[The following post has been approved by Bit-Tech] Hello folks! I just wanted to start this thread to help build some awareness and hopefully potential interest and support for a hybrid FPS/RTS project I am helping to develop. We are always on the look out for talent and since I frequent Bit-Tech I thought it wouldn't hurt to see if there are any interested bodies out there. Website URL: http://www.dividedsol.com Developer: Radiant Age Studios What is Divided Sol? Divided Sol is an entirely FREE FPS+RTS game that is in-development by Radiant Age- a group of like-minded developers and game enthusiasts who seek to blend the fluid and dynamic game play of Tribes with RTS elements from Starhawk. Leveraging the Unreal Development Kit (UDK) we hope to offer a fast, action-packed, online shooter that stands apart from mainstream titles. The game is targeted to provide maps capable of sustaining 128 players with combat encompassing both air and land vehicles, deploy-able assets, and extensive player armor customization. Dedicated to the PC Divided Sol brings strategy back into the shooter genre by combining certain RTS elements. Bases are largely modular, in that you build components and setups that allow your team to have a more organic defense instead of one based solely on map design. In general, games have largely been moving towards a similar formula with one or two innovative new features, and less complexity and difficulty removed from overall combat. Divided Sol in this case is the best of both worlds; oldschool challenge, creativity, imagination, and innovation to an otherwise stale shooter genre. What Divided Sol will be: A team-based tactical shooter focusing on teamwork A First AND Third person shooter (reticles/zoom won’t work in 3rd person) 100% Free – if the team can pull this game off, there will be more coming that may not echo the same sentiment, but the first taste is always free A fresh look at the FPS/RTS genre – It will have elements of both a shooter and a real-time strategy game, and we hope that will mean fun for most Have vehicles – These vehicles will augment gameplay, they will not be a required addition but an enhancement to how the game works What Divided Sol will not be: Be a modern combat shooter with jetpacks – No Halo or Section 8 here folks, sorry! Be a Tribes clone – All Tribes clones are doomed to fail, and with that… Have skiing – Sorry, I know some of you are looking forward to it, but we will have other methods that replace ‘skiing’ Have a cover system – This is a run and gun game, not a duck and cover like a sissy girl game Have expanding reticles denoting accuracy (with the exception of the non-laser sniper rifle) Have automatic regenerating health – No crutches where we’re going Who are we looking for? We are looking for 3D Modelers, Animators, Concept Artists (and 2D Artists), Skinners, Unreal Scripters, AI Scripters, Flash Animators, and even Writers. Who is Radiant Age Studios? It is a bit difficult to describe what Radiant Age is. But in its most simple terms it is a group of gamers who have played games together, and shared their common interests in programming, game development, and software for over a decade. We have stuck through thick and thin and Divided Sol will hopefully be a culmination of the many ideas we have talked about over the years. Divided Sol is hopefully going to be the FPS game that we always envisaged in our minds eye. Current Development Stage We are sorely in need of concept artists and modelers. You may have noticed that we are not looking for programmers as actively as other roles- mostly because we have been devoid of artistic staff for so many months that the programmers have spent that time developing the underlying code that will run the game and development on that front has been quite steady with fairly good results. That doesn't mean we will not accept more programming staff- we are always open to input. Questions/FAQ 1. Why are you advertising here? A. We are a grass-roots project, with no funding and entirely driven by volunteer efforts. In some regards you can consider our approach to development to be "crowd sourced". This is a result of the reality of our situation: We all either work full-time, or are full-time students and this game is being developed out of a passion for gaming. Advertising on public forums is really the only way we can try to gain some traction- maybe if we're lucky someone will join us along the way- if not, well at least we tried. 2. Is this a Tribes clone? A. No. While the concept of "jet packs" is going to be a fairly major component of combat our take it a little bit different. The scale of the game, particularly the depth and breadth of customization goes well beyond Tribes. We want to give players the ability to customize their armor to reflect their play-style. 3. What is your expected development time? A. Divided Sol has been "in development" for two years. But spelling out dates doesn't reflect the reality that this is a volunteer project. We have no fixed due dates and we might never finish the game. This is why we reach out to gaming communities. 4. What about remuneration/money? A. As a free, volunteer run project we cannot offer financial renumeration for work done. However, we will be more than happy to provide references to up and coming game developers who are eager to gain experience in the market and build their resume. It may not seem like much- but practical experience in a structured development environment is a valuable asset for anyone looking to break into the competitive Video Game Industry. You are here to help us reach our goals, let us return the favour by helping you reach yours. 5. What about KickStarter? A. We have considered this idea before. We hope to use KickStarter in the future but we realize that KickStarter is a double-edged sword. If we can wow and amaze the visitors then we might earn some donations. On the other hand if we fall flat on our faces then we missed a great opportunity due to being ill prepared. We believe that a video which demonstrates some of the aspects of the game in-action is necessary before we move ahead with KickStarter but the lack of modelers makes it impossible for us to entertain this option right now. And using stock Unreal models, with Unreal weapons and sounds is insufficient to demo the extent of what our programmers have accomplished (such as working FPS+Z combat). 6. So who funds the website etc? A. It's all out of pocket. Simple as that. 7. What makes you stand out from other AAA titles? A. Difficulty- and ambition. We do not want to make another clone of Battlefield but set in a different time period. The game will have a fairly steep learning curve (as did Tribes) and we internally sometimes think of the game as "The EVE of FPS's" in potential depth of game play possibilities. 8. Is this hosted on a single server? Or dedicated hosting? A. Don't stomp on something that works. The game will be multiplayer, and server admins will be able to host the servers themselves. This is not an MMO, and we do not want to force players to use only our servers (cost is also a factor). 9. Any other unique features of multiplayer? A. Player stats gathering, and player "Organizations" stats gathering through a central server will be provided allowing players to use gather kill/death ratios etc. 10. Is the game just models right now? Or is there a working build? A. We have a working Alpha build that is updated via a central SVN server to push updates to all developers. The build is used to test physics and other features of the game and is mostly used by the programmers due to lack of models. 11. Have you tried DeviantArt? UDK Forums? Other development sites? A. Yes- with no luck. It is with sadness that we must say this but: Gamers like to support indie projects, they see them as a great alternative to main stream titles, and a venue for unique games to emerge (ie. Minecraft) but the sad truth is, while many are willing to support the idea from the side-lines, very few are actually willing to step up and volunteer their time to make it happen. It's a bit cynical, but we've been at it for two years and barely managed to hold four staff. 12. Do you need testers? A. The game in it's current state is not ready for alpha or beta testers. Sorry- we appreciate your enthusiasm and welcome your input and suggestions on our forums. Active members of our community would be involved in testing down the road. 13. Will there be Single Player? A. We hope. One day. But baby-steps, getting the multiplayer component out is priority. Where do I sign up? Interested developers can contact us via the websites 'Join Us' section and fill out the basic form at the bottom. We will ask you some questions, ask for examples of work, and eventually have you sign an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) if we take you on-board. Media/Images I HAVE QUESTIONS!!! Ask away. I'll do my best to answer them.
Looks like an interesting project! Pretty epic post too, wasn't expecting quite so many screenshots etc.
You have an application... I hope i am the kind of person you're after... I would love to work on something like this, plus i need the experience and the ability to say 'I worked on that'. Wish you luck with it regardless...
colour me interested, I was an unofficial game designer over at Codemasters before I resigned over a contract dispute, their loss really as I've skills in Max, photoshop and premiere. Pm me, we must talk.
I think I'll try and apply to this once I get home from work, I'm not sure if i'm able to help out too much but I'll have a better read later about what you's need and what I may be able to do
Thanks! We have a long way to go, but the models at least show that we are attempting to move in the general direction of "a game" We haven't received anything yet- did you use the form on our website? If so, it might be bugged and I'll look into it right away. You can always forward mail to admin[at]dividedsol.com - I just tested the address and it works, so I might scrounge around the website and see what's up. Now that would be a real help- experience from someone involved in the Video Game Industry would be very beneficial. Drop a message either in my Bit-Tech inbox (PM) or use the above e-mail address and we can take a look. Just an FYI for those who may not be game developers but have a knack for writing- we are also looking for Writers who would be interested in developing the lore and back story for Divided Sol (and Radiant Age) so there is plenty of opportunity here.
