Roll the Dice news

It's the dead of night, I've just finished a reasonable stint on the UI and got quite a lot done. Still sculpting the new Carrier Command panel but I got distracted on a little experiment and between you and me, that experiment has totally enhanced the command and control experience. I'm saying nothing, but in this coming week I'm looking forward to pushing another video out, I'm looking forward to it indeed.

So I've been thinking, sometimes I drift over to the relatively quiet forums on spacesimcentral.com and immediately my eyes fall on the long list of failed and cancelled Kickstarter projects - see for yourself the next time you pass by, it's a shame. But I suppose there is a big difference between us and them, we have a working prototype that is quite pretty and I seem to have the gift of selling. But I'm not going to blindly roll the dice throwing myself at the mercy of the crowd with my fingers crossed, I like to command my own destiny.

Well what can I do to improve my chances I thought? Well I played the game, scoured the web for criticism and had a good old think and it boiled down to three short to medium term objectives:

Improving the user interface - this is a quick win for me with instant and pronounced repercussions, but that's not to say it's easy putting it all together - coding it is a bit of a nightmare, especially those bleedin' list boxes, fortunately I was able to change much of it by simply attaching it to existing code. I've managed to improve the look of the game almost exponentially although it does further highlight the need for better ships. I've stuck to my idea of a Contextual UI and the various windows can fold away to reveal space in all its glory. More on that in the latest blog post.

Bringing the effects up-to-date - a tricky one, I'm not going to pretend to know what I'm doing there and it isn't something you can just learn it takes years of experience to master. So I rely on Alex for that, I've given him a long list of weapons effects, impact effects and all the rest of it. He's just finishing up on the planets and then he's on it. I'm not going to wait for that to Kickstart though I feel, as the game in it's current state will portray the intention. I'm excited for this though truly, although I often joke to myself he will always be 'that guy who sold me the dodgy shield effect' but his work on the planets is truly astonishing and his eye for detail is exactly what this project needs.

Changing the ships for better models, I know I am definitely losing people with these limited models although I do think people should have more vision. I put the feelers out and found some interesting contacts indeed but I feel a certain loyalty to the man that has done the current models, he's allowed me to realise my idea and it is just and right that he too should be on the receiving end of monies incoming. Besides he's German and if there's one thing I trust more that my British wit; it's German engineering, should I ever actually leave this planet it'll be in nothing short of a Volkswagen.

We've got sketches flying about now, I met an interesting contact on the Nexus 2 FB page (join that by the way, much Q&A and idea exchanging) and this contact has some pretty potent looking sketches. Enry, the ever resourceful guy that he is has turned his hand to the style almost immediately and now feeds our talented German friend the imagery. We have various levels of prototyping happening now and things are certainly in motion there, I will continue to cultivate and motivate as appropriate.

The trouble is that these people are professionals, I think the project has taken itself in that direction now and I believe I'm a strong enough manager to make it happen. Sure I could muddle though it and churn out a standard effort all by myself but it is my belief that someone should be the best they can be in all that they do, if there was ever a time to apply that thinking it's now. But professionals need paying and I don't believe in asking people for money for something that isn't finished but talented professionals do not work for free. So there is no question really, I need to swallow my pride and get that ball rolling.

Besides the professional finish will help me realised my vision; I want the player to feel as if they are embedded in the action, with the UI flickering when the players main ship takes fire, voice acted personnel warning them of various dangers and a rich narrated storyline. I want the CG artwork to be stylistic but if possible, light on resources and I want the ambience to be as such that when you cast your eyes to the icon on your desktop you'll allow yourself a coy smile as you are reminded of the escape and I'll finish up by saying this:

I normally get what I want.

James