40 replies to this topic

[Juggernaut]

Guys,

I'm looking for ppl that would have the time and are willing to join me in a sideproject i thought up.

My idea is to make a General's Mod based on the old game DUNE 2.
I'm busy writing down all plans, there is a unitlist and buildinglist already available and so on.

It's not a huge mod as the total number of units is fairly small, aswell as the buildings, i would just love to see this old game get totally restyled in the 3D General's world

[sam]

Isn't that what emperor pretty much was?But anyway, i'd probably be interested, i've got a side project on the go at the mo anyway, but shhh, only a few know what it is \/ \/ \/

[Panzergraf]

I have never played that game, I did like Emperor though. It even got me to read the Dune books, and they're really good!

I would love to help, but I can't really skin, model or make maps, and I'm not that familiar with the Generals code thingies...

[Juggernaut]

well, it would be a 'transfer' or remake, whatever you like to call it from the old game DUNE 2 (not Dune2000 or Emperor - Battle for Dune )

On this site http://dune2.nahoo.co.uk/ is a full unitlist with buildings and everything.
I had the thought of making this mod for Halflife2 or UT2K4 but after i saw the movie last week and downloaded the old game as i played it back in the days; Dune 2 (as on the webpage above) i really felt like bringing this back to life again but then with 3D added - so Generals was the best choice..

[Juggernaut]

Talked to Torn about the thing...
BFME would be the best go according to him for this project.

So, anyone daring to help?

[Lynx]

BFME maybe, but consider the new Star Wars game by petroglyph or whatever in production. There are many more RTS engines than the SAGE engine, its better to think outside the box since SAGE is slowly dieing out

[Torn]

Yeah but SAGE is so easy to mod

[ComradeJ]

Yeah, but if you're copying Dune II, it's a mod that tries to improve the game in terms of graphics and interface. And if you do Sage, you'll still be having outdated graphics. I'd really do consider EaW, especially since it has some battles on sandy planets as well.

Oh yeah, and you OW guys should really learn to post in other forums. I'm sure quite a lot of people would actually be interested in a Dune mod

[Boomerang Python]

Ah man.. a Dune mod.. Isn't there already one in the works? Think I read something about one somewhere, hmm.

Anyways.. I kinda think Emperor: Battle for Dune is what you're trying to do with less laggy graphics ^^

[Juggernaut]

Ok,
what is EAW?? (never heard of that engine)
and i want to recreate that old DUNE II game, not Emperor
why would the BFME engine not be good enough? It looks good and i want it to be playable for more then ppl with high end computers..

it really must be that classic Westwood game with the same units, buildings and everything.
which means not alot of units and buildings and also a very limited techtree..

I also would ask around here first amongst ppl i know so i won't be stuck up with a team of total assholes or guys who know it all better..

[Boomerang Python]

Empire at War has mad graphics and will totally rock any RTS game on the market. I for one cant wait until it's released!

[Juggernaut]

hmmm ok, so it's unreleased yet..

but is the BFME engine good enough? if it has already more detail then C&C ZH (Onlywar for good example) then it's ok by me as more is not needed

[Boomerang Python]

well the bfme engine was still hard to mod a few months back, not sure if there's been new tools developed to make it easier, you should check into it.

[Torn]

BUT we don't know how EAW will be like to mod. Just because it has sandy planets doesn't mean it's good for dune.. lol

Anyway, fuck EAW, Company of Heroes looks like the coolest RTS ever.

[Boomerang Python]

nah EAW will completely rock the socks off the G.I's in CoH

[Juggernaut]

ermmm... ok, so, fun... but ermm..

why all the hassle about the engine? there are 2 perfect game engines lying around; C&C Generals and BFME...
easiest to mod seems Generals, but i need guys for it, not a complete argument on which eyeblistering engine

Original Dune2 was a fairly simple game and i want to keep it that way as much as possible and it should be able to run on the full range of computers, low to high-end machines without too much of trouble.
Onlywar did already run fair on my old comp as long as it did not get too crowded, and that was a low-end machine.

I'd like to take the soundeffects ingame for my own account as i'm quite an expert on those.
I need modellers/animators, a coder and some random guys who know their stuff around in general editing like 2d stuff

[Major_Gilbear]

Well, I was invited to post some thoughts here, so that's what I'm doing .

First of all, Dune2 was a great game for it's time. Generals offers the right gameplay features for a decent Dune2 recreation (units built at factories instead of at the sidebar as with other CnC games, etc), and can be more polygon-intensive than the original game. In the original, players were capped at 30 buildings and 50 units - in the Generals engine this means that you can have pretty high-poly models if you so wish.

However, if a Dune mod is to be made, I think that it would be cool to maybe do something a bit newer with the idea. In the Duniverse, comabt is primarily amongst infantry not vehicles, and is typically a brutal and deadly affair with as much emphasis on ranged as close combat. I think the DoW engine would actually be the best for this. Okay, Spice harvesting wouldn't play a role in the game, but at least four factions could be represented. I think it would be very cool to stick to the books more closely than the WW games have, and create two sides for a first release; Harkonnen and Atreides. A second release could add Fremen and House Corrino (probably in the form of Sardaukar) either as allies/expansions to the previous Houses, or as new sides in their own right.

This would allow lots of scope for strategies and tactics, and the level of warfare that DoW portrays would fit the Duniverse perfectly. Fremen could stealth, and have a variety of weapon upgrades, Sardaukar could excell as Terminator-style elite troops, and Some of the WW units could still make an appearance (like the Quad or the Siege Tank) for example.

The unit and building style could still be "Dune2" if you wish, and the toolbars can also be in the old style (lots of yellow "gold"). DoW also allows lots of detail on the models, and has a full suite of official mod tools released. Plus, with Winter Assault on the way, it is a current and still-popular game. Generals is past it with regards to starting a new mod IMO, and Empire At War (a StarWars RTS) has already slipped until spring 2006.

Just my $0.02.

[Juggernaut]

Good input Gilbear, thanks for your reply

Still i'd love to stick to the old Dune2 formula which made it so good, with all units and everything, not just the entire focus on infantry combat.
A bit of focus could be put on it by making the infantry fairly cheap and good in taking on units, but that is something to think about if the whole project gets launched.

I do want to put a focus on the Dune2 Merchant's Guild (if this is possible with the C&C engine) where units can be ordered and flown in by cargoplane.

It's just the idea to redo the old game with everything it had, nothing more, apart from much more fancy graphics and stunning effects

I have already started modelling a bit, as far as i'm able to and got a Siege Tank modelled but unskinned at about 530 Polys.

It's meant not to be a huge project, rather a quick and easy makeover and refine it later on then to turn it into something as massive as Onlywar with increasingly more races being added and such. And like i stated, C&C Generals would be fine, as ppl with older computers can run it aswell, and it can hold the whole Spice Harvesting thing..

I know from experience that having an inferior computer and being unable to run the coolest games/mods is frustrating, that's why i want this mod on the C&C Engine, so older comps can run it aswell and still maintain quite a high standard in detail

EDIT: Gilbear , PM me if you want to get my MSN, in case you're interested ! ^^

Edited by Juggernaut, 04 June 2005 - 12:39 PM.

[Calamity_Jones]

Weren't infantry built in 4 man squads in Dune 2...

or was that another dune...

or did I like KKND so much I get it confused with other games

Anyways...

just did some thinking on how you could make worms work...

Basically you would use an invisible marker object that moves around in game like a standard object. You could have 3 types with different locomotors and profiles... i.e. a small worm with a faster locomotor than a big one. the marker would belong to another faction that would be hostile towards every faction but civillian (so it dont go attacking rocks and stuff)...

Basically you would use an animation to show the worm breaking through the sand, if you gave the weapon profile sufficient power to instantly kill anything it attacks, if you give the damage type a specific trye, like GATTLING or something and give infantry 100% immunity to this damage type they should survive worm attacks...

If you attached an effect to the locomotor (like dust trails) you could use a sorta slightly dark shadow effect which would create a slightly dark sausage shaped trail o nthe ground, so you can see the worms like in every dune game

If you had trigger areas on every map names something like 'sand zone 1' and put down a spawn waypoint in the centre of every sand zone and did some scripting you could make it work so that the worm is killed as soon as it leaves the sand area and another is spawned at the waypoint. This would insure it absolutely does NOT try to enter rock areas where it isn't able to move through...

there's prolly better ways of making sand areas work..

Edited by Calamity_Jones, 04 June 2005 - 03:06 PM.

[Juggernaut]

lol, good post Cal, highly technical and i like the idea for as far as i was able to understand it all, but you're the expert on it

In Dun2 infantry is built either as 1 unit or 3 man squads for normal infantry.
I have'nt re-played the game far enough to get heavy infantry or even other types of units like teh ev!l Sardaukar ^^