Idea!

[Brother None]

BN, would you happen to know how long it took the team of 21 working at Interplay to produce and release Fallout? We know it was released on September 30th, of 1997, but what date did development begin on it?

Production on Project GURPS started in December 1994, or earlier. For the longest time it was just Tim tinkering with his toys, but I have no idea when you can say the production started "in earnest" or how long it had 21 people working on it. I just don't know. It ended in 1997, so total production time was 3 years.

Fallout 3's been in full production for 2 years now, pre-production started 4 years ago.

Also; What was their budget (granted by Interplay) for the development in total, including the wages they paid for all employees?

Don't know, those kind of numbers are always a secret.

 

[Dracon M'Alkir]

Carmageddon's goal was to win the race though, pedestrians were just a bonus really, however the game where the sole purpose was to just destroy civvies would probably be Postal, Manhunt's supposed to be even worse than Postal 2, hard to believe eh?

Manhunt was just plain sadistic. I think Saw took after Manhunt and amplified the message.

Anyway, the reason I was asking BN was that I was just storming up a cloud in my head; as to figuring out relatively what type and how much resources it would require to create a sequel to the game in our vision, preferrably using the old engines. It would take less work granted that the engine is already written, the system is already ready (Tim stormed up the system of SPECIAL while messing with GURPs); I think according to IP Law, technically we CAN'T create a sequel, but it's a non-profit thing sort of like a 'mod' I think it falls under legal. I'm not sure, I'm not a lawyer; but whatever.

Edit2: Wait, 92 people worked on it.. http://www.nma-fallout.com/fallout1/official_site/more.shtml

 

[Mord_Sith]

Sounds like my idea from earlier when Per made a pointed gesture about people who don't mod asking why modders haven't done something yet...

I was looking at some Java 3d engines and I've whittled them down to 3, Jmonkey, elflight(I think, I forgot my paper at work >.>) , and leadwerks.

My biggest problem is I only know code for Java and Perl from my webdesign stuff so it would take me longer to get started on a C based engine due to the fact that I'd have to research every function and try to figure out left from my nose...

Also I think those linux and mac boys would love it to be cross platform, don'cha think?

 

[Dracon M'Alkir]

Sounds like my idea from earlier when Per made a pointed gesture about people who don't mod asking why modders haven't done something yet...

I was looking at some Java 3d engines and I've whittled them down to 3, Jmonkey, elflight(I think, I forgot my paper at work >.>) , and leadwerks.

My biggest problem is I only know code for Java and Perl from my webdesign stuff so it would take me longer to get started on a C based engine due to the fact that I'd have to research every function and try to figure out left from my nose...

Also I think those linux and mac boys would love it to be cross platform, don'cha think?

Yeah, absolutely; but re-writing the entire engine in Java is.. Meh.

There's a small group called Data Realms which has done some fascinating work on a game called "Cortex Command"; I'll need to e-mail them and find out which language they're writing their game in because it's pretty much the same era of graphical achievement. Link here: http://www.datarealms.com/

 

[Brother None]

(let's start our own Fallout!)

People already had this idea. It pops up every now and again. It's the source of such projects as Zero Projekt, Afterfall, Black Rain, and many others. If one of 'em ever gets finished I'll be impressed.

My advice: less zany ideas, more actual work. There are fascinating projects out there, working with FIFE or other engines, not to mention ambitious Fallout total conversion mods.

All these "hey guys let's do a true sequel" ideas that pop up whenever shitty info about Fallout 3 pops up are really kinda not it.

Edit2: Wait, 92 people worked on it.. http://www.nma-fallout.com/fallout1/official_site/more.shtml

That's including QA, PR people and voice-over talents.

PS: also, take any "hey guys let's do a true sequel" to either a new thread on general gaming or to PMs.

 

[Dracon M'Alkir]

(let's start our own Fallout!)

People already had this idea. It pops up every now and again. It's the source of such projects as Zero Projekt, Afterfall, Black Rain, and many others *1. If one of 'em ever gets finished I'll be impressed.

My advice: less zany ideas, more actual work *3. There are fascinating projects out there, working with FIFE or other engines, not to mention ambitious Fallout total conversion mods.

All these "hey guys let's do a true sequel" ideas that pop up whenever shitty info about Fallout 3 pops up are really kinda not it.

That's including QA, PR people and voice-over talents. *2

PS: also, take any "hey guys let's do a true sequel" to either a new thread on general gaming or to PMs.

*1: Well, that's awesome. I'd like more reports on their progress.

*2 Yeah, but it's not like you can just exclude them from the mix entirely. Those talking heads need voices, you know!

*3 Well, if Project Zero, Afterfall, etc all combined their development teams and ideas; we'd end up having an actual developer base ready. I'm wondering how they didn't think of that to begin with

As for the PS, that's the last of it in this thread.

 

[Brother None]

*1: Well, that's awesome. I'd like more reports on their progress.

Whenever there is news it is on the frontpage. Most recently on New Dawn and Zero Projekt

*2 Yeah, but it's not like you can just exclude them from the mix entirely. Those talking heads need voices, you know!

If you think any independent product would need that PR staff or voice-over talent, you're insane.

*3 Well, if Project Zero, Afterfall, etc all combined their development teams and ideas; we'd end up having an actual developer base ready. I'm wondering how they didn't think of that to begin with

For the same reason people don't join them but start up new projects instead.

 

[Mord_Sith]

If either of them are working in Java or Perl I could help them, otherwise I'd be useless to the project really...

 

[Per]

Sounds like my idea from earlier when Per made a pointed gesture about people who don't mod asking why modders haven't done something yet...

More specifically it's people asking why modders haven't done something yet (like finish a product that properly would take the combined work of a studio of paid professionals for a year or more working from full documentation, source code and assets) when it would take just a coffee break or something. Because hey we got some design docs.

 

[Mord_Sith]

I'm not daft Per, I know this sort of thing takes elbow grease and a hell of a determined mind to do for the tablescraps called donations if anything at all.

My question was had anyone attempted it before, I hazard to guess that my squirrley method of generating sentences has struck me again and I failed to get my meaning across.

Hence why I said I'd start looking at engines, because I got the impression that it HADN'T been successfully done yet from your response.

I'm sure there's more than just me who've tried and fried on this skillet due to RL deciding to demand your time more and more as you go along.

However my question I believe has been answered by BN (I think) about if anyone has tried to faithfully re-create VB or not, my only curio not is whether or not my code is actually useful to them or not as I don't have any learning in C (save for ASP.NET's vague roots in C and VB that I don't count as real programming for a full standalone application.)

Shall we wipe the slate clean and figger this mess out without the scything remarks at each-other?

Java or Perl is what I know plus googling skills and a lack of fear of asking when I don't know what particular command is to be used, just don't bleed me dry m'kay

 

[cody92]

Zero projekt looks pretty neat. if its ever finished i wouldn't mind trying it.

Ae of decadance looks like it takes some inspiration from fallout but i doubt ill buy it when it comes out, to expensive for what it is imo, maybe ill get a cheap copy off ebay one day.

 

[Dracon M'Alkir]

Well Mord_Sith, we've got a base of Fallout fans. We've got a base of already (assumingly because they're Fallout fans) intelligent people. We've got determination (Want a sequel) and motivation (Fallout 3 Official Sucks). All we need is time. We can drum up a team of crack assault programmers and get hacking away at it.

 

[Per]

We can drum up a team of crack assault programmers and get hacking away at it.

This is what gets me so fucking tired. No "I'm going to study scripting and have a go at it." No "I'm going to use the intelligence, determination and motivation I speak of to turn myself into a crack assault programmer." No, it's just "Someone else will do it."

 

[Sorrow]

Exactly. It amuses me to no end when people start writing about how other people will make a game/mod for them .
It's pretty common in other modding communities too .