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New Year, New Website, New Forums, New Us

As another new year passes, the same question gets asked repeatedly. "What’s going on with development?". Well, you may have noticed that updates have been coming a lot less frequently in recent times, and instantly jumped to the conclusion that that game is either on hold or cancelled. Sadly, you are mistaken. We noticed that we were releasing media and news, without actually saying anything. This meant people were getting angry at our lack of real substance. As such, news events will be much less frequent now, but much more worthwhile. Rest assured, our small little two man army is busy behind the scenes, with some rather delicious developments coming your way. Code is being rewritten to be better, faster, stronger. Art has been brought up to date, with level of detail models added for everything now. New tricks are being looked into, such as the possibility of a new ambient lighting pass that will simulate a sort of fake global illumination. The GUI has been re-worked from the ground up to fix the issues of old and bring it screaming into the new generation… Things are happening, and dare I say it, happening well. It’s just that we can’t share an awful lot with you at the time. So, as always, I ask you have patience, understanding, and know that we ARE looking for help (particularly with animation as that’s the part we are on now).

With that said, it’s time we shared a few things with you… “New Year New Us”, right?

OverDose

OverDose Development Tools

Development of OverDose requires many external tools, such as graphics manipulation software (Photoshop, GIMP etc), audio editing software (Audacity etc) and modelling tools (3d Studio Max, Maya, Mudbox, zBrush etc). However several features of the engine have no tools associated with them. These tools have been created from the ground up to not only provide ease of use for development with the OverDose engine, but also to provide 100% compatibility with the source material.

All tools are presented below for download and use, as well as original source code for the tools to manipulate for your own personal projects. Its worth noting also that each tool also includes verbose output and dumping to text files, so that if you wish, you can track each stage of your workflow step by step for more advanced users.

OverDose Tools

ODCompress Source Code Download
OverDose supports both uncompressed .tga textures and also compressed .dds textures. However, there are many different formats and thresholds to compression that can help you get a file as low in size as possible while preserving the overall texture detail. This tool allows you to set parameters such as the compression format, modify the channel weights, and a lso edit the alpha threshold. For those of you who don't want to dive too deep into the science behind it all, there is also an automatic setting that tries its best to decide he best possible outcome for you.

ODFont Source Code Download
OverDose uses TrueType font files for generation of font assets used in its GUIs. This is a tool that will load any existing font you have in your OverDose fonts directory and creates these files.

ODMap Source Code Download
OverDose uses .map files in the editing stage that are compiled into .bsp files. This is a tool designed to make that compile not only a simple click, but also allow the user to select many configurable options, such as removing certain features of levels and fast compiling.

ODModel Source Code Download
OverDose uses several types of model file for different needs. Some of which are used in levels, and are called static models (You can also use animated models here too). These files are created in .obj, .lwo and .ase format, and then loaded into the ODModel tool. Our tool will strip out all the junk and useless data from these files and convert them to our own formats. Likewise, you can also use this tool to create collision models.

ODRadiant Source Code Download
Levels are the bread and butter of any game. Without them, all you have is a fancy front end and nothing more. Our engine has its own level format and feature set, and because of that, requires its own level editor. Built form the ground up to be fast, user friendly and feature rich, ODRadiant was created solely for use with OverDose level creation and is not compatible with other exist engines.

ODTracker Source Code Download
ODTracker is a simple but powerful bug tracking tool that the development team use to keep track of any reported bugs, date them, and give resolutions and or information. A useful tool.

ODCompress Source Code Download
Overdose has its own version of the .RoQ video file format that is used to compile videos for the game. Our .RoQ tool can create 4k high quality videos from given animation samples and sound files, with full control over quality.

OverDose

OverDose SDK Documentation

Throughout development of OverDose, we have written and created documentation to explain features and their uses. These documents contain valuable information such as explanations about console commands, in-game tools and working with our material system and GUI files (including explanations of all syntax). These files can be viewed in either .docx or .pdf, whichever is easier for you.

Built-In Editors .docx .pdf
Information regarding the in-engine tools that are used, such as the Light Editor, Speaker Editor, Emitter Editor, Post Process Editor and Reverb Editor.

Cinematics & In-Game Videos .docx .pdf
Helpful information about how to create and add videos to your game and levels.

Console .docx .pdf
The complete OverDose console guide. In this document you will find the full code list for name colors, as well as every single console command and console variable, its uses and its min/max/default values.

Distributing Add-Ons And Mods .docx .pdf
Useful information for those of you who want to create and distribute your own OverDose modifications.

Entity Classes .docx .pdf
Every OverDose level is full of things we call "entities". Each entity has a name and set values, which allow it to function in the way you require it to work. This is the complete list of those entities, as well as their values and information.

External Utilities .docx .pdf
Useful information on all our custom in-house tools, including ODModel, ODMap etc.

FXs .docx .pdf
Every effect you see in-game is created with a special FX file. This document contains a list of all variables to help you in creating special effects.

GUIs .docx .pdf
A GUI, or Graphical User Interface, is a fancy name for the menu system. Menus are made with custom strings and code, and can be easily manipulated. We have created this documentation to help guide you, including explanations of what everything does.

Materials .docx .pdf
Materials (Previously called shaders in Quake 3) are created for every single surface in the game, and give that surface its properties. This is what tells the engine how much a wall should shine, or what effect to play when shot. This document contains a full list of all material syntax.

Particles .docx .pdf
If an FX file is the overall effect, a particle is the smaller pieces that make the whole image. This document contains all syntax and explanations to help with their creation.

Shaders .docx .pdf
Shaders are small programs that run on the GPU for every vertex and/or fragment drawn. They are written in a high-level language called GLSL (GL Shading Language) but are compiled by the video driver and turned into object code for fast execution. They can be used to create a wide range of special effects, either per-vertex or per-fragment, or both. When it comes to shaders, only your imagination is the limit.

Skins .docx .pdf
Skins are a special way of allowing you to have a single model, but have several different materials for use on that model. For example, you could create a single barrel model, but have green, red and blue materials to use on it. This file helps explain their creation.

Sound Shaders .docx .pdf
Sound Shaders are like Materials for sound. They tell the engine how a sound should play and how it should be modified etc. This document explains this process.

Source Code .docx .pdf
The full OverDose source code is released under the terms of the GNU General Public License. OverDose is written primarily in C, but large portions of the code are written in C++ (like the shared math library or the GUI system). For all information on our Source Code and its uses, see this document.

Tables .docx .pdf
Tables define a set of values used to map an input value to an output value, with optional wrap / clamp and interpolation. Tables can be used in mathematical expressions in materials and GUIs, and used as lookup tables in particles and FXs. This document explains their uses and features.

The OverDose Website & OD/Q2E Forums Have Returned!

It’s been a long time coming, but the OverDose website is finally back up and running, with a new fresh coat of paint and simplified mobile view. You can now find out direct information about the game, including what it’s about, its features, and its system specifications, as well as view media from the game and contact the team. Also now included is a brand new discussion forum, which will be full of tutorials, information and discussions about OverDose, Team Blur Games, Quake II Evolved, General News and more.

So, head over to the website for more information and see what you think, and don’t forget to register on our forum to see all the latest news, previews and pics of what’s to come. Being a part of the discussion means you will help shape the future of the game.

Visit The OverDose Webpage
Visit The OverDose & Q2E Discussion Forums

Visit The OverDose Website

Like The Project? Help Us Survive!

You might think that we are taking our sweet time with OverDose, and you know what? You would be absolutely 100% bang on correct. It's difficult being a two man team building an original game from the ground up with current gen graphics and engine features. However, if you do like what you see and want to donate to keep the project going, please use this handy PayPal link. Any donation amount is always welcome, and all donations go towards buying better equipment for development, as well as web hosting costs. As an added bonus, all donators will appear in the game credits as a special thank you. Don't forget, we make this in our spare time for free, we aren't professionals.

Donate To The Project

Gavin Stevens

Lead Designer For Team Blur Games
Visit The OverDose Website
The website... IT LIVES!

The website... IT LIVES!

News 6 comments

Remember the old site? The old forums? The old chats? Oh, what japes we had... Well... It's back!

2018 March Update

2018 March Update

News 6 comments

Merry Marchmess people, and what better way to start the new year-ish than with a media blow out and new information. So, buckle up buckaroos, and let’s...

OverDose February Status Update

OverDose February Status Update

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OverDose Status Update - Ill Health, Physics, UI, Oh My...

ODRadiant Now Available For Download!

ODRadiant Now Available For Download!

News 9 comments

ODRadiant is now finally available for download! Plus, we are still looking for crazy people to join our merry team!

Post comment Comments  (0 - 10 of 781)
ianna_keeper
ianna_keeper

RIP?

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gordonfreeman3525
gordonfreeman3525

Damn, I think I still went to school when this was announced... I'm 30 now and have a family.

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dave_5430
dave_5430

RIP :<

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Guest
Guest

Maybe hold off on that... ;)

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lka
lka

There are any news about the game?

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AgentSlacker
AgentSlacker

Give it some time, it's only been over a decade. Joking aside, there is a sourceforge that's being updated constantly. I have confidence that something is happening.

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lka
lka

lol, but yeah it's possible, let's wait more time and see what happens.

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Marandal
Marandal

I remember when i first saw this and immediately wanted to make a singleplayer/coop mod, even though i only knew how to make models.
i think what scared me away was i didn't see the original ID2 AI.

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AgentSlacker
AgentSlacker

Just wanted to stop by and send positive vibes your way, m8. I really hope you're still working on this.

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[Berserk]
[Berserk]

Thanks mate. Yes, we are, just at a slower than desired pace, but we never abandoned anything.

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