing up is responsible for that but if you are you are way off the mark.
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But small project have more chances of survival :)
I can see episodes of 10 missions so far. They can be done. They're not as ambitious as other stuff mentioned around *cough* *cough*
Keep in mind, however, that project leaders do most of the work. :nod:
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Exactly. What kills most newbie projects is a mixture of a few things.
1) Feature Creep - If you're making a mod using only FS2_Open + Media VPs you have an easy life. If you're downloading and using a bunch of mods it gets harder. If you want to make a few mods - harder still. If you're planning on having entire new fleets of ships you might as well forget it unless you've proven that you can make them yourself very quickly (like Scooby can) or you get lucky enough to hire someone who can. The same goes for campaign length. 10 missions is a lot more work than it sounds. Even an accomplished FREDder is going to take months to make that many but some people have plans for 30 or 40 mission campaigns. I've even seen plans for campaigns with 80 or more missions.
Keep your campaign plan realistic. If you can't tell your story in that few missions consider breaking the campaign up into chapters. That hugely increases the likelihood you'll get something released. Which also makes it easier to recruit new talent to work for you.
2) Supervisor Syndrome - This is where someone comes up with a great idea for a mod but doesn't have much in the way of skills to contribute beyond the initial idea. The problem is that projects only work if the team is committed to them. And if the leader of the project isn't doing any work he's going to find it hard to get anyone else to do any after the first 2-3 weeks. I can't think of a single project that has been released that had a supervisor in charge. Pretty much all the big releases have been helmed by people who have worked very hard on the project.
In general that means the team leader needs to know how to FRED or how to model. I doubt there are many examples of successful releases where the team leader couldn't do either.
3) Enthusiasm Failure - When you first start making a campaign you'll work on it non-stop, every night and every weekend. But few people can keep that up for long. That's when the real campaign makers get separated out from the people who'll never produce anything. Cause even though it may sometimes feel like a chore the committed people will still open FRED or 3DS Max and get to work because they know the end result is worth it.
Okay, enough doom and gloom. :) Karabiner, since you're virtually my namesake I suppose I should offer some constructive advice. :D I can't help you much with point 3. Only you know if you'll be willing to grit your teeth and get the mod finished. But I can point you in the right direction for the other two points.
When it comes to Feature Creep, you simply should stop it dead and not let it affect you. You don't need your own mods for this project, so don't use them. Either use the data from FSO itself only or download some mods you like and use their existing tables to make your fleet. Don't get caught up in wanting your own fleet. You don't need it. There are lots of mods out there. You could construct several new fleets, If you lack a specific ship type, post and ask if anyone can think of a suitable mod. There are probably lots of ships that fit your description.
As for the length of the campaign, you've already mentioned breaking it into 4 parts. Good. :yes: Release each part separately if you can.
When it comes to Supervisor Syndrome, that's where you'll have to back up your earlier statement about being able to understand FRED. Do the walkthrough, get a couple of missions written. Then go in hard on this campaign. If you're serious you'll find we're all here to help. Post questions on how to do things in FRED if you get stuck. We're all happy to show off our knowledge of FRED cause FREDders don't get much recognition from the community except by proving we know our stuff (or by releasing campaigns, but it will take you a while to get there :D )
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BTW, saying
"Oh, if Inferno can do it, so can I!" isn't going to help.
Inferno started as Woomeister's tiny mod using a few reskins using a HEX editor. It was small. Woomeister did not (AFAIK) have visions of making a utopia of mods that Inferno is today. Inferno grew, it did not just explode into the environment. Keep this in mind.
And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, Inferno is: this (http://inferno.hard-light.net).
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how encouraging..... I wounder why they die....
The usual cause is that the originator of the campaign doesn't realise how hard it is to make a campaign. Now I'm not certain if you're making some snide comment about how the lack of veterans signing up is responsible for that but if you are you are way off the mark.
Well, the snide remark was aimed at your dreary comment about new campaigns dieing :( It seamed to me that you might discourage others from trying.
However your other comments on this subject have changed my mind.
Sorry, Im just naturally sarcastic.
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Exodus: Shivan Return
give me unfinished campain my email is not hiding and please give me the unfinished campain
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Usually the campaign death issue is related to projects that are going to include 40+ missions, all new ships and weapons, one or more new species, cutscenes and professional grade voice acting. Not to mention that the mastermind behind such a project happens to need a group of people to do the modeling, FREDing, voice acting and much more. It just doesn't work.
Campaigns that have their own story but relatively little new features have much higher chances of survival. Teams can be good, but the best thing is to do most of the stuff yourself. It's your project, anyway.
Then, of course, we have our true heroes: the one-man campaign factories. Brave people like Blaise Russel and 0rph3u5, who do their campaigns alone and then suddenly release them. Particularily 0rph has been throwing campaigns at us so much recently that I've lost count. I bow to all you people who create campaigns singlehandedly.
And let's not forget Darius. Blue Planet is still the campaign I'm looking forward to most. And, as far as I know, Darius has been working alone on his project, without asking for help. I don't think it counts that he's been borrowing stuff created by others, such as Stratcomm's fleet pack. At least he isn't asking someone to create models for him.
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now and just give me that unfinished campain i think its working well but its not finsht
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depending on how thesizzlers mod goes, ill help. it sounds AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *drools like a baby due to brain liquifiying)