With the resumption of development of the Adellion
Project using the torque engine, publication of these pages
will also resume. The maintenance of these pages
will be overseen by the Programmer Lead and will hopefully
be done in a timely fashion.
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04/07/14 David - Recent changes in Adellion |
As we begin to move from the designing and prototyping phase of the game’s development to the actual implementation across several platforms, we have begun adding new programmers to the team. My own role as a developer is scaling back and I am moving more to an advisory/management role. If I can remember to keep my hands out of the code!
One of our recent purchases was the new Synapse lighting pack, which we will be using in this phase to enhance the appearance of the lighting and add additional contrast and shadows to the models and objects on the terrain.
Another interesting feature we purchased recently was a series of creatures with basic AI that can be used in game. This has provided some interesting fish, birds and insects that can enhance the regular game world.
We have begun working on our basic quest system, an expandable system with characters that can interact with players, send them to others, accept items and react to requests.
One of the first contributions from one of our new programmers Claude Alain Fournier is an improved inventory system that links to a separate server database system. In addition to keeping track of the players possessions the system will also be linked to our next system…
Which is a basic skill system which includes both movement skills and learning skills. This system will allow players to improve their skills and pass on that knowledge to others. In addition, we are looking at linking skills into the invention skill to allow the discovery of many of the things lost to the residents of Adellion by the great disaster.
The skill and inventory system will use a newly implemented drag and drop system that is popular in such games as Diablo because of its simplicity and language neutrality.
Our artwork is getting an additional makeover the art team, who have been reworking everything from the icons to the trees and buildings to make them fit together into a more uniform style.
GUI animation has taken a step forward with the addition of animated graphical menus which can expand and contract on command.
Our modeling team has taken a new step forward with the addition of 3D modeler, Jason Jabaut who has implemented a new and improved character modeling system with swappable clothes, and collapsing mesh allowing for different shapes in a model. This means different hair styles, loss of limbs is now possible, and new clothes such as armor can actually change the shape of the person wearing them.
Music for the entire game is nearly complete! Adellion’s skilled audio team will next be moving on to the special sound effects that make up the ambiance of the game world (as well as a few specific sounds for use in some of our special effects).
All in all, progress on every front...
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04/08/04 Developer profile |
Name: Johan Pihl
Age: 24
Role On Team: Lead Lore Developer and Aethan Cultural Leader
What do I do for the game?
I describe the Aethan culture and try to provide some guidance for the other cultural developers. Sometimes I even try to provide vision and direction and generally involve myself a lot in design decisions.
What's your favourite video game of all time?
Even though it has a lot to wish for I'd be unfair not to say Ultima Online, no game compares to the amount of time I've spent in there. I still play it some, though this last month I've spent my gaming time in a game called Puzzle Pirates.
What's the worst job you ever had?
Generally I don't think I'd ever take a job I thought was bad. But on the other hand I bet I could enjoy dish-washing if I wanted to.
What personally is your favourite thing about Adellion?
If I say it'll be one of the most interactive games filled with true meaning out there, I'm not full of crap. It's hard to pin-point a single feature to be the favourite, but I think the fact that we've spent so much time fleshing out the game concept while keeping role-play capability and realism in mind, is the one thing that will make it great.
What's been the biggest challenge in your professional career?
The biggest challenge still lies ahead; making Adellion all that we want it to be.
From a personal standpoint what attracted you to Adellion?
Just about everything. At the time I found out about it I had pretty set ideas about what I wanted to see in a game and Adellion pretty much had it all, apart from maybe vivid descriptions of the culture I wanted to get involved with, but it's all fixed now.
What was the first computer you ever owned?
I guess it'd be a Commodore 128. I was playing videogames before that though, but the funny thing here is probably that it was my grandmother who initially introduced me to them.
How did you start out in the Gaming Industry?
It was nothing I was planning on, the whole story may seem a little out of place, but it was a series of events that can trace me here... and I remember it all well. While playing UO I got involved with developing the culture of a player town called Lumaria, my former spouse in the game later informed me of the possibility of playing an underwater race called Lamurians in the game called Horizons. I was intrigued and was planning to get some serious role-playing going in one of the under-water cities there. They later scrapped that whole thing and my interest in it died, but I'd spent enough time there to get some followers and one of them was someone who kept his eye on what was going with different MMORPGs and kept informing me about them. Most of them didn't hold my attention for long, but after starting to read about Adellion I grew more and more intrigued and after getting my questions answered about the game I knew this was THE game I wanted to be playing at some point. At that time not much was known about the Aethans, James Evans or "Alrcari" had yet to describe them, but the little that was written was enough for me to know that it was the culture I wanted to belong to, so I started writing some stories... and the rest I guess we all hope, will be history.
To sum up I guess the reason I got into the gaming Industry was, that I found out about Adellion, sooner rather than later.
How did I get into writing?
It was basically through playing role-playing games. I think it was about eight or nine years ago that I got the idea that I wanted to be an author. I was holding week-long table-top role-playing sessions two consecutive summers. Grand adventures in a world I had invented on my own, with inspiration mostly from past role-playing, history classes and fantasy literature. Later I held some Live Action Role-Playing events set in the same world. I started writing the adventures up in novel-form at a later date but never got around to finishing them. I think UO would be to blame for that. Any professional writing I do in the near future is likely to involve Adellion and I'd probably want to do something totally different after Adellion if there is such an era. I do plan to release at least one novel set in Aetha as I have a manuscript ready and am working on a second.
What's the most fun thing about working on Adellion?
That we're trying to make something that you know you just can't wait to play until you die; literally, in a lot of ways.
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03/26/10 Developer profile |
Name: Kevin Bronakoski (Barag)
Age: 33
Role On Team: Avatars, 3D Models, Textures, random thoughts
What do I do for the game?
I create the avatars in the game as well as doing the animations for them.
What's your favorite video game of all time?
Has to be Half-Life. It just took gaming to that "next level".
What's the worst job you ever had?
My current job at a big name tech Retail store. Retail sucks.
What personally, is your favorite thing about Adellion or favorite thing in the game itself?
Crafting is my favorite part of Adellion. A close second is that with perma-death your actions have REAL consequences.
What's been the biggest challenge in your professional career?
All the standing at my current job and the constantly changing schedules.
What has made the biggest impact on how you work?
Online Tutorials. They have evolved from someone just posting a cool thing they found they could do ... to a site like 3dbuzz.com that has complete VTM(video training modules) to really help you out.
From a personal standpoint, what is it that attracted you to the Adellion project?
I have been playing/GMing RPG paper and dice games for close to 16 years. Adellion looked to be the closest to the freedom that you have in a paper/dice game with the cool visual effects thrown in.
What was the first computer you ever owned?
Timex Sinclair 2000 with a flat membrane keyboard and a whopping 64k of memory.
How did you start out in the Gaming Industry?
I heard about this game called Adellion that had alot of the things I was looking for in a MMORPG, so I joined the forums and chatted in the irc channel. The team was very cool and one day I mentioned that I did some 3d modeling. Paul and Bendik checked out some of my stuff and asked me to join.
How did I get into 3d Modelling?
I have always loved to draw and create; wether it be on paper, or wood working, or painting fantasy minitures. The computer gave me a medium to create without wasteing paint, clay, or wood.
The most fun thing about about working on Adellion project is...
Making something that I have spent long hours slaveing away on, showing it to the team, then seeing how everyone likes it. It is a great feeling of accomplishment to get emails back saying "How cool!", "Great work!", etc..
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03/26/10 Developer profile |
Name: Niris Rhudakhar Bharathae
Age: 35
Role On Team: GUI/HUD graphic artist
What do I do for the game?
I design and create the HUD graphics, Main Menu and Splash Page artwork.
What's your favorite video game of all time?
For FPS I'd have to say Halo. It has the best execution of all the elements
of a great game. I especially love the design work in that game. For RTS
I really like the Star Trek Armada series. I haven't tried all of the RTS games
out there but of the ones I have the Armada games present the best simulation
of resource management. Haven't tried any MMORPGs yet. I'm hoping Adellion
will be a great first experience for me.
What's the worst job you ever had?
I wouldn't call it the worst but Carpentry was definitely the hardest and most
challenging. I worked as a carpenter for twelve years before I made the switch
to computer graphics.
What personally is your favorite thing about Adellion?
I'm looking forward to the exploration of Adellion on foot! I plan to spend allot
of time roaming through the ruined cities and exploring the remote places
of Adellion.
What's been the biggest challenge in your professional career?
Realizing that people use computers to make art nowadays. That was a rough
transition to go from pencil/pen and ink to learning how use programs and paint
on a monitor screen.
From a personal standpoint what attracted you to Adellion?
The ambition and scope of the project. I know its been scaled down quite a bit
from its original conception but even its current state is impressive for it to
compete with other big name MMORPGs.
What was the first computer you ever owned?
Wow, a Commodore 64! I remember playing those text-based games on a tape
cassette. The disk drive was a tape player you plugged into the
motherboard/keyboard.
How did you start out in the Gaming Industry?
After I had my website up I hung my shingle at the Garage Games forum. Adellion
is the third game project I've worked on.
How did I get into graphic art?
Like others from my generation I followed comics and role-playing games. It
was a natural progression for me to try my hand at creating those same images.
What's the most fun thing about working on Adellion?
Being handed a spec sheet and then trying to create art that meets the
requirements of the game but yet is pleasing to the eye. I know that sounds like work
but it really is fun for me.
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03/26/10 Developer profile |
Name: Matthew Green (Mephi)
Age: 23
Role On Team: 3d moddeler and server support.
What do I do for the game?
I'm currentl;y creating the buildings for the Tarian Culture, and offering
alpha server support and a development storage area.
What's your favorite video game of all time?
Hrm, very hard to choose one all time favourite : My favourites are:
Oooh, easy. Manic miner. But for more up to date ones, Quake and Diablo2
have to be the most played ones for me.
What's the worst job you ever had?
I've been quite lucky really, so I guess I'll have to say a paper round.
(does that count?)
What personally, is your favorite thing about Adellion or favorite
thing in the game itself?
Cor thats a tough one. I think its that its a game where you truely can do
anything you want.
What's been the biggest challenge in your professional career?
Hiding from paul the fact that I can Code in C++
What has made the biggest impact on how you work?
Cafeene.
From a personal standpoint, what is it that attracted you to the
Adellion project?
Well I've been a computer gamer and a roleplayer for as long as I can
remember, and I've always wanted to build my own.
What was the first computer you ever owned?
A ZX Spectrum. With rubber keys... :-)
How did you start out in the Gaming Industry?
Well, I was at college with this bloke called Paul...
How did I get into 3d Modelling?
Well, I wanted to be creative, and loved computers. So I started out trying
raytracing. At that point it would have been quicker to watch paint dry, we
had a 286.
The most fun thing about about working on Adellion project is...
Working on something you enjoy so that others can enjoy it too.
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03/19/10 Developer profile |
Name: Laura Wampfler
Age: Not nice to ask a lady her age! Not nearly as old as John but MUCH
older than Paul....:P
Role On Team : Dalmite Conceptualist and Map maker
What do I do for the game?
I develop the lore for the Dalmite culture, which involves creating the
background for this unique culture. I also pass along information to the
artists who are designing the architecture and models for the Dalmite
culture. I have also been assigned to create the maps used in the game. I
occasionally do other things as asked that do not require programming skills.
What's your favorite video game of all time?
My favorite video game is The Sims. I love downloading player made things
and creating cool houses and neighborhoods.
What's the worst job you ever had?
A cocktail waitress at a college bar. I had to actually hit a few guys over
the head with my tray! :P
What personally, is your favorite thing about Adellion or favorite
thing in the game itself?
I love the original cultures and the detailed lore. What originally
attracted me to the game was the roleplay potential.
What's been the biggest challenge in your professional career?
As a geologist, my biggest challenge was working with the state/federal
agencies in cleaning up hazardous waste sites. As a lore developer, my
biggest challenge has been in continuing to expand my imagination to create
and maintain the Dalmites as a very unique culture, different from any real
life cultures.
Which technological advance (computer or otherwise) within the last 5
years has made the biggest impact on how you work?
Faster computers and faster Internet connections, without a doubt. I can
now download files from my colleagues at incredible rates.
From a personal standpoint, what is it that attracted you to the
Adellion project?
I came to Adellion as a player to roleplay. I wanted an environment where
roleplay was encouraged and even enforced so I could avoid all those folks
in other games who do not want to roleplay and discourage others to do so.
I wanted a game where the programming was created to support roleplay, not
a game where roleplay was a side attraction to the rest of the game. I
believe Adellion will be this game.
What was the first computer you ever owned?
My dad had an Altair, one he built from a kit and a punch card thing. He
used to let us play games sometimes, although they were all text based and
not thrilling compared to today's standards. I used many computers in
college and grad school, including those huge mainframe ones. Later, my
boyfriend bought a 386 (for 3K!!) and I used that to finish my thesis.
How did you start out in the Gaming Industry?
I worked for many years on various MUDs as a builder and as a member of the
roleplay staff. I enjoyed this immensely. I tried out the new graphical
MMORPGs as they came out but was left needing more substance. While the
graphics were pretty, I missed the depth of the text games. I followed Dawn
briefly and then followed a group of friends to Adellion. Eventually, I
applied to be a lore developer for the Poylians and was asked to take over
the Dalmites instead. I have steadily fallen in love with the wonderful
culture created by James (Alcrari) and have enjoyed adding my own
perspective to the Dalmites.
How did I get into writing?
I have been writing since I was a little girl and even wrote the dedication
play for my elementary school. In college, I didn't have time to write
fiction although I did keep a journal. As a geologist, I had to write
detailed reports and was asked to sit on the technical review committee at
one company. Later, when I was able to work on MUDs, I was able to use my
writing skills to develop descriptions of exotic locations, using my
travels as a geologist to supplement my imagination. Writing for the
Dalmites has awakened my fictional writing skills and I have enjoyed it a
great deal.
The most fun thing about about working on Adellion project is...
Wow, so many things! Using my imagination to write again after so many
years in a science field has been amazingly fun! I also love meeting folks
and have made many great friends among the staff and the fans from all over
the world!
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03/11/10 Developer profile |
Name : John Bates
Age : 52
Role On Team : Salanian lore and occasional project management
What do I do for the game?
I do the game’s legal stuff and also develop
the Salanian culture.
What's your favorite video game of all time?
My favourites are:
RTS : Civilisation
MUSH: Firan (OK it’s not a video but it’s good!)
What's the worst job you ever had?
Digging out a barn that the cows had spent the winter in.
What personally, is your favorite thing about Adellion or favorite thing in
the game itself?
I like the narrative roleplay culture. It will be very interesting to see
how the story progresses.
What's been the biggest challenge in your professional career?
As a lawyer, working on cases for people who have been harmed by chemicals.
What has made the biggest impact on how you work?
The internet, .. both for work and for gaming
From a personal standpoint, what is it that attracted you to the Adellion
project?
I find the current MMORPGs shallow and boring after a while. Though I played
AC for 9 months. A narrative RPG in which players’ actions can affect the
world and story will be far more challenging.
What was the first computer you ever owned?
I can’t remember.. sorry.
How did you start out in the Gaming Industry?
I was on the Stratics site and came across this game.
How did I get into writing?
I ‘ve written four books – all boring legal text books though. I do have a
novel on the go but it’s taking its time
The most fun thing about working on Adellion project is...
Doing something I've wanted to do for some time.
As most of you, know our game is based on a modified version of the
torque engine licensed from Garage Games and it is the same engine
that was used to drive the game Tribes 2.
One of the advantages of the use of that engine is that it provides
us with a unique opportunity to test out new features in a standalone
environment and - if the feature proves viable - then merge it into
our product with little additional effort.
In the past, this was used to construct two editors which allow our
art team to continue to develop content without having to wait for
new rebuilds of the engine. It has also been used to experiment on
load times for the entire game world (can you say coffee break…)
which has led to some serious work on new loading methods and an
ongoing revamp of the terrain data structures.
It is also used by the programming team members to try out different
features on different branches of our CVS. The winners get merged.
The losers… well branches get trimmed…
Where is this leading? One of the areas where most big game companies
have a substantial advantage is that they can afford large testing
budgets. You may believe that the beta people are the ones who shake
out the product in the months to release, but the fact is that they
don't find nearly as many problems as a dedicated team of experienced
QA testers. As a primarily volunteer group, expecting to get a number
of highly qualified QA testers on our project is not feasible. Good
QA people cost money - and they are worth it. However, there are ways
that we can use our beta team and our torque client to get substantially
more information than you would normally cull - even from the best QA
teams.
QA testing works in two areas - hardware compatiblility and bugs. While
bug finding is the main benefit of a good QA team their experience with
hardware compatibility issues cannot be underestimated.
Tribes had a great team that shook out many of the compatibility issues
- large and small in a cross-platform project. As we add new features
we need to check these again to make sure that they will work in a
substantial number of products - old and new - in order to give our
customers (that's you) the most robust product we can.
So after consulting with the "powers that be" - an audience with the
great Lord Paul, I have come up with a way for you to participate in the
building of our product at a level that most players will never see.
Each week we will select a group of five people from the beta list and
give them a copy of the torque client software specially modified with
some features we are considering for inclusion in the game. You will
download the client, connect to a special game server set up just for
that purpose, and see how those features function on your system. The
download will include a short document outlining the feature we want you
to examine, a document outlining some of the standard features of the
client that you will be able to use (such as chat to discuss what you see
or hear), and a short form that will you email back to us with your findings.
At the end of the week (or earlier if you are satisfied with the feature)
you will submit a small form which will contain your findings from playing
around with the client.
At the end of the week that server will be taken down and a new test group
will take their place. Your input may help to decide at an unprecedented
level if a feature stays, goes, or just needs more work. It will help us
find compatibility issues and resolve them before we attempt to merge a
feature into our production line.
Oh yes, at the end of each week, we will take the names of those who have
reviewed the features and submitted a report and add them to a list of
special contributors that will be included in the trailing credits for the
game. It will be your chance to say, "Yes, I helped make that game and the
proof is right at the end, in the credits…" It will be there for everyone
to see.
Kickoff should be sometime around the week of July 4th. We will be selecting
based on the hardware on your system and we will try to give everybody a shot
at checking some feature. For those of you who have non-windows systems both
a Mac OSX client and a Linux client are planned to be included although the
they may not happen in the first couple of feature runs.
If you encounter problems a special e-mail address will be included where you
can send us information on the nature of the problem and any workaround you
may have found. You are not expected to do anything more than report any
problems you encounter, and fill out the short summary of your findings. If
you choose to explore possible workarounds we would be greatful for any
information on your attempts - successful or otherwise.
As the tests leading up to beta become more elaborate we hope to provide you
with even more information and more powerful clients so we can also test our
feature integration.
For all of you, it will be a chance to participate in the building of a software
game, for all of us it will be an opportunity to say thank you in advance for
all your support and constructive criticism.
See you on the servers!
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03/12/05 Welcoming the new |
As Adellion begins to move further into its development cycle,
the necessity for presenting a clear vision to the community
becomes increasingly important.
One of the things that many of our team (including myself)
have come to dearly appreciate is the ability to get into
the forums and discuss with you our ideas, dreams, and aspirations.
While that conversation is very useful to us, it can be very
detrimental as well. An enthusiastic response to a fan
suggestion by a single member of the development team can
lead to a flurry of speculation as the rumor grows unchecked
into a full blown guaranteed feature - complete with bells,
whistles and serving coffee to passersby.
We are not the only MMORPG to face this issue. However
the typical solution - to introduce a full blown team to oversee
all conversations with the public seems a bit heavy handed.
So a simpler solution is being implemented.
As the development team moves features out of the "really
keen" phase of enthusiasm to the "have you got it
coded yet" stage and onto the "yes it works"
phase. We will post it here.
What this means is that if you see it here - its gospel.
Its coded, its tested, and its our intention to put it in
there for you to enjoy.
Discussions in the Forums are just that - discussions.
Blue sky. Wouldn't it be cool if...
That does not mean that we won't try to get those features
we so happily chatted about into the game for you. What
it does mean is that you don't have to wonder if those rumors
are true - if its in print here - its happening.
I hope to list some of the things we are working on and categorize
them for you. To give you a feel for our progress, to
give you a chance to see what's really going on. To
make you all part of the process.
David Dougher
Lead Programmer
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03/11/05 And a bit more credit
goes to... |
With the pressure to get things
going around here we rarely take time to hand out kudos to
our newest members. So let me rectify that in the Development
arena by giving a few high-fives to out newest programmer
- Fredrick "Phero" Svensson.
Fredrick has been responsible for making major contributions
to many of the core technologies this game will depend on
- including database connectivity and our terrain paging scheme.
As time goes on I'm sure you will hear more about his exploits...
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