Money where the mouth is.....

Discussion in 'General' started by Misfire, Aug 28, 2018.

  1. Misfire

    Misfire Always Lost

    Messages:
    311
    Likes Received:
    44
    Trophy Points:
    0
    First and most importantly this is not a "thump your chest" thread, or a "mine's bigger than your's" juvie contest.

    What it is... is....
    ...hopefully a way to show all interested that empires still has a pulse.
    ... a post showing there are people spending real time and/or money on a hobby/game they enjoy and want to share.
    ... a small positive note to help cure some of the blues.
    ... a new minty wash that leaves your breath.... no wait.....

    NO!!! We are not all going to agree on what Empires should be. And that's not the point here either.
    But if you're here reading this, then we do agree that it should exist and continue to evolve.
    (yep, we agree... get over it)

    Some are coding, others mapping or modeling, or hosting servers at their own expense.
    (like this forum server, thanks Thexa)
    Duke for instance was spending some serious effort on Empires2.
    Other are fixing old maps or working on new ones.
    Some may want to contribute to this post, and I can understand others who probably wont. But maybe they can at least chime in with a "yep, I'm working on something too" to raise the tally.

    So I'm starting off.....
    a) Hosting a game server, now hoping you all come to play weekdays. (X is weekend maestro)
    b) couple hundred $$$ on software for textures/models (yes, just for empires)
    c) uncountable hours learning source for free when I could have been making minimum wage instead (yes I'm dumb)

    who else?
     
    VulcanStorm likes this.
  2. D.D.D. Destroyer

    D.D.D. Destroyer Member Staff Member Moderator

    Messages:
    9,509
    Likes Received:
    111
    Trophy Points:
    0
    I write things nobody reads and make maps only a select few play.

    And I fix the myriad issues with existing maps, big or small. If a map thing has been annoying you and is gone, chances are I fixed it. And if it's still annoying you, let me know and I'll fix it.

    And I broke my Empires and can't do lighting tweaks properly :rolleyes:

    (also gameplay videos I guess? That should count)
     
    VulcanStorm likes this.
  3. Misfire

    Misfire Always Lost

    Messages:
    311
    Likes Received:
    44
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Oh yeah.... what's up with those vids? I recall we staged some pretty good recordings last year for reddit or youtube?
     
  4. VulcanStorm

    VulcanStorm Developer Staff Member Moderator

    Messages:
    552
    Likes Received:
    64
    Trophy Points:
    0
    I code stuff.

    Recently i've been fixing bugs, yay! :grinnf:


    As for that pulse? Here's something that's been in the pipeline...

    We've been working on getting AI into Empires, and the first iteration is currently available in the beta!
    These are very basic, require map entities to spawn them and come in 2 flavours: NPCs and Player Bots.
    NPCs should automatically capture flags and shoot at enemies. Player Bots can join squads, shoot at enemies and follow orders.

    Yep that's right... Botpires. Coming soon(TM) to a certain district near you! :cool:

    (edit: bots & npcs can be discussed in a different thread)
     
    Last edited: Aug 29, 2018
  5. complete_

    complete_ lamer

    Messages:
    6,438
    Likes Received:
    144
    Trophy Points:
    0
    my contribution days are over. all thats left is my support and respect for people bringing meaningful change
     
  6. TheLiberalElitist

    TheLiberalElitist Member

    Messages:
    627
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    0
    I am waiting for someone to say "Hey I am going to port Empires to XYZ if you would like to help do."

    I was excited for Duke's port, but it seemed he was going it alone, so I was worried he would lose interest, which seemed to be the case.

    Every blue moon, I go back and update my Empires project for Unity3d when I see other FPS projects using Unity like Escape from Tarkov, Rust and GTFO. My interrest fizzles just because a lot of the stuff I would want is behind a pay wall, and not built in to Unity.

    Recently I had plans to remake streets of Fire in Cryengine 5.5, which was slow going. I still may just to drum up a showcase level for learning purposes.

    Also following some of the interesting MIT open source licensed engines out there to make a pitch to the community why we should go in that direction.

    • Torque3D
    • Godot Engine
    • Xenko
    • Lumix Engine
     
    Last edited: Aug 29, 2018
  7. BigTeef

    BigTeef Bootleg Headshot master

    Messages:
    7,036
    Likes Received:
    36
    Trophy Points:
    0
    I don't mind throwing money but the issue I have is reoccurring payments. If shell out like 200 or 300$ for a one time deal. Will that get shit done or do I need to continuously give money?
     
  8. Misfire

    Misfire Always Lost

    Messages:
    311
    Likes Received:
    44
    Trophy Points:
    0
    @BigTeef I'd suggest playing it like a sniper. Keep your eyes open for some worthy item and then make an infusion if you think it would move something forward.
    However I think for the majority who are trying, time and experience are in shorter supply than anything. Wouldn't I love to complete a couple of nice models tonight, but already 2 hours past bed time and have to be off to work just past dawn. Experience is hurting because documentation for steam, hammer and other tool integration is so scattered. Wanna learn how to model... go watch a bunch of youtubes, read a lot of half-baked webpages, down load some sample maps and spend the next few months at trial and error. No clear road to better, faster, more efficient output. I think it's a big point of frustration that wears many out. (I'd love to improve the wiki to help speed others along.... dang that time thing)

    I would be in favor of a newer more supported and better documented engine just for the single purpose of eliminating the awful steam learning curve.
    However given the already tiny dev resources available it does make more sense for now to fix up what we have while keeping an eye on a future move.
    Once the current code is better understood and brought up to 2018+ coding practices, a move attempt would have better odds at success.
     
  9. Sgt.Security

    Sgt.Security Member

    Messages:
    3,137
    Likes Received:
    140
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Sincere advice, save the money.

    Not that it's not worthy for Empires but there currently isn't a worthy project that I am aware of.

    Misfire established this pretty well.
     
  10. Acolyte

    Acolyte Member

    Messages:
    84
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    0
    I command... and post in the forum... thanks for those who actually improve the game
     
  11. Awpolt

    Awpolt Member

    Messages:
    151
    Likes Received:
    19
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Is there anything we can do on the User Interface side of things? Or perhaps consolidate a list of bugs/issues?
     
  12. Not Kidpaler

    Not Kidpaler Member

    Messages:
    50
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Show up to Beta's, even when there's that cool 20 player game going on.
     
  13. Thexa4

    Thexa4 Developer Staff Member Moderator

    Messages:
    304
    Likes Received:
    98
    Trophy Points:
    0
    You can modify the UI by modifying the files in empires/resource/ui. (if you do it with the beta files I can merge them back into the real game)
     
  14. Awpolt

    Awpolt Member

    Messages:
    151
    Likes Received:
    19
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Any way to make the UI more interactive? Would that be done through JS?
     
  15. Thexa4

    Thexa4 Developer Staff Member Moderator

    Messages:
    304
    Likes Received:
    98
    Trophy Points:
    0
    I'm not sure what you mean by interactive? There is support for animations if that's what you mean.
     
  16. Awpolt

    Awpolt Member

    Messages:
    151
    Likes Received:
    19
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Ah yes, that's what I was trying to relay, sorry.

    Example of how ND does it.

    Player Interface:
    This would help alleviate having to send multiple menus in the way Empires currently does. It also makes it much more compact, simple, and to-the-point.

    1 Min 46 Sec


    Commander Interface:

    10 Sec
     
    Last edited: Sep 16, 2018

Share This Page