I have been wanting to create a D&D 3.5e game for quite awhile. What I am thinking is to make it as close to the actual thing as possible. This means turn-based role-playing. Obviously there are some things that we will not be able to completely account for, but I would like to get it as close as possible.
The main things that I would like to see are:
A character creator (both a generator for new players, and a full creator for people with previously played characters).
A main story line, preferably a long one, I am thinking around 40 hours or so of gameplay. I know that that is a long shot, but I am willing to try.
Separate short campaigns.
Perhaps a ‘DM’ mode, where you could create your own games.
To achieve all of this, I would need:
A few powerful Python scripters. This game is going to need a lot of well written scripts, so this is very important.
A modeler for the characters, monsters, and environments. This is not as important, I am not trying to make the best-looking game out there, I am trying to replicate the D&D experience, I want this game to be centering on that, and not on graphics.
A texturer, same as above.
A story creator, someone to work with me on creating the main story-line. I want this to be done as good as possible; the story will need to be creative, genuine, and something that truly engages to players.
If interested in helping please reply, or PM me, even if it would only be with a few things or for a short while. Thanks everyone in advance for your help.
A character creator => whoah, thats a huge amount of work, isnt it?
40 hours of gameplay - which game has that? do you know how many books were needed for such games?
How much time did you plan for this game or do you think it takes to develop it?
A character creator is essential for such a game no matter how much work it is. I would like to clarify as well, that this would not be a person’s job, this would be a guided creator for the players to follow (think of any RPG that you might have played, you always have to create a character before hand).
40 hours of gameplay is alot, and as I mentioned it was just a thought. I would like a 20 hour minimum. As to what game has that? Have you ever played TESV Skyrim? It has a minimum of around 60, you can even keep playing for another few hundred without anything getting repetitive. I understand that Skyrim was created by a group of highly skilled professionals, but I think that it is possible for us to achieve 40. And once you have the basic system laid out, it is actually quite easy to create the rest.
I have not put much thought into how long it would take to develop it, because I believe that it is irrelevant. I am not going to attempt to sell the game at all. I just want to make it. I plan to spend 20-40 hours a week on this game myself during the summer. I hold no one to that standard however, I take whatever help wherever I can get it.
I apologize for the confusion on the story writers. I meant to say at least one story writer other than myself. Of course I would like to have however many I can get. And anyone on the team is welcome to help with it, but I want AT LEAST one more person other than myself to help with it.
As I said before, the hardest part about it is going to be the scripting. But once we have a basis the rest should fall into place, it would just be a matter of re-using the scripts from earlier.
I appreciate the questions. This is a big task, and it is somewhat daunting, even to myself. But that is why I want some help.
Thank you very much! Unfortunately we will not have much to do until some more people join and we are able to sketch out a plan, but that does not mean that we cannot get started. Does that include props (i.e. Barrels, Benches, Tables, Books, etc.)? Because until we have more of a story, there will not be too much to do in that regard. But if you can do props you could start on creating a few whenever you are ready. If not then you could start on some general things that we are bound to need (i.e. Towns, general Dungeons,).
Trench Studios, how many projects are you now working on? Isnt it enough? Or just trying to add as many projects so you can see you are working on all these? Why not concentrate on 1 project at a time?
Well blanchanimation, do you have a more specific plan already? Any ideas how you want to manage this? (eg using sugarcrm?)
About 3-4 tbh 1 of which is dead and even working on these projects im including the ones I just joined and even if I work fulltime doing these projects Ill wait for a reply for like a day
Sounds interesting!
What really intrigues me is the thought of a single-player D&D experience.
Looking at Neverwinter Nights, it had the rules but was too linear.
An artificial DM is probably beyond the scope of the project… but perhaps it can be faked somehow.
I was actually working on a similar project written in python, except it was 2D and multiplayer only (DM required).
Perhaps we could pool resources. I was originally wanting to target android, but it’s a worthy sacrifice for a decent artist.
Would like to keep it simple though, unless more programmers get involved.
I know some python and have a bit of DM experience. If you need reference work I can PM you.
Just recently finished Neverwinter Nights 2. And TBH all I can say is just don’t. D&D just simply doesn’t work in computer games. I remember playing AD&D back in the 80s and it was great. But now we live the days of WOW and Skyrim. D20 system just doesn’t cut it anymore.
If you need inspiration for simple but effective play systems just look at games like Legend of Grimrock or Din’s Curse. They are both great. For a less action oriented more story driven game look at any Spiderweb’s games.
@X3DModels: I am not quite sure what you mean by “more specific plan.” More specific plan in what regard? As far as your second question, I will not be getting an external software because I believe that most of the communication can be done on here. If that turns out to be a hassle, then we can work something out with one another on that matter (Skype perhaps?). @pqftgs: This would not be strictly single-player. I would like to have a local/multiplayer mode as well. But single-player will have to be handled first. Just for clarification, this is not going to be a POV game, it would be a 3D game, but you would not see it from your view (because it is essential to see the map, and what is going on around you). I would absolutely like your help (for both the Python, and the DM side). @spaces: The accusations that you have made are primarily based on the lack of people who enjoy that type of game. I however do not intend to market the game, at least not yet. I would like to create this game for both myself, and anyone else who would like to play this kind of game.
well sugarcrm is meant for project management - free and you can host it on your own server
skype is just good for chatting …
do you plan to use a central ftp for assets and so on?
Since my group split, we’ve been trying to use Google docs to play remotely. It isn’t too convenient.
In terms of marketability I agree with both arguments. My intention is for personal use.
I’m usually on Skype if you want to work on a design document.
I can set us up with bug tracker, wiki, and version control if needed.
But as long as things are kept small, dropbox + email will do fine.
I’m mostly into network and server things, so you may need an additional programmer for AI.
What I can offer:
-Level editor
-Multiplayer gameplay system w/ character saving
-Optional relay server so people can host without router configuration
-Mumble server or built-in voice chat (if I have time to waste)
-Automatic updates
-very basic AI
As far as file sharing is concerned, I think that a mix of Dropbox, Pasteall, e-mail, and uploading on here, will get the job done. I intend to also store all of the files on my own computer in an organized fashion so that if anything happens to a file that has been synced through dropbox or the like, then I will be able to resupply said file. If we later decide that we need a central internet storage of all of the files, than we can figure it out then. @pqftgs: As far as network and servers, I do not think that we will lean too heavily on it for now, but it is definitely something that I would like to see in the future (multiplayer and stuff). But definitely level editing, character saving, AI (even if it is just basic, it will still get us started), are going to be essential.
Once we get some more people I would definitely like to setup a more structured plan, but I want to see what we are dealing with, in terms of help and resource, before we advance too far.
Some eyecandy. Hopefully it will spur someone’s interest :yes:
This is my current progress on a 3D level editor. At present, all objects are bound to hotkeys. The plan is to have a panel on the right which separates objects into characters/containers/doors/items/obstacles/decorations.
Credits to the appropriate folks at opengameart and blendswap for the placeholder assets.
We might have conflicting interest on what this will turn out to be.
I am wanting a tool that eases the burden of playing over the internet.
As far as single player goes, I’ll leave room for an event editor that will act as a “bot” DM.
But a good amount of the multiplayer is already done, so I’ll be sticking to that for now.
I guess this is still somewhat of a separate project as we haven’t committed to anything yet.
But I do intend to finish multiplayer first so I can use it on the field. Aside from that, I’m open to anything.
It sounds like you already know what you are doing. Go ahead and finish multiplayer. The reason that I had intended single player first, was because I figured that it would be easier, but if you have made significant progress on something already then I will not mess it up. I guess what I would like to see first, is an effective level-editor (like what you are working on), so that we can then do most of our creation in that (minus AI, DM, and the like). The problem with this idea is that it would have to be fully-functional before we continue. Is there any way that I could get the file, and take a look at what you have so far?
Sorry about the delay. I’ll send you the files tonight after work.
Though it’s not ready for making levels, asset management is pretty much done.
All you do is copy the .blend to a certain folder and the editor loads it when needed.
So there’s plenty of work to do creating map objects.
I can do basic logic bricking and can write a fairly good story. I started the Medieval Fantasy RPG team project story but had to drop out for a moment where i didn’t have time. I am free now and would like to help here. Let me know if you are interested. I also play 3rd edition D&D and think that this would a big but fun project.
