looking for a coder for an HL2 mod...

[Spamdini]

hey guys i guess u can call this an attempt to get the show on the road. im part of a dev team for a hl2 mod called Frontline Force. maybe some of u remember the original hl1 version of the mod. well were working on a source one and have been for a while and code is what is really lacking. we have been plagued by coders who cant commit and others who disappear or just simple scheduling issues. weve got lots of content already completed ie, 5-6 maps, weapon and player models fully animated, all our sounds etc. were looking for someone who can dedicate some time to coding the mod. weve had trouble with coders and creative control before so if ur interested your creative input will definitely be taking into account but we know what we want from the game and how we want it to work (so i hope thats not an issue). weve got a website up and running. www.frontlineforce.com so stop by or reply to this and ill get in touch with u. it seems like this would be a great project for a student or someone looking to pass the time practicing their coding (i dont know much about coding so maybe practicing isnt the right word but u know what i mean). so lemme know, thanks.

 

[Cooler]

I recommend a small coding staff(4 people max). I work on mods myself as a coder. The larger the coding staff the less responsibility everyone takes and nothing get done.

 

[Spamdini]

i think thats a great idea. but were having issues holding on to/keeping control of 1 coder, let alone 4.

 

[Cooler]

If the artist are way to controlling coders will leave. It is best to have someone who is not a pure coder or artist to lead the team. Some artists I work with have no idea what is possible and what is not. Hence they can make unreasonable requests. Also using an SVN /IRC really helps the development process.

 

[Spamdini]

yeah we have an svn and irc setup. an artist is not the leader of the dev team, a mapper is. and the game is outlined we know whats possible already based on what has been done and scrapped for new coders (cause coders dont ever seem to like what other coders do).

so are there any coders out there interested?

 

[aCynic2]

Originally posted by: Spamdini
so are there any coders out there interested?

I'll try not to be too much of an azz, but the saying "hard work is it's own reward" is a lie. Money is it's own reward. Hard work is just that, hard work.

Now, if I can ask a few questions:

1. What language are you using?
2. What is the plan? Organization? How do the members communicate? How do they decide what information gets passed to each other? What's the timeline? Setting short term goals helps if people can't goal themselves. Consider researching S.M.A.R.T. goals.
3, What does your outline detail? Does it say who does what? How to represent data? Algorithmic considerations?

Make sure all work is is stored on some ONE individual's computer, probably yours If it isn't, someone may decide to quit and take everything they've done so far with them. Then you're back to square one on that aspect.

 

[Spamdini]

are u asking these questions because ur interested in helping ie: u can code. or just to help in general? i can get that info in a sec

i dunno about the language im not a coder. its for hl2 so...c++? we have a prod outline avail to people who help out. we communicate using KDX and irc (email, phone.) we share pretty much everything. timeline is asap i guess, not in the rush sense but the code is really what needs to catch up. everyone basically know what they do. we do store everything on multiple computers i guess.

 

[aCynic2]

Originally posted by: Spamdini
are u asking these questions because ur interested in helping ie: u can code. or just to help in general? i can get that info in a sec

Just trying to help in general. I have too much going on right now with my own game.

 

[Sc4freak]

Originally posted by: Spamdini
are u asking these questions because ur interested in helping ie: u can code. or just to help in general? i can get that info in a sec

i dunno about the language im not a coder. its for hl2 so...c++? we have a prod outline avail to people who help out. we communicate using KDX and irc (email, phone.) we share pretty much everything. timeline is asap i guess, not in the rush sense but the code is really what needs to catch up. everyone basically know what they do. we do store everything on multiple computers i guess.

I'm 99% sure you won't be writing C++ for a mod for HL2. Unless you somehow were able to get your hands on the source code, or purchased a copy of the Source Engine.

HL2 was written in C++, but you don't have access to the source code.

 

[Cerebus451]

Originally posted by: Sc4freak

Originally posted by: Spamdini
are u asking these questions because ur interested in helping ie: u can code. or just to help in general? i can get that info in a sec

i dunno about the language im not a coder. its for hl2 so...c++? we have a prod outline avail to people who help out. we communicate using KDX and irc (email, phone.) we share pretty much everything. timeline is asap i guess, not in the rush sense but the code is really what needs to catch up. everyone basically know what they do. we do store everything on multiple computers i guess.

I'm 99% sure you won't be writing C++ for a mod for HL2. Unless you somehow were able to get your hands on the source code, or purchased a copy of the Source Engine.

HL2 was written in C++, but you don't have access to the source code.

Just wanted to add a note here that if you are coding a HL2 mode you will be writing C++. The Source SDK is all C++. When you create a mod from the Source SDK it creates a stub directory of C++ source code to work from (basically, it really is the Source, erh..uhh...source, though likely not the entirety of it).

I might be interested in seeing what I could do, though I know next to nothing about the Source SDK and if you want really elaborate changes done I'm not sure how deep I could get with a limited amount of time to spend on it.

 

[Lazy8s]

Based on the web page this looks like it's going to be a LOT of work done for free and I would put money on that being the reason no one is staying around. You call it a full conversion and unless you used the terminology wrong, you mean you are looking for 1 coder to rewrite CS:S from the ground up basically.

The Source team had probably a dozen guys working for 100k+ a year plus benefits. I highly doubt you will ever find a single person that wants to do all of that for nothing. Obviously they would use the pre-existing engine but without putting some project requirements or anything here it seems reasonable to assume all of your coders have quit because once they agreed to the project they realized they would spend 40hrs a week for 6 years to do everything you guys wanted.


I too MIGHT be interrested in taking a crack at this but there's no way I'll have the free time to rewrite absolutely everything.

 

[imported_SunSpot]

My name is SunSpot and I am the team leader for Frontline Force. Let's see if i can straighten this out a bit.

As for the Counterstike bit... Frontline Force is nothing like CS/CSS at all, except they are/were mods to Half-Life originally. Gameplay is entirely different in every single aspect except for the fact both games use modern weapons. Adrian Finol, the person credited with creating Frontline Force in 2000, was hired by Valve in 2001 and is a Sr. Programmer there. We met last year when I visited Valve and he gave us his "blessing" to continue to develop the game. Frontline Force has always been a community driven thing anyway. So we are now the team moving it to Source. Since it's original development, 3 programmers who have taken on FLF since Adrian left, have all been hired by major software companies. This would be David Dynerman 2001-2003 (Raven/Id Software), Tony Sergi 2003-2005 (Leaping Lizards Software), and Andrew Spiering 2006 (Blizzard Software). Each time this happens, a void is left till someone else comes along. We are looking to fill this void.

As for Programming, code for all HL2 Source mods are written in C++ and compiled with either vs2003 or 2005. There is no need for the "original" source code, as Valve supplies a nice SDK with base code for Mod developers. (as mentioned by Cerebus above)

We do have Code now and a "semi" functional game. This code, however, needs merged with the newest SDK. (Valve changed some things recently)We also have a couple of part time programmers lacking the time to fully complete it. We need someone to help us wrap up this SDK merge, optimize some things, add in some more of the features, and follow this through to a completed Beta at least. The optimum canidate would need to be a bit familiar with Valve games, whether its CS:S, DOD:S, or TFC. Since they all share the same "Base Code" and engine. This person would also need to at least play the old version of FLF or have played it before. Its not a requirement, but would be nice.

FLF has always been a fun game under HL1 engine and had hundreds of servers and a thousand players at one time. Since Source and HL2 came out, it has died pretty much, which is why we want to get this show on the road.

Sorry we cant pay, but if you happen to be in Central Florida, I'll buy ya some beer and a cheap ho.

you can email me... SunSpot (at) frontlineforce2 (dot) com