Not many people know this, but Eternal Silence is old. Very old. It's been in development for 10 years, undergoing an engine switch in the process.
When we took over development of ES, we not only received a fully functional multiplayer game, we also received 10 years worth of development history. Design discussions, game evolution, gameplay tweaks etc. Before we could start any new development on the mod, we needed to pick up the threads where they had been dropped, and sort them all out.
Before you can start building, you need to clear away rubble and lay a foundation.
A lot of our time has been spent picking up the threads of the game. What was people working on, what was in the pipe, why did they abandon this or that or tweak that particular gameplay element. I've spent many hours, pouring over old forum threads to determine why they chose a particular course of action and whether or not it's something to bring up again. There's no reason to re-invent everything all over if it's already been tried and tested and put to rest. The scout was such an example. We want to bring back the scout, adding an additional support role to the space combat. First of all, we started out by reading old forum threads, discussing the ship, the balance and it's role. We concluded it was do-able, and set out to read more forum threads, to see what happened to the models, what gameplay mechanics had been tried, and more.
Then you need a blueprint and a team.
Next, we had to plan our next move - what are we going to do, how are we going to it, and who do we need to hire to make it happen? Gathering a team to work on a mod such as this is tough. I'm sure all mod developers out there agree with me, that it is very difficult indeed to find reliable, dedicated developers. Many have gone missing after joining the team, often without even leaving a notice. This lead to the few dedicated of us taking on too many responsibilities. However, in time, we found more reliable persons to share the responsibilities, and recently, we re-organised the staff structure. The new structure allows for faster, more efficient development.
Learning as we build, building while we learn.
Finally, it's taken us a while to learn the ropes. None of us were particularly experienced in the Source engine when we started. The script for the tutorial had to be recorded 3 times before we got a recording with the necessary quality. Then, after the first round of beta testing, new elements had to be added to the script to accomodate the feedback we'd received. New elements, that requires writing, recording, processing and mapping. It all takes time, but we're getting there. And it's going to be damn good! And when the tutorial is done? Well... Let's just say we've got more in the pipe.
