The Ancient Truth mod for Quake 4

6 comments by Gyppi on Aug 26th, 2008 digg this super bookmark

After a long time of silent, it is finally the moment for the second media update of the mod , there are many news, announcements, downloads and F.A.Q. We hope you will like what your going to read :)

Quake 4 has many weapons, but where is the point to use the same weapons in The Ancient Truth too? So we have enhanced almost every human weapons, both graphically and functionally, to make them better and we are working to add some completely new weapons. In the previous media update we showed you the Super Blaster, a pistol which will replace the standard Blaster, this time we show you two new weapons, the Hand Grenades and the Chaingun, also we are still thinking to add some other new weapons.

  

As announced time ago, the mod will have an original soundtrack, composed and executed by the veteran Neurological (Nicola Capecci) which has already completed three tracks and we are very happy to share them with you. The three tracks are the main theme of each force involved in the mod, the SMC (humans), the Strogg and a SouLess army, you can download these tracks directly from here:

• SMC (Human) Main Theme
• Strogg Main Theme
• SoulLess Army Main Theme

With this media update we decided to release a little map, a museum-room, which is intend to show you some of our new textures created for the mod, five new graphic filters, which we discuss better on the next paragrapher, and some other things like a special glass which reflects the environment in real time (on the ceiling). This little tech demo has been realized for give you all a first, very little, taste of what we are developing, we hope you like what you are going to see and we will wait your comments and feedbacks.

Download the Museum Tech Demo Map from here: Xtreme-lab.net or wait until it will be available on moddb.com
Here is some screen shots of the map:

  

As you can see in the small room, which we published with this media update, in recent times we have worked to achieve special graphics filters, these filters are at your disposal, you can activate or deactivate them at any time during the game, only in the full mod, their goal is simply: "make you having fun", so they have no implications with the story plot. The idea is to give the possibility to the player to play and re-play again the mod, or parts of it, with a new look, which is why we created filters based on specific effects already known as the black and white, sepia and super contrast, In addition to these we have implemented a filter very similar to the effect seen in the first official trailer of the game "Gears Of War 2", designed for the fans of that game.
So far we made 5 filters completion functioning, our intention is to produce other to be issued along with the completed mod. Here is some samples:

  

Nowadays 16:9 and 16:10 aspect ratio monitor are ever more popular and used, for this reason we intend to give full support to those who have this king of monitors releasing, as an add-ons, a small package of textures and specifically designed GUIs to give a better visual impact at wide screen resolutions.
To "celebrate" this announcement, all the wallpapers dedicated to the mod, both old and new, are now available for download at 1280x1024 (5:4) and at 1680x1050 (16:10), all here for you:

  
  

To speed up the development process of the mod, our team (Mecanichal Brain Softworks), is seeking for new mebers to expand itself, nationality is not important, just knowing how to write in English at a good level, be imaginative and willing, in particular we are looking for:

• Mappers with discrete knowledge about the level editor Radiant used in Quake 4 and its scripting system;
• Level designers who know how to map or are able to guide mappers in the making of mod's levels following the directives of the project;
• Coders (programmers) required knowledge of the syntax of C / C + +, preferably with direct knowledge of the GUIs system used by the Trinity engine (Id Tech 4), but not strictly necessary.

Q: What version of Quake 4 will serve to play the mod?
A: The most recent, 1.4.2.

Q: Will the mod support Wide-Screen monitors?
A: Yes, along with the mod we will release a special package, to be installed optionally, to improve the vision of menus, texture and other things at resolutions with aspect ratio of 16:9 and 16:10.

Q: How many levels will have the mod?
A: Currently there is no exact number, much depends on how long we will make every level be.

Q: Will the mod be multilingual, if yes, how?
A: We intend to translate text, subtitles and GUIs in the 5 major languages (English, French, Italian, Spanish and German), the audio, instead, will be only in English; perhaps, subsequently, we will release optional packages containing other languages, with or whitout voices.

Q: With which operating systems will th mod be compatible?
A: Our goal is maximum compatibility, meaning that we intend to publish the mod for Windows, Linux and Mac Os X if possible.

Q: When will be released the mod?
A: Our original intention was to release it, completed, at the end of the year but, unfortunately, because of some unforeseen, probably we will not be able to meet our initial goal, we are still considering whether to grant at year-end, only a part of mod, like an "episode" and then release the rest later.

Q: Will the mod require higher system specifications than Quake 4?
A: Yes, but not a lot, we are working to produce hi-res texture, detailed models and high quality effects to give the feeling of playing a game more modern than Quake 4.

Q: Your team is already fully booked or taken new people?
A: The team continuously seeks for new people to become larger and better, currently what we most are looking for are: mappers, level designers and coders, but anyone wishing to participate can call us and we will discuss case by case.

Q: Do you intend to publish a public alpha or beta version of mod in the future?
A: Currently, they are not planned. Our intention is to publish the full mod in its best possible conditions, if necessary, we will run an internal, or close, beta testesing.

Q: Yours looks like a great project, I would like to contribute with a donation, can I?
A: At this time we do not accept donations, perhaps, in the future, when we will be closer to the publication of the mod, we will add this possibility on our web site.

Q: Do you have a forum to discuss the mod between the team and / or with those who are interested in it?
A: Currently we do not have a forum, we discuss among us via E-Mails, IMs and voice chat; it is probable that, in future, we will open a small forum on the official web site and / or on moddb.com.

Q: If I wanted to get in touch with you how I should do?
A: The best way is to send, to the team or the team leader (Gyppi), a private message on moddb.com or an e-mail.

Q: How will last approximately the adventure?
A: The idea is currently on the duration of the first expansion of Half-Life2 (Episode 1), from 2 to 4 hours or so.

Q: On which environments will take place the story?
A: Several, there will be internal and external environments, most of the mod will take place in a base and in a rocky environment.

Q: Will we be accompanied by othrs soldiers for some parts of the mod?
A: The idea is to be always with 3 other soldiers, in some areas, few though, the player will be alone.

Q: At what difficulty level is set the mod?
A: Middle (regular), for now we have not thought to implement multiple levels of difficulty.

Q: The main character is still Kane?
A: No, the protagonist is another soldier being part of a squad of elite soldiers sent to Stroggos after the defeat of the Makron.

Q: How many weapons will be amended or introduced?
A: So far we have the machinegun, the shotgun and the Hyper Blaster renovated, while there are some new weapons like the gun (Super Blaster), grenades, the chiungun and at least another weapon in development, perhaps 2. Plus you will be able to use the Napalm Launcher, which was added in the last patch of the game, in the campaign.

Q: The soldier's suit is different only aesthetically or will be renewed under some technical point?
A: The new suit, in addition to the aesthetics remake, will have something more technical like the night vision and a "renewed" Shield.

And this is all for now, we hope you have enjoyed our media update and our downloads, all contents of this news are going to be uploaded here on moddb.com soon and, if you want, check out our official web site at www.xtreme-lab.net/tat/ for more information about The Ancient Truth.
Have a nice time until the next news! ;)