Dead Fan Projects

Youngblood

Rear Admiral
I was just looking at the fan project page and look like all are dead (apart from saga and standoff) all the links for there web pages seem 2 be dead anyone have any idea whats goin on wiv them???
 
I can't speak for them, and my project isn't listed anyway, but my project isn't dead. Some of these may be simply keeping quiet, or possibly have died even. But if they're like me, Summer is a very, very busy time for me so I havent had a lot of time to do a lot of editing, so what time I do have I've been spending trying to improve my technique before I settle into a serious stint of editing when things settle down.
 
Raiders: On hold?
Fleet Action: Now for Homeworld 2, at least partially finished, can be played
Flight Commander: finished
Freespace 2 TC: Merged with/Became WC Saga?
Holding the Line: Ongoing, some 200 chapters written
Invasion: Partially finished, can be played
Marine Corps: Abandoned (twice)
Rebel Assault: Cancelled
Unknown Enemy: Finished
Vega Strike: At least partially finished and ongoing, can be played
WC zone: Finished
X-Wing Alliance: Abandoned?
Time Crisis: Abandoned?
WC Saga: Almost finished
Escape Velocity: Abandoned?
Standoff: Episode 1 released last year, episode 2 coming soon
Wasteland Incident: Abandoned?

Not listed but worth checking out:
Privateer Remake: finished
Battle Stations: Playable demo
 
As the guy producing Raiders, I'd have to say it's been abandoned for now. Unforunately there is simply no time to produce the massive CG production I had hoped for, at the quality I wanted.

I've been focusing on my career lately...
 
There IS a playable version of the X-Wing Alliance Mod which was eventually abandoned. It didn't look half bad when I played it, either. And there's also a Fleet Action Mod for Homeworld that is playable (but not completed) that I'm quite fond of.
 
seems to me that a lot of them die horrible deaths!!! but those that do live i gotta admit are pretty damm good!!!!!! cant wait to get my hands on them all!
 
Which fan project was the side scroller Wing Commander one? That was one I really wanted to play but I haven't heard anything about it since they first announced its development.
 
Youngblood said:
seems to me that a lot of them die horrible deaths!!! but those that do live i gotta admit are pretty damm good!!!!!! cant wait to get my hands on them all!
It's because most people, when they decide to start a fan project, are blissfully unaware of the difficulties involved. Actually, so far, it may not be "most people" but rather "everyone". It takes a lot of time (and a huge lot of costly mistakes along the way) to get the hang of what you're doing, and most people simply give up along the way - heck, sometimes I wish I had :p.
 
I see where your coming from id love 2 help out wiv any wing commander based project but all i can do with my pc is install and play games :( if anyone needs help for anything that i can do with limited skills (im willing to learn :) ) ill be more than happy to help!!!!
 
Quarto: It helps to have people who're actually involved in the industry - who know exactly what needs to be done. (and have done it before) The thing that I see happening more than any other is that these fan projects bite off more than they can chew.
Example:
Let's make a game where you can build your own starfighters! And run around entire planets! Lots of planets! And full-blown asteroid bases! With running gun fights! Etc... Now, unless you're packin some experience with database-driven art creation, and some hefty art/programming skills, that projects gonna fail faster than Ford pinto rear-ended by a Ford Expedition. Boom.

Everyone's got ideas. Some might actually be good ideas. But unless you've got some skill and ability to back them up, likelyhood is that they'll never go anywhere.
The other element is *fun*. I often see various ideas of how to turn WC novels into games. Action Stations and the like. The biggest problem with this, is that these are BOOKS, not GAMES. Books do not require interaction from the reader. you're there along for the ride, and all the fun comes from the ride itself. Games are all about interaction with the player. the fun comes from interacting with the environment. You cannot directly translate anything done in the books to a game without running into major problems of playability and game logic. I just does not work. So - the books can be a basis - but if something in the books isn't fun, or if it causes the player unneccesary grief, then it's gotta go. Whether it's a major feature in the book or not. It's just common sense.


It gets really bad when people offer to help, but present no real skills but the ability to play games. And they want to learn. I really hate to break it to you guys, but taking time out of actually *creating the game* to train you how to do it is a horrendous waste of time. This is why game studios almost never hire fresh-outa-university-artists when they're in the middle of a project. They have to take a productive team member and turn him into a baby-sitter for anywhere up to 6 months. they're paying two people to basically do nothing besides learn how do do what one of them already knew how to do!
Now, I know these various fan mods and games appreciate your enthusiasm - really, they do - but unless you posses already usable skills, they're not going to want your help.
The only exception to this is the Beta/Alpha test stage - then devs need as many warm bodies as they can get. Unfortunately, this stage doesn't come until the end of a given project, and they tend to last for fairly short periods of time.

I've personally been involved with several failed fan projects - and I'm not ashamed to say it. Every single time the failure has stemmed from the lack of either direction or programming support. I've always had plenty of artwork and pretty stuff to make the game visually interesting, but never been able to follow through on a *real game*. I hope to change that.
So in conclusion - If you start a fan project - have more than a good idea. Have art and programming support - and run the idea by quite a few people to make sure it's not just a good idea because of that stale pizza last night. :p

And good luck to all the existing fan projects! I hope you don't go under.
 
Many fan projects tend to die because people have a busy life and also if more than one is involved, it will be hard to coordinate.
 
The simplest way to not have your fan project die: Do it on your own, and don't announce it before you're not 99% done. Umm, ya. (*stuffssomescriptintoadrawer*)
 
Howard Day said:
The thing that I see happening more than any other is that these fan projects bite off more than they can chew.

Yup. :D

Example: A 10-minute cinema-quality CG short film with intense action scenes and tons of character interaction and dialogue. AKA Raiders.

Progress to Date: Storyboards, a 30-second proof of concept.

Quality: Crap.

Fan projects (such as mine) are huge undertakings and although I had wanted to do the entire thing myself, it's an incredibly difficult task. Not only was I learning many techniques as I went along, but I spent more time on the looks than the story itself. The concept for my project wasn't strong to begin with so I decided to abandon the project and focus on what I was good at and what I can actually make money doing, as opposed to doing it as a hobby and not getting very far. :)

That being said, a lot of fan projects currently in production or that have been released so far look amazing!
 
The Fan Projects section we have is quite a bit out of date. Some of the projects should be deleted or archived off and there are several notable active projects that need to be added. It all takes a lot of time though, and staying current on the front page will keep you informed of everything going on.

Shipgate said:
Which fan project was the side scroller Wing Commander one? That was one I really wanted to play but I haven't heard anything about it since they first announced its development.

Also Daniel Brito's Battlestations and Pedro's X-Type.

Cam said:
I've been focusing on my career lately...

You should at least check Crius and IRC from time to time.
 
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