HELP WANTED: 3D Modelers

An important announcement: we decided to go ahead and replace ALL of the copyrighted materials with our own material. This includes the current game textures, character/enemy names(etc), game actor sprites, game flats, sound effects, and a couple of the weapon sprites.

Benefits of doing this are too much to list here, but the important thing is that 1) We don't have to cancel the game like we originally planned for another original IP, and 2) We can be 100% legal and release a legit version of the game.

More benefits include higher-resolution textures (graphic artist will redo all the textures original in 512x512 rather than 128x128), an almost completely 3d world (to save time, we are remodeling the characters in 3d rather than redrawing them in 2d), and a wider range of creativity all around. Would also be able to keep the game code and game levels.

To make clear, we are not exactly doing derivative work, we will completely redo the characters and enemies. For instance, we have an Axe Zombie - it might get turned into a running zombie that uses limbs and sharpened bones to knock the player around, or Cultists who will become Fanatical Followers with a wide wardrobe to choose from, with different weapons. So on and so forth.

As of now, we already began reworking the 200+ textures into original material. We will be keeping similar patterns to avoid having to redesign large chunks of the levels, or reprogramming chunks of code. The sound effects can be recorded by us anyway, and we can buy royalty-free SFX all over the net to replace the copyrighted ones.

So, while the spirit of Blood will be there, the assets will not. This allows us to be 100% legal, release the title(s), and have a generally fresher experience while keeping the crazy gameplay intact. I have spoken to a publisher and it might be a possibility provided we replace all the copyrighted material...that's exiting! A one-hundred percent legit Dreamcast game that isn't a shoot em' up or HL-clone!


The only thing we would need at this point are 3d modelers, so I was going to ask a favor:

I reprogrammed the engine to accept MD3 (Quake 3) rather than MD2 (Quake 2) models, which gives us the advantage of higher tris count without the jagged animations. It increased the overhead from ~4k tris to almost 8k tris, and verts from 2k to 4k, while doubling the amount of frames per model without having to dynamically switch them out. So, we're still going for the low-poly route, no more than ~1.5k tris per object, and no more than ~6k tris per scene.

Which is where you come in: We need the word spread around that we're looking for~low-poly~ modelers who can model from a bunch of reference graphics (the references containing 50+ frames of drawn figures, from Blood) and turn it into something original while keeping the spirit of the original drawings. Since I am WAY tied up right now with the engine code, I have no time to actively hunt, so those of you who can genuinely spread the word would be a HUGE help. For the smaller objects, we can do it in-house, so it'd be a matter at this point in modeling the characters. Animations and all would be provided beforehand so it would be less work. And, if anyone refers a member who joins up to finish the game, I will hand out a complety free copy of Hypertension with a BUNCH of extra stuff (scrapped missions, old betas, etc: the ultimate edition), for the Dreamcast, before anyone else gets it. I think it's a great idea to get someone who can help involved. Of course, you can actively continue to beta test (if you haven't had the chance, we can get you the material), which includes the PC, DC, and 32X versions.

It would be amazing to get support and find people who can help us get legal and get the project out the door for the fans. I didn't like the idea of scrapping all the years of work on the title. We stopped production for awhile, but this sounds like a better idea. Please help us spread the word and get this wonderful title completed and legal!


Feel free to send us inquiries, tips, or help ads to TDG$MODS$@$3DFX$DEV$.$NET$ (edit the money symbol out of the address, did that to block nasty spammers).


Thanks guys! Keep it fresh!
-Corbin
TDGMods

PS: The Forums are down, switching servers with the sub domain, among other things, give us a few days to work it out.