Observatorium Development Update

[Marshie]

Back in June of this year I was assigned to the development of the Observatorium along with the others in my class for one of our Game Design classes. So long story short, the project didn't get done within the 11 weeks so it was carried over to the next group of students that had the class (I was not in the second class but I still worked on it with them. In fact the only one from the original group). Well it didn't get done this past quarter either, I will spare you my personal rant about this. I am now the only one left still working on the project, due to the fact that I want to see this thing done and looking good by the time I graduate, which is at the end of March. And I want to get started on something new for Planeshift soon. 

So anyways I have been sending what ever updated information and progress I have to Luca, but since he is really busy (which I completly understand) I haven't heared back from him and am not even sure that he knows that the building is still being worked on. So really all I need is for someone (who has a better chance at getting in touch with him than I do) to tell him or shot him a message and let him know that the project is coming together however there is still modeling and texturing work for the props that I and my team (if I can get one together) still need to do but plan to have it done as soon as possable.

Also is there anyone else that I can run my updates through that is easier to get in touch with that can also ok the stuff I have.

thanks

- Patrick M.

[Illysia]

I would suggest finding Xillix in IRC. He is on fairly frequently and is probably the most likely, of people we have regular contact with, to be able to contact Talad.

[Marshie]

Thanks, I will take care of that tomorrow. 

[Tuxide]

Of course it's not done, those things take time.  I think we all know that it takes two whole years for a group of your buddies with talent to get together and make a city.

[Marshie]

O man let me tell ya Tuxide, I wish the people that where in these two classes had talent. Well actully I take that back I wish that they actully had the drive to be a game designer. Its like 50 % if not more don't even put forth the effort. I was looking through the work that everyone in both the classes had done, a total of maybe 30 - 40 people all together I would guess. You know what I found, one maybe two things in a lot of peoples folders. I see this and I am like, really you had 11 weeks and you only did 1 thing. And I am not talking about a big thing here no I am talking about a table that is made up of 5 boxs that took the person a todal of 5 seconds to do. THey didn't even try to edit the geometry.

My teacher and I have talked a bunch of times about this that if these kids don't put forth the effort now while they are in school and while they have room to make mestakes and learn from them, they are not ever going to get a job. They don't seem to understand that just having a degree is not going to get you a job. If your lucky you may get through the resume screening by the wonderfull HR deapartment but when you get in an enterview and you can't provide samples of your work theres no way your going to get a job.

So I guess it isn't so much talent because I think that is something that you have to work at to acquire, and that takes commetment. Honestly given how many people where suppose to be working on this project I seriously think that it shoudhave been done by now or at the very least further along than where it is.

But what can you do, you can't make people work.

[Syenna]

Marshie, from what I've heard of students in 3D/animation classes, one in ten actually gets into the industry, and the others either find that the field isn't for them or just plain suck.

You seeming to be the one that sticks with a project  to the end, I'm guessing you'll be the one in ten that isn't standing behind a Wal-Mart checkout after grad.

[bloodedIrishman]

Marshie, from what I've heard of students in 3D/animation classes, one in ten actually gets into the industry, and the others either find that the field isn't for them or just plain suck.

You seeming to be the one that sticks with a project  to the end, I'm guessing you'll be the one in ten that isn't standing behind a Wal-Mart checkout after grad.

Random? 

[Xoel]

I gotta agree with Syenna on that one.

Marshie, you should also think about joining the PlaneShift art team on a long term basis, you seem dedicated and that's one of the best values for a dev.

Also Talad is usually available on IRC if you just pop him a PM about it. (If he's marked with a ZzZ he's having his well-needed rest)

[Tuxide]

But what can you do, you can't make people work.

It's hard to make someone do something that they don't want to do.  I remember people complaining about doing work on Apricot.

But I guess it could depend on how engaging the assignments are made to be.  I had a bizarre technical writing course where all we did for our assignments was roleplay in Anarchy Online.  But  you guys probably see video games all the time, and the instructor is not obligated to actually encourage people to do the work.

[Marshie]

To Syenna: Thats why I am working as hard as I can now so in 4 months when I finish college I have work to show that will help me get a job, so I don't have to work at a dead end job any longer than a year. Though I may need to get one until I get a real job, hopefully not but I like to be realistic. I do think I have a better chance than others in my class.

To Xoel: I do plan to continue working with planeshift after my current assignment is finished. I would like to see and be part of improving the games look so that it is more appealing to others. I do know that was one reason why some of the people in my class didn't want to do anything because it didn't look like WOW and Guildwars. Don't get me wrong I like WOW and Guild Wars and I play them both. I would like to start from the beginning and work out the iussues that I think are preventing the game from being played or at least tried by new people and work from there. I believe that if Planeshift is to be played by more on a constant bases, than it needs to be easier to play by new players with out haveing be drasticly differn't to the point to where those that play it on a reguler bases stop playing it. It is this kind of stratagy which makes WOW so popular, its easy to get in to you learn the ropes and its fun. Before WOW the MMORPG wasn't really easy to pick up.

To Tuxide: Well my teacher wants all of his student to succeed, but when they only sow up for about 4 or 5 weeks out of 11 there isn't much you can do. Alot of people at school talk about there status on all the facebook games and someother popular game that just grew up out of no where. We talk about a lot of games, at least me and my teacher do, and we usally descuss whats going on in hte industry but honestly I don't buy to many video games anymore. One reason being I can't see spending 60 dollars on a game that I can beet in three days, beside all FPS games are practicly the same, and even the stories in RPGS are simmiler. Evil cult resurects demon, and you need to go and kill them. I think that is why I like developing games so much because I don't play them as much as I use to. I still like playing games on my old NES, SNES N64 and so on but buying new games now just doesn't appeal to me as much as it use to. Right now the only game I am playing when I am not working on stuff for Planeshift and school is WOW, and I just got back in to that last week after a 6 month break from it.

[Tuxide]

On second thought, I suppose the instructor would measure "success" here in a different way, as in whether PlaneShift is successfully being used to teach the class.  From that perspective, I suppose it would never matter to him if the Observatorium is ever completed.

[Xoel]

PlaneShift must also not become like WoW or GuildWars.

We love roleplay here, that's really what it's all about.

As you can see, the groundwork has been laid for modern gorgeous graphics, now we just gotta make it all.

[Marshie]

I've heared thats the problem, there isn't enough artist to contribute to the project.

[Xoel]

Or perhaps, there's a lack of artists who know Settings information well enough to be valuable contributors.

Anyone can make an Orc, but who can make a Nolthrir male?

[Marshie]

Well I would probably be one of those people, character modeling is one of the areas that I need work in.