IT Is revealed.....

irata · Post by **irata** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 3:13 pm 0

Ouch, I'm an EDGE-subscriber and I just got last months issue recently.
Fine, just another month for this issue

skip · Post by **skip** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 3:22 pm 0

[deleted due to multiple post cock up]

skip · Post by **skip** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 3:22 pm 0

Excellent stuff. My US NTSC Gamecube was a good purchase then, eh

Jeff: I'd like to ask about the comments you made in Edge a while back - when you stated that you'd like to make a game based on the concept of VLM combined with a shooter were you still at VM Labs?

And when you said that you didn't currently have enough power to do it, were you thinking of the Aries 3 (or beyond) processor? Did you have any idea that it would be for another next gen console at that stage? IIRC, VM Labs was still trying to kick on at that point.

I was going to post (many times, but kept getting distracted in here

) about this article. I figured all would be revealved, and with the tidbits you revealed, I'm not surprise it seems to have gone in that direction. woohoo!

Good luck over the next 12-18 months. I hope that you remain as enthusiastic, rather than feel a little 'burnt out' like you said you did with T3K. I'm sure being an original concept that you'll maintain your enthusiasm.

One last question, will you give us more details of the gameplay of this beast in snippets or are you going to outline it completely? Personally, I expect (and would keep reading with muchos enthusiasm) if it's the former, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Did I say woohoo!

Post by **RiK** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 3:22 pm 0

koworld wrote: Lets not open ourselves up to nasty 'fanboys' posts hey chaps? Rez is wonderful and Unity will be fantastic, to suggest one is better than the other smacks of Xbox v GC v PS2 nonsense.

Indeed, actually I meant no offence to Rez, I like Rez, I just want to stop the comparisons before they start.

Unity is not a Rez-a-like. Full stop. There, see, end of chat.

Jeff cannot reveal all about the concepts yet, but suffice to say "abstract shooter" is a VERY loose description... and it will rock....

Gooey · Post by **Gooey** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 3:23 pm 0

And I was beginning to think it would be an X-Box thing and my lovely Cube was going to miss out. Nice one, this is going to be great!

ekendrick · Post by **ekendrick** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 3:24 pm 0

koworld wrote:Also, Unity is a great name, sounds right for the game concept and reflects nicely on the whole Llamasoft 'thing'

Yeah, even if the game doesn't get called unity - if you control a ship of some sort it just has to be called "Unity" or "SS Unity"

"The evil Squares, controllers of N-Space, have invaded our galaxy. Warping time and space to suit their pleasures - chaos reigns. Planets and entire solar systems have been warped and distorted beyond recognition, the forces of nature itself no longer hold true, and the last vestiges of humanity can now only be found clinging to barren rocks in overlooked areas of normal space.

Using stolen technology we have been able to build a single ship, the SS Unity, which can itself warp and reform N-Space. Using this ship we can finally fight back!

Commander, you are the only one who has ever flown a ship through N-Space and lived, rescuing thousands of our kind. We would like you to fly the SS Unity and reclaim our galaxy.

You are our only hope."

Post by **RiK** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 3:27 pm 0

koworld wrote: So, getting on topic: Did the VLM extravaganza at Warp use part of Unity's code?

VLM-3 was born out of some of Yaks early tests on the Gamecube development kit.

It sits within a nice open framework which will enable Yak to test out further concepts as the game develops, so in a sense err - yes, sort of, in a very early form....

Yak · Post by **Yak** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 3:32 pm 0

Yeah, Unity is what I was talking about back then - I had it squirrelled away for when the hardware was up to it, at the time I thought maybe later iterations of the VML hardware, but no matter; it'll work just fine on the Cubie

.

Obviously I can't give away all aspects of the gameplay - some of it is, to my knowledge, unique, and I don't necessarily think it would be good to tell all the details. Suffice to say it should be a "zoner" game like never before

.

\
(:-) - Yak
/

Gooey · Post by **Gooey** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 3:37 pm 0

Yak, one question. What sort of support are Lionhead giving you, are you on your own or do you have access to people like graphic artists ?

Elizian · Post by **Elizian** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 3:40 pm 0

KevG, in another thread @ 08:55, wrote:In an interview with Peter Molyneux, it was interesting to read that, on the forming Lionhead, he, too wanted to get away from the Cast of Thousands set up that I think was the norm at EA/Bullfrog. I believe he pegs his dev teams back to just a manageable couple of dozen IIRC. In some ways, you can generate a lot of creative power this way.

Good call, KevG

Tuur · Post by **Tuur** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 3:40 pm 0

Gooey wrote:Yak, one question. What sort of support are Lionhead giving you, are you on your own or do you have access to people like graphic artists ?

And sound?

Meatpuppet · Post by **Meatpuppet** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 3:41 pm 0

Yah, the fanboy attitude is not a good one

Ultimately Rez, is just another take on the Synesthetic sight & sound dynamic and a poor one at that, but it's been a well worn path in many mediums other than digital. Rez, I found disappointing as it touched on a few ideas, but fell well short of what it was purporting to achieve. So yes, enough about Rez already, but also - lets just wait and see...

Elk · Post by **Elk** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 3:42 pm 0

Congrats Yak!! I thought it was going to be Cube based.....

How are things looking for the future of the GC? I dont follow these things so thats why I ask..

Again well done for getting the deal.. Happy day!!

Yak · Post by **Yak** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 3:43 pm 0

I will have access to all of the respurces at Lionhead should I need to draw on them, and whereas much of the game uses algorithmic graphics, should I need logos, fonts or particular models then I will be provided with access to the necessary artists.

The music is also going to be taken care of; can't say much more about that yet but the music is going to be Very Good Indeed.

\
(:-) - Yak
/

Kemper_Boyd · Post by **Kemper_Boyd** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 3:44 pm 0

Just fan-fucking-tastic.

Goatcube! Woo hoo!
Lionhead! Woo hoo!

Jeff congratulations.