Just thought I'd bring this up to everyone's attention, one of the developers on Mirror's Edge is doing a remake of Dear Esther, a unique storytelling mod for HL2. Dear Esther is a mod that focused entirely on telling a very unique ghost story, with no action, and entirely exploration and narration. It's a great mod, but the visuals were pretty ugly. So this guy is remaking it again in Source, except its visuals are probably the best I've ever seen for anything, ever. No joke. Take a look: http://www.littlelostpoly.co.uk/devblog/

Wow.
Inb4 it never gets done.

The mod's first version is already done...

They are redoing it.

I thought this thread would be about http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/61243

Those cliffs look better than real life

And that will never get done.

Tibby has never been done

Is it just me or does it smell like smoke? cuz you just got BURNED

>.>

Yeah, tibby, shut the hell up and take your negative vibes elsewhere. This is a professional developer making this mod, he knows what he's doing.

In other news, Black Mesa Source is coming out within a month almost certainly. And it is also looking incredible, they have developed several new technologies for the source engine that are more sophisticated than Episode 2.

What do you mean, developed new technologies? Did they actually license the engine? Or is it just tricks they've figured out?

Do post about it when it happens, I won't remember to look into it.

:iceburn:

They've developed a randomized face generation tech thing, that makes it so that every single human NPC in the game (scientists, guards, and soldiers) have randomized equipment and faces using preset textures and models, but it actually morphs the faces into different shapes so one texture can have completely different faces. There's a link to a great description of it with pictures and everything on the BM forums, but I don't know where it is. If you do a search on the forums I'm sure it'll come up.

They've also come up with a technology that allows for enormous vistas with incredibly detailed textures, like in this picture:

It was something special for sure, not something the engine could normally do. I remember the devs making it a special announcement and everything, describing the workarounds in the engine they made so they could do that.

I think "new technologies" is a bit much, it's just pushing something new out of that aged engine or finding a neat little workaround. It's like when Valve introduced "cinematic physics" during the Orange Box development, and it turned out it was just an elaborate animation of objects done in a modeling program. It was neat to watch but you couldn't even pick up the pieces of debris after the animation was done. You could even do it for maps yourself using a plugin through 3dmax.

Anyway, people work on mods for free and on their spare times (obviously). It's not like a big studio charging nickel over dime for content. If they show real work and actually exhibit direction and potential, I think it's just downright cynical to dismiss them right away. Even if they eventually don't release a final product, a good attempt and a portfolio of development media can act as an inspiring display for other modders, prehaps encouraging them in their own modding endeavors and maybe even learn a lesson or two. Failure is a good learning tool if there was a honest effort to succeed to begin with.

Saying "it will never get released" as a first response is nothing but an attempt at being ...provocative.

Tibby probably got banned from some mod forum for whining able the release date, and now he's taking out his angst on Massassi.

If BM:S actually comes out before December 16th, then ban me for a month.
I said it, it's there. I don't trust mod devs release dates as far as I can throw them.
This comes from a couple disappointments, TSLRP and Black Mesa mostly.
It's not like I don't like them for it, I just don't like it when devs set dates and then fail to keep to them. best to either date it far ahead and release early, or not date at all.

I thought you were knee-jerk doubting the Dear Esther remake, not BM:S?

They absolutely guaranteed several times on the forums, trailer, and twitter feed that they will definitely release in 2009. Be that tomorrow or December 31st at 11:59 PM, whatever. They will release.

It doesn't matter, this thread is about Dear Esther. Every time I look at his devblog, I get motivated to make something awesome in JA. Too bad JA isn't quite as good as source.

It's their mod that they are doing for fun. If they miss their target, that's too bad. You already made a thread to complain about the speed at which people donate their time to make free things for your enjoyment, and everyone bashed you for it. Are you retarded or do you just like abuse?

I don't understand the hate on total conversions --> just because they never worked out here (with the exception of TDiR), doesn't mean they don't work out elsewhere.

Take a look at Black Mesa Source (It WILL be released.. it's almost done. If you're not bright enough to realize that I have lost any hope I had harbored for you prior), or Insurgency

Obi, What are you even talking about.
I don't care if it takes them ten years, but if they say that it will be done by next month and it isn't, then they have let me down.
Also I don't hate them, I love them. And I have a lot of respect for the people who work on them, just not their sense of time.
Also Kirby I was doubting both, by pure principle of them being large scale mods.

E: No that doesn't mean I think this isn't absolutely amazing.

You couldn't have picked two mods that would be more likely to come out than these two... One made by a video game developer, the other being one of the most prolific TCs in videogame history. Just because most of massassi makes antagonizing a fashion doesn't mean you need to blatantly imitate.

Wait, so you're going to be happy if they release in the next month, but you'll be banned, so is this some kind of insurance to make sure you'll be happy that they either released on time or you can still post?

I wish I was s d m u a m r b t enough to make sure I always win!

This isn't the only forum I post on Reid, It's not my whole life.
Although I do feel a connection to this place.

Tibby, you just gotta rethink what you say. Instead of



Why don't you say



You essentially said the same thing but the second doesn't have the rude overtones. Think of it this way, your attitudes about the thread subject will reflect other poster's attitude towards what you said.

You have a good point reid. One of my major weaknesses is I voice my mind ham-fistedly.

Exactly, I'm glad you understand.

So. How about them Chargers?

i thought BM:S's release date was: "When it's done."

i thought it was their policy not to give a release date.

The release date is indeed tentatively 'when it's done', but as stated in the trailer, they are placing firm emphasis on getting it done before 2009 is over. The trailer is a year old at this point, and there hasn't been any doubt cast by the developers whatsoever, so there's no reason to believe it won't be released in 2009.