SevenHourWar Needs You!

[mfwit]

Here is the general story:

The Seven Hour War, a battle in which all human militaries were defeated by the alien Combine in only seven hours, is a section of Half-Life history that has never been truly explained. Seven Hour War tells the story of Sergeant Charles Rico and his squad’s desperate defense of their planet.

Sergeant Charles Rico, Corporals Rainer Holstadt, Jonathan Archer, and Kevin Lee form the Wildcats, an elite squad of United States Army soldiers. Along with Apollo, a Gladius II unmanned combat vehicle with an artificial intelligence, the Wildcats are a threat to be reckoned with on any battlefield.

At least, any battlefield for which they are prepared. For Rico and his soldiers, today is Friday, November the 16th, 2004. The Black Mesa incident occured yesterday. The time is currently 9:30, Central.

Fight the Combine’s massive alien assault throughout dynamic landscapes from the deserts of New Mexico to underground nuclear bunkers. Engage in frantic firefights against enemies who take cover and coordinate attacks. Man the machine gun of an APC as your team drives across the desert. Kill the enemy to an awesome score, designed originally for this modification….


We are looking for talented individuals to join in the following positions.

Modeler(for weapons, robots, and new characters)
-Have experience with XSI or Maya
-Be able to model from a drawing
-Optional: Be able to create textures for your models

Texture Artist(for weapons, robots, and new characters)
-Strong grasp on Photoshop or GIMP
-Work well with a team

Animators(for robots and new characters)
-Should be able to animate the human body realisticly
-Should be able to animate based upon concepts and/or documentation

Contact us @ www.sevenhourwar.com/forum
Email [email protected]
IM mfwit
MSN [email protected]

Thanks in advance,
Matt

 

[$kelet0r]

It's about damn time
You really need to amend your post and go into some serious general detail about every aspect of the game you plan to make





If you want someone who will annoy you by forcing his game design vision on you without having any technical skills then I'm your man

 

[mfwit]

I modified the post...

John, would you be interested in doing Public Relations or something like that?

Matt

 

[$kelet0r]

sounds aweome! and singleplayer as well :thumbs:


it's a little early to be thinking of PR - forget about renders and concept art and make a great mod using the resources you have in the SDK. When you are about 70% complete then oil the PR cogs - i would be honoured to help if I feel that at that stage the mod deserves attention. Hell at that stage you will know if you even need new models and textures and animations at all. Keep it small - a coder, level designer and gameplay/storyline designer.
Good luck with the recruitment and the mod-making buddy - i wish you much success

 

[Asknoone]

In soviet Russia, 7 hour war needs YOU!

 

[mfwit]

In soviet Russia, 7 hour war needs YOU!

huh?

 

[sullview]

Ever watch The Simpsons? There's a guy who always says things like "In Soviet Russia, Car Drive YOU/Porn watch YOU" etc. etc. repeat ad nauseum.

 

[mfwit]

hahahaha, i gotcha now.

 

[Ennui]

Here is the general story:

The Seven Hour War, a battle in which all human militaries were defeated by the alien Combine in only seven hours, is a section of Half-Life history that has never been truly explained. Seven Hour War tells the story of Sergeant Charles Rico and his squad’s desperate defense of their planet.

Sergeant Charles Rico, Corporals Rainer Holstadt, Jonathan Archer, and Kevin Lee form the Wildcats, an elite squad of United States Army soldiers. Along with Apollo, a Gladius II unmanned combat vehicle with an artificial intelligence, the Wildcats are a threat to be reckoned with on any battlefield.

Thus far, you've set up quite a bit of work. A single player modification - that alone entails a staggering amount of work, and probably more than you realize. Already, you've set yourself writing advanced AI for your "Apollo" machine, and depending on whether this is co-op or not, squadmate AI as well. You've also called for loads of original content, with custom models, skins, and animations, which so far are at least four of these "Wildcats" as well as your Gladius II, plus any non-HL2 weapons or enemies.

At least, any battlefield for which they are prepared. For Rico and his soldiers, today is Friday, November the 16th, 2004. The Black Mesa incident occured yesterday. The time is currently 9:30, Central.

Okay. However, it's theorized that the Seven Hour War occured quite some time after the Black Mesa incident, because humanity had already consolidated into cities to defend from the Xenians dropping through to earth via portal storms when the Combine arrived, which is somewhat of a lengthy process. Of course, that's all theory, so you could be right...

Fight the Combine’s massive alien assault throughout dynamic landscapes from the deserts of New Mexico to underground nuclear bunkers.

Massive alien assault. Now, we know that the Combine use Synths in combat, and most likely used these (in conjuction with the Citadels appearing) to conquer humanity. Since you won't be able to use any of the HL2 enemies really (at least not Stalkers, Metrocops, Combine Soldiers, or Combine Elite), this means you'll be forced to model, animate, skin, and code the behavior for a few new enemies. That's another load of work. Dynamic landscapes? What does that mean? Deformable terrain is something that the Source engine is capable of [displacements that is], but you have to code it yourself. Good luck.

Engage in frantic firefights against enemies who take cover and coordinate attacks.

I assume you'll be coding new AI for this, since you're making it out as a feature, and not something we've already seen in HL2 - so that's another huge amount of work you probably can't do.

Man the machine gun of an APC as your team drives across the desert.

Have fun with that. Like I said before, I don't know if this is co-op or not, but if it is, then coding vehicles is going to be a BLAST for you; if it isn't, then this is slightly more realistic (as you can just make the vehicle move on a set course).

Kill the enemy to an awesome score, designed originally for this modification….

Who've you got writing your music? "Awesome" composers are rare creatures.


I know I'm coming down hard, but maybe you should rethink your goals. It seems apparent that you're new to modding, and you've made a common mistake - thinking way too large. You're much more likely to succeed working from the ground up.

Also, you do not need a dedicated position for public relations for a mod. Ever. It might be justified in a few cases where it's not unnecessary, but 98% of the time the team/leader should handle that by himself.

You drew this concept (as you are Matt "Chespi" Witner, according to your site):

This is not concept art. This might pass as a rough sketch of what you want it to be, but watermarking it and sticking it on a website isn't really a great idea. No modeler could ever, EVER work off of this. It'd just be them doing original work.

 

[Zunni]

Ever watch The Simpsons? There's a guy who always says things like "In Soviet Russia, Car Drive YOU/Porn watch YOU" etc. etc. repeat ad nauseum.

I think the person you need to be crediting is Yakov Smirnov, a Russian comedian who the Simpsons then parodied.

Here's some info about him

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakov_Smirnov

more specifically:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakov_Smirnov#Russian_reversal_.28.22In_Soviet_Russia.22.29

 

[Zunni]

<whole tonne of negativity and pessism clipped>

I think what Ennui is saying is he'd like to see some of the systems you are considering further laid out and some additional thoughts given to how the overall game will play/look/sound with some realistic intentions in mind.

If I might make a suggestion, create a design document. There are a few templates out there that will guide you through the process. This by far was the smartest thing I ever did for my mod as I was better able to define classes, see redundancy and eliminate waste. I was able to clearly see what game tasks players would be doing and how (since my game will be multi-player) they would be spending their time.

Understanding realistically what limitations you have before you even start work enables you to a) not set sights beyond what is possible and b) have a really clear vision on what the game will look like at each stage.

The other thing (and note I'm still learning as I go as well) is you will bump into situations that will further limit what you are able to do.

You need to have a clear vision, be innovative and yet be realistic based on what you have available to you and what types of talent you can realistically draw.

Just some things I've learned

 

[Ennui]

Do what Zunni says.

 

[Solaris]

Aha, that concept art is hilarious.

Yes, this mod isn't going to get anywhere.

 

[Sloth]

"A war between ants and men..."

Ants with crazy robots - only need the pirates and ninjas...

Seriously; You think we'd have that good an AI system in 4 years? To start off the Black Mesa fumble happened in 2000, Also look at the structure of 'robots' that the US Army has at the moment - only remote links, RC cars with mini-guns...

I don't even know where some people think this stuff up...
I can take the 'leet' crew of wildcats - but WTF for the rest.
[/rant]

 

[MorganFreeman911]

It sounds good in concept, but like Ennui said, it's improbable, and that is NOT concept art, that's like a rough rough superrough sketch.

 

[Mutley]

I lol'd hard.

 

[mfwit]

doesnt this constitute flaming?

I appreciate Ennui's comments, but I like how no one had the balls to say anything before he posted but afterwards its fair game.

 

[egoncalo]

I lol'd hard.

LMAO.... Is that a concept or a picture his two year old brother somehow drew then managed to post.

 

[Ennui]

doesnt this constitute flaming?

I appreciate Ennui's comments, but I like how no one had the balls to say anything before he posted but afterwards its fair game.

it's not really flaming, people can just be very harsh... can't really moderate stuff like this, since it's the internet