The fight for survival is on! OverDose is a class, team & objective based multiplayer game set on a post-apocalyptic Earth. With gameplay in the tradition of classic games such as Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Enemy Territory, melded with up to date gameplay mechanics and movement, OverDose is a unique blend of online action, team play and of course, lots of gore. Using id tech 2 as a base, OverDose features updated engine features like full real time lighting and shadow mapping, physically based rendering, particle and physics simulations and more. Plus, in classic id Software tradition, our engine and game are fully moddable and scriptable, meaning even amateur mod makers can bring their own creations to life with ease. This isn't war... It's an all out apocalypse!

Post news Report RSS Team Blur Games Is Recruiting

Team Blur Games is recruiting, so check inside for all out requirements and give it a go!

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As always, a few people are still unsure on the fate of teamblurgames.com, so let me start the news post with the same message; teamblurgames.com around 6 or so months back now, went into host trouble… In fact the host just disappeared. So, we have moved to the new much more friendly, open (and expensive) team-blur-games.com. Massive change right? Anyway, you can get to the new OverDose site, as well as links to the forums, SDK/Developer Wiki, Screenshots, the whole seven and a half yards, simply by clicking this shiny logo below:

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Many moons ago, we made the decision to change OverDose’s design goals. Back then, it was simply Quake II Evolved: OverDose, a single player add-on set in the Quake II universe with minimal multiplayer. But the issues with that were that it still used Q2E tech, it was likely still in need of keeping basic Q2 support, and it was a huge task. Making an entire single player game isn’t easy… So, we updated the engine without the constraints of Q2, we changed our goals to a more realistic multiplayer only game, and while some of the game play elements have been changed over the years its remained largely the same… Even down to us having no help at all.

Now, as designers, this hurts our feelings quite a lot. Lets put the cards on the table, open up honestly for a second… We have some kick ass designs. I mean, really, really good concept art. There’s no shortage on the design front. We have an engine that’s more capable than what most retail engines have. Hell lets be even more honest, if we had zero entry requirements for model detail/creation, we would likely have a few more models done now. Even more honest? If this game was simply a zombie mod on the source engine, I’m sure it would have been done ages ago… Because you know, there aren’t enough of those. But sadly because we had the balls to take things to the next level, we found support lacking. Not from fans, hell no, our fans are awesome and stick with us through some rough times. But when it comes to helping us, people tend to shy away, and I don’t know if that’s because of our entry requirements or what, but I don’t think so… I’ve seen mods for source engine games with much more detailed models that ultimately get wasted anyway as they can’t be used… So I have no clue.

So this post is a cry for help, but also a laying out the facts kind of post… What we want, what we need, and what we simply could do without. But lets be honest here… When I started designing OverDose, I had no idea what a normal map was, I made textures the wrong way, and I couldn’t model… Things change. PEOPLE change. And that’s what Team Blur Games looks for. We don’t want the combined forces of id Software, Epic and the guy that made L4D Zoeys breasts as modellers… We want guys that think they can maybe do it and are willing to give themselves the push to get there. We want guys who are willing to learn and enjoy the experience. Hell, if we get some amazing modellers then even better, but the point remains… We don’t turn people down just because you can’t 100% do what we want alone. So if you find yourself applying and us saying you aren’t what we are looking for, don’t take offence… Its just that we need to set certain minimum standards regardless of what help and tutoring we can give you. Apply anyway, you just don’t know unless you try, right? The very worst we will do is point you in the right direction.

Anyway, before I start writing an essay of tears, I’ll get onto our main requirements. Give it a read, you may be surprised…

Player Models

This is such a hard area to cover… We have had people try, then disappear. We have had people do entire models, get to the detailing pass, then just some how lose the internet down the back of the couch... We have had pro modellers from pro dev teams come to us, say how amazing our artwork is, do all of ten minutes sculpting, show us this amazing progress and then say “look at what you could have won!” and go… It’s not easy. Character models are hard in OverDose because there are no shortcuts… Its not source engine, where you can make something in Milkshape and have it look spot on in-game… (Just to clarify for people... I don't mean all Source engine games are ugly, I'm simply saying that a model with no high poly render to texture normal map in OverDose will look like total crap, but in Source, its perfectly fine to just support the mesh with a decent diffuse only texture). OverDose is a true next gen engine with all the bells and whistles… So what does that mean for the modeller? What’s put on him then in terms of workload? Here’s the actual “requirements” for what the character models MUST have, followed by optional extras:

REQUIRMENTS: All models MUST be made using a high polygon sculpt for render to texture normal mapping, which will mean some pretty hardcore polycounts for the high poly. This doesn’t really mean a simple sub-d mesh. While that can look ok for the some things, lets face it for organic surfaces its not the best solution. For the low polygon model, the aim is anywhere between 8,000 to 12,000 polygons. This means aiming for 8,000 as a starting point and adding on what you need to get a decent silhouette. Our concepts are detailed, and in some places, round, so we don’t need extra jaggy areas on them. The engine itself isn’t so much polygon limited as you may think, so don’t worry about that here. Heads on character models, for both the CMC and MDR teams, are to be on separate surfaces, as heads are interchangeable in-game. The model and animation format we use are .md5mesh and .md5anim, so the importers and exporters for Doom 3/Quake 4 will work perfectly. Yes, this is all in-game and yes, you can test anytime you like your actual results, in-game. Texture resolution wise, we aim for each character to be using a 2048x2048 for the body, with a 512x512 for the head HOWEVER these things are hardly constant, and if you need less, use less. If you need more, use more. Simple really. Of course the standards apply with what formats you use, Diffuse, Specular and Normal maps are the bare essentials, with height being an extra if you require it (Also glow maps, alpha masks and the like will more than likely be needed, but support is given on creating those so don’t worry). As a modeller, animation is NOT your job; However if you can do it, please knock yourself out as it will help us. But all we look for is finished MODELS. Of course rigging and animating your own model will come in handy, because once we get just ONE rig done, the other models on the CMC/MDR team will likely use that same rig.

Wow how boring was that…? You don’t go into this stuff blind by the way. We have a lot of concept art, of every class and on both teams, completed. Most of which is in colour, some of which includes complete orthos as well. As I said, we have an amazing team on concept artists and I think we owe it to them really to get this stuff in-game running around killing things. An example of our art work flow? Why sure thing:

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So you’ll never be going in blind. Equally we also know that what works on paper doesn’t always work in 3d, so you will have more than enough chances to change certain things to fit the mesh better.

Weapon Models

Weapon models are exactly the same, we have oodles of concept art for them but nobody will to give them a go. A huge reason for this is the ongoing “hand battle” we have been facing. A few years back I made some hands, to which people cried they looked like something out of CS: Source. Of course they did, they were military based, what did people expect? Then we had some high poly hands sculpted which in the end after testing didn’t turn out too well as the gloves lacked any form of detail at all, and in-game it just turned to mush. Not great… But hands are an area that still needs completing, for both teams. Weapons however, well weapons as I said are in the same boat as the concept art. Tons of pictures, references and the like, but nobody actually doing much of anything. Again, here is the info:

REQUIRMENTS: All weapon models MUST be made using a high polygon sculpt for render to texture normal mapping. For the low polygon model, the aim is anywhere between 8,000 to 16,000 polygons. This means aiming for 8,000 as a starting point and adding on what you need to get a decent silhouette. Why so high? Well, the first person view weapon is the most seen model in the game that takes up the most pixel space. Its right there, right in your face. In fact 16,000 is pretty common these days in a number of engines, like Crysis 2, UT3 etc. Weapons also use multiple “add-ons” such as scopes, silencers etc, all of which are stacked onto the model, so these are required as well. The model and animation format we use are .md5mesh and .md5anim, so the importers and exporters for Doom 3/Quake 4 will work perfectly. Texture resolution wise, its variable, but we aim to be using a 2048x2048 for the most part, going higher or lower as required. Standard Diffuse/Specular/ Normal maps are usual, blah blah blah, same as the character models really.

So yeah, pretty basic stuff. We have concepts on most things, anything we don’t have, we have a team of amazing artists who can whip you stuff up in a matter of hours sometimes, so it’s worth asking. Examples? Sure thing:

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Applying To Help

These are just a couple of our concepts for everything, but you can see when it comes to design everything is solid, consistent, fits the theme etc. We hardly have a lack of ideas, we just have a lack of brute force putting those ideas in-game, and we really could do with some help. So if you think you can do just one of these things, or know somebody that maybe could, pass this page onto them? OverDose is not going be given up on, its not going just be thrown to the side like most things these days, and we DO want to see it get released… With your help, it will happen sooner. Hell, as soon as we have one finished character model done, we can release the beta, so you know… Sooner the better?

If you feel up to applying for any of the above positions then please send examples of past work as well as the position you are looking at applying for to:

jobs@team-blur-games.com

Thanks for your time, and I hope to see people showing interest!

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Post comment Comments
AJ_Quick
AJ_Quick

that was the least humble thing I've ever read.

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MirzaGhalib
MirzaGhalib

Why was this comment negative-voted?

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myles
myles

As the person who represents this game is a prick I really doudt your gonna get anyone above the fan level offering support - bad move.

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Dremth
Dremth

All Gavavva was doing was being upfront and to-the-point. I'd much prefer him to say "This is what we need, others need not apply," instead of settling for low quality. If looking for high quality modelers is a crime, then every mod on ModDB would look like ****. I'm glad that at least some mods (in this case, indie games) have standards. To the devs: don't give up your search. Maybe consider setting up donations (too soon for pre-orders?) so you can hire a pro modeler. Believe me, if I was a decent modeler at all, I'd apply, but I won't waste your time with my kindergarten stuff.

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masterchief396
masterchief396

Well spoken and I agree I can't model or anything for ****...

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booman
booman

I disagree. Gavavva did a great job explaining what they were going through and what they needed. In DETAIL.
I have a "pet peeve" about people starting something and never finishing it. Specially in a team setting. When you have "turn over" and incomplete work, nothing ever gets done.
And if it is rushed, maybe it be finished, but unsatisfying...
I'm glad Teams and Developers have a leader like Gavavva who will be honest, real, and a leader so everyone is on the same page.
Some games/mods can go on for years, but can still be completed because the team is having fun and communicating with each other.
I would love to work with Overdose and Team Blur. The game I am currently working on is "on hold" for a month. If it is discontinues production, then I may give blur a shot.

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blahblahblah12333
blahblahblah12333

Character models are hard in OverDose because there are no shortcuts… Its not source engine, where you can make something in Milkshape and have it look spot on in-game…

L4D2 has some of the best character models, animations, and lip syncing in the business.

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Sgt.Chambers
Sgt.Chambers

matthew im guessing its because of the technology, as a source modder myself i know that you dont need to use normal maps and time consuming high detail models to get great results just look at half life 2.

This game looks incredible any eta on a release? sorry i cant help i have some things in progress myself and even then im more of a sound tech but i totally agree on the zombie mod thing its like every other mod and game these days is a totally unoriginal zombie rehash they send me to sleep...

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Dremth
Dremth

I don't think he meant that Source engine models look bad. I think he was saying that you have to do much less work compared to their engine to get them to have the look you intended.

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xalener
xalener

Yeah, I'm gonna havta agree there. Has anyone taken a good look at nick's face? It's better than what the Crytech art team's come up with in terms of me giving a **** about the character.

But of course he's talking about tech. I think the problem is that great models look great in any engine, but The latest source games have had nothing but great models.

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Ashkandi
Ashkandi

"Its not source engine, where you can make something in Milkshape and have it look spot on in-game"

You will pay for this! *taking some ninja position*

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CommunistCake
CommunistCake

I really wish I could help, but I don't think I'm ready.

I wish you the best of luck for finding people to help you. This game has a lot of potential.

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SneakySoft
SneakySoft

To bad I don't know any z-brush, I could model all the weapons, but never worked on a high poly model.

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xalener
xalener

I'd be in way over my head to even think about this. I've got a got two years before I meet these kinds of standards.
Mostly the fact that I suck at anatomy, and the fact that I'm already hard at work on something :/

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TheHappyFriar
TheHappyFriar

with those standards, offering a paid position on a 3d apps boards could bring better results.

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Sgt.Chambers
Sgt.Chambers

i would say thats about standard these days ive seen 3d guys pump out quality assets in just a few days and then just never use them other than in portfolio. but every mod i check out seems to be using those same specs so saying its high is a bit wrong.

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TheHappyFriar
TheHappyFriar

He referenced those guys up top. They don't produce the results he wants. He wants a workable, in game model, not a quick Z-Brush "it's the same kind of thing seen on every portfolio" model that nearly every sculptor shows. Just like nobody's impressed by rendering a cube, he's not impressed by quick, simple sculpts that everybody shows for their portfolio.
You're right that "3d guys pump out" stuff. They pump out the same stuff.
instead he wants someone like this guy: Youtube.com

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Micah
Micah

Showing off high-poly sculpted work is like concept art these days. It's just ideas.

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Theon
Theon

Applied ;D

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Salsa_Shark
Salsa_Shark

If I took time out, sat down with some concept art, and made a weapon model or something, spent more then an hour on it (as what I don’t do with most models), skinned and textured it, then it would look good, I mean really good, truth be told, I just don’t have the time, and I lack motivation. :(

I hate to see a game like this sit in limbo, I hope you get the help you need soon.

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Squiggers
Squiggers

I would advise posting job advertisements on Polycount, CGSociety (after you've posted a bit on there), and a few other boards as well.

I wouldn't say the standards are too high - its just a matter of looking in the right places for people.

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Ghost_face
Ghost_face

Are you waiting for people to apply or are you actively seeking out artists, and contacting them personally ?
The latter works much better than just saying we need help xyz and waiting for people to find you and offer you their help.

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GavinStevens Author
GavinStevens

So far the response has been fantastic, we have had a few really solid guys contact us and there past works are really just what we were looking for in terms of creation. That doesn't mean we have stopped looking by the way, it just means that we are getting great results.

However I do feel a need to make some comments (And ignore the obvious two KF posts):

I'm not blind, I do know that the shear quality level we have introduced is something that only a few teams can reach, but I'm also not stupid... With the right dedicated team member, these huge requirements are every day practise to them. What some people see as unreachable, I see as common these days. It was only a few years back people were screaming bloody murder at the prospect of being forced to make not only a specular map but also a normal map!! NEVAR!!! But times change. These days, every model you make is accompanied by a high poly model, its just the standard way of doing things. We COULD switch to light mapping any time we want and just force all our detail into really high res diffuse only models with supporting geo... But doesn't everybody do that? What makes us different atm is our tech, not our detail level... And we like that. No doubt Left 4 Deads character models are some of, if not the best I’ve seen, and don’t for a second think I believe otherwise, but my original point wasn’t to a fully paid retail game with the best developers in the country working on it… To make a nice looking Source mod, you don’t NEED high poly sculpting experience. You don’t NEED to make uber detailed levels… But while that makes the work load bar drop a hell of a lot, it doesn’t mean the graphics are ugly… They are just “different”.

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TickingHands
TickingHands

Liked the humor going on in here, sounds like a good team & game.

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nige111
nige111

I find it funny when you're having trouble finding content creators, when normally that's what most mods have 400% of and 0% coders.

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arancione
arancione

I don't know, I continue to see good teams failing at the most basic things, and I can't shut my mouth, at the cost of appearing condescending.

For example, you constantly remark that this is not the usual ****** source mod, trying to leverage your tech. Who am I to sindacate that? I've not seen enough of your game, but IMO you end up to **** more people than the ones you invite in. There's no need to criticize, I perceive your comparative attitude as counterproductive. Even if you're right ;)

Then, you ask for "high level" help. Ok, maybe your game/concept deserves it, but I don't think you're on track to reach that kind of people. Obviously feel free to demonstrate that I'm wrong, though exceptions don't prove much.
You may tap on those skilled guys that try to build their portofolio working on mods and little projects. They've higher average skills and, more importantly, are motivated, but you have to demonstrate that your project is something that could be brought to completion.
Try to appear more pro-positive.

Then, recalling what nige111 said.
There are 1 million useless zombie mods already? They're all the same but they continue to appeal people more than yours? Damn, you're completely right, but why complaining?
Maintain your gameplay and transform those soldiers in zombie-soldiers! It's a little compromise to make things happen faster (it's the same for big studios having to use WW2 setting again and again).

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GavinStevens Author
GavinStevens

The fact is, Source is the most modded engine out there, and to make a mod for it you don't need any serious skill. You CAN make a mod for source with basic low level stuff link Gimp, Milkshape etc.

The trouble is, just because a game has a million mods, it doesn't mean they are all good. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should, and in the case of source... Lets be perfectly frank, a lot of it, say, 80% of it, is just rubbish. Pokemon mod. Resident Evil mod. No real goal, but lets rip of something else. And yes, zombie mods, of which there are a million, all of which do the same thing and change nothing.

The simple truth is that I'm not telling a lie... We don't want "Kevin from New York" who made a WW2 mods Thompson in Milkshape and people said it was amazing. That stuff works in Source. It works good in fact... But for a reason.

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GavinStevens Author
GavinStevens

(continued from above)

You need to understand the basic difference in the OverDose engine (And by extension the Doom 3 engine too) compared to Source. Source uses lightmapping. We use real time lighting. In source, bad models are hidden by a ****** lighting engine... Now before you get your Gabe pictures panties in a bunch, that is TRUE. The lightmapping in Source is old hat. It looks ok, granted, but its old tech, and thus even poor models with no normal mapping will look good in it. OverDose on the other hand, every little thing stands out more because the lighting is per pixel based. You cant just stick a five minute mesh in the game and have it look nice. Even my damn coke cans had a high polygon source model before they went ingame. This stuff takes time.

So when you read "high level help" you think I'm after better than normal people... And you would be spot on. But the reason we need somebody who can work with it in a more professional way is because the errors of a quick hack together object sow up really, really badly, as you can see in many of our earlier screenshots up top.

However your entire argument fell apart on your very last comment… Yes… Lets sacrifice an original idea and go with zombies, something that’s been done to death, just because it *MAY* appeal to some more people… That right there shows me that creativity in people is dead, and that we are indeed doing the right thing.

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arancione
arancione

I'm programmer and designer myself, so I don't need the lesson ;) but it's perfectly ok because of my post.
Actually my arguments remain the same, simply you don't get it, and by that I don't mean "you're stupid", but I mean "you don't agree". That's fine.

Most of the source mods are rubbish, I can't agree more, but it's because the editor and the workflow are super easy to pick up. This leads to the disadvatages you mentioned, but in the end it's the best to make the real jewel show up and, to be honest, it has nothing to do with how the game looks. However, mine was more a PR advice.

I don't understand your reply about high level standards. It's unrelated or I've not explained myself enough.

Do we need Valve to show us new gameplay with zombies? I don't think so. Creativity springs out from constraints most of the time, infact such a common theme could only lead to a more interesting challenge.
I don't want to insist because it's clear we've a different view on the matter: I prioritize fun over originality and mass over a niche audience;
I mean that I'd be glad to sacrifice 20% of my original ideas to progress consistently.

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GavinStevens Author
GavinStevens

But what you say makes no sense... I agree on putting fun before originality, but why can't you go for BOTH...? Makes no sense...

Also its a bit odd how your profile is brand new with no views and nothing in it... Odd...

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arancione
arancione

I don't use moddb for promotion, I only read, but I've heard about your game before so seemed worth to register and comment.

Not only they can, but fun and originality should coexist. Most of the time this can't be done, at least the way we programmed at the start.
For example, despite the perfect fit, we can assume that zombies wasn't the original theme for L4D. We can easily use that gameplay with other settings and iterate from there to reach higher levels.

Now I'm personally challenged to think something fresh about zombies, and honestly it's not difficult at all, if I'm end compared to the recent mods released or in the works.
A lot of modders and indies nowaday put deliberately themselves in the same sad situation that pro developers are convicted, i.e to accomodate other interests besides their own.
I won't blame the zombie theme, I blame the shallow and unoriginal gameplay they insist to use.

Digression apart, I second the way of compromise as a chance for further originality, though it's one possible solution, not the unique one.

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