remaking ultima games

[ed]

i am interested in doing a remake of an ultima game, but i dont really know anything about making a game. i can program in c/c++, but that's as far as i can go. im just a simple web programmer in need of training in the art of making video games. can anyone direct me to a few helpful resources to start?

[drcode]

You might try buying a book on game-programming. It doesn't even need to be a recent one.

[Andrea .B. Previtera]

You could take the Nuvie engine and do a remake of Ultima IX with that!!

Then you set up a webpage for the project, with the required broken links and hand-made screenshots of "this is what our remake is going to look like". The most important part is a "news" section where each 2 months or so you'll display a sketch of one of the ultima characters, and/or an announcement of delay.

After N months, with N<12, you can successfully drop the project and go back playing Exult.

[Dominus]

Don't forget the switching of engines once in a while and the "hiring" of other willing fans. Most important is to have at least 3 to 10 webdesigners (as the webpage will be the only part of the project that is going to last) and let them design a webpage with a gazillion frames and flash objects...

Oh, the evil of sarcasm....

[SB-X]

But it isn't as funny if you point out that it's sarcasm.

[Darke]

You fiend! Now you've ruined my plans to do a UT2006 mod entitled
"Avatar vs. Anti-Avatar: The Truth About Your 'Friend' Lord Brittish"! How
will I justify sitting around on irc all day if I don't have something that
makes me look like I'm busy?!? I'm ruined!

I'll get you Dominus! I'll have my revenge! *muhahahahaha!*

Darke
(Not sarcasm! Really! *innocentlook*)

[painful]

The bad thing is, people joke and ridicule when someone wants to do an ultima remake.. and that's why the really dedicated people who want to do one give up.. and we're left with the rejects that are currently out there not showing a bit of progress.

I'm very interested in working on this. Whether its in the Exult engine (which I know a lot about using ExultStudio now but I still need to learn usecode for the convo's), or in another engine like a 3d shooter game or 3d RPG engine. So if anyone else is interested in helping me start up a serious project, please let me know at serenehero@aol.com or here on the forums. Unlike those out there making remakes now, I'm very serious about doing one or doing my own storyline that involves the Avatar. I would prefer making it in the Exult engine, as they've done so much to make this engine so adaptable and loaded with options, but I'd also be willing to work in another engine. One that comes to mind, which is an FPS engine is the one used for Star Wars: Jedi Academy because it has 'sword/saber' fighting built in and everything is already there for the sword fights or other hand held weapons fighting. But again, I think Exult would be best because of the ultima feel to it.

I've got many storylines in mind that I've been working on for the past few months to use for a new game involving the Avatar. So again if anyone is interested, let me know. I'd like to start a small team, that can handle everything, and can actually get progress done instead of running a site that just sits there with no updates. If you're not willing to put in time to work, then you're not worth me considering as an addition.

[Gradilla Dragon]

I disagree, Kelley. People joke and ridicule "enthusiast" starters usually because the person is clueless on how to make a game, yet claims he/she wants to do one. Those are not the promising ones, and when they give up it is usually because they finally realized game developing is not as simple as they thougt.

Even those who were not made fun of could make some progress, then give up, and it's not because they didn't get support, but because they finally got into the realization I mentioned before.

If you want to see remake people who know what they are doing, look at the Avatarship and the U5 Lazarus project. They can show you tangible progress, they really are promising developers, and nobody made fun of them when they started, because they had a clue.

Game developing is not a walk in the park. Whether people makes fun of you or not is independant of your success or failure.

[Andrea .B. Previtera]

Sarcasm is like a spell. It could either kill the subject of casting, or fail and double it's willpower.

Anyway, I agree with Gradilla: when someone comes and ask "how can I do this?" and the thing is already written in the FAQ - that's annoying. But when someone comes and ask "how do I code a game?", well, it's plain nonsense. It's like asking "how do I become a songwriter?": those are things you should look up in the FAQ of your whole life. (damn, I'm insightful)

[Belial]

yeah.. for three years ive been "creating" the script to a game. (on and off)
so far iam half way through the script. my point is, that in three years ive done hardly anything, a brief history, races, creatures, buildings, quests, subplots, main storyline and so on. I dont know how to program to any extent and yet i know that i will make this game. whether it takes me three more years or three more decades it matters not.

this fella ed has only just started, and has little knowledge of game making but he has more than me. yet according to everyones infinte years of experience on the battlefield, he has no chance. yet for some reason someone like myself who is a graphic artist, can spend three years on and off developing my own game and not be dishearted or swayed by the fact i cant program. In my own opinion (opinions are like arseholes) this ed fella has a better chance of makeing a game than i do.

im not being sarcastic or trying "insult" anyone, this is just my opinion.

[Withstand the Fury Dragon]

I can attest to what Gradilla says. I was all gung-ho enthusiast when I started making Lost Sosaria.

I'm still going strong, but the enthusiasm has been tempered by the revelation that it takes a DAMN LOT to make something worthy of the name 'Ultima'.

WtFD

[ed]

i do have friends working in the gaming industry. though i graduated as a CS major just like they did, i focused more on internet technologies than on gaming.

with that said, i am very well aware of the time, resource and dedication that a game requires. i see it in my friends whenever we hit up the local watering hole and they share stories about their progress. also, i am not promising a game, but merely asking for help in something i dont know how to do.

thanks for the words of advice anyways...whether it be optimistic, or down right sarcastic

[Gradilla Dragon]

http://www.gamedev.net/reference/start_here/

[Ken Oh]

I'm drumming up a U7 remake of my own. The funny thing is that I'm not worried about either the graphic (thus, not making my own unless absolutely necissary) or storyline. Well, the storyline would basically be more about a town than a personal adventure. It would be I think the closest thing U7 could have to an economic simulation. Also, it would make getting food and equipment really hard, since a built up town where you could just steal items wouldn't be on the map. Could you imagine scrambling to get Club so you wouldn't have to use Rod anymore?

So, basically it would have you go defend and explore for your town, in order for them to produce things that would in turn enable you to defend and explore better. Figuring out how I would change the map is the main issue. I'm not sure how much usecode can do (getting wood from the forest lets the townies build a fence to keep monsters out, killing certain monsters lets them farm, opening the mine gives you access to ore and thus metal items, etc). It might come down to making a bunch of different map areas that everyone warps around, like at the begining of SI. The story would probably have to be really linear if the map area trick is the only way.

[unix]

reminds me of "the settlers" series =)

[artaxerxes]

talking about Settlers, have you checked out Widelands? Seems already quite good.

widelands.sf.net

Artaxerxes