Ns Needs To Be A Stand-alone Game
Skumball
Join Date: 2003-02-28 Member: 14134Members
Join Date: 2003-02-28 Member: 14134Members
When the world (and a publisher with half a brain) realises that this is one of the best multiplayer games ever made will we finally see a dedicated game engine and a stand-alone product? I'd love to see NS with its own slick engine and a redesigned style to look more like AVP2 or something. The developers have done a fantastic job with the half-life engine but imagine how much better it would be with a modern one? Little extra touches that could be changed are things like the build status graphic around nodes and structures. Instead of simple animated texture that lights up as the structure is build, there could be a bright line that smoothly circles the object, all rendered in hardware as an overlay on the screen rather than a texture fixed to the ground, if you get my drift. And of course we would get a more advanced engine that could actually handle (comfortably) the amount of detail that we see in NS.
Comments
Anyways, NS took three years to develop as is. That's about as long as most professional games take. Developing a new engine can take just as long. Then there's the fact that it's not always so easy to port from one engine to another - you have to re-write a LOT of code (unless it was written with this in mind in the first place, which is unlikely).
Personally, I'd rather see the NS team work on improving the gameplay (which they're doing at the moment) than porting to a new engine just to add more polish. As it is, NS has as much polish as a professional product which is phenomenal in a non-profit modification.
Oh wait, Valve never released the source-code for Half-Life...... nevermind <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
Licensing a commercial engine can take up tens of thousands of dollars. Flayra is asking for public donation to keep the web site and mod developement going.
Writing a game using a new 3D engine takes another year. Flayra spent a year or so to produce the first version of NS.
Hiring people to produce a commercial quality game cost money. Flayra is doing this for free.
These are just some of the reasons why you won't see NS being made into a stand alone game on another engine in the near future. Possible, but unlikely.
Check out Savage www.s2games.com
He already has (had) a job in the gaming business. He worked on Empire Earth.
Talent? More like money. In any case, if there was some good financing from a publisher, they could buy an existing engine superior to Half-Life, or something, and port the game to that. It's all about money I am sure, not talent. No need to create a new engine, there are loads out there to pick and chose from. Question is how heavy a modification they require - you already see how much they worked on the HL engine to make NS.
Hiring people to produce a commercial quality game cost money. Flayra is doing this for free.
These are just some of the reasons why you won't see NS being made into a stand alone game on another engine in the near future. Possible, but unlikely. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Since flayra is a programmer and now have a track record of two games, I am sure he will jump at the opportunity for a publishing contract. With money to pay for a port to a new engine. And then he could hire people and pay them real money too for their work. And they'll be publishing in 1 year maybe.
To me it's very clear that Natural Selection would sell like hot cakes if it was a commercial release - one that used a slightly more sophisticated graphics engine than ole half-life maybe. But not necessarily UT2K3 or that ilk, less will do.
Now I heard someone mention that HL engine was the most flexible to work with, you can modify it in C++ or something, whereas other engines' editors use proprietary formats more. That alone was a major reason for picking HL to make NS for. So rewriting a bought engine to fit the needs of NS would cost a lot of time (and hence money).
-NS will never be ported to another Engine...If Any Engine, it would be HL2, An Engine that would not require too much more coding.
-Do you really Want Flayra to sell out? It won't be His mod any-more...and we wouldnt be able to contribute to the development of the mod..
Can I see some documentation on that? Sound like a complete load of crap to me. Look at The Opera, it's moving to UT2K3 for Release 2. Unless NS is now a Valve property (Explains VAC being added in),
Remember when CS went retail?
Remember the HUGE wave of newbies/cheaters brought in?
Remember how much CS sucks because of it?
NS should stay as a FREE mod.
So balance the possibility of NS stomping CS back into its box on the retail side, coming into the complete mainstream, and having those newbies actually learn to play with TEAMWORK or lose time and time again.. against additional cheats, when we already have a good number out there at the moment.
I for one would like to see NS get a retail release, but keep the downloadable version available. Heck.. then we might get moron-flamewars going back and forth about which 'engine' is better, NS or CS. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
Its not bull ****. People asked the Firearms leaders to move to a new engine and thats what they told everyone.
TO is moving because a) you only have to sign the agreement if you get help from valve IE, they package the .exe for you. or b) Valve doesnt care because TO has a very small user base.
Gotta love that license...
<i>
1.8 License back to Valve. <b>Licensee hereby licenses to Valve the worldwide, perpetual right to use and incorporate the Mod in any retail product </b>(e.g., a level add-on pack) and to make, replicate, market and sell such retail product alone and together with other retail products. <b>Valve shall have the nonexclusive right and license to use Licensee's name and logo to promote such Mod </b>as contained in any such retail product. If Valve derives any net sales revenue (i.e., gross sales revenue, less discounts, allowances, price protection, cost of goods, rebates, and any online distribution costs and expenses) from such retail product containing the Mod (and not any products sold therewith, such as the Half-Life game itself), then Valve shall pay Licensee, within 45 days after the end of each calendar quarter, a royalty on such net sales received of <b>up to 1% </b>of such net revenues. Valve shall determine the precise royalty percentage due to Licensee based on a total of no more than 10% royalty to all content providers for such retail product and the quality and amount of content provided by Licensee as compared to other content providers. Furthermore, Licensee grants Valve the right to sublicense the foregoing rights to third parties, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Section 1.8.
</i>
That sucks.
Theres nothing wrong with ns the way i see it,its the the most highly evolved mod of half-life i have EVER seen,i MEAN that you don't see Cs have a buildable structure or jetpacks on instance?Ns creators use style and their own leet skills to come out with this game.
Hmm enough said <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::gorge::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/pudgy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='pudgy.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::siege::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/siege.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='siege.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::onos::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tiny.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tiny.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::sentry::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/turret.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='turret.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.gif'><!--endemo-->
All it <i>could</i> do is shelve the current version of the game - Flayra has all rights on title, artwork, additional sourcecode, sounds, maps and the rest. He can do whatever he pleases with this.
Aside from that, he once stated that "NS will always be free."
All it <i>could</i> do is shelve the current version of the game - Flayra has all rights on title, artwork, additional sourcecode, sounds, maps and the rest. He can do whatever he pleases with this.
Aside from that, he once stated that "NS will always be free." <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Amen to that. In no way do I want to see this great game hit the ****storm that is the gaming industry. I can see many ne additions if Flay were to sell out.
The game is too hard for noobs, lets make it easier.
People dont like to work in a team, lets make it so that they arent as important.
Why should the commander get to choose the weapon you use, let the marine buy it.
All these buildings take up too much server time/space and slow the game down, lets remove them.
These maps are too big, make em smaller.
We need some new objectives. I know, rescue the hostages and plant the nuke.
And then there is the great patching debaukle (sp?).
Why is it that game companies seem to think that they can put out unfinished games and then patch them. Or put out decent games and then shaft you once they get your money.
And then there is the great patching debaukle (sp?).
Why is it that game companies seem to think that they can put out unfinished games and then patch them. Or put out decent games and then shaft you once they get your money. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
They do because they can. That simple. The day their sales dropped like a rock, they would stop doing it. It's a matter of money. QA is much more difficult on a pc than a console title. The world is full of pc's with dodgy drivers, inferior hardware and harddrives loaded with strange software that messes and mucks about with the system.
Like Opera 7.02 browser I use. It crashes when I launch Natural Selection!