<!--quoteo(post=311576:date=Apr 7 2009, 10:04 AM:name=Short Jack Gold)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Short Jack Gold @ Apr 7 2009, 10:04 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=311576"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Some thoughts:
The Pirates of the Caribbean game, was initially successful because of its apparent tie in with the film.
An illusion soon dissipated as the game bore no resemblance to the film whatsoever.
The vanilla game, while good, did not have much “replayability” about it. But the power of the film and the character, personified by Johnny Depp, increased sales beyond the merits of the game itself, and hence hastened its swift demise.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I 100% agree here, SJG. There was so much more that could have been done with the game and I personally feel it was the rush mode that Disney/Bethsoft put into play that really ruined everything that SD2/PotC could have been. Akella was absolutely on the right track for a real winner and then it was ceremoniously pushed out the door in a half-baked, Disneyized format that took away all the serious adult oriented stuff and left the game really feeling hodge-podged together.
<!--quoteo(post=311576:date=Apr 7 2009, 10:04 AM:name=Short Jack Gold)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Short Jack Gold @ Apr 7 2009, 10:04 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=311576"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Then came the modding community, and things changed.
Over a period of some time the game was improved, and with that, more interest was gained. That encouraged more mods, which were also implemented, and the process continued at a faster and faster rate.
This rate has increased to a point where I believe now, that potential players are having difficulty in finding the necessary basic game. So we have come full circle from a game that originally did not live up to the expectations of the film, to a game that now surpasses the film.
I mean by this, where earlier, there were many comments regarding inaccuracies to the film story.
We have now reached a point where we are being asked to produce versions which have no relationship to the film at all.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Indeed, it really is the modding community that has made PotC worth playing. If it wasn't for PA! and the build mod, this game would have died an ignominous death long ago. It is the build mod that keeps this game fresh and worth keeping installed on a players computer.
Indeed this is part of what I feel makes moving up to the newer game engines worth aiming for, and I'll go into that further, shortly.
<!--quoteo(post=311576:date=Apr 7 2009, 10:04 AM:name=Short Jack Gold)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Short Jack Gold @ Apr 7 2009, 10:04 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=311576"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->What I believe we can learn from this is;
Regarding the film and original game - not to promise what you can’t deliver.
Regarding the mod pack(s) - if you build a better mouse trap, the world will beat a path to your door.
The current issue is in us having insufficient modders to fulfill all the requests being made.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
My personal opinion is that anything movie related at this point the modders can add, and I'll explain why. The PotC franchise belongs 100% to Disney and unless they have control over the content, there will be no way anything new will receive thier go-ahead to be released commercially. So we will need to remember to ditch ALL PotC related content for any release level commercial games. The modders can come along and add anything else to the game as they feel the need, especially if we have a real development kit for the game engine we finally settle on.
But that is just it, the game has to be good enough in its own right to really draw an initial crowd willing to even look at the mods in the first place.
CoAS brings a lot of new tech to the table really worth looking at, much of it moving right in from Caribbean Tales.
Thats a good thing and again, I'll go into some of those details after I've addressed your initial posting.
<!--quoteo(post=311576:date=Apr 7 2009, 10:04 AM:name=Short Jack Gold)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Short Jack Gold @ Apr 7 2009, 10:04 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=311576"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Yes, there are still bugs (things that screw up the game) but these are getting fewer,
and quirks (things that don’t behave as well as we want) but these aren’t game breakers,
but most complaints, as I see them are a result of incorrect installation.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Again I agree with you completely here. The buiild mod is getting better and better with each iteration released and as we all work toward Build 14 final, I really do think we need to be carefully considering the next step we will be taking. It's just a matter of cleaning up the bugs that we know about and deciding just when to call it enough for new content for this specific iteration of the mod.
Because PotC is at this point so long in the tooth and so difficult to find, we need to be sure we are staying with what will keep the mod vital to the overall community. That would generally mean upgrading to at least CoAS when it is released and moving on to Corsairs 4 when it is available. It really behooves us to be looking forward at this point because if we don't, our potential new player base will vanish simply because the game that everything is based on will become impossible to find outside of 'illegal' means. Better to move on to a newer release that has the potential to enliven the mod and bring new blood into our community than keep complaining that new games are coming out in the series and we can't get the old game any longer.
<!--quoteo(post=311576:date=Apr 7 2009, 10:04 AM:name=Short Jack Gold)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Short Jack Gold @ Apr 7 2009, 10:04 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=311576"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->For the project at hand, resources for the actual spade work are already in place at Akella or Seaward.
So our task will be to take an overview position regarding what the game can do, and what we believe it should do.
So all in all, I see no problem with our being able to complete these tasks in a competent and timely manner.
That I think covers the basics should Seaward continue their interest in working with us.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Indeed, this communication indicates that we've shown the russians we are as serious about the pirate games as they are and they really want our input this time around. Basically what I am gathering from all of this is that Seaward and potentially Akella through the guise of Seaward are saying they don't trust the 'Experts' that have been giving them advice and suggestions any longer and they would rather go right to community in the west that most solidly supports thier games, namely PA! and the Build Modders. In a word, US!
This is both the biggest and most important break we've gotten to date and it really says something about the quality they view us as providing. It is NOT something to take lightly or for granted.
<!--quoteo(post=311576:date=Apr 7 2009, 10:04 AM:name=Short Jack Gold)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Short Jack Gold @ Apr 7 2009, 10:04 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=311576"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->From the PotC perspective, that will be more of a task for our technical members, would the new engine be worth the work in changing the game over. I will stop here.
Perhaps Cap’n Drow would continue this line of thought in a technical overview thread.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
For now I'll say this. There are great reasons to help with the Corsairs 4 project and get as much input on it as we can. It will help us get time with the new paradigm being developed by the originators of it. It will give us practice and potentially the tools to move over to the new engine even before the game is finished so that when the game does get released, we would be the leading mod community for this very game on release day, with potentially a mostly complete if not complete initial release for the game on day one.
This also places us in a position to learn what we would potentially be supporting as well as give us the ability to develop english language tutorials for the modding kit that would make us the go to location for information about this and potentially any other games in the series for the future.
Now on to a couple of reasons to at least move over to CoAS in the interim.
1) The engine supports something we've had requested on more than one occasions.... A more diverse and involved combat system. This updated melee system has far more to it than anything we've seen previously and comes forward directly from Caribbean Tales. In this fighting system, you have the ability to slash, thrust, chop, sweep attack(hitting ALL enemies in the attack arc), block, parry and feint. Basically 3 times the options that we have in the existing combat system. Basically this makes the combat system far more strategic than ever before in the series. This alone makes the change worthwhile in my opinion.
2) You have an even wider range of ship upgrade options whereby you can modify the hull, sails and guns. This gives the player those extra options that we keep wanting to have in the game but haven't quite figured out how to add on our own. Again, this capability existed in Caribbean Tales right from the outset.
and my final bit for this posting....
3) The CoAS bring one new feature that although nothing more than eye-candy, has been asked for time and again within our own community. Blood spatters from combat. Hit someone with a blade or a bullet and blood flies using an updated particle system, and the blood spatters stay until you transition out of an area.
Anyhow, here you go. A bit more on my opinions on why we should do everything we can to help Seward/Akella.
Shannon B.
AKA
Cap'n Drow
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