Why don't you guy's move to Mixamo for character creation?

Back on topic...

Mixamo could be cool for new character models... But how much does it cost?

 

There is an edit button you know.

I would like more shrubs and things, but sadly it's very easy to turn off, not to mention by default the draw distance for shrubs and taller grasses is kinda low so you may think you are hiding in da bush but really you just look like you are lying down in the middle of no where.

 

I don't know how this thread got so off-topic so quickly.
What started as a civil discussion quickly turned into a shit-slinging thread.

I've merged all of the posts made in succession to shorten the thread, please use the edit post option and stay civil.

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Anyway, the models I made using Mixamo don't use the same rig that our existing animations use.
This means only the geometry can be used unless we are to redo ALL of the animations to use a new rig. It's a lot of work needed to do this and since I'm the only one on the Dev team that already has the experience needed to change this stuff it's a big ask of me.

Right now I would prefer to get the view model animations fixed so that we don't use floating 3rd hands, it was a lazy technique used when the models were created. Since we don't have any of the source files, this is a bit of a challenge because I have to reanimate everything.

Mixamo seems great for creating a base character, but if you think it's simple to just replace everything with their stuff (animating wise especially); you're wrong. Sure replacing character geometry with those is simple enough if you know what you're doing, but it's still a couple hours work.

On the subject of the engine, it's shitty. It just is, it lacks documentation and it takes so long to get anything done when you compare it to new engines. I use 3DS Max, Valve doesn't support it so I have to use 3rd party software to get anything done. This comes with its own set of challenges; on top of this we don't have the majority of our source files since the game is years old now. Decompiling breaks the geometry in a way where it becomes difficult to work with. It is okay for static things, but more complicated things have to be cleaned up manually - which is a fucking ball-ache.

Anyway, ideas are always welcome; and Mixamo has been suggested before, but time and manpower is a resource that we are lacking to work on these kinds of things. I appreciate the enthusiasm you're showing Polyesta but everyone that works on the game is a volunteer with day jobs, Empires has to be a second thought since it cannot and will never support it's developers financially. It's sad because the game could be great with a good team and proper funding; but it's on a shit engine and is showing its age. Nobody wants to use the source engine for an art portfolio because of its limitations.

 

There's something to be said about using the right tool for the job. Source isn't exactly the right tool for empires. At the time it was being made it was probably one of the better options, but now there's better options for large scale fps games. Yes there's great games for source engine, but generally all of them don't have the need for huge open maps, like l4d. Source has always been for urban type of games.

I kinda agree that it might be better to start fresh, the only problem is there's no one to really get such a project going. It's just too huge of a undertaking. It isn't like empires is in poor shape either, it just has some aged looks and game mechanics.

 

I don't notice the outdated looks very much... Maybe I've gotten used to them.

Any advice/help for modelling for BE?

So what would polish the game mechanics?

 

@Polyesta So how could the animation be improved? When you say buildings... You mean faction buildings? or map buildings?