First things first. If you steal any ideas: I will sue you. (Just kidding but please don''t) I am working on a game with the idea that humans are being degraded into almost animal states. The idea is to set up animal pack leaders, food chains and squad intelligence. The animal/humans would get a pack leader (the most dominant) that takes controll of them if they work in packs. Food chains would be set up on who is higher on the food chain than others and what their favorite foods would be this would affect what they attack and or eat. Squad intelligence would be similar to Half-Life''s military squads. I need to know: Is this possible?

yes possible, everything is possible

hey that''s a great idea! i think i''ll try it

This would be using the Quake engine, how many programmers and how experienced would they need to be?

If you''re going to use it include me in the list of credits for the idea.

mmmh I will hire about 3 programmer and 2 graphist to make it
expect the release of my new game based on your idea
within 6 month... what did you plan for the title ???

nhaaa just kiddin :-) howewer that seem a good idea great if you can make it.

100% guy writting in gamedev have new idea for game 2% 3%
make commercial game.

Don't see how the game works - do I command a squad, or am I fighting them, or is it me trying to balance the ecosystem, or do i take my squad online to fight another squad? (steal my ideas if there any use

Nice thing about animal behavious is that you could probably get away from the finite state machine system, in that most people just observe the dog is angry/sad/etc. So Have states like patrolling, hunting, attacking etc. The state machine could be independent of the animal (they will all do similar things, just in a different way).

Then you could use a fuzzy logic system to tune different behaviour, like how likely to run away it is.

You should look up all the flocking and all that stuff.

quote:
This would be using the Quake engine, how many programmers and how experienced would they need to be?

Not thet is matters but I presume not Quake 1?

It's not a beginners project, but you've got the some of the hardest stuff done already (engine). If your programmers and familiar with the engine (or are at a level where they could be), and actually can program (as I said not a learning project) - you should be ok. You are only adding Ai to Quake in effect.

If you are using the word hire to mean actually pay professionals (rather than a group of friends) then you get as much experience as you can. Don't let anyone in the door without a demo, and get at least one programmer with games under his belt (if possible).

If you ask me your got more troubles with the graphics. Whilst it takes at 18 months to program a quality from scratch the graphics artists (texturer drawers, level editors, character builders) are working non stop (concept->prototype->gameply testing->refine).

Since you are looking (I presume) at a variety of animals as main characters, you need model makers and animator really badly. Also they need texturing. I dunno how your levels are made up but that needs skills too.

Development time I'd say would be limited on artists. 2-3 programmers? 1 texture guy, 2 level makers, 2 character modeller? Then you could turn it over in much less than a year.
This is worst case by the way - depending on what you are thinking of you will be able to go it quicker and with less people.

eg Obviously if you are in pack of wolves in an open landscape then you should loose the level editors guys - the texture guy to make the natural surroundings look good, the modellers make the trees etc, and the programmers have to write the landscape renderer.

[edited by - chrisflatley on March 20, 2002 5:37:17 AM]

Gotcha Crisflatley!

All of these are enemy AI. I was sort of thinking that the food chain could be used to the players advantage ie. you could lure a animal A to an animal B so that they would attack and kill eath other first (maybe eat each other) and you could pick off the remaining one or run away during the confusion.

Fuzzy logic could work but how is it implemented (I am not a programmer but an artist and the project leader)?

I was sort of thinking Quake 1 but if that would be too hard to customize then what engine would you suggest? (preferably open-sourced because financing is going to be a major problem).

I wasn''t conserned really about the graphics, but that could possibly cause a problem. I am currently shining up my skills at the moment but I don''t have many people on my team.

The levels are going to be very enclosed (except for the first level) and very factory-ish. The creatures will also be entirely fictional so I wouldn''t have much to base AI on.

If you would be so kind, but do you know how I could expand my team. The people I would need most (judging on your list) would be programmers (very badly)and level makers.

Thanks for the ideas. Keep ''em coming!

you the 1 who should be sued by god as that is the way basic life functions.....dang!!!any 1 seen planit of the A...
hmmmm...

you the 1 who should be sued by god as that is the way basic life functions.....dang!!!any 1 seen planit of the A...
hmmmm...

Oh yeah. I forgot to add that this is in it''s design faze and I am only starting to but together team. And go away if you don''t have anything constructive to say.