Why Bioderms are Stupid

Yep. I hate how some people get the idea that everything added to a game is part of some time bank.

One thing that really bugs me is when someone says: "Stop spending so much time on the <grpahical item> and make the game more stable>"
What the hell does that mean? there's not ONE guy doing everything, they have a team and they divide everything up.

All I'm suggestion is if they have the time they go the extra way and add some nice features for those of us who have a strong sense of self.
 
Sir Lucius said:
marthrax.gif
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That is the worst weasel I've ever seen. Think cuter, with more fur, and cuter. Also weaselier.
 
Thrax Panda said:
The origin of the Bioderm is from the Dynamix games Cyberstorm and Cyberstorm 2. Bioderms were vat grown humans who had personalities downloaded into them and were used as herc pilots. They didn't have horns, they could barely do anything but fight, and they didn't resemble orcs until they were bastardized for T2. They were added because somebody who didn't understand Tribes 1 thought, we should have Predators in our space opera game...
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Duh.
How about you don't add Inferno and Storm tribes with logos on them as well? That kinda killed the mood.

So does "Sport"..
 
R@ND0M said:
Change of subject, what games have you worked on previously, Thrax?
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Technically, I worked on just about every game Sierra has shipped in the past six years (one of two QA Managers here for 4 years, then a producer for 2). I was the last producer on Tribes Aerial Assault (of 9!) put out the last patch for T2 with classic, TR2, and the classic maps, and I'm currently working on Homeworld 2 and Tribes The Next (for over a year now - we showed some art at the Tribes Council). I worked fairly closely with the dev guys on T1, and I tried really hard to make sure that Football '99 didn't ship, but what can one grunt do against the marketing machine? I also worked on Fast Attack for a few days (before we woke up and ditched it) and did some extensive initial work one other (somewhat risky and totally unique) Tribes title that is currently "on hold" but recieved great marks on all the testing we did with it (hard to get management to buy into a game that is unlike everything else out there). Additionally I do a lot of new business stuff, like doing the design and technical review for "Will Rock" when it came thru Sierra (great name, but but probably won't rock IMO).
 
haha, so its your fault there was uncompressed .BMP sky box images in there when they should have been .png and saved about 5 meg on that huge 80 meg patch?

and the TR2 extra sounds which could have been optional (they have text in there for the quotes, save us Non rabbit fans 30 meg and make that an option would have been cool)..

Mmm 80 meg down to 45 meg. Should have included the Dynamix Final Map pack too so mappers could get to use all the cool terrains and new shapes/textures from that 17megs of goodness (pantheon may have sucked to play but its shapes were cool)... still would have been smaller!!

And the Bioderms lacking Alpha Channels so environement mapping does not work in their skins, who's mistake was that? (btw, I exported new derm models with alpha and put them in Shifter.. works great at a whole 300kb or so)
 
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Thrax Panda said:
Technically, I worked on just about every game Sierra has shipped in the past six years (one of two QA Managers here for 4 years, then a producer for 2). I was the last producer on Tribes Aerial Assault (of 9!) put out the last patch for T2 with classic, TR2, and the classic maps, and I'm currently working on Homeworld 2 and Tribes The Next (for over a year now - we showed some art at the Tribes Council). I worked fairly closely with the dev guys on T1, and I tried really hard to make sure that Football '99 didn't ship, but what can one grunt do against the marketing machine? I also worked on Fast Attack for a few days (before we woke up and ditched it) and did some extensive initial work one other (somewhat risky and totally unique) Tribes title that is currently "on hold" but recieved great marks on all the testing we did with it (hard to get management to buy into a game that is unlike everything else out there). Additionally I do a lot of new business stuff, like doing the design and technical review for "Will Rock" when it came thru Sierra (great name, but but probably won't rock IMO).
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So to get this next title published, did you have to make a huge presentation to the Sierra marketing dept. to ensure them it was a good investment?
Or did you already have a working demo of what your opinion of the game would be like?

I've been interested in the game-design industry since I was a kid :/ (19 now)
Even if the pay isn't as good as some Network Admins (current job), it's just a long-term goal/dream of mine :p
It'd be cool to talk some time (off the record) just about the industry in general, and if you think going 'indy' is a good choice.
Tribalwah isn't really the best place for non-flame discussion though :p

Can you clarify the name of the engine used in the early screenshots of T2 (The E3 ones on the T1 type engine)
Tim told me it was an updated version of the Fear (T1 engine), and the Darkstar was originally going to be the name of the vl2/Torque engine.
Although "ZoOL" and I have this ongoing argument on the subject.
 
I think Sierra already wanted a part 3 of the "franchise" because the product line generates profit.

Though of course the dev team need to still submit prototypes and such, but I think its more from the Sierra side than the other way where a team has a cool game they want published so they show their working demo off to get a deal.
 
Sir Lucius said:
One thing that really bugs me is when someone says: "Stop spending so much time on the <grpahical item> and make the game more stable>"
What the hell does that mean? there's not ONE guy doing everything, they have a team and they divide everything up.
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Well there was not enough division then, example.
Bioderms models are unfinished - no alpha channel and the released .max files for the public had some problems that made them almost impossible to import and edit
Vehicles - no alpha channels in the models, not sure if this was intended. But the SKINS of the vehicles HAVE alpha maps for reflections, all except parts of the grav bike and the Beowulf and Mpb maps are misaligned and have things in the wrong spots, the rest are fine.. But not used at all due to models not being exported WITH environment mapping enabled. (so all those extra megs are wasted)
Left over images left in the game which are not used, there is various little logos and such which were not used or irrelevant
Left over models which were broken, ie beowulf tank with the wheels was totally busted and will cause a UE if used
Old Beowulf tank turret, all messed up textures, incorrect Activation alignment (looks up when you use it)
Left over Ammo station model (its got flip out wings, used as a morph pack in Shifter), it has no "solid" to it so its useless as an Ammo station anyway.
Etc..

:chill:
 
That's tribes2 -- we already know that it lacked direction and failed.

I'm going under the impression that Thrax and Mar have a really great dev team that they know can do the job since it's their #1 top choice.
 
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Thrax



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w/ recolor...Marweas


hmmmm.....never photographed together.....is this going to turn out like knight rider, except of one having the goate and the other not, you just have different hair colors? hmmmmmm?

(ps, yes i'm bored)
 
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