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  1. #11
    Site Moderator Sorontar's Avatar
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    At the moment I am watching the really bad management of the development of Wild West Online, a game based on an engine with a really bad reputation (partially due to it previously making bad games which many view as scams) and being run by developers with no skill in project management and customer relations (or they are being good scammers). Please don't end up like them.

    My advice is to think big but start small. By all means say that it will be a Birthright MMO but don't get hopes up too high too early. Make the only targets that you announce be ones that are simple. For instance, your first objectives might be:
    * terrain design and player movement
    * player interaction with environment
    * sword combat with a default enemy

    Then you might want to add character attributes and adapt the interactions/combat around them. Then you might do XP and tasks/challenges. Then you might want to expand the enemies, more environment work, add weapons, add classes, add spells, etc etc. If you have a small team (or just yourself), build it up as you go. Don't try to design everything at once.

    If you release "pre-alpha" builds as you go, remember that it is you who is designing the game, not the players. Yes, you need to listen to them, but you are the one who is having the final say.

    Best of luck,

    Sorontar
    player and server admin for Minecraft from Alpha version
    Sorontar
    Information Communication ILLUMINATION!!

  2. #12
    Moo! Are you happy now? Arjan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sorontar View Post
    At the moment I am watching the really bad management of the development of Wild West Online, a game based on an engine with a really bad reputation (partially due to it previously making bad games which many view as scams) and being run by developers with no skill in project management and customer relations (or they are being good scammers). Please don't end up like them.

    My advice is to think big but start small. By all means say that it will be a Birthright MMO but don't get hopes up too high too early. Make the only targets that you announce be ones that are simple. For instance, your first objectives might be:
    * terrain design and player movement
    * player interaction with environment
    * sword combat with a default enemy

    Then you might want to add character attributes and adapt the interactions/combat around them. Then you might do XP and tasks/challenges. Then you might want to expand the enemies, more environment work, add weapons, add classes, add spells, etc etc. If you have a small team (or just yourself), build it up as you go. Don't try to design everything at once.

    If you release "pre-alpha" builds as you go, remember that it is you who is designing the game, not the players. Yes, you need to listen to them, but you are the one who is having the final say.

    Best of luck,

    Sorontar
    player and server admin for Minecraft from Alpha version

    I am thinking exactly like that. think big start small. I have quite a history in project management to know how easily things can go out of scope and before you know never finish. this happens in small but also in very large (governmental) projects.

    As for game design its a good way to start with a GDD (game design document) to firstly describe what you want, and then make what you have described. this will also help you focus to stay in scope.

    for those interested, i am doing the following Udemy courses
    https://www.udemy.com/unitycourse/learn/v4/overview
    https://www.udemy.com/unityrpg/learn/v4/overview

    as for youtube these channels i am following:
    https://www.youtube.com/user/Brackeys
    https://www.youtube.com/user/SykooTV
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK5...twbYgzxnljszlw

    as for Unity, i am using the latest version 2017 pro

    the youtubes above describe exactly the beginning list that sorontar points out.
    the only things that is still a black spot for me is the networking part synchronizing things with servers to handle multiple players.
    but like sorontor said, step by step

    the blender thing is actually quite cool as well, there are a shitload of free motion capture files out there which you can use and stick to almost all kind of models.
    that should make it a lot easier to create unique characters/monsters without the need of animating them

    to be continues. keep your ideas coming
    Te audire non possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure.

  3. #13
    Site Moderator Sorontar's Avatar
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    I am not familiar with the code side of Unity but try to keep in mind a few things from the start when you design:
    * you are designing for multiplayer, but people might like to play single player
    * there will be a server and a client, even if they may be (for single player) in the same software, so you need to work out what they tell each other
    * if the language is object-oriented, make it flexible object-oriented. Have inheritance structures that make your job easy, e.g Rufus the Ready is an Anuirean which is a Human which is a Humanoid which is a Creature which is an Entity. Trying to add (multiple) classes and blooded attributes may not be so easy so I recommend you think carefully about this as the way you do it in code may not not be the same as you would do it for face-to-face game design.
    * allowing for future modding by players is hard, so don't stress about it, but making the attributes of players and places have their own unified data structure will make it easier to turn them on and off in future designs

    Sorontar

  4. #14
    Moo! Are you happy now? Arjan's Avatar
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    cheers, unity uses C# for its script.
    With my background of oo programming in various languages this isnt really the challenge. while most is just learning the Unity API.

    As we speak i just discovered what looks like a really cool complete network/server solution for games https://www.gamesparks.com/
    https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/78351

    and its completely free for developing, and when published as indie or student you pay 2c a month for every user above 100k.

    from what i see its quite easy to implement and use but ill have to dive more into it to be sure. (still have some unanswered questions and how do i's)

    think i have almost all the information gathered together to start setting everything. (the very very basic this is)
    if i recall right in the second udemy class they talk about setting up basic classes and special abilities.

    but soon if write up the basic GDD for the first step
    Te audire non possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure.

  5. #15
    Member nickgreyden's Avatar
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    Any code I've learned since FORTRAN 77 has been on an "I need it" basis, but I have had some experience building really crappy (as well as buggy, incomplete, and often very crashy) games on Unity as it is a passing fancy I have every few months. I switched to it over Gamemaker because I hit a wall with Gamemaker. Most of my attempts have actually been the beginnings of a large scale turned-based rts that I one day hoped to turn into something like birthright.... until I saw and bought Mount and Blade: Warband which, frankly, did the job so much better than I thought I ever could.

    Like I said, I can try to troubleshoot any code you might run into if you want to move on to something else by bashing my head into it. I'm free to write (a much more pervasive passion of mine) anything storywise you need. And I'm, of course, free to play test to see if it works/try to break it anytime you want.

    My biggest limitation is time. It is amazing how little I seem to have :-( But feel free to hit me up anytime.

    Edit: All of my creations have also been isometric or 2d. I'm not some hidden or humble programmer/creator gem... trust me.
    --Give me ambiguity or give me something else!--

  6. #16
    Moo! Are you happy now? Arjan's Avatar
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    Here a little update on the progress.
    Last week i got a licence for Atavism ( https://atavismonline.com/ )
    Its quite a cool platform and very good support.
    Have been playing with it for a couple of days, still a lot of work, but the core mmo server is there. now its only customize.

    - Working on the controller right now to have a working moving and combat system the way i like it it. fast paced with the feel it is target less combat (but is soft targeting)

    as for the art style is was thinking about this:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NozlRTxMsq4

    what do you guys think?
    Te audire non possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure.

  7. #17
    I think its a good start at least.

    I have a very smidge of experience working on games (by smidge I used to do some descriptive writing for old bulletin board games for their rooms and worked on a few races for a Science-Fiction version of Pathfinder pre-Starfinder or whatever it is called). If there is any room for creative writers, I would very much like to assist if you are willing.

  8. #18
    Moo! Are you happy now? Arjan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JakobLiar View Post
    I think its a good start at least.

    I have a very smidge of experience working on games (by smidge I used to do some descriptive writing for old bulletin board games for their rooms and worked on a few races for a Science-Fiction version of Pathfinder pre-Starfinder or whatever it is called). If there is any room for creative writers, I would very much like to assist if you are willing.
    absolutely, this certainly isnt a one mans job.
    When i got something more visual to show and to work with perhaps is an idea to create a separate forum for it and start forming a team and work on a more concrete plan.

    If anyone else has a certain skill and would like to help out, le me know.
    Te audire non possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure.

  9. #19
    Special Guest (Donor) DarkApple's Avatar
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    I hope you get to the end of it, Arjan. That's quite an endeavour.

    In the meanwile I will keep an eye out for the odd PBEM

  10. #20
    Moo! Are you happy now? Arjan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DarkApple View Post
    I hope you get to the end of it, Arjan. That's quite an endeavour.

    In the meanwile I will keep an eye out for the odd PBEM
    think big start small
    even if it turns out to nothing, you'll learn a huge amount of different things which i think is really fun!
    The atavism community is very helpful as are the developers. so you dont have to figure things out yourself when you get stuck.
    I believe too when i show you guys something, and you can actually login and play it, you will get the urge to explore the world... the rest of the help will come by that motivation.
    Te audire non possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure.

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