Northern Ireland: 1983 Project
Firstly, i'll explain the Northern Ireland: 1983 project, and what we are attempting to do.
Basically, the main idea was to feature as much as we could from the 83-84 period, in regards to media, style, and equipment, which is one of the main thing's we're looking for to make it seem more in-depth, and playable. We're making every attempt to make the mod as unbiased as possible, but at the same time, it has to be remembered that there were horrendous actions on both sides, and more so in regards to the paramilitaries on both the Loyalist, and Republican sides. Anyway, we hope you enjoy it when we finally release it, but with the current work load, you're looking at between 10-12 months, mainly due to the plot design, level design, and AI that needs to be incorporated (The last one is vital, as Crysis standard AI is shoddy, and doesn't do what we need it to do.).
The story begins in the ending months of 1983. Northern Ireland, and in particular County Armagh and County Down, have been wracked by recent attacks on the RUC, the Army, and the civilian populace. According to Intelligence reports, this is believed to be due to a recent split in the Provisional IRA, with the hardliners splitting from the main body, to form their own paramilitary organisation due to the recent appearance of PIRA bending more towards a peaceful solution, rather than one of violence.
You take the role of 29 year old Sgt. John Casey, a member of the British Special Boat Squadron, the maritime equivalent of the SAS. You, and an 8 man patrol, have been dispatched to the province in an attempt to cripple the new splinter group, via tracking down and eliminating or capturing their leadership, before there are further attacks. The threat has to be eliminated, before it is too late. Failure is not an option.
We decided to work with Cryengine2 for a number of reasons. Firstly, the much larger areas available for use in gameplay - this is vital for a game that we're trying to bill as a large, open attack style game. Secondly, the higher levels of geometry allow us more detail - as you can see from the below weapons, than say, Source. 6K polygons, for the most part, is more than enough for most weapons you could say. Thirdly, the environmental settings allowed us to really use the engine to its limit, displaying Ireland, the UK, and elsewhere to the full extent of the Cryengine's power - it ain't just good with Jungle ya know. Finally, its got a fairly large, and able, modding community available, which allows questions about the engine, or possibilities to be quickly dealt with, and even better, improved by the community.
Anyway, now, I'll give you several pieces of media that we've been working on since January, when we started this total conversion, otherwise i'll probably get a good slap from a mod for not showing what we're about... :P
L1A1 SLR (Modelled by James G. Elmslie)
The L1A1 is a rifle that has stood the test of time, and one of the best rifles still in existance - some would say outstripping the British Army's replace, the SA80 series of rifles/carbines. The high poly model comes in at approximately 168,000 polygons.
L96 Marksman's Rifle (Modelled by James G. Elmslie)
The British Army's L96 rifle, the newest and most accurate rifle in the British Military's arsenal in 1983, and still being delivered to units in active service, this firearm replaced the venerable Lee-Enfield L42A1 Marksman rifle which will also feature in the mod.
Designed by Olympic shooting gold medallist Malcolm Cooper, the Accuracy international is here depicted with a Dovetail Mounted Schmidt-Bender optical scope, rather than the picatinny rail mount seen on more modern versions of the same firearms platform, another example of the technology of the period we are depicting in NI: 1983.
This model, produced with a combination of box modelling and soft-surface sculpting weighs in at 128,694 triangles. The ingame geometry LOD model are designed to allow clean transfer of normal map detail to the lower polygon meshes.
RPG-7 (Modelled by James G. Elmslie)
The ruggedness, simplicity, low cost, and effectiveness of the RPG-7 have made it the most widely used anti-tank weapon in the world. Currently around 40 countries use the weapon, and it is manufactured in a number of variants by nine countries. It is also popular with irregular and guerrilla forces. The RPG has been used in almost all conflicts across all continents since the mid-1960s from the Vietnam War to the present day War in Afghanistan and Iraq War.
As with the L1A1, and the L96, this was produced with a combination of box modelling and soft-surface sculpting. The model comes in at some 126,000 polygons.
I'll be adding further images later, not just of clay models (Though, for the most part, those are the best images to show in my opinion) but for now, heres our ModDB link for you to look over, and see further information - I'll add more images either in another post, or add to this one.
http://www.moddb.com/games/northern-ireland-pathfinder
We are currently going through a complete overhaul of the development, both in the information that we display, the features, and internal structure of our team. While I'm not sure if I'm allowed to do this in this area, if you're interested in helping out, could you please post, or send me a PM/Email.
Thanks for your time,
-J
Iron Wolf Studios Team Lead
NOTE - Images not showing for some odd reason. Think the links are broken to them, i'll attempt to rectify another time. :P
Basically, the main idea was to feature as much as we could from the 83-84 period, in regards to media, style, and equipment, which is one of the main thing's we're looking for to make it seem more in-depth, and playable. We're making every attempt to make the mod as unbiased as possible, but at the same time, it has to be remembered that there were horrendous actions on both sides, and more so in regards to the paramilitaries on both the Loyalist, and Republican sides. Anyway, we hope you enjoy it when we finally release it, but with the current work load, you're looking at between 10-12 months, mainly due to the plot design, level design, and AI that needs to be incorporated (The last one is vital, as Crysis standard AI is shoddy, and doesn't do what we need it to do.).
The story begins in the ending months of 1983. Northern Ireland, and in particular County Armagh and County Down, have been wracked by recent attacks on the RUC, the Army, and the civilian populace. According to Intelligence reports, this is believed to be due to a recent split in the Provisional IRA, with the hardliners splitting from the main body, to form their own paramilitary organisation due to the recent appearance of PIRA bending more towards a peaceful solution, rather than one of violence.
You take the role of 29 year old Sgt. John Casey, a member of the British Special Boat Squadron, the maritime equivalent of the SAS. You, and an 8 man patrol, have been dispatched to the province in an attempt to cripple the new splinter group, via tracking down and eliminating or capturing their leadership, before there are further attacks. The threat has to be eliminated, before it is too late. Failure is not an option.
We decided to work with Cryengine2 for a number of reasons. Firstly, the much larger areas available for use in gameplay - this is vital for a game that we're trying to bill as a large, open attack style game. Secondly, the higher levels of geometry allow us more detail - as you can see from the below weapons, than say, Source. 6K polygons, for the most part, is more than enough for most weapons you could say. Thirdly, the environmental settings allowed us to really use the engine to its limit, displaying Ireland, the UK, and elsewhere to the full extent of the Cryengine's power - it ain't just good with Jungle ya know. Finally, its got a fairly large, and able, modding community available, which allows questions about the engine, or possibilities to be quickly dealt with, and even better, improved by the community.
Anyway, now, I'll give you several pieces of media that we've been working on since January, when we started this total conversion, otherwise i'll probably get a good slap from a mod for not showing what we're about... :P
L1A1 SLR (Modelled by James G. Elmslie)
The L1A1 is a rifle that has stood the test of time, and one of the best rifles still in existance - some would say outstripping the British Army's replace, the SA80 series of rifles/carbines. The high poly model comes in at approximately 168,000 polygons.
L96 Marksman's Rifle (Modelled by James G. Elmslie)
The British Army's L96 rifle, the newest and most accurate rifle in the British Military's arsenal in 1983, and still being delivered to units in active service, this firearm replaced the venerable Lee-Enfield L42A1 Marksman rifle which will also feature in the mod.
Designed by Olympic shooting gold medallist Malcolm Cooper, the Accuracy international is here depicted with a Dovetail Mounted Schmidt-Bender optical scope, rather than the picatinny rail mount seen on more modern versions of the same firearms platform, another example of the technology of the period we are depicting in NI: 1983.
This model, produced with a combination of box modelling and soft-surface sculpting weighs in at 128,694 triangles. The ingame geometry LOD model are designed to allow clean transfer of normal map detail to the lower polygon meshes.
RPG-7 (Modelled by James G. Elmslie)
The ruggedness, simplicity, low cost, and effectiveness of the RPG-7 have made it the most widely used anti-tank weapon in the world. Currently around 40 countries use the weapon, and it is manufactured in a number of variants by nine countries. It is also popular with irregular and guerrilla forces. The RPG has been used in almost all conflicts across all continents since the mid-1960s from the Vietnam War to the present day War in Afghanistan and Iraq War.
As with the L1A1, and the L96, this was produced with a combination of box modelling and soft-surface sculpting. The model comes in at some 126,000 polygons.
I'll be adding further images later, not just of clay models (Though, for the most part, those are the best images to show in my opinion) but for now, heres our ModDB link for you to look over, and see further information - I'll add more images either in another post, or add to this one.
http://www.moddb.com/games/northern-ireland-pathfinder
We are currently going through a complete overhaul of the development, both in the information that we display, the features, and internal structure of our team. While I'm not sure if I'm allowed to do this in this area, if you're interested in helping out, could you please post, or send me a PM/Email.
Thanks for your time,
-J
Iron Wolf Studios Team Lead
NOTE - Images not showing for some odd reason. Think the links are broken to them, i'll attempt to rectify another time. :P
Replies
In regards to the weapons you see there, they are having to be finished by other members of the team. Reason being, RSI has struck JGE, and its mightly annoyed him. Reason why you never sit at computers for 10 hour working days, without a break chaps!
I'll get more stuff up later tonight - mainly i'll be recycling news posts from other sites, such as ModDB/Crymod as they're the best worded versions, and it means its less trouble overall trying to find the original images!
Still, finally got a new art style sorted out as well for images, in regards to the logo and border. Much improved, in my opinion. Thoughts anyone? I'm personally thinking its an improvement upon the current one (Which is the one used on the pieces showcased so far).
Did I mention your models look really great?
Exactly the reason why we're doing it - you've got films, books, music... But not a game, and even then, not something that attempts to be more than one-sided. Only need to look at some of the stuff that has come out of Hollywood on the subject, to see what I mean.
Thanks for the comments guys, I'll get a news post up in about 30 mins, gotta find all the links and stuff first. :poly124:
This was the March update.
It was a long time ag-
Nuts, wrong script.
*ahem*
The other night, I had a small interview session with Missing-String - the mod we all know and love. In a none gay way. Honest. :whistle:
Here's the transcript of the interview, which releases vital information about the plot, the main character and a few other things we're planning on including in the modification.
Also, I have a pair of teaser shots of British Squaddie heads for you, modelled by N-O-S-T-R-O-M-O, our character modeller. We're hoping to have someone in the region of 6 different head models, and a multitude of textures to use on them. Not to mention small changes in the lips, nose, ear size/shape. Please note, the eyes are a placeholder, and will likely scare small children.
As a final piece, we have the High Poly model of the Sig Sauer P220, modelled by HaMsTeYr. This is one of the standard sidearms that will be available to the player throughout the game, and a deadly weapon in the right hands.
We're planning on having a fairly large media update the end of this month.
Can I have people's thoughts, and suggestions? Plus, would there be anyone who is interested in giving us a hand? *hint hint*.
Aye, thats what we;re doing at the moment - good 50% of the team is focusing on developing assets for the Belfast/other city maps. The weapons get shown, as they're done quicker basically.
Welcome to today's news update regarding the August Update of Northern Ireland: 1983. Today, we're bringing you the culmination of nearly 2 months worth of hard work, that brought us through a lot of development, not just in game, but the plot as well. If you look at our ModDB page now, you'll see that we've gone through a complete overhaul of our artstyle, to further embed the 80's feel, and make the modification seem more professional.
Multiplayer:
As of now, we are including a multiplayer section to the modification, consisting of some 5 levels for the first release. This will likely be completed before the main story, due to the amount of work that is required on the Singleplayer.
The two sides consist of NATO Special Forces, and USSR Special Forces, keeping in the theme of the mod's setting.
In the multiplayer, there will be a choice of 4 modes:
Deathmatch: Exactly the same as IA.
Team Deathmatch: Exactly the same as TIA
Capture the Intel: Same as Capture the flag, except its a briefcase containing intelligence.
VIP: This is one of the interesting ones. One team must protect an AI ViP whilst travelling to a specific point, whilst the other must assassinate him.
Gameplay Systems In Development:
At present, we are developing several new systems, and involving elements from other modifications that are already available to the public. Firstly, we are developing a Custom Weather System, via a combination of C++, and Flowgraphing - this is likely to take some 6 months due to the complexity of the code involved, but the end result of the battlefield changing atmosphere, and as a result, the way you tackle objectives, should be worth it. We are also working on producing an Advanced AI, similar to the version that has already been released to fit the modification - unfortunately, Crysis's AI doesn't quite fufill what we need for our story to come alive - and yet again, this is likely to take a large amount of development time, unless we are able to aquire assistance for these tasks. Finally, and probably the most important out of those three developments, is Close Combat. This is a combination of Animation, and coding work that has to be done, but is vital for the modification to work correctly - in particular, in regards to close combat weapons, such as the Ka-Bar, or even unarmed combat, not to mention, stealth kills. All of these are main components of the modification, and will hopefully bring our idea to life, and more playable.
Concept Art:
I'd like to present the work of Shimmering Sword, one of our talented concept artists, whose been developing the appearance of Blue Team's members, and is our lead in regards to character design for the modification. You can find more information on Blue Team in this ModDB article here, and more of Shimmering Sword's work here.
Modelling & Texturing:
Next up, one of our new modellers that joined us at the start of the month, Can5, has produced this wonderful model of the AKM - commonly used by terrorist organisations the world over, and is a steadfast, sturdy, and above all, reliable weapon. In game the player will be able to use a GP-25, along with a silencer with the weapon, making it a deadly weapon in the right hands.
Badcop also recently joined us, and has been churning out models for us at an amazing rate, to a very high standard. First up, is the M16-A2, a weapon that was the mainstray of the SAS and SBS during the 70's, 80's and early 90's, before being replaced with the Candian C8. During the game, this is one of the most customisable weapons available to the player, and a good balance of firepower, and accuracy.
Next, we have the FN Minimi - also known as the M249 SAW in American service, and the L108A1 in British Service - again produced by Badcop. A weapon that is standardly used to lay down immense levels of covering fire in support of a section - a very valuable weapon on any operation, and particularly if fitted with a sight - which the player will have the option to do.
As Badcop's final contribution to this month's update, we have the M61 Fragmentation grenade that was in use by British forces for some two decades, along with American forces during Vietnam. Also, we have the Ka-Bar combat knife, one of the knives that will be available to the player to use.
To finish the Modelling & Texturing section of this update, Jason's work on the .38 Special and Remington Shotgun are up for viewing, and bring the models to life properly thanks to Jason's skills.
Level Design: (Images Linked to, due to Polycount's limit on images)
Finally, we bring you Sensman's work on the multiplayer segment of the modification, which is approximately 1/3 done at the time of writing. Firstly, is the map Shipment. This multiplayer level is Deathmatch, and Team Deathmatch only, for the sake of balance.
http://img196.imageshack.us/i/81882458.jpg/
http://img521.imageshack.us/i/86996084.jpg/
http://img521.imageshack.us/i/86996084.jpg/
http://img407.imageshack.us/i/63566327.jpg/
http://img402.imageshack.us/i/46547056.jpg/
http://img11.imageshack.us/i/78952205.jpg/
http://img197.imageshack.us/i/76734176.jpg/
http://img197.imageshack.us/i/76734176.jpg/
http://img526.imageshack.us/i/22073484.jpg/
Recruitment:
- C++ Coder
- Flowgrapher
- Character Modeller
- Vehicle/Prop Modeller
- Texturer
- Level Designer
If you are interested in joining, please send me a message on here, and I'll reply as soon as I can.Thats all for this weeks update. Thank you for reading probably the longest update that i've ever written, and I'll ever write most likely. Hopefully. God, I'll end up with RSI if I'm not careful...
Links:
ModDB: http://www.moddb.com/mods/northern-ireland-pathfinder
Crymod: Northern Ireland: 1983 [Sneaky Preview]
Our Forums: http://www.crystalwolfstudios.com/forum/
In fact, i have a book which has an image of a backyard engineered SMG used in the conflict, it's actually not terrible looking, and accepts the sterling magazine. If you'd like me to scan, i can.
EDIT: like most people youve also modelled the AK dust cover shape pretty much completely off. Most people wouldnt notice i guess but i have a tracing of the shape made by a friend who owns one if you would like that.
Would be far more interesting if you´d taken the Detachment (as it was commonly called before being reformed to the special reconaissance regiment SRR not too long ago).
also, the HK G3(cant figure out the british designation) was extensively used during ni, especially by the SAS as it was more modern than the l1a1 and also packed more punch than the m16, which was just 556 instead of the g3´s 762 calibre.
m16a2 in the 70´s? didnt they have m16a1´s in the falklands
british fn minimis go without the top heatshield and a collapsible stock (commonly called para)
dunno exactly if the beretta was around with the sneaky beakies.. however i do now they used browning hi-powers.
no scruffy hair with the oldschool´s. they wore their hair trimmed like any other soldier.
beard stubbles are ok, ´staches were popular.
multiplayer: nato sf vs ussr sf??
why was this mod called ni83??
however, stuff you made looks nice.
minor niggles.
Cheers, that would be a real help if you could.
The SBS turned up just as much as the SAS in NI in the early 80's, but after few years, only were there as part of the DET, due to a number of SAS cockups. The Det turn up as well, and a lot of actions will involve them directly, or indirectly.
Yup, the G3 is also set up to be used, probably have a view of that for the next months update. All got used, but the G3 was generally used the most for longrange type stuff, mainly due to its high power, and calibre.
Nope, had Colt Commando's, in fact. The old minimis, at least, the first ones the SAS/SBS got, had the old fullstock, and hadn't really altered it - that started happening with Gulf War 1.
Yeah, it was - not to mention, with the IRA, mainly in one of their many shipments from America. And yeah, the Browning is going to be making an appearance as a prominant sidearm for the player, though theres a good selection of them to choose from, all with different mag sizes, damage capability, range, etc...
Not quite in regards to the hair. If it was a buzzcut, they'd stick out like a sour thumb in NI, particularly with stealth work like the Det. Again, all a matter of choice at the time - most went for the long hair to fit in. I was finding it rather hard not to request a monster handlebar moustache for Mackie, or the Captain. :poly124:
Note, for the most part, the singleplayer takes place in Northern Ireland. The Multiplayer, on the other hand, doesn't have to, hence NATO sf vs. USSR sf, but still in the same time period. The links to the levels (which I couldn't show due to polycount's limit on the images you can have in a post), show that.
Thanks guys, info is greatly appreciated.
There are some really nice stuff in this thread
Im a little shocked that you all have decided to have the SBS as well...Mainly due to the fact that their mandate during that time was primarily covert surveillance operations and to track gun running along the coastline, with the vast majority of violent encounters being left to the SAS.
I may have missed this during the thread but im just wondering why there is no MP5?
The SAS used this during the London Iranian embassy siege in 1980 and if im not mistaken, this is still one of their weapons of choice today and has been a mainstay since the 70's
Also I think its safe to say that the SAS/SBS would have had the M1A1 available to them during the 80's as they used them, along with the AR15 during the conflict in Borneo (1963-66), but the first operational use of the M16-A2 was during in the first Gulf War :S
Im looking forward to more updates...keep it up and i think the mod will be amazing
Heh, theres a reason the SBS have been included - mainly as they were heavily involved with 14 INT, and some of the levels require the SBS to be involved, or it wouldn't work properly. COD4 ain't accurate at all about the SAS storming a ship - they don't have the training to start with. :poly124: Not to mention, the SBS are rarely used in media, mainly as they aren't that well known.
Yup, we've got quite a selection of H&K weapons in there, and the MP5 will definately turn up for the player to use.
Damn, looks like I was wrong about the M16A2 then. Ahhh, it'll be fine, theres only minor differences, and its already been modelled... Not to mention, if we move onto another project after this, means we dont have to make a more recent one.
Thanks mate! If you want to follow us, and keep up with updates, your best bet is to go to the moddb page, and watch the mod there - generally gets the first update out of the sites we post on, not to mention e-mails you when we've updated. :poly124:
I realise that the SAS have been misrepresented in games and the like, so no worries there :P
The games got it all wrong
In reality your average SAS soldier is 9 feet tall, shoots flaming swords from every orifice and regularly deflect tank shells, incendiary grenades and ICBM 's off their pectorals and lats..
You know that part in terminator, where Arnie get all his flesh burnt off and then breaks free from the pire? That was a SAS officer who decided to help out while he was on holiday...it only took 48hrs for the skin to grow back too!
Like Rock they are.
Thought i would set the record straight on that one! :P
And you are very correct that SBS were heavily involved with the DET.
Attention to detail..i love it
The main reason behind the formation of the DET was due to the MRF being compromised after IRA interrogated some double agents, who then spilled the beans which caused the death of an undercover operative.
14 Intelligence Company were then formed, with SAS officers at the helm, who performed the selection and training necessary by creating a special unit of 22nd SAS.
The SBS were heavily used for surveillance whilst working with/in the DET as it was seen to be beneficial because the experience could be traded from all parties involved, which would make the whole unit stronger.
So no worries there then...if the narrative requires you too include the SBS..so be it!
Im sure it will be groovy
I will sign up for the ModDB page too
Exactly my point. They also shoot balls of fire from their eyes, and bolts of lighting from their ar*e! Plus, all of these... http://www.arrse.co.uk/wiki/Little-known_Facts_about_the_SAS
Aye, its one of the reasons that they're in there, not to mention, it makes a nice change from having an SAS lad as the main character, but an SBS guy. Also allows us to use some waterbased skills, but also some aeronautical type stuff - jumping out of planes, for example. (Pretty much, the SBS are even more hardcore than the SAS! I mean, look at this lot for skills... http://www.arrse.co.uk/wiki/SBS)
Still, yeah, its a good idea to sign up on the ModDB page purely as it gets the updates first, then its Crymod/Here.
I think the point he was making is that the upper heatshield is a modification on the minimi and a characteristic of the american made SAWs
Ah, yeah, I see now. Woops. :poly124:
By the way, if theres anyone whos interested in giving us a hand (Mainly environmental work - such as modelling/texturing props) please let me know, as we could do really do with a hand to get this to an alpha stage!
As a bit of a teaser, heres the Counter Terrorist gear worn by the SAS, modelled by Alex Jupp.
reminds me of "the crazies"
gnarly suit! Can't wait to see more updates!!!
How did I guess that was a George Romero film? =P
Theres gonna be an update Friday/Saturday hopefully - ideally Friday, as i'm planning on causing havok on Halloween.
First off, we have the Harrier GR3, modelled by JM Christopher. This is currently being modelled using Maya - this is going to be the high poly model, and then the high poly will be used to bake onto a lower poly model of 20K polys. This is probably about 70% at present.
Next, we've got a load of high poly stuff from Mr Smive. He recently joined us, and is one hell of a speedy modeller. First, we have a range of H&K weapons - the MP5-K, the MP5-SD, and the MP5-A2 for the modification:
The SPAS-12, with a longer than normal barrel due to it being one of the early models:
(This is a slightly unfinished model, as theres parts that have been changed on the final piece. Unfortunately... I...erm, can't find the image right now.
The Double-barrelled Shotgun/Sawn off:
(The grey clay models are the low poly, the one with the nice materials are the high poly)
As Mr Smive's final contribution to this months update, we have the 81mm mortar, heavily used by the IRA for its firepower over long ranges.
We've also had progress in regards to our organic modelling - we've had a lot of progress for the SAS/SBS team, but their hair is placeholder, and i'd rather wait til it was complete before showing, even though they look fantastic as it is. If you look at one of my earlier posts, we've got the CRW Kit of the SAS, and we have "The Face Of The Republic" as Dave Campbell termed his creation of a paramilitary head:
Recently, Hamstyer decided to create a high poly version of his P220 - some errors that you can see on the render have apparantly already been rectified. This currently stands at 17K polys.
To finish off, we have the Westland Lynx being developed by Anthony Scroggins. At present, the majority of the exterior has been completed, with some areas still needing smoothing off, then work on the interior and external weapons can begin (Either twin GPMGs, Rocket Pods, or Torpedos... Ooooo, BOOM! :poly124:)
There are images of other work that we've done, such as the level design for the project, but I didn't feel it was relative to Polycount. If you'd still like to see what else we've done, then have a look at our ModDB page:
http://www.moddb.com/mods/northern-ireland-pathfinder
Also, if anyone is interested in helping out, we'd really appreciate the help - primarily, we're in dire need of prop modellers, animators, and texturers. If you're interested, please let me know!
Crits would be really appreciated on what I've put up here, by the way!
Thanks,
-J
first off, although most of these guns could perhaps, teniously be placed in NI at the time, they'd be very uncommon. Theres a crazy number of guns there, and as someone who's lived in NI all my life, I've never seen the half of em. Slr, sure. ak, sure, spas-12 shotgun? i don't think so. i also can't say i've seen too many harriers flying about lol.
i'd stop with the guns right now as you have a crap laod of them, and virtually none are actually finished. also, when it came to guns the ra used, it would have mostly any crap they could get their hands on, like some russian/chinese crap.
i think you need to focus on some characters, level building, environment stuff etc
I guess these are guns that the British army uses?
This really makes me want to read up on IRA. Where did they get their guns? Would IRA get old soviet stuff smuggled from Europe, or surplus from British army somehow?
I'd love to see some finished stuff. I think the high-polies look pretty good.
Materials on the shotgun seem kind of plastic imo. More work needs to go into the spec, and there should be more grit and dirtiness.
Some of the gear isn't/wasn't nessecarily available for use by PIRA - but as we're focusing on a splinter group which is meant to be better armed, and the story branches into Libya and the USSR in the later parts of the story... well, you can probably see what i'm getting at.
We are also focusing on environmental and organic stuff, but theres only so much I can really show in one update without overloading the viewer (Got updates on ModDB, and Crymod. Sometimes better to suprise the viewer. For example, the SAS/SBS team heads and overall design is near enough done, but they're being saved until we've got a bit more done on them, and can give a nice big fat update on them.)
We've been focusing on one level at a time - first being the RAF base, hence we've got aircraft being worked on. These aircraft will likely also be turning up later in the game, along with the multiplayer portion of the modification.
Yeah, we're mainly trying to pick up skilled texture guys to get these weapons in game, along with one or two animators - we do have textures for some stuff, but as always peoples jobs delays us heavily in regards to time, and it generally hits the texturers worse for some reason.
I'd also like to add, like any volunteer project, we've got guys who've got full time jobs (George Sokol, and JM Christopher are two examples, as they're two of our main environmental artists), who are delayed by work schedules for example - reason why we've got to wait a good week or two before George can crack on with the Landrover again, as hes got a lot of design work to do for an Iphone game hes doing.
Okay, cheers for the info on the shotgun, i'll pass on the comments so we can improve it.
I'll update within about... 2-3 weeks with more stuff to get critiqued here, and it will include some more organic and environmental stuff. probably before the other sites, in fact. :P
Anyway - a decision will likely be reached this weekend, or by the 11th.
Anyway, if we could get some critique on this stuff, we'd really appreciate it.
Firstly, got an Ammo Box:
And a Makarov PM:
We do have more stuff on the way, but we're trying to get a lot more stuff ready in what little time we have at the moment.
Plus, as we're now an Indie game, we've entered into the ModDB Indie Game of The Year awards. If you like us enough, and think that we deserve it, please vote for us!
http://www.moddb.com/games/northern-ireland-pathfinder
We should have a very large update around New Years, mostly environmental stuff. We've got stuff thats been done, but I see little point in posting unfinished stuff as of yet.
-Josh
I'll seperate this into two posts, or it'll take me for ever to reformat these posts properly, so it doesn't make the images huge!
On April 1st, we'd decided to do an April Fool's day update, claiming we'd changed to a racing game based in the 1980s. We got quite a bit more support than we'd actually suspected that we would for this new game type.
Feel free to give your opinions on the work we did for the joke.
Heres some of the concept pieces that we came up with. Click on each image for a full size version!
We also created a few other bits and pieces, such as "proto-type" models/textures for the "new direction".
I'll be posting the actual work we've been doing probably on friday, when i've managed to get my most important exam done. Feel free to give suggestions, critique, whatever about what work we've been doing - we'd love to hear it.