Stargate screenie

[Tytanya]

Hopefully proof that this mmo is actually going to materialise one day....and I love the featured charcter model too!

http://uk.media.pc.ign.com/media/802/802313/img_3915703.html

[G0rF]

Oooh, nice work Ty!

[Veube]

Omg Yay !

[Dragonstorm]

Nice shot! And the char model is nice too, definately well done.

I jsut wish I was a bigger fan of SG, so I could get exicted!

[0bitus]

Yayyy

[Renzouken]

How Sexy? Sexy.

[savity]

Nice shot! And the char model is nice too, definately well done.

I jsut wish I was a bigger fan of SG, so I could get exicted!

I am a huuuuge fan of SG; Film, SG-1, Atlantis. I am proper well excited about this. Late 2007 is the latest date I heard about anything though. Seeing as SG-1 has been cancelled it's a chance to continue the story in MMO format...

Hmmmm what was the last screen-based sci-fi thing that was supposed to carry on the story online.... :rolleyes:

[Amphetamine]

Anyone know what engine it's using? I see both lightmapping and those very hard edged dynamic shadows in the screen.

[savity]

Unreal 3 I think...

[Tytanya]

Stargate: Worlds - Interview from AGC

Lead Systems Designer David "Zeb" Cook talks to us about the game's progress
David “Zeb” Cook, the Lead Systems Designer for Cheyenne Mountain’s Stargate: Worlds project took some time during the Austin Game Conference to update us on how his company’s rookie project is coming.


“We’re winding down our preproduction,” Cook told MMORPG.com. That phase has seen them concentrate on nailing down their visual style, prototype combat and set up their production pipelines. They’ve also worked hard to make sure their two major licensed technologies – Unreal 3 for the client and BigWorld for the back-end – play well together. As a sign of how far they’ve come, they even released their first screenshot just after the show (top right).
The prototyping phase has already altered some notions of how they want to do things. Originally, they had planned for players to have AI-controlled characters join them, but this has since been scrapped. They have also spent a lot of time thinking about how they’ll weave story into their game.

Combat, though, remains the primary concern. At every turn, they ask simply, “Is it fun?”

“We want combat to be more than you’ve seen in most MMOs,” explained Cook. He went on to talk about how traditional MMO AI doesn’t account for where the characters are. Monsters usually just charge in and perform a set list of attacks. In SG: W, Cook says their monsters will take cover, hide behind objects, fan out and perform other evasive action depending on their weaponry and level of intelligence. Simply, traditional AI won’t work in their setting.

Another advantage Cook is excited about is the fact that they’re building a game based around television combat. Stargate: Worlds is not a modern combat simulation and they can get away with doing crazy things and having much closer and more personal interactions.

However, they must keep in mind two major things. First, the game is not an FPS. They’re not yet sure exactly how they’ll set up the combat interface, but don’t expect to be aiming and shooting. It also must not be too confusing. From a UI perspective, it is likely that the experience will be more in line with traditional MMOs.

Cook is also hard at work on expanding the role of non-combat solutions to problems. He doesn’t think the show was one where they blasted through every problem and nor should the game be.

Cook is an MMORPG veteran, having worked on City of Villains and a gaming and pen-and-paper legend. However, with SG: W, he had a chance to get in practically on the ground floor. So far, he’s relished the increased responsibility and voice this affords him, but acknowledges this means he assumes more of the risk if things do not go well. To avoid any problems, they’ve surrounded themselves with experienced MMORPG developers.

Recently, waves were made when the Sci-Fi Network cancelled Stargate, the television series that the game is based on. Cook is unsure of what the future may hold for the TV series, but didn’t seem overly concerned.

“We were always aware that this was a possibility,” he noted. “[The cancellation] doesn’t change much.”

He added that he does not believe it affects the commercial viability of their product.

Often, we hear horror stories of companies being bound by restrictive, non-gaming licenses. Stargate is no such beast, says Cook. MGM has been a dream to work with.

As per the license, they’re trying to capture the cheerful tone of the show and never take themselves too seriously. The fiction of Stargate is often playful; expect the game to be too.

Their license also solves a few big MMORPG problems for them. Stargates provide the perfect travel solution and suggest basic world architecture not unlike what most MMORPGs already do. There will be some travel and likely no mountable objects – he doesn’t foresee people driving motorcycles through stargates – but the very existence of the stargates allows players to jump from one area to another rather quickly. The show also had things like teleport rings to further ease travel.

The overall experience of Stargate should be directed, according to Cook. He wants players to have goals and things to accomplish. Stargate is definitely leaning on the side of a game, as opposed to a world. Cook does not though that one does not preclude the other.

Advancement promises to be relatively painless. Cook is not a fan of grinding and says missions are going to be very important. Random encounters are not a thing of the past though.

The endgame is still in design stages, but Cook does want to accommodate a range of play styles in whatever they do.

Stargate: Worlds is still in very early development, but as the team expands they really seem to have found a strong core of industry veterans. Cheyenne Mountain has a long way to go, but it sounds like they’re definitely off to a good start.

[Twaggy]

Yeah it looks great! Can't wait!

Guess who has an unofficial/official exclusive beta key for when beta is out *cough* I love working for XRN. *cough*

[Renzouken]

Thanks for posting that interview Tytanya.

God I seriously can't wait for this. xD

[Jekht]

hrm defantly looking forward to this game... although it lacks the martial arts that gets me really interested ;)

However... the stargate license is rather like the starwars license in a few ways... and I hope they take the good from that, and allow players to fly ships between worlds within the first expansion pack, and don't restrict the players movement around a planet too much.

[G0rF]

http://uk.geocities.com/g0rf@btinternet.com/Images/thx4info.jpg

[Tytanya]

An ign article with some more very pretty screenines

http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/747/747060p1.html

I'd include the screens here but I've no clue how to show them =/

[G0rF]

Hrm.... it all looks very clean and shiny...

Very Unreal 3

[Ackercoke]

is that Clean/Desolate/uncluttered?

looks like scenery's rather bland IMO, but still summat I wanna play at least for a few months lets all go b3ta on this one >_<

[0bitus]

Looking good.

[Renzouken]

Agreed it has gone for rather "cartoony" graphics when I would have preferred it to be more realistic. (I had an image of it in my head having GFX Snake Eater-style, don't ask me why)

I will be still signing up for this though.

[Twaggy]

Hey Ren *cough*

http://forums.stargateworlds.com/member.php?u=5327

[G0rF]

Nice... a link to a registration page....

[Twaggy]

Got the hint then? XD

[G0rF]

Nope.

If you wanted to tell me something, you'd have C&P'd it if it was interesting, therefore, it isn't, ergo, not worth registering for - or the insufferable snowstorm of spam that comes with registering.

Thanks anyway though.

[Ackercoke]

http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/images/lblackwell/2005/03/01/thread_necromancer.png


Just got my first newsletter from this, and it's all looking pretty sweet and

Closed beta will be up and running before the end of October.so that might be nice,

My biggest gripe with the newsletter is it feels like it was written by a 'tard but hey the info is pretty good and here's a link to the screenshots page

http://community.stargateworlds.com/gallery/8/

all very nice these days. although at the moment, it seem less like an MMORPG and more like an MMO TF2, not sure, I'll have to wait and see.

I just figured out what it's looking like...planet side...I so hope it isn't

[Jekht]

I so hope it would be like Planetside... interviews and gameplay footage suggest that there's no directly controlled combat and instead its the standard, 'mouse over, click, activate ability 1 and 2 then repeat' gameplay.

[Ackercoke]

Heh, well I kinda hope it aint like that, I guess we'll just have to hope that it's good intuitive fun and works when we get a chance to play

[G0rF]

Got this in my mailbox the other day, too:


Welcome to the premiere edition of the Stargate Worlds Newsletter! This is the place to get your monthly fix of news, highlights and updates about Stargate Worlds and the upcoming Beta test process. If you're getting this newsletter, you are one of the lucky few gamers selected to step through the Stargate or you're one of the many gamers who want to get in to the Beta. Whichever camp you fall into, we've got some great information here for you.
All right, I hear the commotion from the troops. Closed beta will be up and running before the end of October. You heard it here first! Personally, I need some help when I'm running the Lucia Flats, so I'm looking forward to the big numbers coming in. By the way, have you seen the flamethrower video at http://community.stargateworlds.com/download/11/1200/ (http://whatcounts.com/t?r=1932&c=1465114&l=62256&ctl=1E90C30:EFFCB596626955E3D2B570476EDF23236AE809 EE4535B278&). Now, that's hot! Who's up for an all flamethrower run through Sewer Falls? We'll be an unstoppable army in orange!
If you want to check out some of our latest videos, head over to GameSpot (http://whatcounts.com/t?r=1932&c=1465114&l=62256&ctl=1E90C31:EFFCB596626955E3D2B570476EDF23236AE809 EE4535B278&) where they've got exclusive footage of an Op-CORE team clearing out the wretched hive of humanity known as Sewer Falls.
Speaking of video, we've released some new footage on our Stargate Worlds YouTube Channel (http://whatcounts.com/t?r=1932&c=1465114&l=62256&ctl=1E90C32:EFFCB596626955E3D2B570476EDF23236AE809 EE4535B278&). Keep an eye on Inside Stargate Worlds and StargateWorlds.com for the latest information about our game.There's plenty more, but you get the picture(s).

Aren't we the lucky ones?

[Eirik]

Uh, off topic question - Anyone seen Tyt in a while?

[G0rF]

Nope.

[Dragonstorm]

Did anyone find out if they got into the closed beta btw? Starts in 3 days. I get you might not be able to say, but i guess there's nothing wrong with saying that you may or may not be able to say something... right? ;)

[G0rF]

Not yet.

Just that one email for me.