Winter '08
New Staff
We've had a slew of new staff recently, so firstly I'd like to welcome them.
- Oddjob - Design
- Dan Munn - Programmer
- Ben Overmyer - Concept Artist
- Daniel McClintock - Modeller
I'd like to officially welcome all of you, as I'm sure the rest of the community will.
First Order of Business
Firstly an apology, for not getting this announcement out sooner. A huge amount has happened in development land recently and whilst I've been trying to get some of our new media ready for this release but finally conceded that's it's better just to release it and let the media come later.
New Forums
The design and development team has now finished moving itself onto our new servers and work has started on establishing the new public forums on the site.
There will be a lot of changes on the new forums, different forum software for a start. The new server itself is also a big change, we have a nice, powerful, unmanaged server to play with, rather than a badly load managed virtual user.
More on this will come out closer to the time.
Public Design Document
We're close to the release of our next update to the design document. As we'll be releasing a snapshot release there are a couple of areas we still need to make decisions on. The snapshot releases work differently from the original design document in that they are a direct snapshot of the internal document at a given moment. They contain specific implementation details and a lot of absolutes; it is however important to note that none of it is absolute. There will be some very silly features, some absurd statements, contradicting ideas.
As we move further with development we made quick decisions on many ideas so that we end up with builds that contain a wide variety of functionality, much of it that will be dropped by the time we hit beta. The design document will probably be out of date a couple of hours after release, whilst it is constantly changing it's designed so that if the entire team were suddenly wiped out, a programmer could make a complete game from the document. The game would be terrible, but the programmer wouldn't have to do any inference or guesswork.
What I'm trying to say with far more words than necessary is that the document is no where close to final. Anything in it is there purely for quick referencing. It's a lot easier to search a single document for a definitive answer, than to read 18 pages of heated argument.
The document will also contain several blacked out areas, these don't concern features of the actual game but are spoilers of what's to come regarding the game that we'd rather have to surprise you with. None of it will effect how the game plays.
1.9.4's Future
We're currently looking to set up a small team of C++ developers to work on the 1.9.4 codebase and produce official patches over time to ensure 1.9.4 remains a viable alternative while we steam ahead with the next major version of SourceForts.
The application criteria won't be as stringent as those to join the main programming team, however I have to warn anyone interested in joining that the code itself is an extremely complex beast. There has never really been a proper design for the code and the words "modular" and "encapsulated" could certainly not be used to describe it.
If you are interested in the challenge however, please send an email to
info@sourcefortsmod.com with the subject "1.9.4 Development Team". Please include details on your experience with C-like languages, C++ and the Source SDK. All applicants will be considered, regardless of your involvement with game politics.
Hiring
The SourceForts development team is currently on the look out for some new talent.
C++ Developers
Requirements- 2+ years of experience with C-like languages
- A solid working knowledge of the C++ language
- The ability to follow standards and conventions
- The ability to produce clean, coherent code even in complex environments
- A willingness to engage in discussions of both technical and gameplay design
Extra Goodness- Source SDK experience (not essential if you're quick to adapt and have a solid grounding in complex applications)
- Experience in rapid application development using C#
Please direct all enquiries to
info@sourcefortsmod.com.
Edit: Oh go on then.
The post looked fairly bare, so here are some current work in progress's from Slice and Khuskan.
First we have one of Slice's latest weapon models, then a very early WIP from Khuskan's new map. At this point these screenshots are more concept art than anything else, the bridge and it's "thing" will, like many complex map elements, be produced as models rather than brush based. I've also included an early clay render of the bridge's "thing".
Enjoy.
Winter '08
Hybrid Mode
