You can skip this next paragraph, it's just a brief rundown of my MOD in case anyone is interested:
I've started a MOD called Hagane Ikazuchi years ago. I was really just developing the idea, getting familiar with a lot of different engines and tools, and playing around. I played around with the HL engine and UT 2003 engine in terms of coding, and then tried the HL2 (not impressed with) and Far Cry Engine. Now you may ask, which engine do I plan to use?
I am not choosing one until the game is conceptually complete. After fussing around and doing things without a guideline I finally decided to put my Software Engineering education to use and I'm approaching it from that perspective. I realized that I can't do this on my own, and in the near future I'll be recruiting talent. I basically have an excel file that details everything about the game. This way, if I do have a team, every single person knows exactly how the end product will look, feel, and behave. At this stage I'm working on all the art for the game.
I realize that many, many MODs die. At this stage, my MOD hasn't really existed to begin with, but I feel with a detailed plan and concept of the game will help it survive as it's being produced.
NOW MY QUESTION TO FPS FANS:
My MOD's concept is based around 3 story tall mechas fighting in downtown environments populated with skyscrapes and such. Just recently, I thought that instead of controlling like any other FPS, that these mechas should control much like vehicles.
This means that there are a few different control configs I could go for:
Config 1:
MOVEMENT: W, A, S, D, control your mecha's forward, backward and strafing like any other FPS, but in this case have physics applied to them. Going forward fast and then hitting back, your mech will skid a bit. Same with going forward and then strafing right. It will skid forward until enough traction is able to pull you to the right. It won't feel like being on ice though, I'll adjust friction accordingly, but it will be subtle and you will be able to feel it.
I like this idea since it introduces a bit more challange to movement. Not a lot, but you do factor in your speed and such when moving. I'm guessing it would also give you the sensation of really controlling a mech.
AIMING: Aiming will feel a tiny bit "loose". The best way to describe this is when you are in a tank in BF2, and try to aim the cannon. It isn't exactly responsive and it goes in the general direction of your aiming. It takes more skill to shoot at objects and to snipe. There are 3 classes of mechs, light, medium and heavy, with light (capable of sniping) having more precise aiming and heavy (equipped with heavy, damaging weapons) featuring more "loose" aiming.
Again, it would make things feel more immersive. Another benefit is automatic mouse smoothing which would make the game look visually far more cinematic. The jerky movements most people have when playing FPSs will be eradicated and it would look very smooth. It will provide a challange and people more skilled in FPS games will be better than those new to FPS games. The drawback is that people may be frustrated with this mechanic. Snipers in the light class should have no problems, but the heavy class will have to get used to it. I think with all that firepower the heavy class should be ok since it helps balance things out.
CONFIG 2:
Movement: The W, A, S, D controls would control you much like the BF2 tank, meaning that your upper portion of the mech (doing the aiming) is almost independant of the bottom portion for movement. Instead of strafing left or right, you would be turning left or right.
Aiming: Done in the same manner as above, but it does not determine where you are turning your mech. In the above control scheme, going left and right would turn your entire character's body to the left and right, whereas now it is completely independant.
This idea does make the game more challanging, unique and is immersive, but on the other hand people may be frustrated or turned off because they want to play an FPS with familiar controls. Quite simply it would control like a fast BF2 tank. I'm gonna hack the tank and see how it plays. What I really want to know is if people would be willing to play a game with the same control mechanics as a tank...throughout the entire playtime of the game. Personally, when I get into the tank, I feel a bit restricted. On the other hand, in games like Halo 1/2, I've gotten used to the vehicle control scheme that I feel very comfortable with it.
So I'd like the input of all FPS fans on the forum...this idea came up very recently, and when I played around with UT 2003/2004, I coded it so they controlled just like in any other FPS, like a character rather than a vehicle. Turning these mechs into vehicles (that you can't hop out of) makes a lot of sense to me, but I worry that it may alienate players to the point where people don't want to give it a chance.
Oh, and I'll post some quick details about what I have planned:
-characters: 3 story talls mechas on "rollerblades" and jet propulsion. Use one weapon that morphs into different characteristics, and it's ammo is energy based, which repleneshes over time. They also carry an energy shield that absorbes enemy energy and converts a portion of it into their own energy, filling up the energy meter to enable super attacks. They also carry a sword for melee combat that the shield cannot protect against. 3 classes, light, medium, heavy with movement, weapon, energy, and combat differences.
-Gametype: a "capture" mode where 2 opposing teams must fill up 2 (or 3) of the 3 (or 5) "Glyphs" with energy to win the match. Filling up these glyphs is done by firing at them, and it works in a see-saw manner. If blue team has it nearly filled, red team can fire at it to get it down to neutral and then continue firing at it so they can capture it.
Upgrades: Every single action is rewarded with points. Firing and hitting an enemy gets you points, killing someone gets you 1/3 of their points, assisting a kill gets you points, etc. These can be combined and combo-ed to get you more points (ie. Killing a guy with X squad mates with you assisting gets you X times the points, to encourage teamplay). These points are used to upgrade your mech in every department. There are also weapons upgrades heavily influenced by Gunstar Heroes, so you can have a large variety of unique weapons.
Anyways, again, I'm at a crossroad here and I need to make a decision soon. I have my mind partially made up, but I'd really appreciate some input!
I've started a MOD called Hagane Ikazuchi years ago. I was really just developing the idea, getting familiar with a lot of different engines and tools, and playing around. I played around with the HL engine and UT 2003 engine in terms of coding, and then tried the HL2 (not impressed with) and Far Cry Engine. Now you may ask, which engine do I plan to use?
I am not choosing one until the game is conceptually complete. After fussing around and doing things without a guideline I finally decided to put my Software Engineering education to use and I'm approaching it from that perspective. I realized that I can't do this on my own, and in the near future I'll be recruiting talent. I basically have an excel file that details everything about the game. This way, if I do have a team, every single person knows exactly how the end product will look, feel, and behave. At this stage I'm working on all the art for the game.
I realize that many, many MODs die. At this stage, my MOD hasn't really existed to begin with, but I feel with a detailed plan and concept of the game will help it survive as it's being produced.
NOW MY QUESTION TO FPS FANS:
My MOD's concept is based around 3 story tall mechas fighting in downtown environments populated with skyscrapes and such. Just recently, I thought that instead of controlling like any other FPS, that these mechas should control much like vehicles.
This means that there are a few different control configs I could go for:
Config 1:
MOVEMENT: W, A, S, D, control your mecha's forward, backward and strafing like any other FPS, but in this case have physics applied to them. Going forward fast and then hitting back, your mech will skid a bit. Same with going forward and then strafing right. It will skid forward until enough traction is able to pull you to the right. It won't feel like being on ice though, I'll adjust friction accordingly, but it will be subtle and you will be able to feel it.
I like this idea since it introduces a bit more challange to movement. Not a lot, but you do factor in your speed and such when moving. I'm guessing it would also give you the sensation of really controlling a mech.
AIMING: Aiming will feel a tiny bit "loose". The best way to describe this is when you are in a tank in BF2, and try to aim the cannon. It isn't exactly responsive and it goes in the general direction of your aiming. It takes more skill to shoot at objects and to snipe. There are 3 classes of mechs, light, medium and heavy, with light (capable of sniping) having more precise aiming and heavy (equipped with heavy, damaging weapons) featuring more "loose" aiming.
Again, it would make things feel more immersive. Another benefit is automatic mouse smoothing which would make the game look visually far more cinematic. The jerky movements most people have when playing FPSs will be eradicated and it would look very smooth. It will provide a challange and people more skilled in FPS games will be better than those new to FPS games. The drawback is that people may be frustrated with this mechanic. Snipers in the light class should have no problems, but the heavy class will have to get used to it. I think with all that firepower the heavy class should be ok since it helps balance things out.
CONFIG 2:
Movement: The W, A, S, D controls would control you much like the BF2 tank, meaning that your upper portion of the mech (doing the aiming) is almost independant of the bottom portion for movement. Instead of strafing left or right, you would be turning left or right.
Aiming: Done in the same manner as above, but it does not determine where you are turning your mech. In the above control scheme, going left and right would turn your entire character's body to the left and right, whereas now it is completely independant.
This idea does make the game more challanging, unique and is immersive, but on the other hand people may be frustrated or turned off because they want to play an FPS with familiar controls. Quite simply it would control like a fast BF2 tank. I'm gonna hack the tank and see how it plays. What I really want to know is if people would be willing to play a game with the same control mechanics as a tank...throughout the entire playtime of the game. Personally, when I get into the tank, I feel a bit restricted. On the other hand, in games like Halo 1/2, I've gotten used to the vehicle control scheme that I feel very comfortable with it.
So I'd like the input of all FPS fans on the forum...this idea came up very recently, and when I played around with UT 2003/2004, I coded it so they controlled just like in any other FPS, like a character rather than a vehicle. Turning these mechs into vehicles (that you can't hop out of) makes a lot of sense to me, but I worry that it may alienate players to the point where people don't want to give it a chance.
Oh, and I'll post some quick details about what I have planned:
-characters: 3 story talls mechas on "rollerblades" and jet propulsion. Use one weapon that morphs into different characteristics, and it's ammo is energy based, which repleneshes over time. They also carry an energy shield that absorbes enemy energy and converts a portion of it into their own energy, filling up the energy meter to enable super attacks. They also carry a sword for melee combat that the shield cannot protect against. 3 classes, light, medium, heavy with movement, weapon, energy, and combat differences.
-Gametype: a "capture" mode where 2 opposing teams must fill up 2 (or 3) of the 3 (or 5) "Glyphs" with energy to win the match. Filling up these glyphs is done by firing at them, and it works in a see-saw manner. If blue team has it nearly filled, red team can fire at it to get it down to neutral and then continue firing at it so they can capture it.
Upgrades: Every single action is rewarded with points. Firing and hitting an enemy gets you points, killing someone gets you 1/3 of their points, assisting a kill gets you points, etc. These can be combined and combo-ed to get you more points (ie. Killing a guy with X squad mates with you assisting gets you X times the points, to encourage teamplay). These points are used to upgrade your mech in every department. There are also weapons upgrades heavily influenced by Gunstar Heroes, so you can have a large variety of unique weapons.
Anyways, again, I'm at a crossroad here and I need to make a decision soon. I have my mind partially made up, but I'd really appreciate some input!