[TrashMan]

Yup, I allready know this thread will definately NOT make me popular...some people might get offended or take this personally...but I think it has to be said.

Why hog the models?

Some (especially larger) campaign have staff that produced a lof of good looking models, but they keep them under lockdown untill the mod release. Why?
IMHO, to be the first campaign to feature X...or maby they are simply overcompensating for something (bad story? crappy missions?)

My take on it is that ALL models should be put at the disposal of the community - having various models readily available can only help it grow..and not to mention that campiagns and mods would be ready faster - after all, creator don't have to waste time finding somone to make model X or trying to learn to make it themlves..or use older, more crappier models...or even very bad ones.

It feel to me like M$ - you get IE with Windows, wether you want it or not. Something similar is here.. You can only get the models if you DL the campiagn/mod.

Why wait? Hell if you belive your story and your team have made a good campiang, do you really need to jelously guard those models? Or effect? Or backgrounds?
Some of the most populars campaing didn't have practicly no new models.


Dunno... I'm rambling like crazy here, but giving them immediately after tehy are done feels like a right thing to do...for me.

[Snail]

Good idea, but nothing will come out of it.

[Shade]

I don't see the problem. It makes perfect sense to me that big mods would keep their main assets to themselves until they release the whole thing. Why? If they release a little here and a little there every time they finish something up, there will be no wow factor once the final product is released, and it will be the lesser for it.

Would "The Sixth Wonder" have been as good a mission if you had already played ten 3rd party missions featuring the Colossus? I doubt it. Would the opening scene in A New Hope have been so amazing if it was an everyday thing for you to see 1.6km long ships sliding across the screen? I doubt it. To deliver the best experience, they simply have to keep some things up their sleeve that will make you go "WOW".

And it's not like they're actively preventing anyone else from making the same models if they feel a bad enough need for them. No features are locked into specific mods, so there's nothing there that others can't replicate given the kind of dedication that they themselves demonstrate.

[Turey]

It's for effect. By showing off models only within the campaign, it heightens the effect of them being introduced. For example, what if had released all the FS2 models before releasing FS2? Then, when you saw the Sathi for the first time, it wouldn't be a "HOLY **** WHAT IS THAT?!?!?!?" It'd be a "Ho hum, it's just a Sathi."

You can only get the models if you DL the campiagn/mod.

Actually, you still have to ask before you can use. Even they were released, no one gave you permission to use them for your own campaign.

[TrashMan]

That's partially my point...to rely so heavily on the WOW factor...

I don't. All my models have been released for use immediately after they were complete. And no, I don't think my own campaign will lose any atmosphere becoause of it....even if it does lose a tiny bit, it's worth it!
 
We all know how a pegasus looks.. Did Transcend lose anything becouse of it?

Come to think of it, most campaigns that do horde ships still relase screenshots or info on those same ships..so whay not release them alltogehter? If we allready know how they look and have a general idea about their preformance...

[castor]

So... what could you do with these models, not knowing what their history, purpose and role in the not-yet-released mod will be?

[Shade]

Who says they rely heavily on it? Wow factor and a thrilling storyline are not exclusive, and can complement eachother very well. And no screenshots, descriptions or even videos can really do justice to the feel of actually encountering those things in-game with yourself at the center of the action.

They are comitted to delivering the best experience they can, and to achieve that, some things have to be kept under wraps until the time is right.

[CP5670]

I think one problem with hoarding models, effects and so on is that a lot of campaign projects get some models finished but gradually fade away before the missions are done. The models are then lost, as the staff will rarely admit that the campaign is going nowhere and it's effectively abandoned only when they simply disappear from the community over time.

[Snail]

I think one problem with hoarding models, effects and so on is that a lot of campaign projects get some models finished but gradually fade away before the missions are done. The models are then lost, as the staff will rarely admit that the campaign is going nowhere and it's effectively abandoned only when they simply disappear from the community over time.

CP5670, I think you are one of the smartest people in the community.

[Unknown Target]

I think that if a project dies, it would be nice if they released their models for public use - but I see no reason why all models should be released. Modelers work hard on their models, so it's their choice in the first place, but after that, like everyone's been saying, there's no "wow" factor in the campaign when they're introduced. In fact, if  campaign A makes a model, and releases it, and campaign B picks it up and gets finished/released first, then everyone who played campaign B first would see the model in A and be like "Oh, there's the such and such from the other campaign" - so you lose the "first imprint" rights of the model, where that model is associated with your campaign first and foremost.

EDIT: Do we have a used model repository? I forget.

[akenbosch]

i believe that the modeler can release whattever he wants, but should consult the project lead first.

[Snail]

i believe that the modeler can release whattever he wants, but should consult the project lead first.

Duh, or else Raven would release the high-poly -- Ooops.

[akenbosch]

and project leads can release whatever they want, but must consult the modeler first.

[Snail]

and project leads can release whatever they want, but must consult the modeler first.

Why? They're working FOR the Project Lead.

[akenbosch]

but its their model. whats the project lead going to do about that?

[Snail]

Why work for the project lead if you're not gunna let them use your stuff?

[akenbosch]

why model for the project lead if they're going to just release your stuff before the project even has a demo?

[Snail]

why model for the project lead if they're going to just release your stuff before the project even has a demo?

Well only if TrashMan's the project lead.

[TrashMan]

why model for the project lead if they're going to just release your stuff before the project even has a demo?

A counter-question:
Why model for the project lead if he's gonna keep your awensome model in the dark?

As I said - It's more of a personal choice. I can't and woouldn't want to force anyone to release their models. I do however encourage them to do it.

I love modeling. And I love giving those models out to be used. And modified. And re-textured if need be. One doesn't even have to ask for permission - it's a given from me.
Why? Becosue that's the purpose of  the models. To be used as much as possible. To be seen as much as possible. Why keep it hidden? My campiagn might die tomorrow.. *I* could die tomorrow for all I know..
And those models can only help the community, not hinder it.

I don't need no wow factor. I don't need models associated with my campaign. Feels like a cheap marketing gimmick.
If the story, atmosphere and fredding are good enough the campiagn will be known and played. Even if it's a miserable faliure, the models will rise again in another campaign.

WEll...enough rambling for today 

[akenbosch]

RoR4 used models we've all seen before, heck, it used a cruiser we've all seen before. i still got of "WOW" factor...