Developer (and artist? and sound?) recruiting

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pd
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Re: Developer (and artist? and sound?) recruiting

#46 Post by pd »

GlasShadow wrote: i can do hi-med-low poly, UV and texture and haven't used normal maps, but i can pick it up, in fact looking it up now seems like a more advanced form of bump mapping which i have done, just never ran across normal mapping before.
Sounds good! Normal maps are indeed advanced bump maps. The idea is to have a detailed high poly mesh and the low poly game mesh. The map is created by reading the surface normal directions of the high poly mesh and saving it in an image, which in turn is applied to the low poly mesh, from where the normal information is interpreted. It's a common technique in today's games and has been around for a couple of years. Note, that I didn't mean to say, you need to know how to do all of this to participate, I was just trying to get an idea of what you can do.
GlasShadow wrote: p40 apx 7500 polys, has 4 lod's effect helpers, animated gear, control surfaces etc, painted by me all from scratch did this about a year 1/2 ago. also i like to make the mesh mostly 1 piece cant stand all these intersecting shapes i see in some meshes (pet peeve)
Nice work!

For now I'd suggest to just stay around, read the boards and wiki, get familiar with the project, etc. Please check out the two announcements in the graphics board.

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Re: Developer (and artist? and sound?) recruiting

#47 Post by GlasShadow »

cool sounds good, ill also go over some of the tutorials on the normal mapping and more advanced uv unwraping stuff.

also thanks for the quick reply glad to see the project is still ongoing as ive dropped a few posts on other games with no luck, if it takes someone 4 days to get back to me i wonder how serious the development of it is, u know what i mean.

currently i have 3dsmax 2009 that i got through the college for a good discount :D, as well as the whole cs4 suite, that im learning (flash now, photo shop latter) but unfortunately my degree in web design dosn't include the 3d modeling part but i hope to pick that class up eventually.

also i have a bunch of game ideas checked out the 3.something release, and the GUI needs some help, proly some of this has been fixed but i wont elaborate too much in this thread as thats another topic.

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Geoff the Medio
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Re: Developer (and artist? and sound?) recruiting

#48 Post by Geoff the Medio »

MikkoM wrote:
Geoff the Medio wrote:* Don't need to mention my or tzlaine's names or aliases or our jobs
...we could possibly use your and tzlaine`s jobs as a sign of quality that this project has, since tzlaine is a professional C++ programmer after all
To me, the references to jobs seems to have the opposite effect... it's as though there's not enough to say about the project itself, so we need to refer to jobs of people related to it in order to have something to say.
(don`t really know what kind of a job description grad student is)
Meaning what...?
These job descriptions together with screenshots from the project could hopefully make more people interested in FreeOrion, as they could set FreeOrion apart from thousands of other hobbyist programming projects, which don`t have as professional members or the kind of quality that FreeOrion has.
If FreeOrion has quality to set it apart, it doesn't need job descriptions or other factoids to show it.
Not keen on the "worthy of the Orion name" part...
Changed it to: "to create something that will hopefully carry on the Orion legacy."
Same thing, still not keen. FreeOrion is inspired by, but not replicating any previous Orion games.

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Re: Developer (and artist? and sound?) recruiting

#49 Post by pd »

Changed it to: "to create something that will hopefully carry on the Orion legacy."
It also sounds pretentious and overly dramatic.

I agree that the project should speak for itself.

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Re: Developer (and artist? and sound?) recruiting

#50 Post by MikkoM »

I have updated the recruitment post again. The Orion part is now deleted and I have also changed the Ogre picture. I am not sure however, if the Ogre picture is still good enough for this purpose as it is a picture that I took from the tech-demo by using Fraps. However I would like to have at least one good Ogre picture in the recruitment post, since the combat system is a very important part of the project at this stage. Also if we should stick with only two or three images total as Geoff suggested, which images should I use?
Geoff the Medio wrote:Meaning what...?
Meaning that I am not exactly sure what kind of a job description a grad student is. Now what I can gather from internet sources, a grad student is someone who has already earned a previous undergraduate (bachelor's) degree, and currently studies in a university or grad school to earn higher academic degrees. And if this is true a grad student seems more like a university/grad school student than someone who is already in work-life and gets paid for the work he/she does. Unless of course a grad student is doing some funded research and/or works at the university/grad school, and so is getting paid for what he/she does. (Note that I am not trying to say that studing isn`t hard work. It is or at least can be. I just understand the word job mostly as something that you get paid to do.)

Also if we say that you are a grad student in a programming related recruitment post, is it accurate to assume that you are studying/doing research on some programming related topics? Since if I am not mistaken grad students can study/research a wide variety of topics.

Anyway I have already removed the part that mentions your jobs from the recruitment post, so all of the above isn`t that significant anymore.
Last edited by MikkoM on Fri Oct 02, 2009 5:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Developer (and artist? and sound?) recruiting

#51 Post by pd »

MikkoM wrote:I am not sure however, if the Ogre picture is still good enough for this purpose as it is a picture that I took from the tech-demo by using Fraps. However I would like to have at least one good Ogre picture in the recruitment post, since the combat system is a very important part of the project at this stage. Also if we should stick with only two or three images total as Geoff suggested, which images should I use?
A screenshot showing the galaxy map is a must, preferably one, that has some fleet movement, like your third screenshot. A ship design screen is nice too. How about using a composite for the techdemo, possibly including some of the recent mood paintings?

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Geoff the Medio
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Re: Developer (and artist? and sound?) recruiting

#52 Post by Geoff the Medio »

MikkoM wrote:Now what I can gather from internet sources, a grad student is someone who has already earned a previous undergraduate (bachelor's) degree, and currently studies in a university or grad school to earn higher academic degrees.
Yep. At least in North America... European systems are a bit different, I hear.
And if this is true a grad student seems more like a university/grad school student than someone who is already in work-life and gets paid for the work he/she does.
It's debatable and depends on the program and specific situation, but being a grad student in a research science program is roughly half way between being an undergrad and being a full time researcher or scholar. Often some classes are taken, but a large part is research.
Unless of course a grad student is doing some funded research and/or works at the university/grad school, and so is getting paid for what he/she does.
Again, depends on the program, but in sciences most grad students, at least where I live, get paid for research and teaching. A program that also includes med school, law school, or a similar program, or possibly the large private research universities in the US might cost more to attend as a science grad student then you get paid, but I don't know first hand about the latter.

Grad students in arts are probably quite different though... From what I've heard, unless you've received a major research award or scholarship, you'll probably spend a lot of time working on the side or have a lot of debt.
Also if we say that you are a grad student in a programming related recruitment post, is it accurate to assume that you are studying/doing research on some programming related topics? Since if I am not mistaken grad students can study/research a wide variety of topics.
I do some programming, but I'm not in computer science.

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Re: Developer (and artist? and sound?) recruiting

#53 Post by pd »

I've done a screenshot of the techdemo myself. Feel free to use it, MikkoM. It's just a little more interesting from a purely artistic point of view.
Image

edit:
Here is also the composite I was talking about.
Image

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Re: Developer (and artist? and sound?) recruiting

#54 Post by MikkoM »

pd wrote:I've done a screenshot of the techdemo myself. Feel free to use it, MikkoM. It's just a little more interesting from a purely artistic point of view.
edit:
Here is also the composite I was talking about.
Thank you. :) I have updated the screenshots based on your feedback. (I used the prior third screenshot to show the galaxy map, but don`t relly know if its ideal for this task, since it only shows a limited part of the galaxy.)

By the way, how was the composite done? Do you need some kind of special programs to do a composite, or can it be done by just placing pictures in a single Paint file for example?

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Re: Developer (and artist? and sound?) recruiting

#55 Post by MikkoM »

Any more comments about the recruitment post? Something that should be added to it or removed? Serious language problems (examples on how to correct them appreciated)?

If there aren`t any more comments, I will try to post the recruitment message some time next week.

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Re: Developer (and artist? and sound?) recruiting

#56 Post by Bigjoe5 »

Recruitment Post wrote:FreeOrion is a non commercial, community game project that aims to create a new high quality 4X space strategy game.
Superfluous comma.
Recruitment Post wrote:The project is already well under way, and at the moment version 0.4, which deals primarily with space combat, ship design and tech tree additions for both of the above, is being developed.
A bit clumsy, and missing a comma. I would replace it with:

"The project is already well under way; version 0.4, which deals with space combat and ship design as well as tech tree additions for the aforementioned, is currently being developed."
Recruitment Post wrote:Future stages include things like: diplomacy, AI, ground combat, espionage, governments (SMAC-style) etc.
Don't use a colon like that. It's awkward. Either leave out the colon and leave everything else the same (it's completely superfluous in that excerpt) or put something like this:

"Future stages of development include the following: ( ... )"
Recruitment Post wrote:Modern C++ features are used in the project, including numerous Boost libraries, and the client is built using the Ogre 3D library.
That sentence is a bit awkward. I would say:

"Modern C++ features are used in the project; this includes numerous Boost libraries and the Ogre 3D library, which is used to build the client." (Some sort of adjective at the beginning of this sentence would make it flow better as well. The whole section from which I took that excerpt is a bit clunky; perhaps some of the sentences could be combined?)
Recruitment Post wrote:This is necessary for an enterprise as big, complex, and ambitious as FreeOrion.
Superfluous comma after "complex".
Recruitment Post wrote:The development speed of the project is mostly slowed down by the lack of dedicated and skilful programmers. So if you are interested in working with talented individuals on an open source game project such as this, and don`t mind learning new things, FreeOrion is a project for you.
Could replace "mostly" with "mainly" or "primarily", which would work better in that context. Also, consider changing "skilful" to "skillful" if the target audience is less likely to use primarily British English rather than American. Eliminate "So" at the beginning of the second sentence and combine the two with a semicolon. The first comma - the one after "this" - is superfluous and should be removed.
Recruitment Post wrote:You can find more info about the project from here:

http://www.freeorion.org/index.php/Main_Page

And more info on how to contribute to the project can be found here:
If you're going to start that second sentence with "and", make it a part of the first sentence like this...:

"You can find more info about the project from here...:

http://www.freeorion.org/index.php/Main_Page

...and more info on how to contribute to the project can be found here:"

...so that the whole things flows better and seems artfully repetitive rather than clumsily repetitive.
Recruitment Post wrote:This channel however isn`t always monitored and so, if you don`t receive a reply to your post within a few minutes, please redirect your post/posts to the forums of the project.
Change to:

"This channel isn't always monitored however, so if you don't receive a reply to your post within a few minutes, please redirect your post/posts to the forums of the project."
Recruitment Post wrote:And finally here are some screenshots from the game (including a composite picture of preliminary space combat material):
Add comma after "finally".

As far as content and structure are concerned, I would consider putting that last paragraph ("Personally, ever since Master of Orion 3...") after the screenshots to add closure to the post. Perhaps also add something at the end of that paragraph, like "Please take some time to learn more about this project, and hopefully become a contributor!" Also, consider replacing the galaxy map screenshot with one in which the trade stockpile isn't negative and decreasing. Furthermore, consider having several buildings on the planet sidebar using some more recent icons. Other than that, I don't see any problems.
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Re: Developer (and artist? and sound?) recruiting

#57 Post by Geoff the Medio »

Bigjoe5 wrote:
Recruitment Post wrote:Modern C++ features are used in the project, including numerous Boost libraries, and the client is built using the Ogre 3D library.
That sentence is a bit awkward. I would say:

"Modern C++ features are used in the project; this includes numerous Boost libraries and the Ogre 3D library, which is used to build the client." (Some sort of adjective at the beginning of this sentence would make it flow better as well. The whole section from which I took that excerpt is a bit clunky; perhaps some of the sentences could be combined?)
"the Ogre 3D library" is not a "modern c++ feature". Nor are the Boost libraries, really, although many are on the path to becoming c++ features. Perhaps "The project uses modern C++ features, makes estensive use of the Boost C++ libraries, and uses the Ogre 3D library to handle rendering in the client." or something similar.

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Re: Developer (and artist? and sound?) recruiting

#58 Post by pd »

MikkoM wrote:By the way, how was the composite done? Do you need some kind of special programs to do a composite, or can it be done by just placing pictures in a single Paint file for example?
I'm not sure about Paint, but I guess it can be done in most image editing softwares. You simply create a canvas bigger than the individual image files and then arrange them.

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Re: Developer (and artist? and sound?) recruiting

#59 Post by MikkoM »

Thank you for your comments. I updated the recruitment post again.
Bigjoe5 wrote: A bit clumsy, and missing a comma. I would replace it with:
"The project is already well under way; version 0.4, which deals with space combat and ship design as well as tech tree additions for the aforementioned, is currently being developed."
I agree that my approach might be a bit clumsy, but at least to me this also sounds quite clumsy.

Bigjoe5 wrote: The whole section from which I took that excerpt is a bit clunky; perhaps some of the sentences could be combined?
Used the text that Geoff provided. Also, thought about combining some of those sentences, but somehow all the attempts that I made to combine them seemed even clumsier. One good thing about the short sentences might be that at least they shouldn’t be too hard to understand.

Bigjoe5 wrote:Perhaps also add something at the end of that paragraph, like "Please take some time to learn more about this project, and hopefully become a contributor!"
Does this add something significant to the recruitment post that is currently missing from it?
Bigjoe5 wrote:Also, consider replacing the galaxy map screenshot with one in which the trade stockpile isn't negative and decreasing.
Perhaps the new screenshot that Geoff added could be used?

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Re: Developer (and artist? and sound?) recruiting

#60 Post by Bigjoe5 »

MikkoM wrote: Does this add something significant to the recruitment post that is currently missing from it?
Yes; while the exact tone of the statement probably should be modified to match the rest of the post, there is currently no explicit directive, no direct suggestion for the reader to follow. You state what we're seeking, and how they can contribute, but at no point in the post do you actually say something to the effect of "please come contribute", which has a greater psychological impact than simply implying that the person reading should come and contribute.
MikkoM wrote: Perhaps the new screenshot that Geoff added could be used?
If you mean the one with the detection circles, then probably, although since it shows them in a very unfinished state, it might be better if you prepared your own screenshot with the express purpose of highlighting the most attractive aspects of the game. For example, the system sidepanel would be open to a colonized system, perhaps with the resource tab expanded, and the buildings tab expanded as well, showing certain building icons such as the miniature sun icon, the black hole generator icon and the genome bank icon. The fleets window could also be open, showing a fleet being ordered to a new system. Perhaps one of the ships has received a scrap order and that ship has just been right clicked, showing the options "cancel scrapping" and "rename ship". All the resources should be at a positive value, though not all of them need be increasing, necessarily. None should be decreasing at an absurdly fast rate. If one of the ships in the fleet window has an absurdly difficult to pronounce name, you might consider renaming it before taking the screenshot. It might also be a good idea to rename the owned planet in the system before taking the screenshot, to show off the fact that it is indeed possible. Make sure the fleet window is resized so that the speed icon doesn't extend outside the window. There should probably be some systems owned by another empire somewhere on the screen as well.

Well, that's just what my instincts tell me anyway... I think whatever screenshot is used should highlight the best FO currently has to offer.
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