Airborn, a game/mod I'm working on

Apologies in advance for the pimpage, but I know some of you guys will dig this.

Spunior, long-time GWJer, front page writer and all-around cool guy hooked me up with some friends of his who have been working on a gorgeous game/UT3 total conversion called Airborn. The team is made up of some very talented European game development pros who are working on this thing for free in their spare time. And one musical hillbilly.

We just entered a build in the MSUC, and while it's not publicly available yet, we are starting to trickle out some media, such as this brief video, and this lovely little screenshot:

IMAGE(http://media.moddb.com/cache/images/mods/1/11/10979/thumb_620x2000/airborn_screens_08.jpg)

For more info, swing by www.airborn-game.com.

I'd be more than happy to test and give feedback/bug reports

Looking v. cool! I dig the pogo stick, and the character models are sweet-o as well. I didn't have my headphone jacks in so I couldn't hear anything, sadly... will you be doing the music?

Nice! I'd second mrwynd's comment.

How much live work do you normally do to layer on top of your sequenced stuff? I'm always curious to see different people's methods.

And a (hopefully) constructive criticism, if I may be so bold: I'd back down the reverb on the nylon-string a lot. It sounds quite cave-y, and not "open air" like the video would suggest. Take it or leave it, I won't be offended.

mrwynd wrote:

I'd be more than happy to test and give feedback/bug reports :)

Thanks, wynd.

The MSUC version will be freely available as a UT3 mod, once they iron out a few bugs. From what I understand, there's not a lot of gameplay in place yet, but it will serve as a nice little proof of concept.

Clemenstation wrote:

Looking v. cool! I dig the pogo stick, and the character models are sweet-o as well. I didn't have my headphone jacks in so I couldn't hear anything, sadly... will you be doing the music?

Yeah, I'm the music guy.

I like the art direction. I don't have UT3 any longer, and more to the point, no time to play the few games on my pile now, but I wish you all the best in the endeavor! Looks fun!

Wow, that looks really cool. And very European.

Minarchist wrote:

How much live work do you normally do to layer on top of your sequenced stuff? I'm always curious to see different people's methods.

Well, since I have no budget to hire instrumentalists, it's basically what I can play myself. So the classical guitar is live, and the rest of it is EWQLSO and Omnisphere.

Regarding the big ol' reverb: the timbre of the guitar actually sounds pretty rotten without it. It was recorded direct through a Fishman Aura, and while it worked reasonably well for the big main theme orchestral mix, it does not stand on its own so well once it's exposed. It also doesn't help that I'm a terrible classical guitarist.

In any case, I appreciate the feedback and I'll definitely be revisiting this before an official trailer is released.

Hi. I'd like to chime in and note that Podunk is dead on. I am an all-around cool guy!

Hurr hurr.

That said, I played in earlier build a few months ago at Steffen's place (some may remember him as Neox), and it was looking already nice then - no real gameplay work had been done at that point though since it was still about getting animations and camera right. Looking forward to dive into it again. Also, the theme Podunk did is beautiful.

Podunk wrote:
Minarchist wrote:

How much live work do you normally do to layer on top of your sequenced stuff? I'm always curious to see different people's methods.

Well, since I have no budget to hire instrumentalists, it's basically what I can play myself. So the classical guitar is live, and the rest of it is EWQLSO and Omnisphere.

Regarding the big ol' reverb: the timbre of the guitar actually sounds pretty rotten without it. It was recorded direct through a Fishman Aura, and while it worked reasonably well for the big main theme orchestral mix, it does not stand on its own so well once it's exposed. It also doesn't help that I'm a terrible classical guitarist.

In any case, I appreciate the feedback and I'll definitely be revisiting this before an official trailer is released.

I understood instruments, guitar and "play myself" the rest of that post made no sense to me.

That looks (and sounds ) great.

Plus it manages NOT to look like an unreal engine game, which is always a plus

I came to this thread expection awesome low-budget 90's rollerblading action with Seth Green as a suporting actor.

I'd say I was dissapointed, but I wasn't. This looks pretty nice. I particularly like the cat kicking portion!

Oh great another Look at how awesome I am thread by Podunk.

Looks cool.

ragin_redneck wrote:

Oh great another Look at how awesome I am thread by Podunk. :lol:

I can't help it that I'm awesome!

Podunk wrote:
ragin_redneck wrote:

Oh great another Look at how awesome I am thread by Podunk. :lol:

I can't help it that I'm awesome! :lol:

I suggest writing a song about it The game looks great, by the way. So much so that I may even pick up UT3 when it's done just so I can play it.

complexmath wrote:
Podunk wrote:
ragin_redneck wrote:

Oh great another Look at how awesome I am thread by Podunk. :lol:

I can't help it that I'm awesome! :lol:

I suggest writing a song about it The game looks great, by the way. So much so that I may even pick up UT3 when it's done just so I can play it.

The Ballad of Podunk

Podunk, the man they call Podunk

He face punched from work
And he posted to the boards
Stood up to the witch
And gave her what for
Our love for him now
Ain't hard to explain
The hero of goodjer's
The man they call Podunk

Our Podunk saw the goodjers' backs breakin'
He saw the goodjers' incaped
And he saw the Tank tankin'
Every player and leavin' the bots
So he said "you can't do that to my people"
He said "you can't crush them under your heel"
So Podunk strapped on his hat
And in 5 seconds flat
Incapped everyone Mobster Lobster had to punch

He face punched from work
And he posted to the boards
Stood up to the witch
And gave her what for
Our love for him now
Ain't hard to explain
The hero of goodjer's
The man they call Podunk

Now here is what separates heroes
From common folk like you and I
The man they call Podunk
He turned 'round his m16
And let them bullets fly
He dropped mollies onto our houses
He dropped pipebombs into our yards
The man they called Podunk
He facepunched away our pain
And headed out for the saferoom

He face punched from work
And he posted to the boards
Stood up to the witch
And gave her what for
Our love for him now
Ain't hard to explain
The hero of goodjer's
The man they call Podunk.

I lolled.

This looks awesome.... i know this is a mod and likely there's not going to be any full game from it but this screenshot and footage has me the most excited i've been about anything gaming for a long time.

The music was brilliant and evocative on the same emotional scale as The Rocketeer intro (for me at least)..... I'd love to see/hear more.

I'm amazed at the level of polish your team has managed to achieve. The game truly is gorgeous. No blocky models or textures and the level of detail on the protagonist and old man are phenomenal.

I'm continually impressed by your talent and musical intuition Podunk. The music was complementary and not invasive and seemed to fit the character, the world, and what seems will be exploratory gameplay all at the same time.

Well done. I'll be looking forward to downloading and playing a working build.

Some of those screens look awesome. Best of luck with the rest of the project.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate you taking the time to check this out!

Duoae wrote:

This looks awesome.... i know this is a mod and likely there's not going to be any full game from it but this screenshot and footage has me the most excited i've been about anything gaming for a long time.

That was pretty much my feeling based on the early screens and concept art I saw before I signed on. I think these guys are onto something special.

Duoae wrote:

This looks awesome.... i know this is a mod and likely there's not going to be any full game from it but this screenshot and footage has me the most excited i've been about anything gaming for a long time.

Yeah there are some games where a particular character seems to stand out and demands a sequel which eventually turns into a franchise. The main character in airborn fits that. The goggles, the distinct hair curl, and that cool looking bag slung over his shoulder. Very identifiable. And the pogostick? Who's ever done that in a game before? I hope this mod becomes wildly successful, warrants a full game, and you guys add a sandbox RPG element to it with airship upgrades, air battles, rumored islands, and a whole backstory complete with regional lore and myths.

Also, I see under platforms that it says PS3. Any word on that?

FSeven wrote:

I hope this mod becomes wildly successful, warrants a full game, and you guys add a sandbox RPG element to it with airship upgrades, air battles, rumored islands, and a whole backstory complete with regional lore and myths.

From what I understand, that's more or less the plan. The mod version as it currently stands is mainly meant to serve as an art/tech demo and proof of concept for what it ultimately intended to be a full-on Zelda-style action adventure game with a nice helping of aerial combat.

Also, I see under platforms that it says PS3. Any word on that?

I'm honestly not 100% sure what that's about. I'm guessing that once they're satisfied with the stability of the mod, they'll compile a public release for the PS3 version of UT3...?

FSeven wrote:

And the pogostick? Who's ever done that in a game before?

Hand in your gaming card now.... i was tempted to mention that in my post saying something along the lines of, "Wow! The first pogo stick in a game since Commander Keen!".

Shame on you!

Looks good! I'm really glad it's not about paratroopers. But isn't it actually Airbjørn?

Duoae wrote:

Hand in your gaming card now.... i was tempted to mention that in my post saying something along the lines of, "Wow! The first pogo stick in a game since Commander Keen!".

Shame on you!

;)

I didn't really get into PC gaming until Rise of the Triad in the mid 90's. I was still playing NES. I had missed the Commander Keen series and after playing ROTT and Tribes, I was all about 3D FPS games. I plead ignorance!

Wow Podunk, that looks like a really cool project. I don't have UT3, and don't really have any interest in playing it, but I may have to scrounge up a copy so I can try out this mod. That and hear your sweet tunes!

LobsterMobster wrote:

But isn't it actually Airbjørn?

IMAGE(http://www.brolicinc.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/airbud1.jpg)

edit: Thanks, Rob!

Awesome! I had been following Neox and the team's progress through Polycount for the past year (?), but had no idea you did the music. It does sound great (from what I've heard of the quick trailer that's up-- That's an HD version of the trailer, BTW). I have half of Neox's and the others' artwork saved in my inspiration folder and cycling through my rotating desktop right now :D. I downloaded the MSUC submission, but forgot to re-install UT3 to play it so I'm installing that and will check out the mod when I get home from work tonight.

Congrats, I haven't seen all the MSUC submissions yet, but so far yours is the best from what few I have seen.

LobsterMobster wrote:

Looks good! I'm really glad it's not about paratroopers. But isn't it actually Airbjørn?

It is technically Airborn, but the o in the title screen has a propeller through it after the team saw an o on their Denmark beer. I like killing jokes.

Also, here's a link to their art dump, if you guys are interested in the behind-the-scenes bits.

That's really cool, thanks WipEout!

I did not know the bit about the Danish beer, that's awesome.

WipEout wrote:

It is technically Airborn, but the o in the title screen has a propeller through it after the team saw an o on their Denmark beer. I like killing jokes.

Also, here's a link to their art dump, if you guys are interested in the behind-the-scenes bits.

Except that they spell it Airbørn. :O