Nightfire: Source

[Pencat]

The idea behind this is not new, at all, and I'm not sure why I decided to pull this now that my free time is dwindling. However, I consider this more or less an attempt as I know that it'd take more than a handful of qualified and dedicated people that spend tons of hours working on this. This does not mean, though, that I don't give it a chance nor that I'm half-hearted about it.

To get to the actual project, I guess the name says it all. It's going to be a Source engine mod which is based on Nightfire. You could also call it a"port". All games from the Half-Life 2 franchise run on the Source engine but this is not supposed to be a mere Half-Life 2 mod! It will be a stand-alone game using completely its own content: maps, models, textures, sounds, GUI etc. So as you can see, there is plenty of work, as well as, a variety of workfields for which we'll need people.

Let me sum up some of the major tasks of the project (they may be nchanged throughout processing):

- Rebuild the maps from scratch << We will concentrate on the multiplayer mode
- Replace map details with high quality models << This is what Nightfire lacked big times
- Create truely new materials << Not a complete copy of NF textures
- Rebuild the characters, weapons and items from scratch
- Script the latter and add functions like a CTF mode etc.
- Create a GUI and HUD in the NF style

I am posting this here, so everyone of you who is interested has got some time to consider it. At the moment, there is no website, nor forum up yet. I don't have any screenshots either, of course. I've been experimenting on some of the tasks lately but this project is really new. We would also have to come up with an appliance process. But since we need every HELPING hand we'll be looking for people who are truely passionate about this and are able to accept critique. If you are not a great level or model designer, texture creator etc. it is no big deal, as long as you are willing to LEARN. And you'll have to accept that learning involves hours and hours of working on something, then dumping it. Either because you don't achieve what you attempted to create or because the team does not think it would add anything to the project. I have worked on several NF maps and on HL2 maps for a mod before but I know that I still have to learn A LOT.

Here are a few links that you should have a look at if you are interested in helping:

- The Valve SDK Wiki [Source SDK Docs] [Making A Mod] << This will be your browser's home page ;-)
- [GoldenEye: Source http://goldeneyesource.com/]<< A port of the Nintendo 64 Bond game to the Source engine

EDIT:
Job Application forum: http://www.nfbsp.com/source/forum/viewforum.php?f=14
(Sorry for the messy boards)

Well, I am looking forward to your response and questions. I am going to work on the project in my free time and I am hopefully soon able to get up a website and present a few screenshots.

[[George]]

A big goal, but I'm not quite sure if it will ever be achieved, although I wouldnt mind at all about helping out with textures, huds, and mods.

And what would you do with p jump? Would you get rid of it, or keep it?

[Pencat]

And what would you do with p jump? Would you get rid of it, or keep it?

We would not add it intentionally but we will see how the engine reacts on the grapple and speed powerup functions. I am not sure if we're going to remove it if it turns up but since Source is very controllable there might be a way to add a true pjump "switch" for hosts.

[batman]

sounds like a very lofty goal...

[Smith]

Herbius is also making a nf port on the source engine if im not mistaken..
but its more a new story line and not a real nf port :P

I got lots of time to actualy help out.. ( play some less hl² and actualy do something usefull xD ) ea mapping, texturing.. ill get a look @ those sites ^^

[Dynamite]

hmz u/we can use the decompiled maps in the hammer editor for rebuilding the maps, but u/we needs to use much other entities :S completely write back the stuff, its work for a year ...
but i like the idea because nf is nearly outdated and we can help the community very much with it
and its cowl if ppl can now download maps

[-+-{MI-6}-+-OO7]

With that new PC game coming out, I could maybe, just maybe take some themes and sounds off of it

[Pencat]

Since a few of you guys already said you would like to help us out I have set up a Job Application board in our forum.
http://www.nfbsp.com/source/forum/viewforum.php?f=14

Please read the information topic carefully and thanks to Tres for the forum. We just put it up so it's still a bit messy.

[-+-{MI-6}-+-OO7]

Couldn't we just wait for another PC game to come out, and maybe focus putting the nightfire maps in the new pc game Quantum of Solace?

[Tras]

Lol... most games do not come with map editing tools, and if quantum of solace has MP, it will be pretty different from nf's

[herbius]

My http://www.007refraction.co.nr/ has a similar goal to this. I did think of this when I was planning Refraction but I already had my storyline and things to do worked out so I stuck with it. It sounds like a bigger project than mine, actually, so good luck with it; maybe we could make both our Source games work together somehow?

I'd love to know how you plan to make this a standalone game, I could really do with the functionality. Hope you base it on the Orange Box (Source 2007) engine instead of EP1, graphics and the works are better IMO.

As for the map decompiling, I've tried this for my mod and hammer just complains about some unrecognised/non-existent thing and doesn't even try to open the map, which may be a problem to you. We might have to completely re-make some maps if it's impossible to convert the multiplayer ones.

A possible addition to the NF:S multiplayer mode would be Dynamic Weapon Spawns; I've got the C++ code of some unhelpful guy who seems to have left a couple of coding errors on the files and refuses to help fix them, saying I'm "Too much of a noob at C" and that I "Should fix them myself;" dunno how, seeing as I have less that marginal knowledge of the language. Pencat, I can send you the stuff if you want it; there's a page on the things on the VDC, search for "Dynamic Weapon Spawns Advanced."

GoldenEye Source, by the way, is a great mod; the thing that convinced me to start my Source Mod was realising that other people had already made a successful Bond game with the Source engine. However, I'm at a bit of a stop at the moment as I'm reconfiguring everything due to my new laptop. Should be getting going soon...

[Pencat]

maybe we could make both our Source games work together somehow?

I really think we should talk about working together in one way or another someday. Weird I didn't even know about your project before. Looking forward to some process of yours.

I'd love to know how you plan to make this a standalone game, I could really do with the functionality. Hope you base it on the Orange Box (Source 2007) engine instead of EP1, graphics and the works are better IMO.

This will be quite a lot of new work for us but Valve has got some informative wikis on setting up own games. And yes, we will use the Orange Box engine.

We might have to completely re-make some maps if it's impossible to convert the multiplayer ones.

Tres is currently improving his decompiler so that it outputs maps that can be edited directly. With the current version we can only use the decompiled map as a reference to REbuild the maps from scratch. Hopefully the improved decompiler gives us maps that are "worth cleaning", basically ones we can work with. In any way, we will have to change a lot as with new models, textures and map capacities comes new brushwork.

Pencat, I can send you the stuff if you want it; there's a page on the things on the VDC, search for "Dynamic Weapon Spawns Advanced."

I'll have a look at this but I guess, for the moment, we are going to concentrate on implementing the default NF entities.

[herbius]

I really think we should talk about working together in one way or another someday. Weird I didn't even know about your project before. Looking forward to some process of yours.

That would be a good idea. The main thing I'm in most need of is probably a Bond player model; if you manage to get/make one and could give it to me for my mod I'd be really grateful. We could even ship both games together?? Have Nightfire: Source and then Refraction: Source as the sequel or something.

Are you planning to remake Nightfire's missions as well as the multiplayer? Just out of interest; I'm not quite sure how to integrate single and multiplayer modes together, and as I was going to have a single player 007: Refraction as well this may well be an option in the future.

[batman]

i can already make qc/smd files from nightfire models...nothing is released yet though as there are some bugs to clean up first...

[Pencat]

The main thing I'm in most need of is probably a Bond player model;

Same here. So we will probably go with a slightly polished version of converted models. That means we decompile NF character models, increase their poly count a little and then get them into Source. It would be nicer though to rebuild them from scratch.

Are you planning to remake Nightfire's missions as well as the multiplayer?

No, we're not going to do so. It's three times as much work as the multiplayer part and I doubt anyone would play it.

i can already make qc/smd files from nightfire models...nothing is released yet though as there are some bugs to clean up first...

Great! As I said, we really need good modelers. So as soon as you're able to show us some of your work head to our forums and post it somewhere on it. ;-) http://www.nfbsp.com/source/forum/