DescentBB

EDIT: Information page 2 is not done yet... still need to upload some stuff. Please bear with.



Ahoy communitators! It's your friend DoTheGeek come with kisses and good news!

I am pleased to announce the status of my Descent spiritual successor project, titled Inferno, as -Prime For Recruitment-. This thread will serve to present the material I have so far and outline what has yet to be done by myself and any potential crew members.

Firstly, I am mainly looking for a C++ programmer who is a Descent fan, is interested in this project, and is confident in his ability to do things such as code AI and a physics system and add shader code to the Descent engine. Working on Linux is an almost certain must for the sake of fluid collaboration.

The design document is located here, and the link at the end of that page will take you to a page presenting the completed material thus far. Completed material includes all robot models with the exception of the final boss, most of the robot textures, all but a few of the weapon, power-up, and explosion etc. sprites, and write up of much of the briefing material. What remains to be done on my part is:

-finish texturing models
-make level textures
-finish sprites, briefings, model final boss, etc.
-design levels
-make interface grahics
-develop interface font
-write pseudo-code for AI behavior and other features
-your maternal parent
(I'll surely think of more)

The tasks to be done by the programmer(s) are as follows:

-make additions to Descent source code, including:
####-code new AI system based on pseudo-code
####-code new physics system
####-code other new features like puzzle rules, visual effects, etc.
####-create one or more file formats to store information on levels and possibly other things
####-write a level editor or Blender exporter
####-code interface
(I'll surely think of more)

I'm also looking to recruit one or more sound designers. And if you're neither a programmer nor a sound designer but think you could contribute something valuable to the project, you're welcome to inquire.

So, anyone interested, please reply here or PM me telling me about your skills, name three games besides Descent that you like, and name the three things you like most about what you've seen of the project so far.

Cheers!

A level editor needs to be developed. One considerable possibility is to adapt the classic Devil editor to Inferno. Another is to write a Blender exporter so that Blender may be used to build levels. Still another possibility is to write the editor from scratch.

A Blender texture mapping exporter will prove useful, but the necessity for writing one is up for debate.

Just a note, the Descent Engine is based around cubes. (as I'm sure you know). Blender is based around polygons. While it is easy to go from cubes to polygons (as seen by me being able to write a basic importer script from descent levels to blender), it would be far more daunting to go the other way.

Also, I see no reason to develop a different engine. I would say do it all as a mod for D2 for either rebirth of D2X-XL, those developers have done a great job of making the game stable and you don't even have to worry about doing much coding work on your own.

Also, one thing you need to decide before you start the project is when it is finished. When is it 'good enough,' as it is impossible to make a perfect game. This has been the downfall of many otherwise great projects, so make a detailed file that, instead of listing the features, lists waypoints, timeframes, etc.

I'd help, but I'm reading the dragonball series.

sdfgeoff wrote:

A level editor needs to be developed. One considerable possibility is to adapt the classic Devil editor to Inferno. Another is to write a Blender exporter so that Blender may be used to build levels. Still another possibility is to write the editor from scratch.

A Blender texture mapping exporter will prove useful, but the necessity for writing one is up for debate.

Just a note, the Descent Engine is based around cubes. (as I'm sure you know). Blender is based around polygons. While it is easy to go from cubes to polygons (as seen by me being able to write a basic importer script from descent levels to blender), it would be far more daunting to go the other way.

Also, I see no reason to develop a different engine. I would say do it all as a mod for D2 for either rebirth of D2X-XL, those developers have done a great job of making the game stable and you don't even have to worry about doing much coding work on your own.

Also, one thing you need to decide before you start the project is when it is finished. When is it 'good enough,' as it is impossible to make a perfect game. This has been the downfall of many otherwise great projects, so make a detailed file that, instead of listing the features, lists waypoints, timeframes, etc.

My plan was to have the Descent engine updated to accept polygons. I forgot to mention that in the Technical Details section among other things that have slipped my mind. That section obviously needs serious work before a programmer becomes involved. And I'll take the advice about adding waypoints, timeframes, and such. I do want to do nothing less than achieve my vision, but setting milestones may be the only way that will be possible.