Ever love an old game so much....
by Frederick · in Game Design and Creative Issues · 08/07/2001 (12:38 pm) · 104 replies
... that you would look into trying to build a sequel?
Despite the fact that you could never hope to land a proper liscence to use the story material (and thus, never get paid... or worse)
Some old friends keep moaning about a long past mech game and its lack of updates.
Ive got half a mind to try and do something about it, but the other half says the first half has lost its sanity :p
Bleh, Im just rambling now.
Anyone got opinions?
Despite the fact that you could never hope to land a proper liscence to use the story material (and thus, never get paid... or worse)
Some old friends keep moaning about a long past mech game and its lack of updates.
Ive got half a mind to try and do something about it, but the other half says the first half has lost its sanity :p
Bleh, Im just rambling now.
Anyone got opinions?
About the author
#22
The main reason I never tried a mod for it was because none of the previous engines could handle outdoor terrains large enough to play on. Here are the reasons I think it would be a good game to remake.
1: the whole premise of the game is multiplayer tournament combat, Torque is already set up to do this and the demand for this type of game is high. The original game was tournament based with prize money based on your performance.
2: the original had huge outdoor battlefields in a variety of terrains. Torque is designed to render outdoor terrains.
3: The original game had a wide variety of play options. There were so many different unique combinations you could spend hours just trying out new things.
There were about 20 monsters with various natural abilities. fighting ability was based on stats like strength, speed, intelligence and the creatures natural talents: a wasp's sting, a T-Rex's bite, a spider's web etc. Plus you could improve their abilities with prize money and buy new weapons and armor for them.
10/09/2001 (6:03 pm)
I used to play Mail Order Monsters for hours at a time. That game is at the top of my list for a sequel. The basic design is very viable in todays market and Torque is perfectly set up for a game like that. The main reason I never tried a mod for it was because none of the previous engines could handle outdoor terrains large enough to play on. Here are the reasons I think it would be a good game to remake.
1: the whole premise of the game is multiplayer tournament combat, Torque is already set up to do this and the demand for this type of game is high. The original game was tournament based with prize money based on your performance.
2: the original had huge outdoor battlefields in a variety of terrains. Torque is designed to render outdoor terrains.
3: The original game had a wide variety of play options. There were so many different unique combinations you could spend hours just trying out new things.
There were about 20 monsters with various natural abilities. fighting ability was based on stats like strength, speed, intelligence and the creatures natural talents: a wasp's sting, a T-Rex's bite, a spider's web etc. Plus you could improve their abilities with prize money and buy new weapons and armor for them.
#24
Black and white has a pretty large collection of playable creatures and creature combat is very fun. Mail Order Monsters would take it to the next level, adding long range weapons and large maps to the mix.
Plus, if the game developed a large online following, you would probably start to see some impressive add-on models from the people who played the game. it would be to the designers advantage to have as many monsters as possible so that people don't get tired of playing.
What time is lost making models would be regained because outdoor maps are (at least to me,) easier than indoor ones and a single player game wouldn't need to be developed beyond the bot match level. The original game was mostly about multiplayer combat of various kinds.
10/09/2001 (10:50 pm)
It wouldn't be too bad, most single player games have at least that many models if you count monsters. Half-life had 31 seperate animated models, 8 DM players and 23 monsters. Black and white has a pretty large collection of playable creatures and creature combat is very fun. Mail Order Monsters would take it to the next level, adding long range weapons and large maps to the mix.
Plus, if the game developed a large online following, you would probably start to see some impressive add-on models from the people who played the game. it would be to the designers advantage to have as many monsters as possible so that people don't get tired of playing.
What time is lost making models would be regained because outdoor maps are (at least to me,) easier than indoor ones and a single player game wouldn't need to be developed beyond the bot match level. The original game was mostly about multiplayer combat of various kinds.
#25
Mostly because you would go around and gather contacts in bars or through phone numbers, then call em up and and accept or decline various jobs that included getting some stolen item back, hacking into some computer and getting some certain piece of information, escorting some guy or some package from one place to another... things like that. Then you'd buy better equipment so you could handle the bigger better jobs.
If this were updated and 'sequaled', 20x more equipment and weapons could be made available depending on the parts of town you were in, or the type of people you were buying from (the ajganistan 'johnson' could sell you airplanes). Cyberspace in the snes version sucked sweaty balls... sega did it alittle better but it could be completely reinvented using resorces that just weren't available in 93-94 or whenever those games were made.
I accually tried to write up a game blueprint for this a year or two ago and came up with some ideas. On top of the normal stuff that was already present in shadowrun I came up with additional contracts such as assasination or character assasination of public figures, blowing up corporate rival offices, carjacking, drug dealing, maybe even some international incidents... whatever, as long as the price is right. And on top of that, everything would be set in 22nd or even the 23rd century in some blade runner-esc city.
The important thing about it was that the goal of the game was to earn money and buy better shit. I don't even remember what the hell the story in shadowrun-genesis was about. SNES had you kill some big dragon at the end. I hated all the magical and fantasmical elements in those 2 games. I loved the technical sci-fi illegality that seeped from every pore of the game.
10/12/2001 (12:05 pm)
I just looked at the information that gamespot had on "Duality". That looks perty cool, but it looks like they left out my FAVORITE part about ShadowRun, and that was the halfassed 'open ended' feel you got.Mostly because you would go around and gather contacts in bars or through phone numbers, then call em up and and accept or decline various jobs that included getting some stolen item back, hacking into some computer and getting some certain piece of information, escorting some guy or some package from one place to another... things like that. Then you'd buy better equipment so you could handle the bigger better jobs.
If this were updated and 'sequaled', 20x more equipment and weapons could be made available depending on the parts of town you were in, or the type of people you were buying from (the ajganistan 'johnson' could sell you airplanes). Cyberspace in the snes version sucked sweaty balls... sega did it alittle better but it could be completely reinvented using resorces that just weren't available in 93-94 or whenever those games were made.
I accually tried to write up a game blueprint for this a year or two ago and came up with some ideas. On top of the normal stuff that was already present in shadowrun I came up with additional contracts such as assasination or character assasination of public figures, blowing up corporate rival offices, carjacking, drug dealing, maybe even some international incidents... whatever, as long as the price is right. And on top of that, everything would be set in 22nd or even the 23rd century in some blade runner-esc city.
The important thing about it was that the goal of the game was to earn money and buy better shit. I don't even remember what the hell the story in shadowrun-genesis was about. SNES had you kill some big dragon at the end. I hated all the magical and fantasmical elements in those 2 games. I loved the technical sci-fi illegality that seeped from every pore of the game.
#26
The C64 remake I'd like to see is an update to Impossible Mission. That was a great game. In the old days it was a side scrolling jump game, but today it could take off on some of the gameplay of Deus Ex.
10/16/2001 (2:12 pm)
"There are several games I would like to see sequels to. all of them were on the c-64 originally. Has anyone played, or still owns a Commodore 64?"The C64 remake I'd like to see is an update to Impossible Mission. That was a great game. In the old days it was a side scrolling jump game, but today it could take off on some of the gameplay of Deus Ex.
#27
It is a total dream that anyone would be able to release a remake of this game except the owning company, but that game as sucked up more hours of my life than I would ever care to admit, and it is such a shame that all the sequels ranked between merely-okay to downright sucky. I am even more distraught that X-COM Alliance has been put on "Indefinite Hold" (read: dead) and Dreamland Chronicles has been canned.
I would like to see the original (true to its roots, with almost nothing changed) in 3d and high resolution.
10/25/2001 (2:34 pm)
X-COM: UFO Defense.It is a total dream that anyone would be able to release a remake of this game except the owning company, but that game as sucked up more hours of my life than I would ever care to admit, and it is such a shame that all the sequels ranked between merely-okay to downright sucky. I am even more distraught that X-COM Alliance has been put on "Indefinite Hold" (read: dead) and Dreamland Chronicles has been canned.
I would like to see the original (true to its roots, with almost nothing changed) in 3d and high resolution.
#29
08/15/2004 (10:02 pm)
Id love to see a re-make of final fantasy 5,6,7 those were the games i liked the most from the series and i think they could use a major graphics redux and be re released on the big 3 consoles i havent played any final fantasy games past 8 because i dont have a ps2 and final fantasy 7 was my first major video game that i got addicted to i even broke my ps1 and never beat the game 
#31
and...
xcom... of course... xcom.
08/15/2004 (10:39 pm)
System Shock sequel :| I crave for my dose of patronizing A.I. and zombies inviting to "join us".and...
xcom... of course... xcom.
#32
:P Yeah, I'm definetely old school.
08/16/2004 (12:55 am)
Kid Icarus, Metroid (definetely not as a FPS!), The Gardian Legend, Gunstar Heros, Bangai-O, Sidearms, and the classic Zoo Keeper :):P Yeah, I'm definetely old school.
#33
08/16/2004 (4:11 am)
@The 5 people above me. This thread is dead. The last post before you 5 was 3 years ago.
#35
It just took a nap. a long one.
08/16/2004 (7:33 am)
How can a thread "is there a classic game you'd like to remake", be dead? :)It just took a nap. a long one.
#36
I have plans (on the back burner) for creating a 3D 1stP/3rdP - Split Screen Co-op Remake titled Heavy Barrel Reborn - hehe.
08/18/2004 (5:10 pm)
Heavy Barrel by Data East is my all time favorite. It is in fact the inspiration behind my Gunvertor Weapon System.I have plans (on the back burner) for creating a 3D 1stP/3rdP - Split Screen Co-op Remake titled Heavy Barrel Reborn - hehe.
#37
08/19/2004 (3:49 am)
Star Flight...
#38
That was a game...
08/19/2004 (4:04 am)
Was "Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri" already mentioned?That was a game...
#39
What would be my dream, licensing-issues-unrestricted sequel? Probably MechWarrior 5, as it looks like Microsoft/FASA is concentrating on just making watered down arcadey versions of Mechwarrior for the XBox. I wouldn't change it much of the gameplay over the existing MW4 (or its kinda-brother, VirtualWorld's Firestorm). I would just up the realism with all-new graphics, and larger worlds and more squad-mates.
I'd want the game to have a more epic, battleground feel to it by doing real squad-based combat. In fact, you'd start out as a rookie who doesn't even command his/her own squad. So someone else will make tactical decisions for you, like patrol this area, attack these mechs, etc. (But, as with any real battle, you will have the ability to make snap on-site decisions and modify/ignore your orders. In fact, that could be worked into the story; You have to ditch your mission object to stop something major from happening. Very foolhardy, but you start to earn respect that will eventually lead to you commanding your own forces.)
The most optimal system, I think, would be a branching set of missions. So, during each mission you might get one or more options. (Go attack this convoy carrying extra weapons to the enemy, or do a rush attack at an outpost base and split their forces?) This could lead to multiple endings, some which would be good, some bad.
MechWarrior 2: Mercenaris (and later, MW4:Mercenaries) more or less had a branching path, but only for the very beginning of the game. After a while, however, it leads you into a common mission track. I'm thinking of a system more like WingCommander, where it was possible to deviate maybe a mission or two from the winning path before completely losing. And in fact, that was necessary, in order to explore all of the game's missions.
Sadly, none of this will likely come to pass. I've toyed with making a large-mech sort of game, but if I did it wouldn't be anything like MW. (Though I would incorporate features I mentioned above.)
08/19/2004 (10:02 am)
I'm a big shmups fan (side-scrolling shooters). I've done a few quasi-remakes, mostly blurring a few games together into one. (My current project is an combination of Irem's R-Type and Tecnhosoft's Thunderforce. Though, since I believe Tecnhosoft no longer exists, I could probably make a direct sequel to TF and not get in trouble. The same goes for the Heroz Zwei game that was mentioned above. That would require some research, though.)What would be my dream, licensing-issues-unrestricted sequel? Probably MechWarrior 5, as it looks like Microsoft/FASA is concentrating on just making watered down arcadey versions of Mechwarrior for the XBox. I wouldn't change it much of the gameplay over the existing MW4 (or its kinda-brother, VirtualWorld's Firestorm). I would just up the realism with all-new graphics, and larger worlds and more squad-mates.
I'd want the game to have a more epic, battleground feel to it by doing real squad-based combat. In fact, you'd start out as a rookie who doesn't even command his/her own squad. So someone else will make tactical decisions for you, like patrol this area, attack these mechs, etc. (But, as with any real battle, you will have the ability to make snap on-site decisions and modify/ignore your orders. In fact, that could be worked into the story; You have to ditch your mission object to stop something major from happening. Very foolhardy, but you start to earn respect that will eventually lead to you commanding your own forces.)
The most optimal system, I think, would be a branching set of missions. So, during each mission you might get one or more options. (Go attack this convoy carrying extra weapons to the enemy, or do a rush attack at an outpost base and split their forces?) This could lead to multiple endings, some which would be good, some bad.
MechWarrior 2: Mercenaris (and later, MW4:Mercenaries) more or less had a branching path, but only for the very beginning of the game. After a while, however, it leads you into a common mission track. I'm thinking of a system more like WingCommander, where it was possible to deviate maybe a mission or two from the winning path before completely losing. And in fact, that was necessary, in order to explore all of the game's missions.
Sadly, none of this will likely come to pass. I've toyed with making a large-mech sort of game, but if I did it wouldn't be anything like MW. (Though I would incorporate features I mentioned above.)
#40
any takers on that idea?
08/19/2004 (7:16 pm)
When it comes to remakes/fan-indie sequals, you can never tell if it will live up to the origanal. some of those games that were 2d, can only be done right in 2d, 3d would mess up the "nostalgia" that it was ment to bring.(ie, those 3d pacman games *shudder*) one exception to that rule would be, of course, Mario 64. but that was comeing from the workshop of a master, miyamoto. all i can say is, when you do a sequal to a game that is considered dead by the non-core market, then you have to make sure that the simple design aspects of that game,(ie, the ones that made it so enjoy able) should be parallel to incorperating new technology. i, myself, would like to see a mechwarrior game for the GBA, but alas, i cannot devolope for any platform except pc. but still, i am a hard core mechwarrior fan.any takers on that idea?
Torque Owner Jon Cahill