Hexen: Edge Of Chaos mod for Doom III

5 comments by HexenEdgeOfChaos on Jun 9th, 2009 digg this super bookmark

June 9th, 2009...Progress????
As you may have noticed, again there were no updates or a trailer. To make a long story short we are having difficulties with the progress of the mod in terms of the mapping department.

Mapping has always been a pivotal part of our project, but unfortunately also the most difficult one.
When we first started creating this game we had 3 very enthusiastic mappers working on the game and progress was quick. This was mainly due to the huge efforts from EvilArtist and CodenniumRed. In all the years we've worked on this game, Codennium is the only original mapper to have remained... we've seen many mappers come and go in the meantime. After the first burst of energy was shot we looked at the 5-6 map layouts that we had and came to the awkward conclusion that allthough they looked very nice, they weren't actually very useable in gameplay situations: Tight corridors and small maps were the exact opposite of what we wanted to make. So after talking about it with the entire team we decided to ditch all those maps and start again, this time armed with very detailled documentation and information. A conceptartist and a writer joined our team and they both helped to sketch out the first 9 levels that are meant to be in the first release. That's when a lot our current problems started to take shape: Progress halted due to the inactivity of the mappers.

We've seen a lot of mappers in the last years, all of them making promises they couldn't commit to. While talking to mappers and asking them what to do to become more active, at first it was the excuse that there was a lack of documents and information about the maps in general. So we worked hard on making sketches, documents and we've gathered a wealth of information about the maps and what they should look like. Again, there was no activity. This time, the excuse was that there was too much information and people felt held back in their creativity. The worst of this is that each time we found mappers we had to make a selection and say 'no' to some mappers who might have been much more comitted and would have eventually actually delivered some work. This all has left us in the situation where we have 99% of all the game assets finished (models/weapons etc..etc..) but no playable maps. And without playable maps.. we can't make a trailer.

BUT WE NEED COMMITTED MAPPERS TO FINISH THIS
And, short of actually paying professionals to do them, we are running out of options fast.

As long as we do not find mappers, we will not be able to progress further with the game, and we will not have an e.t.a. as to when we can release.
We know that if we have 3 committed mappers who make atleast 2 maps for us we could release in a matter of months.
So in part, our release date is also up to you: IF YOU FIND ANYBODY THAT COULD MAP FOR US then introduce us!
If you are interested in mapping for us, let us know. But don't waste our time anymore with promises, it's become annoying to see people promise us maps and not deliver anything, to in the end bail out with the old excuse of 'Having too much to do in real life(tm)'.
If you have too much to do in real life then don't commit to making a game and find a different hobby. If you do have balls however and are willing to actually deliver on your promises, then we need you!