Red Dwarf Game in process

Forgive any interruption, but;
Have you considered using the Source SDK at all? Valves HAMMER map editor is smegging great for level design, and ties in quite nicely with Sketchup (which would be my other recommend). The SDK itself is quite powerful, if at first appearance a little messier than the Unreal one - It's got a massive community, equal that of UE.
But my main thinking is that it might be a damn sight faster for testing and marking completed maps / environments -rather than trying to generate all thats needed through UE just load up an open sandbox in say GMOD, and anyone wanted or indeed everyone could access it easier for the likes of testing and whatnot...

Just my 2p

everything is and will be considered , after your recommendations I tried hammers sdk - didnt get anywhere fast, tried sketchup - very easy to use but not quite enough - Im still tinkering with saurbraten cube 2 - generally learning the scripting processes but sailing through with it - so for now im still using this will have a tasty little demo for you soon , to see if its any good. redownloaded and reinstalled udk (unreal)(thanks to virus busting my hard drive) and may eventually try using udk if I feel saurbratens not gonna do what I want it to.
anyway thanks for suggestions comments and such - it all helps to see which direction I should continue in- time permitting.
Ill try to get a demo up sometime soon til then take care people

Update Report..
A Long Slow Progress..
Right... where do I start?- firstly an apology for the lack of news..
Sorry been far too busy .

where Im at..

getting the hang of creating 3d objects for use in the game ..slowly.
was having major problems trying to load up any models ie starbug and scutter Bob,they were coming up mis-shapen in game,
but Ive been working my way round using blender for 3d modelling and misfit 3d. and I now know a bit more...
I can load up md2 and obj files

( as well as md3 (some of the character models in saurbraten use md5- need to find a programme that works with md5 files))

with the following constraints - only one texture file can be used so its a matter of consolidating all the textures together into one image , if in md2 format theres a limit on number of triangles it'll export So I may have to rebuild the starbug etc from scratch with a lesser amount of meshes/triangles (not sure how many the limit is at the moment)

there was something else to be reported but has slipped my memory for now..
need help , need a few more heads here , I need a team, if only to get feedback, constuctive criticism , suggestions , and help with the continually expanding design of the red dwarf interior ( its massive - chong mcbongs starbug is like a tiny flea onboard the reddwarf .Its great walking around it and under it admiring it -waffle waffle), help with changing saurbratens characters into red dwarf characters - our heroes and villians. basically I wish I had a friend like me nearby that is interested in helping out with this project. oh well. on I go.... more waffle soon

hope you are all ok and doing good.

Progress report...

got the hang of 3d modelling, skinning, and animating . ( all new to me ,but finding it a doddle.)
inserted skutter models ,( various animations - stand, pain, attack , jump?)
working on kryten model now, "and may i say sir, its all looking good,especially that handsome head."
added various other items and rebuilt some inc. coke cans, leopard beer cans, condom boxes (whatever for?),(graphics 'ripped for your pleasure')ahem
more to follow soon.
hope alls well with all.

transmission end.

I had a Red Dwarf 3d. Game\Simulation on the way a while ago, I think I may had said something on here about the work... no one replied. I am using the Unreal Development Kit, which is probably one of the best open source software development kits there are as of today. The graphics and effects definitely compete with some of our modern day's best video games, the engine is Unreal Engine 3.9 DX11... and is also used in many games such as Gears of War, Unreal, Batman Arkham Asylum, and plenty more.

I agree, change the skin tone and you're golden

Are you interested in joining forces? do uo still have the models?
Ive almost finished the kryten model , need to do cat, lister and rimmer . (md2, md3,obj or even md5 extensions are some of the importable files,(though at the moment i favour md2 (well im new to 3d and skinning.)
Can you post the link so I can check out where you got to, (regarding your game.)
I keep diggin out unreal editor but havent yet got round to using it to its full potential,(just aint getting into the groove with it)
atm im happy with sauerbraten - so far it does what i want it to do,and quite easily too. but in time i know i will move into unreal, maybe.

regarding udk
1.space flight .
2. changing huds icons and display.
3.saving stats to an ini or cfg file for example .
4.importing md2 models.

Im sure there all possible in udk but how easy is it ?

Howdy doody doo would anyone like a toasted progress update sandwich ?

as you can see im finding this programme quite good to use and so far im getting it to do what i want it to (almost.. still cant get it to make real coffee just virtual.)
forgive the poor quality show - Been doing so much , and learning more, and any animations and graphics do not represent the finished product - Ill do them better in time , code first . Im happy that I can revamp my original idea into glorious 3d finally
ahhhh you can just smell the genius dripping off me, cant you.
exit smug-mode
Got a ton of ideas to put into it so Ill try to update you with them later,
catch you soon toodlepip

exactly how far are you going to take this game?

SgtSmileyUK wrote:

. Uh, well... the UDK is something a little up there. But, it is definitely worth trying out for sure... as for previous work... I've made some very nice ship demos above for you to see. I do apologize they are dark, but I was intending to give the player a flashlight or something and get scared by some monsters waiting in the vents... back to the subject... Most of all, the work was actually my first time using the UDK. I've specialized with Unreal Engine tools since the 90's so I already understood those basic concepts. Now as for helping you out, the ability to fly in space IS possible. But it may take a little more work than just mapping and modelling. Since the UDK does not come with the built in script editor, it requires something like visual basic. I'm sure there are lots of programs, maybe even Notepad ++ would work, they'd just need the Unreal Script plugin. But as for space flight, it will take a little programming with the udk and I am sure its not too hard. Now, for the ini and cfg files, people make that stuff all of the time so that is probably not too difficult... and I will look further into that. And as far as MD2 models, it may need to be converted to something simple like asc or ase, however obj files do work quite nice but generic. That half I wouldn't worry too much about... I've been finding ways to get things working right. And for my model art, it mostly consists of Blender. Since light wave and other stuff I have never tried out yet...

And as for the work I've previously done for my old Red Dwarf project, I don't believe I actually still have that. But remaking it is not too much of a problem trust me. Now just so you know, if you wanted to make money off of this project... it is 100% legal depending on the rights given to us by Red Dwarf.co.uk... and Epic Games the creators of UE3. But if you think that is a bit abstract for a small time project, then I was just thinking I would mention it. Royalty fees to sell a product with the UDK I 'believe', once making around $1,500.00 USD... I'm not sure about Quid, we would have to buy the rest of the licensing from Epic Games. Unfortunately, a project this backyard I do not believe would sell right off of the market. However, maybe selling just little mission packs for the project would be possible

firstly thanks for taking the time to offer some sage words and advice and for sharing
some of your ideas and experiences (the clips look good dark and I too will be using dark
'jumpy' areas/missions/levels with torchlight
A great idea to release missions as you say ( for pay ahem) that would enable me to throw out the first mission
see how it goes and work on further missions released every now and then,
now a lot of you keep suggesting udk , but im currently thinking, since this sauerbraten is a doddle to use for
me now I wanna stick to it just to get a nice full demo singleplayer out so we can all get a feel of what is to come,
and then work on udk for a bit ( i sailed through visual basic 6 at college a good few years ago (11 or 12) so i can dig
that outta the recess of my mind somewhere its all basic init)

heres where im at so far with this coming soon demo

loads of scripting work done allowing
[*] loads of random japes, and random dialogues taken from the series in honour of the most excellent writers and acted superbly
by absolutely suited for the parts actors and actresses ( To me all Hollys are equal )
[*] different specialized skills that can be upgraded as your ranks for each field increases ie tecnician,mechanic,mining etc etc
basically the majority of the scriptwork is done , until i think of more ( cos more is .. well.. more.., init?)

the actual red dwarf ships layout will actually not take long because the program is so simple to use , its just the sheer size of it(though that wont faze me) and Im gonna have to rewatch loads of reddwarf clips to try to get as near to it as possible though im now thinking it wont matter too much to get it too precise for now (just get a dam demo out now man)

im also finding making models a doddle for it so hopefully sometime soon ill have dave cat and rimmer models ,

basically i dont wanna end up with just another fps fraggin all the time , I have ideas for this that are big , that could generate a lotta money continuosly for the main server which could be this site for instance , and even generate incomes for players that evolve far in the career of their online characters and dependant upon their ranks , theyd act like online staff and help , get paid to do it and leave if they get bored(retire) or try to stay for as long as they can - wages would depend upon number of members online% im thinking it could even attract non dwarfers for its 'different ' sort of gameplay imagining that way word would soon spread of course i could then release a level designer to allow a lot more people the freedom to create their own planetworld for the main reddwarf universe , this could grow all the time as im certain this programme can do minecraft stuff as well if the users wished , all i wanna do is start the ball rolling and for as long as i have left i will continue (when and while i can so fear not those of you that live in hope )
dunno if i rambled too much or not but i better send this not wheter im finished or not before the pc crashes and i dont send this
speak soon chaps and jolly good of you to chat back

Hmm, the engine you are using... does it require quads to tri's in geometry or is it high poly on an older engine? I am still familiar with older engines, but I don't remember the one you're working with... it looks a bit like quake engine. On the other hand, it is actually possible... maybe with what you're using; to make a camera script that has holly's face in a small dark room. And a light flare or something that his face may follow... I am not sure if Skeletal meshes or what not is supported in the engine you're using. But, I've done something similar to that before in the old unreal engine. It was a nice digital effect for security cameras haha... but anyways, I'd be glad to help with your project, got any instant messengers or other ways to contact rather than just the forums?

It was originally Cube2 and various forms sprang out of it , sauerbraten eisendern (not sure how that ones spelt at mo) and platinumarts sandbox, as well as a few modded versions i think -Justice (and others).
The models it uses can be obj md2 md3 md5 akin to quake from what i gather md3 and md5 having skeletal meshes,
md2 requiring tris (maybe md3 too as they are loaded up under the name of the model as tris.md2 or tris.md3)
I can easily use obj and md2 - using sometimes blender but mostly Misfit Model 3d - so im happy to stick to these
however in time i may try md3 and md5 with blender eventually- and probably even udk in the future ,
Im at the point where i can almost release a little demo for feedback soonish (dependant on how much freetime i get)
just wanna get the idea out there quickly for you all to enjoy
- then we can work on sorting out a project team as a few of you would like to be involved in this already
and well have a sort of template in the demo to use as a blueprint of sorts. if you get me.
I havent used instant messaging over 2 years now(too busy) so for now im afraid well have to use this forum
which imo is good to keep the communication open freely so everyone can see whats happening and maybe get involved
- I will definately think about allowing anyone to submit maps created using sauerbraten to be included as locations in the future
soz had to rush if i didnt make sense to be edited later

Sounds good, I might be able to help out... what all would you like me to make? If you want I might be able to make textures for your game? And possibly some model art, just in case you may need it...

just wanna say, this is looking pretty good! nice work, great idea!

Thanks dudes.
yeh I'll be open for your kind offerings.
It'll save me some time scouring for textures and the like I suppose.
Feel free to commit anything be it models. textures. sounds. Ideas,
If they are worthy theyll be included and contributers noted forevermore.
Remember- for now Ill be sticking to sauerbraten and maybe rework with another developer kit IE UDK in the future.
im thinking it would be good to go through some old clips and directly grabbing textures from them maybe,
basic textures ill be looking for are floors , walls and ceilings , pipework etc ,I do currently have loads of textures already
but we'll be wanting them to look precisely as is on board the red dwarf, starbug and set locations.
You know what we want.
same goes for sounds (ogg format) blasters, bazookoids, doors, steam blasts, machinery loops, character taunts - 'smeg'ead(listy) - smeeee(krytey),and for cat and rimmer, various baddy comments ie hudson, basically Ill take anything offered and incorporate them somehow or another- the more red dwarf content- the more erm red dwarfy the feel
gotta dash will edit inna bit

Standby for latest news....
video imminent
patience
see soon chappies

Added
Holly comms - very useful - find out where you are , what you should be doing , and whats going on , at anytime, just call up holly and ask.
Quick commands - for online play ,request help,ammunition, give orders to crew mates, and taunt your enemies.
platforms for accessing secret areas and collectibles
ziplines (fast space transport, not zipwires that you hang down from although i could maybe add this soon)
for travelling along the red dwarf - beats walking and cuts the time.
departing / arriving starbugs , and bluebugs - board them to reach other destinations or complete tasks.
ie board the bluebugs to travel to nearby 'rocks' and mine various minerals,
board the starbug to reach other craft ,
kill baddies , help goodies
or kill the goodies and help yourself to their goodies.

video coming soonish chapperoonies

Wow, this seems like a really impressive project so far. I look forward to the video

Omnomnominous wrote:

Thanks -still beavering away with it- will sort out vid soon - I promise- maybe this evening

note : I decided to make a new starbug from scratch - couldnt get to use chong mcbongs model for some reason
but im glad i did - looks much better (sorry chong - respect to your model as it was superbly built and finely detailed from inside to out- but the programme wouldnt show it correctly (i think it had inverted triangles in places or something like that) )
speak soon