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doran
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 Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 3:40 am Post subject: What's Going ON?! [AB Newsletter] |
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What's Going ON?! (November 26th 2008)
Hey Team!
Here's the 44th official "What's Going On?" meant to give everyone a quick snap-shot of this incredible project. It will also provide insights into issues and dynamics impacting our community!
Happy Holidays
To our United States members, Happy Thanksgiving!
DEVELOPER CONTEST EXTENDED
Originally, November 30th was the turn-in date for our two remaining developer teams. After talking with the teams and reviewing progress, it was determined some more time was needed.
Because we want to position the development teams to present their best rendition of the community design document we are going to have a more fluid turn-in date. This is a contest after all, and the development teams have had time to work on their builds. So, as of November 30, 2008 there is no short-term deadline specified. The first development team to turn in their build will start a 14 day completion clock, meaning the other team must turn in their final version of the milestone 4 build within 14 days.
Once both builds are in, we will open them to the community for review and voting!
TO DEVELOPERS
Developers will get access to a "minimum-specification" for what needs to appear in their build later this week. Our goal is to have the document ready by Sunday (the start of the extended developer window).
Acclaim has clarified they are looking for a "closed beta 1" version of the product, such that if they wanted to push it out, it would be:
1) Playable
2) Give a solid game play experience (even if not feature complete)
The specific features needed for this build will be outline in the minimum-specification mentioned above.
DEVELOPMENT TEAM UPDATES
Both development teams have informed us they will have access to new builds later this week for community testing. Watch the forums for download and access information!
NEW TASKS !?!
Believe it or not, yes! It's been a while, but we've found there's a number of things we can continue to build out to prepare for Project Top Secret's "next step." We want as robust a design with concept art, etc. as possible. Here's the topics immediately at hand:
City layouts:
- BonBira
- Anaterra
- Nibi (leveraging illustration)
- Lokyrim city (leveraging illustration)
Art for:
- Starter/Tutorial Town visual following the layout
- Village Pillage environment illustration
- Overgrown City environment illustration
- Epic Graveyard environment illustration
Icons for:
- game menu following Town Menu overlay from http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=8544
Please watch the forums for NEW task postings!
FACEBOOK GAME
Adrian is continuing the build out of the "teaser" PTS game on Facebook. We've run into a few snags getting it properly installed, but it is coming along. We'll have more on this next week.
CONCLUSION
And that's "What's going on" for now!
Last edited by doran on Wed Nov 26, 2008 1:49 pm; edited 61 times in total |
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doran
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Location: Milwaukee, Wi
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| Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2007 1:55 am Post subject: |
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What's Going ON?! (July 20, 2007)
Hey Team!
Here's the first official "What's Going On?!" post meant to give everyone a quick snap-shot of this incredible project. It will also provide insights into issues and dynamics impacting our community!
FEEDBACK!
As you already know, there is an "Advisory board" (AB) that's working to structure the tasks the community works on. The AB is very interested in hearing from you--after all the AB exists to serve the community and we want to hear your thoughts, concerns and suggestions.
Here's a few ways the AB is planning on keeping in touch with you:
1) "What's Going on?" bulletin posting!
2) New feedback account: TopSecretAB@gmail.com
3) New AB Forum to show what the AB is working on, upcoming items, etc. (Coming soon!)
4) Exploring ways to leverage DPChat/TeamSpeak for regular touch-base community meetings
You can always PM any of the members as well! Remember, we are one community. We depend on one another to help expose issues--and help introduce ideas to make things work even better!
BIG PICTURE STUFF
At this very moment all the tasks we're doing are pulling together what we need for an initial rough prototype! The core discussions going on are forging the heart of our game. Not a small feat--or of little importance!!!
At the same time the Development Team is gathering and preparing to take us into that stage. This includes more information about the NEW engine, etc.
PICKING FROM TASK RESULTS--CHANGE IN MINDSET!
In past task submissions there was a perception that we as a community SHOULD present multiple concepts and the David Perry (DP), Rusel or Palleon would be making a selection. Once that was done, we'd document it and move on.
The message to the entire community from DP, Rusel and Palleon is this is the community's project! They want us to put our best foot forward and make the recommendations! If, in their experience, they feel something may not work out as we intended they will let us know. Be assured they see everything we're submitting and have been impressed with the creativity and depth of submissions.
Ultimately, they have entrusted the project to our capable hands! (But it's good to know they're there).
REHASHING TASKS?
Because of this change-up in expectations, there's been some confusion on the boards as to why we're still talking about SKILL STRUCTURES and MOUNT ATTRIBUTES, etc.
Well, since it's our responsibility to boil things down to a single concept and make decisions--our challenge at the moment is distilling the 13 amazing submissions from the integration task! There were so many great ideas and directions taken from the community! So, please hang in there! We're working as quickly as possible to help break things down and finally document "A FINAL DECISION!" Wooo!
CURRENT TASKS
Recently a new message board thread ( http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=5922 ) was created to show what the active topics were, their entire task chain, and what tasks were currently open including the intended start dates and end dates. We will keep this updated as we move forward to everyone can go to one spot for tasks.
We will also be posting a link at the top of the main discussion board page for easy access to this important list!
ON THE HORIZON
Remember, everything we are doing right now is centered on the first prototype! So in addition to the current tasks that are being worked on, here's a quick rundown of topics that are coming fast and furiously:
1) Discussion of how racing and PvP actually takes place in an environment (area dynamics, etc.)!
2) We need to discuss the RIDERS, build on the previous discussions and finally document the role they play in the game.
3) Oh, and there's an awesome FINAL CONCEPT ART contest coming out for beasts... STAY TUNED!  <--- teaser.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Many of these are thoughts shared by Rusel:
- Everything we do is "learning"--every one of us is growing from this experience
- What we're doing isn't going to be perfect from day 1 (maybe never)
- We have to remain fluid and ready to roll with the punches
- Ideas that may not have been used during the prototype could still be incorporated towards the final release, or future releases of the game!
- People who participate in the tasks have the ability to define "best of breed" approaches and help ensure that when things are put to a vote, only the best ideas are left to be selected from!
OTHER QUICKIES
The dependency map is always being updated. ( http://www.anjelcorp.org/dmap/DepMap_files/main_2.htm )
There's also a project glossary being created so when we mention XYZ we have a common group understanding of what is being talked about (like the definition of "casual gamer" or "Attributes" for example)!
CONCLUSION
So that's a LOT! Please remember you can send feedback! And that's "What's going on" for now!
Last edited by doran on Wed Aug 15, 2007 3:54 am; edited 4 times in total |
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doran
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| Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 3:33 am Post subject: |
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What's Going ON?! (July 27th 2007)
Hey Team!
Here's the second official "What's Going On?!" meant to give everyone a quick snap-shot of this incredible project. It will also provide insights into issues and dynamics impacting our community!
AB MEETINGS
In case you missed the earlier annoucement, the AB meetings are open to the entire community! Here's the current schedule:
Tuesdays: 6:00pm eastern time, 5:00pm central time, 3:00pm Pacific time
Thursdays: 6:00pm eastern time, 5:00pm central time, 3:00pm Pacific time
Go here to find out how to attend using TeamSpeak: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=5037
PROTOTYPE #1
Okay, so this is what we all wanted to know about. Prototype one should be considered our "Engine Test." Basically it's going to be our proof of concept that we have can a mount/rider in an environment and run around. Sure, it seems fairly basic--but that's where it always starts.
Here's the short list for what we need to pull together for this phase:
- Mount Information
- Rider Information
- Environment / Track information
Starting on the 29th, you'll be seeing a flurry of new tasks to round out the latter two items!
theHistorian
I'm sure you've noticed, the announcements at the top of the main message have not changed in some time. We also have not released the public AB sub-area. Well, one of our own--theHistorian--has fallen very ill, and is still on the mend.
If you'd like to sign our little e-card and wish him well please go here:
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?p=47561#47561
ON THE HORIZON
GAME MOOD AND GAME DIFFERENTIATOR
Later this week we'll be releasing a set of very important tasks. These tasks will begin to unlock our ability to take the next step of artwork and decisions for riders, mount, weapons, tracks and much more!
Read more about it here:
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?p=47671#47671
RECENTLY COMPLETED TASKS
Every week our game comes more into focus!
Hybrid Skill Structures: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=5924
We just finished discussing hybrid skill structure options, and are in the middle of voting on the final skill structure approach.
Mount Abilities: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=5920
We also just got done defining what abilities every mount should have, and what specific mounts should have. This led into the current task to define the final mount attributes!
ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
DP's Team is looking for an Intern!
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=5961
Need an Art Director for Dance! Online
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=5886&highlight=
Sign-up to be a Task Representative
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=5890
CONCLUSION
Please remember you can send feedback to TopSecretAB@gmail.com! And that's "What's going on" for now!
(And thank you for not posting in this thread.)
Last edited by doran on Wed Aug 15, 2007 3:53 am; edited 1 time in total |
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doran
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Posts: 5027
Location: Milwaukee, Wi
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doran
Site Admin
Joined: 03 Dec 2006
Posts: 5027
Location: Milwaukee, Wi
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doran
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Joined: 03 Dec 2006
Posts: 5027
Location: Milwaukee, Wi
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| Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 7:12 pm Post subject: |
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What's Going ON?! (August 25th 2007)
Hey Team!
Here's the fifth official "What's Going On?" meant to give everyone a quick snap-shot of this incredible project. It will also provide insights into issues and dynamics impacting our community!
DAVID PERRY FEEDBACK
Next Tuesday evening (Aug 28th), 6PM EST, 5PM CST, 3PM PDT DAVID PERRY will be at the AB Meeting to discuss the "What We Know About" threads and give us some feedback!!! This is a very exciting opportunity! Hope you can make it!
To join in, review the MEETING INFORMATION section at the bottom of this thread: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=6538.
COMMUNITY INTERVIEWS
The Community Spotlight returns and with it a great way to get to know community members better! Read all about it: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=6773
TOOL UPDATES
You may have noticed that the forums were updated. New categories were added, older ones have been archived. No information has been lost, some of it has just been tucked away for storage! The Wiki is also going through an updating process.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER WE DEPLOY OUR GAME
This is a topic that actually came up at the last AB Meeting. David Perry was there and shared what's going to happen AFTER we deploy our game. Acclaim told David that the company would handle support, but the community would still be an active part of updates. As long as there is community and developer support, our game will continue to be!
CURRENTLY OPEN TASKS
Make sure you always check out our task release schedule here:
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=5922
- Battle System: Attack Results
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=6775 [NOW OPEN]
Timeframe: Posted Aug 24th - August 28th
- Battle System: Attack Risks
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=6775 [NOW OPEN]
Timeframe: Posted Aug 24th - August 29th
- Strategic Action System: Research
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=6785 [NOW OPEN]
Timeframe: Posted Aug 24th - August 27th
- MOUNT DESIGN REFINEMENT:
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=6635 [NOW OPEN]
Timeframe: Aug 17th-Aug 31st
- 13d SKILL STRUCTURE: SYSTEM DETAILS [NOW OPEN]
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=6746
Timeframe: August 21st - August 26st
Rider Professions - Listing Possibilities:
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=6667 [NOW OPEN]
Timeframe: August 17th- August 27th
CONCLUSION
Please remember you can send feedback to TopSecretAB@gmail.com! And that's "What's going on" for now! |
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doran
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| Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 12:55 am Post subject: |
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What's Going ON?! (August 30th 2007)
Hey Team!
Here's the sixth official "What's Going On?" meant to give everyone a quick snap-shot of this incredible project. It will also provide insights into issues and dynamics impacting our community!
DAVID PERRY FEEDBACK RESCHEDULE
Well, originally Dave was going to come in and review the "What we know about" threads and provide us feedback. Unfortunately he was working on his presence at the Austin conference (as it relates to Top Secret) and wasn't able to connect. We're rescheduling his review and will announce it as soon as we have the details.
What We Know About (WWKA) Threads UPDATE
We're happy to announce an explosion of WWKA threads! We invite the entire community to visit the threads, housed in the Public AB Forum areas ( ). There's two things we'd like you to do:
1) Review the threads and see what's been decided on to date
2) Review the "So What's Next" set of questions
3) Send us feedback via PMs/gmail account concerning additional questions or aspects that should be explored for each WWKA thread.
This will help the entire community understand the facets of our game, what's been decided, what needs to be decided on yet, and have a much better "bigger picture" of our project!
Here's a complete list of WWKA threads to date:
riders: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=6606
mounts: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=6605
environments/tracks: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=6604
mood/differentiator: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=6607
weapons: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=6608
racing itself: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=6604
Pvp: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=6609
Cards/Items: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=6837
Mount Breeding: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=6838
Towns: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=6836
Skill Structure: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=6602
Battle System: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=6843
TASK POSTING LESSONS LEARNED
During an AB meeting a few weeks ago we mentioned the construction of a new AB thread outlining the lessons we've learned through creating and posting tasks and collecting feedback from the community.
We'd like to invite everyone to review the threads and see some of the issues we're making sure we keep in mind when creating, postings and reporting on tasks!
404 ERROR
We wanted to let everyone know we are aware of an error that occurs sporadically when going directly to topsecret.acclaim.com. It's been sent to the official Acclaim server team and is under investigation.
For questions or other technical issues please check the "Known Forum Issues" threads on the boards.
CURRENTLY OPEN TASKS
Make sure you always check out our task release schedule here:
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=5922
There's a great array of beast artwork, rider professions (and ethnicities soon), battle system, skill structure system and "strategic action system" tasks out there! So, there's plenty to do!
CONCLUSION
Please remember you can send feedback to TopSecretAB@gmail.com! And that's "What's going on" for now! |
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doran
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| Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2007 10:20 pm Post subject: |
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What's Going ON?! (September 7th 2007)
Hey Team!
Here's the seventh official "What's Going On?" meant to give everyone
a quick snap-shot of this incredible project. It will also provide insights
into issues and dynamics impacting our community!
WHY YOU ARE HERE!
AnjelusX has recently put out a feedback task to the community that
will help the AB along with David Perry and the administrative team
to more fully understand what inspires our community and what
expectations they have for being a part of this project. We strongly
encourage you to participate in offering your thoughts.
You can find the feedback task here: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=6895
DEVELOPER CONTEST!
Okay, so we've all wondered when/where we're going to get an engine...
And wanted to know who and when development of our design would
begin. Well, you've been patient and there's finally something we can
not only tell you about, but include you in! It's a "developer contest!"
The plan is to attract a number of potential developers to our project
and have we--the community--decide which one will ultimately make
our game!
Details here: http://www.videogameteam.com/modcenter/competition.html
THE DESIGN DOCUMENT
As many of you know there was an original document out on the Wiki
that was constructed at the outset of the project. This version of
the "design document" actually contained many design possibilities
rather then firm decisions.
Thursday evening, in preparation for the developer contest, the
design document was given a massive overhaul. This was done in
response to David Perry's direct request to ensure the developers
coming on board could get a clear picture of what the community
has decided, along with the greater vision of the game.
Members of the community that regularly attend AB meetings, or that
were in DPChat were pulled in to help. Seven hours of work later, a
new design document was forged! It was an amazing effort. The
AB would like to formally thank those members that worked side-by-side
for hours on end to make this happen! THAT is teamwork!
Every effort was made to follow discussions from the boards and formal
decisions and submissions from earlier tasks. You'll see a flurry of future
tasks that are meant to close some of the holes our design document
still has.
We greatly encourage each member to review the thread and be ready
to help evolve the document.
Wiki design document: http://www.videogameteam.com/wiki/index.php?title=Design_Doc_Sept_2007
SO WHAT HAPPENED TO...
We've had a number of PM's from the community that have asked
about Breeding and other aspects of the game. Don't worry, nothing
has been removed. In fact, there's the first mount breeding definition
task being crafted right now. Before the end of the week it should be out!
Right now you're going to see a heavy push on the core racing and PvP
elements of the game. Towns, items, breeding, etc. are all very
important, but are build-ons to deepen the core racing/PvP experience.
It is especially important to document as much as possible prior to the
developers coming on board.
At this moment cards is the only thing that has been put on the
deferred list.
SO WHAT'S THE PLAN?
In the next few days we're going to be identifying the remaining tasks
for a number of game aspects. This will include official start and ends
dates, along with a short description of what will be done in that task.
We will post this plan in the Public AB forum so everyone can see what's
coming up. Given the flurry of activity that's bound to happen when
the Developers come onto the boards, please give us through Thursday,
September 13th to have the first draft up. We will adjust the plan as
necessary to accommodate tasks that either need more or less time!
COMMUNITY INTERVIEW
Here's Rasiel Draconis' latest community interview, our very own BT (Brokentrain)!
Read all about BT here: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=6963
CURRENTLY OPEN TASKS
Make sure you always check out our task release schedule
here: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=5922
CONCLUSION
Please remember you can send feedback to TopSecretAB@gmail.com! And that's "What's going on" for now! |
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doran
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Posts: 5027
Location: Milwaukee, Wi
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| Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 12:41 pm Post subject: |
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What's Going ON?! (September 15th 2007)
Hey Team!
Here's the eighth official "What's Going On?" meant to give everyone a quick snap-shot of this incredible project. It will also provide insights into issues and dynamics impacting our community!
AB UPDATES!
We'd like to welcome Tandy as our new AB Co-Director with Doran. Mairsil needed to step away due to real-life time commitments. We wish him well.
We'd also like to announce new additions to the AB: Brokentrain (BT) and aClark! We're very excited about our new team members and are looking forward to their continued project contributions!
There's still one more position open. Expect to hear an update on that soon!
MASTER TASK LIST-GONE!
For those of you that may have gotten used to working with the master task list, we've now consolidated it into the Task Release Schedule thread found within the Public AB forums. You can find the centralized task information and history here: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=5922
CARDS OFFICIALLY OFF THE TABLE
For those that have looked at the design document, you'll notice that the concept of cards has been removed (at this point). For our initial release of the game we're going to focus on riders, mounts, environments, skills and game modes to captivate players. Breeding and achievements will also help with the original intent of having something "collectible" in the game.
ITERATIVE GAME APPROACH
While we're doing our best to lock down the initial game concept we want to make sure everyone knows that as the prototype is created and we actually get a chance to PLAY our design, we're going to have the opportunity to refine elements. No game is perfect from the start. We're going to have to test and work out the kinks. In the meantime, we're working to make the design as solid as possible without our game engine or prototype.
CURRENTLY OPEN TASKS
Make sure you always check out our task release schedule here:
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=5922
Task spotlight:
- Selection of final track themes
- Working on creating our Rider Ethnicities
- MUSIC!
- Towns
- Entry into the game UI!
CONCLUSION
Please remember you can send feedback to TopSecretAB@gmail.com! And that's "What's going on" for now! |
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doran
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Location: Milwaukee, Wi
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| Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2007 11:09 pm Post subject: |
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What's Going ON?! (September 21st 2007)
Hey Team!
Here's the ninth official "What's Going On?" meant to give everyone a quick snap-shot of this incredible project. It will also provide insights into issues and dynamics impacting our community!
TOP SECRET IN THE NEWS
As you know, Top Secret was a topic at the Austin GDC conference. Since then a number of articles and postings have appeared about our project. Here's just a few of them!
- http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_115/1957-Open-Secret
- http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=15392
- http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/147087
- http://www.joystiq.com/2007/09/10/acclaims-user-created-mmo-creates-jobs-races-beasts/1#c7379014
- http://www.firingsquad.com/news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=17293
- http://www.fileplanet.com/fileblog/
UI Tasks
Coming up in the next week will be the next wave of major UI tasks. These are critical pieces for our game! Please watch the "Task Release Schedule" for specifics and be sure to contribute! We'll need all hands on deck to move quickly through this initial phase.
COMMUNITY INTERVIEW
Here's Rasiel Draconis' latest community interview, our very own artist extraordinaire, Ryorev13!
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?p=57022#57022
WELCOMING NEW MEMBERS
There is no denying the incredible diversity our community has! We have members in Australia, Chile, Europe, the United States--all over the globe. Timezones, cultures, interests are all greatly varied. And we're getting new members all the time.
Many of us have been a part of the community for a while. This gives us a unique opportunity to help the newer members sort out what can be an overwhelming first step into our project! Remember back to your first days--the intimidation of stepping into your first conversation, being overwhelmed at the information on the boards, trying to have your voice heard over the roar (or sometimes over the already well established and respected members).
Please think back to when you first joined--especially when you see a new member for the first time. Be kind and supportive. We can be an awfully intimidating bunch, believe it or not. Steer them towards older task threads or the "What We Know About" threads, or the Wiki design document if there's a concern about "older" issues being resurfaced before it's time to test or iterate on them again (because that will happen, especially once we have our prototype and are balancing/play testing)...
Help them find their voice as you have here!
CURRENTLY OPEN TASKS
Make sure you always check out our task release schedule here:
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=5922
Task spotlight:
- UI
- GUILDS
- GAMBLING
- BREEDING
CONCLUSION
Please remember you can send feedback to TopSecretAB@gmail.com! And that's "What's going on" for now! |
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doran
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Posts: 5027
Location: Milwaukee, Wi
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| Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 5:56 am Post subject: |
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What's Going ON?! (September 30th 2007)
Hey Team!
Here's the tenth official "What's Going On?" meant to give everyone a quick snap-shot of this incredible project. It will also provide insights into issues and dynamics impacting our community!
CHANGE IN NOMENCLATURE
"Scalable Multiplayer Online Racing Game" this is replacing the original "Massively Multi-player, Online Racing Game." Why's that? Well for a few reasons. Firstly, the new term more accurately reflects what we're creating. We know everyone who's logged in isn't going to be racing at the same time. Secondly, we wanted to be clear with the developers what we're trying to create. The MMO tag carries with it a great deal of additional features and functionality that our game will not have or need.
AB METTING CHANGE
The AB wanted everyone to know every AB meeting will be starting with a 15 minute (capped) closed session. This gives the AB members a chance to touch base.
WHERE WE'RE AT
Here's a new section that will help give you a better idea of what we're doing and where we're at considering the big picture.
Progress
We're still fleshing out critical aspects of our design document.
User Interface (UI)
Right now you're seeing a lot of requirement gathering tasks out there for the UI. Once the requirements are together we'll begin identifying final UI elements needed on a screen and finally move into designing those elements
Tracks/Environments
Since we've done the rankings of the environment themes, we're going over a few final requirement type items before diving into designing our first track--OCEANUS!
Music
For those more musically inclined, we've begun the conversations for the music for our game. Currently there's discussions about musical theme (to align with our overall game theme), and music source (composed by the community or commercially licensed).
Breeding
The community has done the research, now we're going to release formal tasks to help pull together this system.
Mounts
Now that the creatures have been selected by the community we're going to discuss those infamous saddles--that haven't been addressed since they were first agreed on months ago!
Skills
We have our system, now we need to populate the skills. The community has agreed to the general concept of what skills are and are not. Now we need to add more! We're starting with additional mount skills.
Rider ethnicities/professions
We have a tentative list of both professions and ethnicities that will be in the game. So now we are fleshing each profession/ethnicity out, deciding what they will look like, what their story is, and what approximate place they will have in the game. Once they are all a bit more fleshed out, the next task will be to design the system of professions, and how they will relate to ethnicities.
COMMUNITY INTERVIEW
Here's Rasiel Draconis' latest community interview, AB member: Nirolak!
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=7395
CURRENTLY OPEN TASKS
Make sure you always check out our task release schedule here:
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=5922
CONCLUSION
Please remember you can send feedback to TopSecretAB@gmail.com! And that's "What's going on" for now! |
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doran
Site Admin
Joined: 03 Dec 2006
Posts: 5027
Location: Milwaukee, Wi
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| Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 5:13 am Post subject: |
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What's Going ON?! (October 5th 2007)
Hey Team!
Here's the eleventh official "What's Going On?" meant to give everyone a quick snap-shot of this incredible project. It will also provide insights into issues and dynamics impacting our community!
FEATURE PRIORITIZATION
A very important task has just been released. One challenge our developers have had is understand the exactly scope of the game. What we want to do is prioritize the more optional aspects of our design and empower the developers to be able to say how much scope they believe they can manage.
Please take part in this simple, but critically important ranking task! It will have a direct impact on our final product and our success with the developers! Thanks!
Find it here: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=7466&sid=9ee849cc2d5d95ed16bad4590ca30a12
WEEKEND COMMUNITY MEETINGS
BrokenTrain will be leading up Sunday meetings with the community. These are meant to be times for the community to gather and chat. More will be posted about this soon!
First meeting this Sunday at 3pm PST, 5pm CST, 6pm EST!
More details here: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=7462
ON THE FAST 'TRACK'
Devs need answers on tracks ASAP. Now, keep in mind that things in our game design will be iterative. It's not going to be perfect on day one... So, given that, we're going to change the focus of our AB meetings for the next few sessions. They will become track/environment development sessions.
The AB will post results to the boards, and allow people to post feedback and thoughts on the boards for those that can't attend the voice chat.
WHERE WE'RE AT
Here's a new section that will help give you a better idea of what we're doing and where we're at considering the big picture.
Progress
We're still fleshing out critical aspects of our design document.
Tracks
We've opened our first track development effort! OCEANUS was selected as the number one track theme for our game. A second track planning set of tasks will also be released soon!
Riders
We're having a vote to understand just how our game will present the concept of riders.
Ethnicities is also about to close too! Professions will be getting an extension to build off the ethnicities decisions.
Feature Prioritization
In an effort to help developers understand how the community prioritizes the game features, we're going to rank them. In the event of a scope reduction or feasibility challenge, developers will be able to use this rank to determine what should be pulled of of release one first.
Music
A task to discuss whether to use composed or licensed music for the game has just been released.
Beast Saddles
A task to begin visual design work on beast saddles has just been released as well.
Additional Mount Skills
All hands on deck! You wanted to create new skills--here's your chance. Let's see what awesome ideas we can create to flesh out the rest of our skill structure!
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?p=59789
CURRENTLY OPEN TASKS
Make sure you always check out our task release schedule here:
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=5922
CONCLUSION
Please remember you can send feedback to TopSecretAB@gmail.com! And that's "What's going on" for now! |
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doran
Site Admin
Joined: 03 Dec 2006
Posts: 5027
Location: Milwaukee, Wi
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| Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 3:50 pm Post subject: |
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What's Going ON?! (October 14th 2007)
Hey Team!
Here's the twelvth official "What's Going On?" meant to give everyone a quick snap-shot of this incredible project. It will also provide insights into issues and dynamics impacting our community!
DAZ Contest Winners
David Perry has selected the winners of the DAZ 3D contest! Congratulations to all the winners! You'll be contacted soon to get final shipping information for your prizes!
Find more: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=7536
WEEKEND COMMUNITY MEETINGS
Brokentrain will be leading up the second weekend meeting this Sunday at 3:00 P.M. PDT.
COMMUNITY INTERVIEW
Here's Rasiel Draconis' latest community interview, selected by community popular vote, our very own AB Co-Director Tandy!
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?p=60795#60795
ON THE FAST 'TRACK'
This past week our normal AB meetings were converted into design meetings for TRACKS. We leverages an interesting "pod" model to split the track development aspects into chunks, worked for 40 minutes then came together with our results.
This was necessary to help speed us along towards final specifications of our first track. Please help us continue this effort on the boards in between meetings!
More here: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewforum.php?f=33
WHERE WE'RE AT
Here's a new section that will help give you a better idea of what we're doing and where we're at considering the big picture.
Progress
We're still fleshing out critical aspects of our design document.
Tracks
OCEANUS is forming up! We have a rough track map, a number of key "module" ideas that could be used in the various domes and the first gatherings of rough visual concepts for that specific dome. More work is happening on the boards and the Tues/Thurs voicechats.
Riders
We have two official ethnicities locked in! Techies and BeastPeople! Two more two go. We've also locked in the first stage for BeastPeople weapons!
Feature Prioritization
This is about to close! Get your votes in now!
Music
Slowly plodding along. This area hasn't seen much interest, so help it out!
Anime Style definition
Slowly plodding along. This area hasn't seen much interest either, so help it out!
Beast Saddles
This task has just been released!
User Interface
We'll be releasing an official task to begin design work for various UI aspects in the coming week. So stay tuned!
CURRENTLY OPEN TASKS
Make sure you always check out our task release schedule here:
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=5922
Note
Sorry for the late release! Have a flu bug!
CONCLUSION
Please remember you can send feedback to TopSecretAB@gmail.com! And that's "What's going on" for now! |
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doran
Site Admin
Joined: 03 Dec 2006
Posts: 5027
Location: Milwaukee, Wi
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| Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2007 5:48 pm Post subject: |
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What's Going ON?! (October 20th 2007)
Hey Team!
Here's the thirteenth official "What's Going On?" meant to give everyone a quick snap-shot of this incredible project. It will also provide insights into issues and dynamics impacting our community!
Developers Update
Our developer contest is well on its way. We'd like to give special recognition to mjuricek77 and Tandy for their incredible work in helping to attract developers to our project and help answer questions to the teams that are already engaged!
As of today we have six development teams working on Top Secret! We'll be sure to update you as things go along!
WEEKEND COMMUNITY MEETINGS
Brokentrain will be leading up the third weekend meeting this Sunday at 3:00 P.M. PDT. Doran will be joining in this week to discuss mount skills.
Development Contest Rules Update!
As many of you know, we have some teams that have come on recently. There are also a few other potential teams currently evaluating whether to join. Therefore the original rules and milestones are going to be reworked to be more accommodating. The Admin team (DP, et. al) and Acclaim are hammering out the details.
We all know first impressions are important, so we want to give our Dev teams what they need to show "their stuff."
AB MEETINGS BACK TO NORMAL
Thanks to those that helped us do some additional brainstorming on tracks. A new set of tasks have been released to the forums to continue the work there!
WHERE WE'RE AT
Here's a new section that will help give you a better idea of what we're doing and where we're at considering the big picture.
Tracks
Help continue the great work from the voice chats to put the final touches on planning for this track.
Riders
The final two archetypes "good" and "chaotic" are being finalized this week! We should have our male and female for our two races presentable next week!
In the meantime, we're furthering our discussions about professions and weapons for the various ethnicities!
In fact, Yanamal1 wanted to make sure people added in their thoughts concerning the direction of professions. Since the final ethnicities have been locked in and drawn, we can move into the next important steps. Also, the final two weapon direction tasks have been released for the "good" and "chaotic" order. For those that may be curious, we WILL be naming our ethnicities in a future step.
Breeding
Systems concepts have been submitted! Look for aClark's next task soon! It's very exciting to see this important system coming together!
User Interface
Okay, we have our requirements and we have our scenarios. Now we're going to approach our first actual interface mock-up... The Racing User Interface! We don't need final renderings or a "skin" for this stage. We just need mock-ups (Visio drawings and the like) to illustrate screen positions and basic visualization of elements.
What to equip
Since we've talked about inventory systems, we're moving into equipment systems. This is your chance to help influence what things are equipable on our riders and mounts!
User Interface
Here it comes! Saturday the first official UI MOCK-UP task will be released.
Mount Skills
Building on the momentum of the last skill's task, now we're going to add the details behind what we've come up with! If you can, please attend the discussion this Sunday to begin this process! We'll get through as many of the 150 skills as possible!
CURRENTLY OPEN TASKS
Make sure you always check out our task release schedule here:
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=5922
CONCLUSION
Please remember you can send feedback to TopSecretAB@gmail.com! And that's "What's going on" for now! |
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doran
Site Admin
Joined: 03 Dec 2006
Posts: 5027
Location: Milwaukee, Wi
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| Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 4:18 am Post subject: |
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What's Going ON?! (October 29th 2007)
Hey Team!
Here's the fourteenth official "What's Going On?" meant to give everyone a quick snap-shot of this incredible project. It will also provide insights into issues and dynamics impacting our community!
Development Contest Rules Update!
We do have confirmation rule updates and deadline shifts are coming. We're going to get revised dates these things will be done to be more accomodating to the dev teams and publish that here.
WHERE WE'RE AT
Here's a new section that will help give you a better idea of what we're doing and where we're at considering the big picture.
Story
Since we have our ethnicities, tracks, mount skills, etc. it's time to actually define where our ethnicities live, and expand out from there! Basically it's time to hit world building HARD! Expect to see posts from AnjelusX to gather the writers of our community for this exercise!
Tracks
Oceanus is in the final stages of documentation. Developers are anxious to get the specifics of our first track!
Riders
The profession discussion went very well Sunday afternoon. A great deal of refinement and definition happened. We will be moving forward on final professions this week!
Breeding
A ranking of our submitted breeding systems is going on right now! Please be sure to provide your rankings to this important system!
User Interface
We're more then a week into our first actual UI mock-up phase. The next step is to discuss what was submitted and determine which of our possible options to move forward with (either in pieces/buffet-style, or as a unit).
We've also been working on ways to create that "emotional" bond between the gamer and the mount in addition to reinforcing the fact you are on a mount and not driving a vehicle that looks like a mount!
What to equip
The community has determined what riders and mount can equip. Please check out the What We Know About (WWKA) Mounts and WWKA Riders for specifics!
Items
After an initial inquiry into item types, Niro will be leading the charge as to the system which governs the creation of items. Expect a task to create the system which generates items this week.
Mount Skills
This week we're going to answer the remaining questions for each skill specified.
WEEKEND COMMUNITY MEETINGS
Brokentrain will be leading up the third weekend meeting this Sunday at 3:00 P.M. PDT. Last week we had a great discussion about professions.
CURRENTLY OPEN TASKS
Make sure you always check out our task release schedule here:
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=5922
CONCLUSION
Please remember you can send feedback to TopSecretAB@gmail.com! And that's "What's going on" for now! |
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doran
Site Admin
Joined: 03 Dec 2006
Posts: 5027
Location: Milwaukee, Wi
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| Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 2:47 pm Post subject: |
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What's Going ON?! (November 3rd 2007)
Hey Team!
Here's the fifteenth official "What's Going On?" meant to give everyone a quick snap-shot of this incredible project. It will also provide insights into issues and dynamics impacting our community!
NEXT TUESDAY NOV 6th AB MEETING CLOSED
It's been a while since the AB has had a closed session. This is going to be an opportunity for them to touch base, discuss core strategies and review overall project details. Don't worry, they won't be deciding any game elements--it will be mostly boring project management and legal/compliance issues.
TIME CHANGE SNAFUUS!
Well, with the changing seasons come time zone changes around the world. Not everyone uses GMT directly after all! We've already had a few misalignments with voice chats and things. Most of the world has already changed their zones. The USA's big change comes November 4th (except Arizona).
DEVELOPER UPDATE
As of Friday we now have eight official development teams signed up and moving on our project. We also have the very first official video from one of them.
Check it out here: http://www.tandyland.com/merciless_alpha.wmv
Hopefully you have also noticed the post "Merciless Development join Top Secret" in the General Discussion area. Our developers have been highly encouraged to become a part of the community, to provide their ideas and insights. We have already had two teams join in AB weekly chats and have begun posting on the boards. This is a fantastic development for us--as it will help ensure our great ideas are both feasible and implemented as we design them!
GAME EXPERIENCE DEFINITION
We have been doing a fantastic job of identifying the various components of our game system. What we have not spent much time on is what the actual experience of the gamer will be like. In the coming weeks, expect to see discussions and tasks to help solidify the actual gamer experience.
HACKING CONCERNS SURFACE!
During discussions surrounding the possibility of AI and various User Interface features the concern of hacking came into play. Specifically what types of logic and features could "live" on the client side versus the game server side.
During further community discussion, it was determined that the "Mount Energy Pool" and the "Mount Skills Usage Cost" were the two pieces of our design that MUST be protected at all costs, at the risk of hackers breaking our game.
This concern has also significantly diminished the possibility for AI to be used at this point, as hackers could modify the code to create super-beasts (but again, even this is pointless if the energy pool and usage costs are compromised at any point).
The issue here is not technical limitations, but rather lack of time and resources to properly secure advanced features in the clients from the curious and relentless minds of hackers.
SECOND RIDER WEAPONS ISSUE
During the racing UI mock-up task the discussion of adding a second weapon to the rider arsenal was brought back up. In the original Battle System discussion the community determined there would be one weapon. This was due to keeping the emphasis on riding and skills and not hack-n-slash. The one weapon concept was reinforced during the UI task due to challenge of presenting skills, items, weapons, etc. to the gamer in a UI that wasn't overwhelming.
The AB discussed the issue this week and voted to keep the design as the community had originally defined it and not open the topic for further discussion or revision at this point.
COLLABORATION
I'm sure you've noticed the surge of issues being discussed on the boards. At this point in the project we have many people that have been here for a long time. They know the history of the project, they know the requirements agreed to and placed into the "What We Know About" threads found in the public AB discussion area (and in the WIKI Design Document).
It's important that as new community members join the project we are as understanding and welcoming as possible. For our more senior members, please be mentors to those community members, while keeping open to new ideas.
Our design is iterative, and sometimes new perspectives could create efficiencies in approaches or even totally new dynamics that could take our game to whole new level. We all want respect and want to feel like our contributions and efforts are appreciated and useful. Let's be sure to offer that sentiment to others as well.
WHERE WE'RE AT
Here's a new section that will help give you a better idea of what we're doing and where we're at considering the big picture.
Story
AnjelusX has a task together to get our writers moving! You'll see that out yet this week. It will focus on creating the story behind where our ethnicities come from, why the racing commission exists, etc. In addition, Asurael will be creating a task to name our fantastic mounts (all 60 of them), while Yana leads the charge to name our four ethnicities. What, did you think we were going to call them "good," "chaos," "techies" and "bon-pira" forever? Okay, maybe bon-pira will stick... Maybe it won't. 
Tracks
Oceanus design comes to a close this Sunday! Get your final art in ASAP. We will be opening the designs for the few tracks soon! So get your ideas ready for the EPIC BEAST GRAVEYARD among others! HURRAY!
Riders
Professions are being focused and will be moving forward. In addition we will be exploring what it means for a job to be primary or secondary.
Breeding
Six systems have been ranked as the top options. The current step is to review those six, look for possible strengths, weaknesses and continue whittling down options.
User Interface
The first racing experience user interface mock-up task is DONE! Before we continue on, a survey is going to be released to help understand the expectations, experience and goals for those working in this area. Once we're aligned and full aware of what everyone's interests are--we'll be able to effectively move forward together (and much faster). Watch for the survey to be released Saturday evening!
Items
The community has taken an interest in creating an item system (for armor, weapons, etc.) similar to World Of Warcraft and Diablo II where various items use prefixes and suffixes to modify the effectiveness of that item--making it more "unique." The task that's about to be released will help walk us through the design options to explore this approach.
Mount Skills
The process has begun to identify the remaining information for the near 150 mount skills. Also, the original mount skills identified with each beast skeleton type are being converted into core skills as well. We have also determined that certain skills WILL have requirements (such as can only be equiped on X type of beast).
Any skill spheres that "come with a mount" due to their innate capabilities will not be tradable or sellable. This is similar to the "soul bound" concept found in other games.
Also, skills will appear as inventory items (thou possibly in a different UI element then the main list--that's all TBD) to empower trading, sales, etc. of skill spheres.
CURRENTLY OPEN TASKS
Make sure you always check out our task release schedule here:
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=5922
CONCLUSION
Please remember you can send feedback to TopSecretAB@gmail.com! And that's "What's going on" for now! |
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doran
Site Admin
Joined: 03 Dec 2006
Posts: 5027
Location: Milwaukee, Wi
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| Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 2:42 pm Post subject: |
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What's Going ON?! (November 11th 2007)
Hey Team!
Here's the sixteenth official "What's Going On?" meant to give everyone a quick snap-shot of this incredible project. It will also provide insights into issues and dynamics impacting our community!
AB MEETINGS BECOMING POPULAR
Last Thursday we had 18 people at the AB meeting, including AB members, community members and developers! It's fantastic to see that type of showing. Keep in mind, even if you do not have a mic, you can listen in and provide thoughts and feedback in the text chat area.
DEVELOPER UPDATE
As of Tuesday we now have ten official development teams signed up and moving on our project. The additional rule and timeframe updates are still being worked on by DP. Expect an official update in the next few weeks.
COMMUNITY INTERVIEW
Here's Rasiel Draconis' latest community interview... er... ME!
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=7742
WHERE WE'RE AT
This section will give you a better idea of what we're doing and where we're at considering the big picture.
Story
The official ethnicity naming and mount naming tasks are released, in addition to the first background story task!
Tracks
You'll notice the documentation for OCEANUS already porting over to the WIKI. A new task for the follow-up track design process is already in the work!
Towns
Final structure selection is taking place now, based on previous submissions. The community had a chance to talk to some developers in a recent AB meeting where the issue of lag management came up. Basically, the more solid objects (buildings, natural barriers) that remove things from a "client" camera view, the less lag due to the reduced amount of data being pushed from the server.
Breeding
The original six systems are going through suggested revisions by the community at this very moment!
User Interface
Before moving forward with a specific user interface, an experience task has been released to align community expectations for what the racing and PvP experience should be like. Once done, we'll have better requirements and a unified vision that will allow us to move forward faster as a team for the racing UI design.
Swear Filter
This topic will be merged in with the communication systems area. The need to be able to manage chat text, in addition to rider and mount names provided by the gamer was discussed in the last AB meeting. Acclaim currently has different systems for the existing games. Each developer will need to provide their own solution for how to manage the language filter issue. theHistorian recommended using an XML based file that Acclaim Admins could maintain to easily update the system with the latest naughty words used by the community.
Items
Submit your concepts for the item system in the newly opened task!
Mount Skills
A set of skills has been selected for developers to use when creating their skills systems. Those skills are:
Melee Focus
Ranged Focus
Rage
Quickness
Counter attack
Ironhide
Iron stomach
Iron Head
Heavy Slide
Snatch
Light-speed dash
Grab
Sprint
Toxify
Flame breath
Ingenious Digestion
Slime skin
Chameleon
Spit
Sticky slime
Slicky slime
Supersensory
Dodge
Hammer stomp
Static shock
Pivot
Bristle
Dopamine
Acidic
Triptifan
Sprint/Super Sprint
Gore
Bite/chomp
Lethal Lugie
Corrosive quills
Spine ball
Poison Skin
Alkaline skin
Acrid pool
Acidic Bite/Peck
Static field
Tired bite
Tainted Spike
Static blast
Additional details will still be developed for all skills. These are intended to get their systems going (not be the exclusive skills for the game).
CURRENTLY OPEN TASKS
Make sure you always check out our task release schedule here:
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=5922
CONCLUSION
Please remember you can send feedback to TopSecretAB@gmail.com! And that's "What's going on" for now! |
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doran
Site Admin
Joined: 03 Dec 2006
Posts: 5027
Location: Milwaukee, Wi
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| Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 8:50 pm Post subject: |
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What's Going ON?! (November 17th 2007)
Hey Team!
Here's the 17th official "What's Going On?" meant to give everyone a quick snap-shot of this incredible project. It will also provide insights into issues and dynamics impacting our community!
NO AB MEETING THIS COMING THURSDAY
Due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States of America on November 22nd there will be no official AB meeting. Please feel free to get together if you’d like!
VENTRILO vs TEAMSPEAK FOR NEXT TUESDAY!
We’ve run into a number of glitches with teamspeak. Community members have recommended the Ventrilo client as a possible solution. Starting at next week Tuesday’s meeting (November 20th) we will be using the Ventrilo client. Here’s what you need to do to join us using Ventrilo:
Download Ventrilo here: http://www.ventrilo.com/
Choose Client, not Server
Install and it will place an icon on your desktop
Double Click the icon
User name: to the far right you'll see an arrow. Click that.
Select New
Enter the name you choose
Click OK
Server: to the far right you'll see an arrow. Click that.
Select New
Enter AllNightGamer for the Name
Click OK
Hosname or IP: 72.37.221.148
Port number: 26298
Password: leave this blank
Default Channel: leave this blank
Click OK
Click Connect
You should now be in the lobby. Join a channel by double clicking it.
DEVELOPER SERVER RELEASED
Acclaim has deployed a server for our developers to place their builds on! Developers should contact Tandy for details on how to access this server!
ETHNICITIES NAMED!
There were a few ties in the ethnicity name voting, so in our last AB meeting ALL that attended (including community members) did the tie-breaking vote! Here are the results:
Techies: Nibi
Good: Anaterra
Chaos: Lokyrim (Low-key-rim)
Beast: Bon-Pira
WHERE WE'RE AT
This section will give you a better idea of what we're doing and where we're at considering the big picture.
Mount Attributes
Our task has closed specifying how each attribute impacts various aspects of gameplay and potential feeders into calculations (without specifying the actual formulas). Check the results out in the WWKA Mounts thread under “FORMULA MAPPINGS” (scroll past the images):
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?p=51071#51071
Story
These tasks are developing very well. Writers have a deadline of next week Saturday, November 24th to develop the environments for each of the four ethnicities!
Tracks
A new task has been released allowing the community to vote on which track should be worked on next! Check it out!
Towns
The final structures possible in all outposts/towns/cities have been selected. Development of the actual maps/town layouts will begin once the environments have been determined by the Writers (a week from today). Art will begin soon after for each building. We will be doing one “neutral” town as the model for our developers to work with.
Breeding
The final task is about to be released to select a final system.
User Interface
The racer experience task has concluded. We have a few issues to address (like targeting). The survey for UI resources has also been completed. The results of which will be posted early next week! A task will be released early next week to address our remaining holes. Then we’ll launch full force into the final design effort for the racing experience!
Professions
There is a conversation going on right now about the primary/secondary implementation aspects. Also, Jockey has been officially made the default profession for all gamers. A task is about to be released to expand on the final set of professions. Also, we’re looking at how “connected” a profession should be to a particular ethnicity and what the potential implications may or may not be. We know that at this point professions will be at least associated with one given ethnicity from a STORY perspective. This will not limit anyone from getting that profession if they are a different ethnicity. This serves to help build our story world.
Mount Skills
Right now we are going through a process of mapping our existing skills to the core gamer archetypes identified:
a. aggressive
b. defensive
c. focused on racing
d. interrupters of other's skills
e. those that inflict status on others
f. wingmen that support others with positive status
g. trappers (leaves "gifts" behind or ahead of them)
z. general support skills
This will allow us to see how our current options need to be gameplay balanced (initially). From here we will build out the middle and outer options, document the details of each core, middle, outer skill and be done! Shew!
Rider Skills
This is still on hold until we select our final professions. These skills will be EXCLUSIVELY passive, non-race/PvP impacting or weapon skills only.
Items
The final system vote is about to be released!
Gambling System
Knight1b is working on a community chat to move this to the next step!
MAINTENANCE SNAFUU
Thursday night our boards were taken down for unannounced Acclaim maintenance. They were down well into Friday. Sorry about that! We’re going to find a way to be sure to work with Acclaim so we can provide advanced warning! In the meantime, if you have trouble accessing the boards, check the Wiki to see if there's an announcement posted saying the boards are down.
CURRENTLY OPEN TASKS
Make sure you always check out our task release schedule here:
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=5922
CONCLUSION
Please remember you can send feedback to TopSecretAB@gmail.com! And that's "What's going on" for now! |
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doran
Site Admin
Joined: 03 Dec 2006
Posts: 5027
Location: Milwaukee, Wi
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| Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 4:42 pm Post subject: |
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What's Going ON?! (November 26th 2007)
Hey Team!
Here's the 18th official "What's Going On?" meant to give everyone a quick snap-shot of this incredible project. It will also provide insights into issues and dynamics impacting our community!
TWO WGO's THIS WEEK
Here's an update of what happened over the US Holiday last week. I'll post another of these out later this week.
VENTRILO vs TEAMSPEAK FOR NEXT TUESDAY!
Just a reminder, we're going to try the Ventrillo client one more time and see if we want to keep it for our meetings or return to teamspeak. Here’s what you need to do to join us using Ventrilo:
Download Ventrilo here: http://www.ventrilo.com/
Choose Client, not Server
Install and it will place an icon on your desktop
Double Click the icon
User name: to the far right you'll see an arrow. Click that.
Select New
Enter the name you choose
Click OK
Server: to the far right you'll see an arrow. Click that.
Select New
Enter AllNightGamer for the Name
Click OK
Hosname or IP: 72.37.221.148
Port number: 26298
Password: leave this blank
Default Channel: leave this blank
Click OK
Click Connect
You should now be in the lobby. Join a channel by double clicking it.
Another Developer Video Released
Directly from the Westwood UGT team: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYdKEmaRePg
INGAME ITEMS IDENTIFIED
Check out here: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/posting.php?mode=editpost&p=61723
WEAPON/ARMOR ITEM GENERATION SYSTEM DECIDED!
An initial list of ingame items has been specified by the community. We still may need to refine the concepts, but here were the (non-weapon and armor) submissions) http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?p=64773#64773
WHERE WE'RE AT
This section will give you a better idea of what we're doing and where we're at considering the big picture.
Story
These tasks are roaring along. Additional voting tasks are being released to nail down the environments for the various ethnicities.
Tracks
Here comes the next set of track tasks! Expect to see them from Tandy this week.
User Interface
The results of the UI Resource Survey are nearly compiled. We'll be closing holes and hitting the Racer UI shortly after.
Professions
Jockey art is coming along amazingly! Actually definition of final professions has begun too.
Mount Skills
The core skills have been mapped to the gamer archetypes. We need to balance out the middle and outers yet.
Rider Skills
This is still on hold until we select our final professions. These skills will be EXCLUSIVELY passive, non-race/PvP impacting or weapon skills only.
CURRENTLY OPEN TASKS
Make sure you always check out our task release schedule here:
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=5922
CONCLUSION
Please remember you can send feedback to TopSecretAB@gmail.com! And that's "What's going on" for now! |
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doran
Site Admin
Joined: 03 Dec 2006
Posts: 5027
Location: Milwaukee, Wi
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| Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 5:04 am Post subject: |
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What's Going ON?! (December 1st 2007)
Hey Team!
Here's the 19th official "What's Going On?" meant to give everyone a quick snap-shot of this incredible project. It will also provide insights into issues and dynamics impacting our community!
DING DONG VENTRILLO IS DEAD
Okay, it's not dead, but seriously having some issues. After consideration, teamspeak will remain our preferred AB meeting voice conferencing tool until Ventrilo 3.0 is properly patched.
OUT OF SCOPE LIST
Okay, we've helped to set Primary and Secondary priority items for both the community and developers. Now we're creating a new bucket of functionality that is assumed to not be within the scope of the first game release (or a part of our dev contest).
Here's a few of our early items:
- Other game modes beyond PvP and Racing
- Gambling / Rider Sponsorships
- Real-Time Audience
- Real-Time Commentators
- Riders being knocked off mounts
OVERALL DESIGN DOCUMENT TIMEFRAMES
Our entire design document needs to be in stone by March 2008. The AB is aggressively working to pull together specific milestones detailing deliverables and deadlines for the entire remainder of the design document. Next Tuesday is the first major deadline for AB task group owners to provide those dates and deliverables. Once this is compiled, it will be released to both the community and developers and adhered to as tightly as possible!
NEW "What We Know About" POSTS
You know there's a development contest well underway. We've told you that there's 10 now working on making our game design a gaming reality! Now you can get more information about those teams at the new What We know About OUR DEV TEAMS! That thread will continue to have new information and links to milestone deliverables from each team as they are made available to the AB! Here's the link: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=7889
With all the great work that's been happening with our story-verse, we've split out ethnicities and the known information about them from the WWKA Rider area. You can see the start of the new thread here: http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=7890
WHERE WE'RE AT
This section will give you a better idea of what we're doing and where we're at considering the big picture.
Story
Two votes are going on to determine the final environments for the Nibi and Lokyrim. Please vote!
Task 41d1 EpiSto - Nibi Environmental Vote - Due 12/04
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?p=65302#65302
Task 41e1 EpiSto - Lokyrim Environmental Due - 12/05
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=7902
Tracks
A new task has just been released to do a final ranking to determine all the track themes for our final 9. http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=7901
Professions
Jockey artwork has all been submitted. Art Direction standards may be next on the list now that both default and jockey artwork has been done for each ethnicity.
Mount Skills
Core skills have been analyzed. We're now working on middle and outer modifications to match the gamer archetypes.
Rider Skills
An early brainstorming task will be released in the coming week.
UI
The results from the UI Survey have been posted. Holes are being reviewed and closed as much as possible. Get ready for a steady stream of UI tasks. We need everything wrapped up in the next few months... So hold on to your hats!
CURRENTLY OPEN TASKS
Make sure you always check out our task release schedule here:
http://phpbb.acclaim.com/topsecret/viewtopic.php?t=5922
CONCLUSION
Please remember you can send feedback to TopSecretAB@gmail.com! And that's "What's going on" for now! |
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