DeleD Community Edition

[Vesuvius]

I figured this was the best place to put it, if it breaks any sort of rules then please delete.

Anyway, Etherea: Dark Genesis is a Fantasy/Mythical MMORPG that has been in development for over a year now. We had been using a lower class gaming engine that still met our needs but we were able to upgrade to a much better C++ gaming engine. With the switch though (to the Torque Shader Engine) the building models we had became useless as they were done in maya and there wasn't a proper converter. The lead building modeler didn't have time to mess with them anymore and because of this has taken a position of simply advising on the team.

We are in need of 1-2 building modelers to re-do the buildings in Etherea. We have concept art or in many cases actual 3d models to model from, but they'll have to be re-done for scratch and in .dif form (which Gelco, Chris Hill, informed me there was a converter for now in the Delgine modeling tool).

If you are interested please email me at Vesuvius@etherea-dg.com Please send some renders of your work, it's great if you can texture your own stuff but if not we can work around that.

Please feel free to check out the website at www.etherea-dg.com and for an example of our art department's amazing work check out the Screenshots and under that the Model Shots section.

Thank you,
Robert "Vesuvius" Lee
Project Leader
_________________
Creator of Etherea: Dark Genesis,
An MMORPG in early development found at
www.etherea-dg.com

[Mr.Fletcher]

Hello Vesuvius and welcome to the delgine board.

I've been very sceptical on most user game projects presented here. Although I find your presentation the most professional and promising of all projects here, I still have some doubts on this project.
The most annoying fact about this is that it is intendet to be a MMORPG. I honestly doubt that what the world needs is yet another MMORPG. Although you will probably get the game launched and will continue developing it, I, as a potential user, don't see why I would want to play your game instead of all the hundreds of other MMORPGs.
I actually didn't find any innovative game elements in your feature list. Please correct me here, if I'm wrong; though I might be a gamer, I'm not that experienced in these sort of games.
That's why I want to ask you these two direct questions:
1. Why would a user chose your project instead of all the others, besides the fact of being new and thus the chances of making a good carreer being high?
2. Why would a modeler want to offer his free time for working on your project? What creative/artistic freedom would he have? Can you guarantee that the project will not be canceled and thus all the work being for nothing?
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[Jeroen]

I think the website of Etherea: Dark Genesis looks very smooth and promising. I like the concept art a lot too and I really hope to see you guys succeed. I think there are a number of people here who could help out (as in: experienced enough), but I don't know if they have the time for it.

Mr. Fletcher's questions are valid, although I don't know if there are really 100rds of MMORPGs out there already. Most of these projects start out enthousiasticly and then die because the people involved lost interest or come to the conclusion that building such game really involves much work (in other words, much more than thought at first - underestimation is often a big problem). Judging from your website and the concept art, I think you guys have a good chance of succeeding, if you get yourself a team that can just hold on and keep on working on it. Goodluck, I'm a fan already!

[Sindwiller]

Looks like a very nice project but, yeah, has a lack of good environments at the moment. The model and concept work is although very promising and professional.

Wfr, Sindwiller
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"Ave Jeroen et Paul-Jan!" populus clamant.

[Vesuvius]

Valid questions ineed and I'll try to answer them the best I can.

The one thing from a development point of view that I like about EDG over all the other MMORPGs (at the very least the big company ones) is that EDG is created for the point of being a great game, not money. No one on the team including myself is getting paid or will get paid for making this game. The game is made to be a free download with a 5 dollar a month subscription fee to pay for expenses and advertising.

One of the features from the game I like a lot is the fact that the storyline is very involved in the game and is able to change according to how the players interact, what quests and story arcs they choose, and in some cases their feedback on the forums. I like the whole RP and being involved in the world feeling and that's one reason I love the idea of EDG.

As far as other features like PvP, sure they are a lot like all the other MMORPGs. But in all honesty you still go to the movies don't you? You watch a movie that you know how it's going to end because it's been done a million times, you know what to expect in most movies...but you go because you don't know how they plan to get from point A to point B. You go for the entertainment.

EDG is designed to be a very player community orientated game and that point A to point B idea is the fun part. We have mixed it up though some where this is a fantasy game (say WoW or EQ) but with skill based progression and a player run economy (mixes of SWG and EVE). It has a lot of favorite features from various games and although that means it's not for everyone, not eveyone likes skill based progression, it means it hits the target "dream" game for a good number of people out there including myself. When the team decides what to put in the game it's what we'd find fun, not what would make money like many companies do.

To answer question number two, we have over 20 people working on the team and have had that many since a little over a year ago. However, they are not the same people. Multiple people have left the team because they were offered jobs in their areas. For example, our lead artist used the work he did for Etherea to showcase it on his website and some people took notice and he got offered multiple paying jobs. Our lead texture/animation artist got offered a job at a real gaming studio but he likes Etherea, his current job, and doesn't want to move so he didn't take it. Other artists and modelers on the team have been offered great amounts for their work as well, some have taken the offer and some have stuck around simply because they want to finish what they started with Etherea.

Etherea: Dark Genesis is not only meant to be a great game for the players but a stepping stone for people wanting to get in the gaming industry. It's hard to get people to pay you without a good resume, but when you work on an MMORPG that looks great and ends up launching well your resume goes up a lot. That's not the main purpose though, most everyone on the team simply works for the fun of gaming and as a hobby, but the resume is a perk to those who want it.

As for artistic freedom the artists have a lot, the modelers usually request detailed concept art but they can vary or choose not to use concept art to create models as long as it fits within the theme of the world (a white house style building wouldn't fit in a fantasy game). I can promise that the game isn't going to be canceled, it started with myself, a programmer, and a modeler and us three are still here working on it and planning on launching it no matter what. Between the three of us we can do every bit of work left in the game alone but it'd take a long time, thus we need the help and the size of the team we have. We've had a constant stable and working team for over a year so that should be good proof as well. Also I've invested a good bit of money into the game for the various engines and even more for advertising campaigns to come. I'm not going to let my dream of this game nor the money I've invested go to waste, and I know most if not everyone on the team feels the same way about not letting this dream die.

So that'd be the answers "in a nutshell." I hope that answered your quesions.

Thank you,
Robert
_________________
Creator of Etherea: Dark Genesis,
An MMORPG in early development found at
www.etherea-dg.com

[Paul-Jan]

I have witnessed the progress of Etherea: Dark Genesis on the GameDev forums for quite some time now, and I personally consider this a very promising project. Robert's replies are always mature and professional, and the way they have been maintaining the project and large team for the past year is impressive.

"Amateur" MMORPG projects are a risky and overwhelming thing, but if any one of you feels like contributing to one, this might be a good pick!