Comments - TerranUp16

Unless you're releasing the mod for the consoles (and I'm not aware that GoW has that functionality), then despite consoles being more "mainstream" per se, mouse/keyboard are significantly more "mainstream" on PC which is the platform you're releasing the mod on.

The mod is currently on hold- probably permanent. Lack of personnel was part of the issue but as you can see from the art we already had posted, that alone wasn't the entire issue. Development was just moving slowly and the whole project was ambitious and unfortunately managed to get on the bad side of some very prominent WC3 community members early on which hurt its development and recruitment greatly.

In early 2008, a new opportunity arose. That opportunity meant shutting down GTW at least temporarily (and, in reality, if we were to continue work on GTW we would much rather do so within Wartide rather than StarCraft 2 or WarCraft 4 but GTW relies on the WarCraft IP and Blizzard has never taken kindly to mods based on its IP's created for other games- the only exception to that which I know of is a stagnant recreation of StarCraft: Ghost in Crysis but WC3 isn't quite up to the task of that so...).

However, if you were interested in GTW, you may be interested in our new project, Wartide (we also have another project in the works but I can't publicly reveal that yet)- Waridegame.com. We're working on getting a dev blog up and reskinning our forums at the moment so forgive the relative lack of public content as that will change very soon. Also, anyone who was interested in helping with GTW, while the requirements for Warshop are much higher, you may still be a candidate if you're interested.

Anyway, sorry that I didn't get the info of GTW being shut-down over here until now- wasn't much activity so I figured it wasn't an issue but that was obviously a poor assumption.

As soon as I can get the new version working I will most-certainly attend. At the moment, it continues to insist that my First Strike files have been modded despite that I have uninstalled and reinstalled three times and am using the new Launcher which indicates my game is up-to-date.

Battlefield 2142 for First Strike.

I already messaged my friend on AIM and told him to bring his parents' Wii Balance Board (yay for GlovePIE and Bluetooth!), xD

Read-up on iD Tech 5- they're focusing on ensuring that the PC, PS3, and 360 versions of games produced on that engine are exactly the same. The one nice thing about that is that it should push some of what are usually console-only titles over to the PC that we can still appreciate (we have gamepads too you know!), but it also means that games that would otherwise be primarily for the PC and that would take advantage of that won't as much. I dunno, we'll see, but Carmack and friends seem to be focusing a lot more on the consoles than the PC and seem to be trying to promote console/PC equality. I could be wrong though and they could simply ensure that Tech 5 allows developers to get equivalent baseline builds across the three platforms and then to allow devs to go into greater specificity with each build to take advantage of that platform's advantages.

iD has been going the same road as Epic- they've just been less vocal about it. It just doesn't make sense though when a game with system requirements as high as Crysis's can sell 1 million in 2.5 months on the PC, and you know that it's going to go on to sell more than Halo 3 in the long-run because that's how PC game sales work (there's a small audience for the game at first because of the system reqs, but as more people upgrade, the audience grows larger, and Crysis is one of the first games most people reach for after an upgrade; the Orange Box and Sins of a Solar Empire are probably some of the few exceptions for the model of how PC games sell, given that the OB has already sold a two-digit percentage larger amount of copies on the PC than it has on the 360 and PS3 combined, and it sold over a mil on the 360...).

The age of the average gamer is actually 33 years old now if you can believe that. But, yeah, the biggest thing hurting the PC's atm is the lower starting cost of the consoles. But, with the exception of the Wii, you pay less for games and get more out of them (thanks to mods xD). Add in the emerging types of digital distribution on the PC which I outlined somewhat above, and I think the PC will start to become a much cheaper, but more ad-orientated, platform. Whether you like ads or not, they definitely have the potential to cut costs to the end user, and cheaper/free games on the PC would definitely toss out any argument of PC gaming being more expensive (not to mention that $1500 PC isn't really $1500- subtract out from that what you would have spent on a none-gaming PC and that's what it really costs, and that price is much closer to the price of modern consoles; also, you don't even need $1500 anymore- I saw a very nice gaming PC from Gateway, preassembled w/an 8800GT, quad core, decent RAM, etc... for $1100- you're talking about being able to play just about every game available at the highest settings at 1280x1024 and maybe even 1600x1200 for $1100).

From what I've read, there's no need to buy upgrades. They expect maybe 5% of the entire player base to partake in any microtransactions whatsoever, and it seems that the most gameplay-orientated benefit you will get from such transactions is money for time, meaning that you can still get all of that through dedicating time/effort into the game (as far as the aesthetically orientated microtransactions, I wouldn't expect to get those via time in the game, but those don't impact gameplay so I don't much care). I don't know if I'll like BF: H, but I do like the distribution model. And, adwise, I'd much rather pay nothing for a game and merely have to "endure" banner ads on the website I need to launch the game from/on the loading screen than pay for a game and still have to deal w/in-game adverts (BF2142/ETQW). Hell, I would endure well-placed in-game ads to get the game for free. But, as it stands now, BFH is basically saying that even that is unnecessary. And, really, the distribution model makes sense- the easiest way to think of it is as the Qtrax model applied to games instead of music.

Lol. Grounds for Epic to resign from the PC Gaming Alliance? Seriously though, they are out of their minds. When the new consoles hit the shelves, the PC will still be the premiere platform to showcase their graphical technology on. Add-in Havok and Aegia now having been assimilated into the Intel and nVidia camps, respectively, and physics will also be much more accessible on the PC. And with the PC Gaming Alliance, it may well be possible to get some better lower-end hardware that will allow non-gamers with PC's to get into PC gaming and then decide they want to get further into it and upgrade (and with graphics cards like the 9600GT going for $150, great PC gaming experiences are becoming increasingly affordable).

But, perhaps the greatest thing the PC has going for it are emerging distribution models. Battlefield: Heroes and its reliance on out-of-game ads to supply the end user with the game for free may well start a new trend there, and besides from that you've also got more traditional digital distribution gaining a lot of traction (which is also why I find it so amazing that so many people rely on NPD numbers to gauge PC sales when the NPD itself admits that it doesn't count digital distribution and admits that it ultimately cannot truly gauge PC game sales anymore), and the more prominent digital distribution becomes the wider the door should open for indie developers to produce higher quality content yet sell it for a cheaper price tag and to have access to a great deal more buyers. And, hell, does Epic not think that developers like these a few years from now won't be in a position to license UE4?

And I won't even mention how US-centric Epic's stance on this issue seems to be. Worldwide, the PC is the dominant gaming platform.

Yeah, I am a fairly big fan and follower of military aircraft. I had been heading-up the Air Power Mod for first Act of War: High Treason and then Supreme Commander but there just wasn't support for such a project in either game, and when the opportunity to begin the standalone game Wartide came along...

Sadly, I don't think the FB-22 or B-1R are in the race anymore, given that the Air Force has announced it will be creating a B-3 instead. Admittedly, I'm rather skeptical about the B-3 because I do not see the need for a new, piloted strategic bomber. At the moment, the US's fleet of B-52's, B-1B's, and B-2's more than suffice for strategic bombing. If there is anything the US needs to improve on it's stealthy, rapid-response bombing, which the FB-22 or B-1R could definitely accomplish for a much smaller price tag than a B-3. Even the YF-23 could be retooled to work well in such a role potentially.

The Raptor looks really good. Just fyi though that the US dropped the A portion of the name when the Raptor went into true production (it's just the F-22 now as opposed to F/A-22). Makes sense given that its ground attack capabilities are presently limited to only guided bombs and its range of equippable munitions does not at all approach either the F-15E's or F-16's, both of which still retain just the F moniker as opposed to the F/A moniker (embraced by the F/A-18 which definitely earns it; I am surprised though that so far the JSF/Lightning II is still maintaining just the F moniker as well, for that craft would be ideal for the F/A moniker; in short, if the JSF/Lightning II is not using F/A, the Raptor definitely isn't). Anyway, hope that helps- and gl.

Nice spawn killing solution. I was wary at first, when I heard "spawn protection", but maintaining it only for 'nades, rocktes, and airstrikes is excellent and definitely an improvement. It still won't stop the common situations where two players spawn next to each other, one with his/her back to the other player, and that may well be the most frustrating issue w/CoD 4 spawning, but eliminating the biggies that can take-out multiple people will be a huge aid and a great improvement.

Also, can you set the protection time to be infinite? I can definitely see some people wanting to adapt this system to create servers bereft of 'nades, rockets, and airstrikes.

It's for Wartide (http://www.projects.samods.org/index.php) but we're still working on the site so we don't have a page on ModDB yet. I posted Wartide material in my profile because many people have been wondering about GTW and the APM, and this project is ultimately overtaking both of those. Thus, while we continue to work on our site, fans of GTW and the APM can check-out Wartide.

Wow, that's not cool- ModDB seems to be screwing w/image quality ([url=https://media.moddb.com/cache/images/members/1/77/76269/thumb_620x2000/MBT-6_View4.jpg]this is probably the best example[/url]; [url=http://xs121.xs.to/xs121/07484/MBT-6_View4.jpg]here's what that really looks like[/url]).

Art is impossible to define (shrugs). It's different for everyone, but perhaps the best definition for that which is impossible to define is just that something is art when a majority of knowledgeable people (therefore, to be considered a knowledgeable person when debating whether or not a game is art, a person would need to have fully played the game) agree that it is art.

Bioshock, I feel, simply screams- "This is art"

GTW has, unfortunately, been cast to the wayside- for now. The project proved simply too ambitious for this stage of WarCraft III's life. It was impossible to acquire new members of the skill level we required because they had moved-on to things bigger and newer than WarCraft III. At the same time, we also lacked a team of a necessary size or skill to complete the project, and WarCraft III began to lose its appeal even to those members. I still hold firm to the belief that a great mod can modernize WC3 and leverage its mapping focus, but unfortunately, GTW is not that mod. However, almost a year ago now, I began a full game project, which is having considerably greater success. The project's name is Wartide, and I will soon unveil it to ModDB. This project will fill much of the void left by the collapse of GTW, given its dual focus- first on just delivering a great, innovative RTT/RTS experience, and second on creating a great, universal platform for mapping and modding. I feel that GTW may eventually be resurrected as a mod for Wartide, thus all hope should not be lost.

Nice sig over at SPP ;)

Definitely not scrapping it. Release is still TBA. What we will be doing though is actually crafting a second version (first). This version will use models from AoW: HT, and would be a little stripped-down feature-wise, but it would be solely reliant upon coding. We'll release that to allow fans to get a feel for what the mod will be like. In the mean time, we'll be expanding AI and the system capabilities in terms of coding, and integrating the models that come in.

They may look familiar, but you'll notice that they are indeed different. Images of the latest two models have indeed been circulated in the past. However, you'll notice some changes. The Voodoo Hunter is now outfitted with the proper weapons, as is the Slasher.

Also, quick note here that the textures, and portions of the models, for the structures featured in the gallery are currently being modified to be more aesthetically pleasing.

The website is currently down as the host our webmaster had been using went out of business. We'll have a site up over at www.samods.org (our current hoster) soon.

Well, there is the issue of TC. There are also a few other issues whichn I detailed in my post in the staff forums. Overall, they're looking pretty good though. They just need a little refinement overall.

Coding, definitely. For the AoW version, we're looking to begin coding very soon. For the SupCom version, as quickly as we can get a team together and as soon as the game comes out we'll begin coding.

For both versions, I'm contemplating not coding the full mod first. Rather, making "smaller" mods based off the original game, thus alleviating the need for models, and also cutting-out some features, but allowing us to focus on some of the more challenging features and to get them ironed out and working in a smaller, more controllable environment. Plus, we can release them and gain some community support, and hopefully convince some more modelers to join, which I think we'll be hurting most for. However, coding is truly the most important part of the mod, and there's going to be plenty of it.

As for your initial question about dogfighting, a fair amount of it will be automated. The player's focus will be more on the strategical than the tactical. We'll try to make dogfighting look and work as realistically as possible, but ultimately how realistic will hinge upon the aptitude of the coders. We'll definitely have a system that's more intensive than the AoW and SupCom systems.

I'm also contemplating continuing to develop the mod after release with patches. By this, I mean that we complete the mod, and get all systems and functions up-and-running, but continue to utilize time, and hopefully extra aide, to continually expand and improve systems (for the AoW version, it's almost a certainty that we will utilize this strategy, for at first we'll utilize mostly in-game doodads; we're looking to release the AoW version first; AoW is already set in the modern day, and thus we can utilize many of the existing models, but as we get models coming in from the SupCom version we will release updates to lend the mod a more unique look).

Also, for the AoW version, Eugen (developers of Act of War) will be offering assistance. At the moment, assistance basically means that they will try to help us with getting stuff to work. More or less, indirect aide in the coding department. At the moment, to my knowledge at least, they are not offering direct coding aide. However, any aide at all is appreciated, and I'm certain that it will help greatly.

We're going to be working on the site to make it a little more graphically pleasing, and the colored text is more or less being utilized to begin "promoting" the style which we will factor in when doing the graphical work for the site.

As for the poll, I've already sent an e-mail to the webmaster to get one up asking whether or not we should expand into C&C 3. He's got some major exams atm or something along those lines, but I'm sure he'll get it up as soon as he can.

As always, thx for the comments.

I've sent you an e-mail in terms of your offer for aide, which we intend to gladly accept =)

In answer to the question, we do intend to have an installer, and we hope to ensure that it works on both Mac and Windows. If at first it does not work on both, we will do what we can to enlist someone to adapt the mod so that it will.

Actually, we are just about ready to begin coding the AoW portion of the mod. I have ensured, and will continue to ensure, that the design of the APM melds well with AoW and its engine. Eugen will be aiding us in this endeavor, and our team of coders is quite talented, thus we will be able to mod AoW: HT to its fullest extent. The AoW version will be given every bit as much attention as the SupCom version, if not more.

We're making it for both. It's definitely key to understand that the setting of the game itself means little. What means more is the engine. The APM is a total conversion. For the SupCom version, we're basically just obliterating what SupCom already has, and rebuilding utilizing the SupCom engine. Even for AoW, this is much the same (though we will be able to make use of things such as terrain tiles and doodads, so the modeling load will be a little lighter for the AoW version, as in the SupCom version we also need to model the environments).

I hate to say it in some ways, but atm SupCom seems to be the superior platform for the mod, due to the engine and what we can do with it. The engine of SupCom overall just works better with the mod. However, that is not to say that the APM and AoW will not do well together. Eugen has offered some aide, and thus hopefully we'll be able to pull off most, if not all, that we can in SupCom in AoW as well. The biggest difference will be scale. The SupCom maps will be far larger, and inherently will have some extra elements of complexity to them. The AoW and SupCom versions will certainly differ, even if only due to scale. Design-wise, we will compensate for this. Which version will ultimately be better, is not even so much a matter of not being able to tell right now, but will more-likely just be a matter of preference. I'd expect the AoW APM action to be quicker and faster-paced, while the SupCom APM will be a little slower, a little more complex, and a little more strategically orientated.

Regardless, at the moment the plan is to get the AoW version out first. Our reasons for this are twofold. First, AoW is already out. SupCom is not. Second, due to the inherent setting of AoW, we do not need to do as much environmental modeling. Thus, the first version of the APM we release may contain mostly AoW doodads, tiles, etc... We will, of course, implement the overhauled look through patches. Such patches might overhaul the look of some maps, add new maps, etc...

Truly, there is another reason that we want to get the AoW version out the door first. AoW is an excellent game. However, it is often overlooked, for the pure reason that few know about it. Generals and its expansion hold the spotlight, yet this inifinitely superior game sits in the shadows. We hope that something as big as the APM can help to bring AoW back into the limelight, where it belongs.

Hm, well, there's also going to be a version for Supreme Commander, so if you plan on getting that...

Hm, probably a database error, as they only recently added HT. I'm sure they're on it. If it's still like that a week from now, please tell me, and I'll send a PM to one of the admins (or, you can send one directly yourself if you'd prefer; whichever works best for you).

Yep. We'll definitely have a destroyed version of it as well, for after it gets destroyed. This particular structure is but a prop for the most part, though some others will stay in keeping w/the AoW feature of being able to garrison structures (the Ground Commander will take care of that of course), so not all of the neutral structures will simply be props =)