FFH Spin-off Mini-Games

[seZereth]

Hey guys,
I just stumbled across this object-based (more powerpoint style than programming) game creating engine, which is open source and absolutely easy to use and very powerful.

Construct by Scirra

I also found out, that it would be more than easy to convert FfH unit graphics into animated sprites, which then can be used in the engine.
I was thinking about simple platform games like Kylorin fighting his way through illians and doviello in the age of ice.
Or a tower defense game with FfH graphics.

Or my favourite a Warlords or warfare 1917 clone with FfH races.

My time is limited and I dont want to do all the work alone, so, anyone interested in teaming up?
(NO PROGRAMMING SKILLS NEEDED)

 

[civ_king]

 

[Morkonan]

There are a number of free game creation kits out there. Though, they do vary very widely in quality -

http://www.ambrosine.com/resource.html

A couple that seem to be doing well you may be interested in-

RPG Maker

and

SPRING- RTS Engine


There are other RPG makers out there and I can't remember the one that I liked the most from the selection I could find. Similarly, there are other RTS capable engines out there as well. But, that one does look pretty good and seems to have a live fanbase. (VERY important in such a genre)

Of course, you could just go crazy and download the Unreal 3 Engine and use it. It's free.

Unreal 3 Engine - Free to Independents

Don't forget, there's always the fact that some new game comes out that is heavily moddable, like Civ. Total War comes to mind as well as Half-Life, Neverwinter Nights, Oblivion (and other TES franchise games), Dungeon Siege, Freespace 2 (Now being use by the Diaspora and Beyond the Red Line Battlestar Galactica fans. ) and a host of other games that are mod-friendly including the first truly mod-friendly RTS - Total Annihilation.. the grand-daddy of them all, IMO.

Mods are so much more prevalent than a completely fan-constructed game because there's already an engine, tables, environments, lighting, etc that are accessible to the novice game-creator. An "engine" is great but it doesn't do the work by itself. Creating a game from scratch, especially one that is feature rich and runs well, is difficult and requires a lot of people coming together and sticking with it.

 

[seZereth]

There are a number of free game creation kits out there. Though, they do vary very widely in quality -

http://www.ambrosine.com/resource.html

A couple that seem to be doing well you may be interested in-

RPG Maker

and

SPRING- RTS Engine


There are other RPG makers out there and I can't remember the one that I liked the most from the selection I could find. Similarly, there are other RTS capable engines out there as well. But, that one does look pretty good and seems to have a live fanbase. (VERY important in such a genre)

Of course, you could just go crazy and download the Unreal 3 Engine and use it. It's free.

Unreal 3 Engine - Free to Independents

Don't forget, there's always the fact that some new game comes out that is heavily moddable, like Civ. Total War comes to mind as well as Half-Life, Neverwinter Nights, Oblivion (and other TES franchise games), Dungeon Siege, Freespace 2 (Now being use by the Diaspora and Beyond the Red Line Battlestar Galactica fans. ) and a host of other games that are mod-friendly including the first truly mod-friendly RTS - Total Annihilation.. the grand-daddy of them all, IMO.

Mods are so much more prevalent than a completely fan-constructed game because there's already an engine, tables, environments, lighting, etc that are accessible to the novice game-creator. An "engine" is great but it doesn't do the work by itself. Creating a game from scratch, especially one that is feature rich and runs well, is difficult and requires a lot of people coming together and sticking with it.

Thanks,
the spring engine looks cool.
Also, Kael mentioned Star Craft2, which is supposed to be ultra modable as well
so, lets see.

 

[Valkrionn]

I'm wondering exactly how Star Craft will be modable... The original was done via triggers, as was (for the most part) WC3. Which isn't really modable the way Civ is.

Also, SeZ, you have access to some of the RifE waves. Saw that Grey Fox added you, so I added you to the rest. Including one that very few people have access to....

 

[thomas.berubeg]

What about Diablo 2?

 

[Neomega]

There is also crystal space, on which a complete game, "Yo Frankie", was created by a dedicated blender team. Unfortunately, I felt OGRE was better, but Crystal space won the day.

But, the Blender Game engine has improved dramatically. Krum has incredibly impressive graphics, especially considering it is being developed by a "lone wolf" as they say.

 

[Morkonan]

...But, the Blender Game engine has improved dramatically. ..

Blender is pretty outstanding and even surpasses some "pay" packages as it's a full, one-stop solution.

But, Blender's interface looks like the "God of Context Sensitive Menus" threw up on it... It's hairier than a rats nest and more difficult to master than integral calculus.. which I never mastered anyway so, what do I know?

It's an extremely "clunky" modeling interface for all the versatility it has. Although, truthfully, I haven't checked up on the latest version. I doubt they've made significant improvements that make the UI more user-friendly but, I could be wrong. Occasionally, I use an older version of Blender for some specific modeling tools but, that's it.

I've been meaning to bite the bullet on Blender for awhile now, since its so popular. I.. just.. can't... stand... the... interface... /sigh

But, for those who can, the game engine may be desirable. I don't know how it operates but, if it can reasonably perform as expected in those games you linked, it should be possible to do just about anything with it.

 

[FireBlaze]

Fall from Heaven? On MY Starcraft 2? That would be pretty awesome actually.

 

[Morkonan]

Fall from Heaven? On MY Starcraft 2? That would be pretty awesome actually.

Actually, FFH on Medieval Total War II would be extra-tasty. The only problem with the TW franchise is static maps and cities. But, that really wouldn't be too big of an issue. It'd be worth it just for the fantasy battle scenes.. fireballs arcing overhead, dragons rampaging through troop formations, units fleeing for their lives, brave cavalry charges into certain doom.... yup, that's the way to go.

It might have to be bumped up to the latest Empire:Total War which is for the Imperial Age (Napoleonic style) just for the engine enhancements. Though, I don't have that one so I'm not sure of what benefits could be had there.

 

[Neomega]

I think the best direction for a spin off would be a party-based RPG... with random maps, but set quests.

 

[readercolin]

It would actually be possible on Empire total war (and MUCH nicer to manage them to try the same on Medieval 2). However, I am not sure if they have released their modding tools yet, (9 months after release and they FINALLY released the multiplayer campaign aspect that they said would be available on launch). As for always being on the same map - I have thought of a few ways to get around that, but I'm not entirely sure how well they could be implemented.

-Colin

 

[Ajidica]

Off topic, but FfH would not work on Empire, if only because of the melee bug. For those who don't know, the melee bug is when a sword armed unit charges another unit, stops about 3 yards away, and then starts wandering around and rotating while they are getting decimated by close range musket fire. Its even worse when you have two melee units fighting. And the only reasons to go to empire would be musket warfare and naval battles, both of which FfH has little of.