Teamplay simply sensational, vivid imitation of the good old America's Army.

In my humble opinion some Dimmod to try to take the same path. (some not all)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pesYLA0YOlE

Let's see, Insurgency 2... If any game deserves the title of CS clone it's this one.
Instead of a posting a very long bullet list of items I don't like about this game
I'll keep it at "Don't like Insurgency's setting", nor it's chunky sizing.


~-~ Back to the topic at hand ~-~
Cool, new Unreal Engine updates. Includes many fixes and additions, new vehicle stuff
AND OBJ support.

Had to do a lot of figuring out how the UE4 fits into modding now you need to get a subscription to use the editor.
Prove thyself and we shall giveth you...UE4 ? We at the darkside got cookies ;p

You also could look at it like this :
Tools cost money, Maya, Motionbuilder, Mudbox, Crazybump, they all cost a bit.
In comparison to the Unity Engine or the beforementioned software, paying 19 for the UE4
isn't that much. Sure, we can make Blender into a mapping tool for UE4, but that won't go
out for free as it's a pretty time consuming task. Who ever said modding had to be 100%
free anyway ?

If you want to make a complete map for Tango Down, you can also get one of our special
Tango Down editions or the Tango Down MDK that includes a licensed copy of the UE editor.
The other option is to work together with our team if you're interested in helping us map/
model. There will be an uploader available soon that can be used to upload game models to
our main content library. To ensure people don't upload content that doesn't belong to
them, all items will be placed in a seperate part of the forum we are launching. We will also
use map threads where the community can put maps together through open contributions
and open collaboration.

*** What parts of Tango Down would you like to see moddable ? ***
In the next post I'll explain how we intend to implement moddable elements and which
elements are actually moddable and how.

Dev update
Seems we overlooked lots of textures last time(understatement), so the master library
(116GB) got thoroughly scraped again for fitting textures, then these get resized to the
power of 2, generate it's normal and specular maps and then sorted into appropriate
directories.... Can haz rope ?

Last time we generated normal and specular maps automatically, this time around we did ALL
14K+ diffuse textures by hand, one by one. Over 42K textures in the new Tango Down library
now *Desk slam* that seriously takes days to import/ make into Uasset. It might be me,
seems like UE4 takes longer than UE3 to compile an asset.
Making materials out of the textures is a time consuming factor atm , so we 'materialize' only
what we use.

- Bomb objective almost implemented, has some rough edges we need to work on but the
base for this gametype is working. Would be cool if the bomb would leave some explosion
impact and physically interact with game models in the near surrounding of the blast.
- Environmental particle effects added, realized that doing themed releases also has another advantage.....
- Busy on UE Blueprint driven menus, still is a bit basic atm but getting there.
- Rewriting official text for Tango Down a bit, still working on it.
- One of the distributors is pushing for boxed editions, they can distribute it much wider that
way. Strange imho, boxing a game that can be downloaded for free.
- AAAAAHHHH someone beat me to the punch with the domain name I intended to use for
our tiny studio. Now I need to do a complete name research on the new one, pfffffff.

Nice 3D 'temple' wall I generated from a 2D image through normal and displacement maps.
If any of the 'paintings' used in the game will look a bit 3D-ish, it's because they actually are.

In principle Tango Down is meant as a free game and we intend to update that free version on a regular base.


We can NOT garuantee that ALL game modes will be playable with the free version
Some game modes will be deployed from monster servers with a hardcore hardware setup.
There are going to be maps specifically for large environments with 125+ players on the field,
these need massive servers to keep up. Since bandwidth and servers don't grow on trees,
we can't justify a free release/usage of this particular game mode.

There will be map packs that come at a price.
The counterpart/ big Brother? of Tango Down is momentarily called Unit 77, any map
packs intended for U77 that are playable on TD come at a price.

We want to organize mapping contests and reward winners
Because we should reward great mappers, so they can continue to chase their dreams AND
be able to pay their bills. If you can't understand this, or can't relate, maybe you should look
up the term community and get on the next UFO back to dimension reality.


Contributing content to Tango Down :::
As a security measure, Tango Down uses a central server system where players can
upload maps, guns and other content. These will not be served/downloadable from individual
servers like it is possible with TC (or any IDtech based games).

This means that if you want to upload your own map and make it playable to the community,
you'll have to upload it first. After it's uploaded we check the maps for errors and content
violations and make it downloadable/playable for others. If mapper decides to make small
changes then this won't be a problem, just upload the new version.

Say you want to upload a model you made, you go to our forum (not online yet) and use the
uploader to upload your content. After it's done uploading, screenshots will be generated for
your model and it will be posted to the Custom Content part of our forum. This way others
can comment on the model and we will be ensured (to a certain extent) that no illigitimate
content will be used in our game. It speaks for itself that credit will be given where credit is
due if content is being used ingame (and damned, will this be a long list).

If you want to introduce a new gametype :
Introducing new gametypes mostly involves placing trigger volumes and/or specific game
models into excisting maps. If you want to introduce a new game type, you'll need to code it
and provide us with a completed, working sample. We then implement it across all maps and
will add the gametype to menus and distribute it as an official udate, making it playable for all.

Player customization :
Note : Up to version 1.3 we intend to keep player customizaton to a bare minimum.

We recognize that some people want to upload assets that are only applicable to their own
ingame character, this will be possible, don't worry.

Custom player camo and gear : The vest of the player will have certain points on it
(sockets) that allow for an item to be attached, this way the vest can be customized more
or less.

It's not certain at this point yet if we will implement an ingame tool to change the camo or
that we will do this by means of another method. For now, if anyone has a nice camo
texture, they can upload it and we'll apply it , create custom UV maps for it and make it
selectable ingame.

Custom player look (face or complete character) :
Any model using the Daz3D Genesis skeleton as it's base can be used as a player, meaning
you could create your own character for Tango Down. For a small fee our artists can apply
your face onto a game character from a picture.

Gun camo : Although we intend to implement multiple camos for each gun, players
will be able to change them theirselves and upload the UV map they made.

Clan patches :Can also be uploaded and used ingame

New Guns : Will 125+ guns shut you up ? Most of these guns will be downloadable
from our new forum as soon as we launch the Alpha.

Animation : We use Daz3D's Genesis model as our base, all animations need
to be applicable to the Daz3D Genesis skeleton.

Sounds /sound packs : Same as other content, upload to central

Menu Skins and Fonts : Same as other content, upload to central


Server admins can set :
A splash screen / logo for the clan operating the server
Menu skins
Determine gun loadout at start of match
The map rotation list
Set game mode
Gun sounds*
Standard player gear and camo for each team
Max ping on a connection

That's it for now, any constructive criticism welcome.

So... this will be like DLCs?

Yes, those map packs are DLCs.

I must emphasize that Tango Down and Unit77 are two entirely different games
but that I want the majority of the content made for Unit77 to be compatible
with Tango Down.

If for any reason players don't want to buy the complete Unit77 game but only
would be interested in the map packs made for that game then offering them
to the Tango Down gamers must come at a small price in order to justify it's costs.

Btw this doesn't mean that we don't issue new maps for Tango Down for free.

No, it will not shut me up. Unless you actually mean truly cosmetic changes, I highly doubt you'll be able to balance even half of those.

Hmpfff, never satisfied, are you ?


Besides having a nice range of different models from all sorts of brands,
there are also models that we have multiple models of with significant variations
either in the barrel setup or the gun handle, some have rails, others don't.

Are WE going to put all of those guns in game ?
No, we are going to use only a selection of these guns ourselves.
A large majority of unused guns is going to be put on the forum so people can download
these and fiddle around with them theirselves. These guns may also be used for True Combat.

We will put some tutorials online with an easy explanation on how to 'calculate'/guestimate
and extract certain variables you need to use in the gun's 'settings' file. This is assuming the
user wants a real feeling and will use the real gun's specifics. If everybody keeps to
real world specifics, additions by users should be balanced with the other guns.
Maybe do a killhouse type of map to test new stuff and make that an integral part of the game?
Add it to the main game if it receives an x number of votes ?

Also might be using Ikinema in Tango Down to ease gun handling of a multitude of guns.
I'll give a definitive conclusion in a month or so when my demo expires ;-p
Set where left hand goes, here's the trigger, here's the mag, here's the cocking mechanism,
animate. If we would be able to implement it like that, people won't even need to make
character animation files for specific guns, but only would need to setup the model correctly.

In other words, we will try our best to make it as easy as possible for users to get guns
ingame that we haven't put in.

So many words, so few visible results... except for those few maps and models.

When you will release it ? U already have a website for it ?

Well, Cheese, we had to reimport every asset into UE4 (textures and modules) and basically
all shaders, animations needed to be redone. It's just not possible to copy-paste content
from UE3 to UE4. It's also a very weird thing to post screens of doing our work on the
textures, promo and crowdfunding campaigns, code, Ikinema module fiddling, etc etc.
Still, those things are part of the dev process of this game, too.

We do our work on Tango Down for free, meaning day jobs and doing other projects that
pay have priority. If you want us working 'round the clock on Tango Down then you are
welcome to support us through our upcoming crowd funding campaign.

When you can play the first version of the Alpha ?
I could aim for a date, instead I'm telling you what's still on our to do list, if you keep up
with this thread then you might have a good idea when exactly we'll launch the Alpha :
To do list for crucial elements : gun, animation, menu

GUNS
Impact : need particle systems for when the bullet hits the ground/wall/player and a little
smoke out of the barrel. We had this done in UE3, tho still need to do it in UE4.
Animation : Since we're going from arms&gun in 1st person view to full body we can't use
the old animations, meaning these get redone too.

ANIMATIONS
At this point we are experimenting with Ikinema for UE4 to see how this can cut down
production time and how it influences the game play and modding possibilities. We intended
to implement Ikinema into Unit77 but might as well do it for Tango Down, too.

MENU
It seems the gun-attachment selection menu is a bit of our achilles heel. In UE3 all menus
were driven by pure code, in UE4 I started in Blueprint (code without actually using code).

WEBSITE
If someone didnt register the domain name I intended to use for our tiny studio.
I could pass you the url now. For every name I intend to register I order a name research @
trademark offices first. Not to worry, I ordered 2 name researches about 2 weeks ago,
meaning I should get the result in 2 weeks tops. Once I register them I will change my
forum signature to include the url.

Unreal Engine 4 trouble shooting tip:
*** Is your UE4 crashing while everything was a-ok before and it only did so after you
imported textures ? Check everything in your texture directory and check for 2kb sized files,
remove it and all should work perfect again. Also might be useful to keep texture directories
under 1 gig ***

Any new updates?

Yes, there are...

Choose a tune before proceeding :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkp8ZdQ9SqI or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjMNNpIksaI
xaxix.com
-At the moment of writing there's a DNS prob, but it shows a countdown timer with less than 18 days left -

Countdown to madness !
It either launches a nuclear missile into Syria or launches something with awesome graphics,
can't remember which atm. We might press the red button earlier ... itchy triggerfinger stuff.


Things that have been added in the meanwhile :
- Hud is getting a second style, so we have at least 2 Huds to chose from.
- Character customization : camo choice and vest-pants-head attachments
- Gun customization : camo/matrial choice and attachment choice (incl. reticle choice)
- Main menu has some bad ass sound tracks
- All our game projects have something of a ingame and main menu system now.
- Per team choice 5 save slots
- Some of the menus are skinnable
- On your 6 and Knife gameplay added. In 'On your Six' you spawn on the location where
your killer shot you from. We often play this one to one if w're bored
- Dynamic interior for buildings, means the interior walls and thus the layout changes each
round. This technique is used in our 'Stand your ground' gamemode, so maps won't be so
boring after a week. Note that this will be applied to just one or max two buildings per level.
- Ikinema animation module added
- Now runs on UE 4.5 (and will keep up with updates)
+ some other stuff
+ Busy on ranking up irl, doing a 1 year study in 3-4 mnths in between about 5 game/app
projects (well, in a bit 4 remain).
+ Busy moving to another house where I can use the top floor for a mocap studio, getting
real tired of calibrating the cameras.

I'll try if posting newer screens is possible in between the hecticnss as the following are
relative old ones. There is a skin for this menu in the works and looks 10x better than what
we whipped up... then again, the coders task is done as soon as things works. Speaking of
code, none of the menus are done by code, all are done in Blueprint which was a challenge
in itself. Here's some of the character customization, the clothing material wasn't set yet so
it's a bit too shiny.








I think it's also safe to say that you can expect a far greater degree of customization in the future
Custom clothes or other custom content, like maps can be added to the game as TD uses a
central content system (just call it a marketplace for convenience).

The model of the gun below is one we'll make public so modders will have something of an
example and can see how friggin easy it is to insert new guns+attachments into the game/menus.
This is an old version of the menu coz I can't get to to other screens on this tablet. This is
not the model we use ingame btw. I'll see if I can find a clearer image of this one later as
it is rather dark and you can't even see some parts.



To conclude, our main objective : get Tango Down Kickstarter ready asap, then enlarge the team with more artists & map our asses off on planned maps.

Nice!

Why don't you post a link to the public forum that you set up with your team about the game?



I'm posting it here because it's public anyway, I hope you don't mind.
http://www.majesticblack.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=34

That's definitely a step in the good direction!

Cudows for finding it, didn't think anybody here would without a link.
I think the game will look nicer if represented in video format but there's
still a few things to fix in regards to animation before we do that.
As soon as the countdown on xaxix strikes zero we go back in and do the
remaining anim. When that's done it's Alpha time.

The customization wasn't actually planned for this stage, I just wanted to get to Alpha as
soon as possible, probably ending up with something a dime a dozen.
With the character and gun customization aswell as the dynamic interior feature it already
gives the game a nice distinctive feel. But graphics and customization only make part of
the whole package, game modes are the fun factor. Personally, my bet on the most
played gamemode of the game will be 'Stand Your Ground', not by definition because it
uses the dynamic interior but simply because it's fun. Where 'on your 6' absolute chaos
rules matches, SYG is a far more tactical one, going in like a mad man... will not fly.

It's definitely not a dime a dozen FPS game anymore, that's for sure.

btw didn't post the link to the forum yet because of some problems first needing some
solving as the forum is behind cloudflare. Problems reside in no email (no confirm mail
on signup)and asking for captcha as soon as a incorrect password is entered. Which are
problems we can live with for now tbh. The forum also has parts that only can be seen
if you're a registered user and other parts are only visible to dev members and external
freelancers.

Since we recently 'finished' the first map for Cane's Vengeance so that one will move to
the public part as soon as it has all materials applied.