g.i. joe/cobra Fight for Freedom!

[lilwillie 47]

Just wanted to drop a note here that I want to see this mod happen. It looks fantastic, what do you need for help on it? I love GI Joe. Grew up on it.

[scotg 204]

1 hour ago, lilwillie said:

Just wanted to drop a note here that I want to see this mod happen. It looks fantastic, what do you need for help on it? I love GI Joe. Grew up on it.

Lots of things need to happen. Top of the list is getting my P: drive, Mikero's Tools, and Buldozer all in harmony. While taking measures to ditch Addon Builder and get pboProject working, I lost the ability to preview models and textures in Buldozer. I also can no longer include vehicle occupant RTMs in the PBOs, for some reason. If I had a coder/scripter guy to handle vehicle configuration with more dedication, willing to take on extra challenging configs, then my output could be twice as fast, I think. 

[scotg 204]

Hey everyone! It looks like PBOs might start packing again. I still can't figure out packing RTMs or setting up Buldozer to work in my new dev environment, but I can at least pack vehicles and gear again. The VAMP has been my pet project recently, so I thought I'd give y'all a teaser:

[jandrews 116]

nice to see you get up and running again. I would like to assist anyway i can as well. Albeit limited to being a basic noob to re-texturing and modeling.  Lets say I wanted to add to your Cobra army. lets say.... the Cobra B.A.T. 

 

What is the best way to go about this? 

 

[scotg 204]

@jandrewsThe best way would be to start from scratch and make a model, then texture it. Because of the Arm/hand detail and how it can be interchanged with weapons, new models are likely required.
Now that we are talking BATs... I imagine them as strictly-AI characters, since they are intended to be low-level androids (and they have about the same kind of drone-like behavior that Arma 3 AI have). While they are cool in concept and a vital part of Cobra forces, their use in this mod is secondary. By that I mean that if we can get around to making them work in a way that makes sense, then we will have them, but the player-operated characters must be the primary focus. As you can see, I have done very little with even the primaries, having only a couple of Cobra helmets available. The BATs are going to have be put on their shelf, or maybe they can be part of an update to the mod, later-on.

That being said, I find a lot of satisfaction in creating character helmets. Although I only have the Cobra brain buckets in-game, I have already begun helmet models on the Vipers, AVACs, common GI Joe helmet, and Snake-Eyes's specialized balaclava and goggles. I may have others, but it's been so long since I've started and paused those model projects that I cannot remember.

[Valken 623]

Kinda OT but any chance you can make your banner a larger 16:9 resolution (1920x1080) desktop wallpaper? It would make the wait easier... ;) 

 

Agree on the BAT as low level cannon fodder a la primitive Terminator types. I think breaking it down into segments would work. Just make the helmet, ARMs as part of a skin with the helmet? and the chest piece as a vest. Backpack would be obvious. I wonder if you can use the ACRE mod "scramble" voice as it sounds robotic? 

 

That would be 80% there already.

[scotg 204]

3 hours ago, Valken said:

Kinda OT but any chance you can make your banner a larger 16:9 resolution (1920x1080) desktop wallpaper? It would make the wait easier... ;) 

 

Agree on the BAT as low level cannon fodder a la primitive Terminator types. I think breaking it down into segments would work. Just make the helmet, ARMs as part of a skin with the helmet? and the chest piece as a vest. Backpack would be obvious. I wonder if you can use the ACRE mod "scramble" voice as it sounds robotic? 

 

That would be 80% there already.

Are you talking about the one in the sig? Easy enough, since it's from a screenshot at that size. Keep an eye out for it soon.

I never knew of the BATs having voices, but then again I didn't read the comics. I only watched the cartoons.

[Valken 623]

Yes I was referring to your sig! Thank you!

 

I think for B.A.T. they need some kind of audio... its not like they are completely silent as they need to communicate back positions and observations back to Cobra forces anyways... Would creep out recon crews and prevent them from walking into a BAT ambush there even some 80s beeps and boop sounds.

 

ACRE has that scramble channel that sounds pretty cool just for them.

[scotg 204]

I thought maybe they can have a Speak & Spell type of vocal pattern, but I think the headset mics on Tele-Vipers did that. In the cartoon, Tele-Vipers were portrayed kind of like Lando Calrissian's cyborg assistant but with that canny, robotic voice.

[Valken 623]

Those Televipers did have that weird robotic voice and even weirder and cooler digital scrolling goggles! I can see a mod to the CSAT helmets but unsure how someone would animate and light up the goggles. Would need a 4K texture to hold all that detail!!! Perfect to have a TFAR or ACRE modded backpack as well since they are comms officers!

 

Man, I love the 80's and all the innovation from that period... Next thing we know someone will work on a M.A.S.K type mod!!!

 

I will review the cartoons and see if I can find a B.A.T. clip. Can't get caught watching it at work so will see if I can do it between commutes and lunch.

[scotg 204]

LOL. Yes, don't get into trouble at work. Coolness.

I think having a lower-res texture for the goggle display would lend credibility to the time-period. If only I could do an overlay of the dialog box onto a model surface, then it could go on their goggle/visor. In addition to Cobra channel chat, it could include a running list of events occurring in-game (log-ons/offs, crashes, deaths, friendlies engaging in combat, enemies spotted, etc.).

MASK would be a challenge to do in a game, because their whole thing was about the element of surprise. Unless you market your game/mod as a civilian vehicle pack AND keep the inclusion of disguised converting assault vehicles a big secret, then there are no surprises. Even then, eventually it will be out, and people will be watching for the red IROC Camaros and black Ford Broncos they encounter in the game:



Also, if they wanted to blend into civilian cars, then they would have made more of them Honda Civics, Pontiac Sunbirds, Toyota Corollas, or even just cargo vans.

[Valken 623]

You can checkout this video on a custom action figure of a Tele-Viper's digital goggle display:

 

 

Would be awesome to see something like this one day in ARMA or heck, any FPS engine !

 

Going OT but I wonder if someone made a MASK inspired mod, can it be done with the AttachTo command? Just use any car pack and attach a bunch of guns to it in MASK mode. It could be something like the RDS Civilian Pack so it blends in with the ARMAverse... Not sure if there is an 80's carpack but that would be incredibly wonderful. Those MASK helmets are cool though so I would still like to see it one day.

 

I guess I better learn some 3D modeling to help out! :D

[scotg 204]

4 hours ago, Valken said:

Would be awesome to see something like this one day in ARMA or heck, any FPS engine !
 

Going OT but I wonder if someone made a MASK inspired mod, can it be done with the AttachTo command? Just use any car pack and attach a bunch of guns to it in MASK mode. It could be something like the RDS Civilian Pack so it blends in with the ARMAverse... Not sure if there is an 80's carpack but that would be incredibly wonderful. Those MASK helmets are cool though so I would still like to see it one day.

 

I guess I better learn some 3D modeling to help out! :D

That was a cool collector's mod! The only thing I'd have done different is make the marquee backwards. It's meant to be his instructions (according to the cartoon). Kudos to people who have enough confidence to take an expensive collectible and customize it even better without ruining it.

If you have an eye for form, volume, and spacial awareness along with some computer competency, then you can become a great 3D artist! Blender is free and powerful - a great tool for beginners. If you want to go the professional route, then you can use a trial version of 3D Studio Max for, I think, one month. I recommend the full version of this program. The trial period is meant to be long enough to help you decide if you want to go ahead and buy the full version or begin learning with the educational version. The educational version (EV) is cheaper (or maybe free?), but you have to be active in a certified course in the relative area of study. There are also other stipulations for the EV. I cannot remember the details, but they are on the website.

You'll want to become proficient in a 2D program as well, like Photoshop of Gimp. You'll need these to make the textures of course, but they're also needed for all the little icons and pictures associated with your models.

[scotg 204]

On 3/18/2018 at 5:23 PM, Valken said:

Kinda OT but any chance you can make your banner a larger 16:9 resolution (1920x1080) desktop wallpaper? It would make the wait easier... ;) 

Turns out it was on my dA site all along, but I did make a quick edit to frame it better. It's actually 1920x1200, the rez of my monitor, but you won't miss anything if you chop 120p off the top or bottom (or 60/60).

Find the link to the big file here: Cobra Assets 01 (there's a download button on right column for the 1920x1200 file).

Also, while you're there you may of course rummage through my galleries for any other artwork you like. Just note that if you use any of it for anything to always give credit to the author (me). :-)

Cheers!

[scotg 204]

SHAMELESS PLUG!!

 

Hey everyone! I just wanted to take this time to announce the Patreon page for this project: https://www.patreon.com/Rooster3D.
Subscribers will get the benefits of watching the production process unfold. The sweetest part of this Patreon will be the inclusion of Live Asset Test Sessions, in which subscribers can watch and even have chat interaction while I demonstrate and play-test vehicles, character gear, and equipment. Whether you are a fan of ArmA 3, GI Joe inspired vehicles, other mods, unique military equipment, or game development, this should be a great value to you! There will be other goodies as well, but the details are still being ironed out. If you are interested in taking advantage of the subscriber benefits, then check out the link!

As some of you may know, ArmA3 is running on the Real Virtuosity engine by BIS. Currently, ArmA3/RV provides a good foundation for assets inspired by GI Joe. When the mod is available for release, it will be a free download to everyone, of course. However, if the Patreon for the project generates enough subscribers (thus, revenue) then it will be considered for going into a full development. Many game engine developers license their engines to 3rd party developers. It may be unlikely that this will happen between me and BIS, but not to worry! If it goes into full production the game will likely switch to the Unreal Engine 4. There are some feature trade-offs between RV and UE4, which is why I don't just switch over already. One major feature is TrackIR, which I am very attached to, isn't quite there in UE4. The trade off in this case is that RV may never be VR capable, while UE4 has it working. Plus VR technology itself is somewhat low-res and looks like playing a game through a chicken-wire fence. No matter which direction the project goes, it will be a valuable addition. I still want this to be a complex, tactical-capable mod featuring large, free-roaming maps, as it already is, within ArmA3, by default.

[jandrews 116]

Hey. Nice to see its still alive. I would like to see this mod continue and do not mind offering some $$. Could you provide some timelines and overall direction you see this mod going in? The current vehicles look great and you definitely have a great foundation. 

General questions I have are:

1. whats in the near and distance future for content?

2. Are you the only one working on the current development?

3. For subscribers would you consider early release perhaps on a test server?

 

thanks

[Nichols 243]

3 hours ago, jandrews said:

Hey. Nice to see its still alive. I would like to see this mod continue and do not mind offering some $$. Could you provide some timelines and overall direction you see this mod going in? The current vehicles look great and you definitely have a great foundation. 

General questions I have are:

1. whats in the near and distance future for content?

2. Are you the only one working on the current development?

3. For subscribers would you consider early release perhaps on a test server?

 

thanks

 

I can answer part of this since I am just a project type guy that is helping with the team but not all as I haven't had a chance to sit down and talk with Rooster/scotg about it. Anyway here are the answers:

 

1. First things are going in and making sure all aircraft and vehicles match up with the current level of Arma in the DLC's that we have seen released lately. Which leads to #2.
2. No there are a few other guys who are helping. Total team size not including the project dude...me...is 5 but we obviously would like to see more coming on to help.
3. I am going to let @scotg answer this one entirely as its his baby and we are all just along for the ride because GI Joe was cool...for me more so because I have issue #1 from the first Marvel comics they released in the 80's and I had the big GI Joes from the early 1970's.

[scotg 204]

@jandrews Hi! Thanks for the good questions. @Nichols summed up the first two answers really well - probably better than I would have since I tend to elaborate and digress past the point (BTW: thanks Nichols!).

3. This might be a consideration, but let's not hold our breath on it. I hadn't though about it until you brought it up, but there might be some problems. It's kind of on the edge of violating BIS policy regarding mods, and it might be detrimental to development if the scope of this project becomes full-scale. We are hoping the project will indeed get huge, and it will take some craftiness to pull that off. If we don't get backing from Hasbro, then we would have to alter the assets somewhat to avoid infringing on their products and whatnot. That might actually work to our advantage anyway, since this project is intended to reflect real life plausibility, and all the toys have deviated far from that. What we hope to do is to make new fans simply based on the quality of our content, who wouldn't have otherwise considered themselves GI Joe fans. I get that, because it can be a little excessively hokey/campy/cheesy, especially the cartoon. Ultimately, and if we get backing from Hasbro, we want our fans to say, "Oh, wait... This excellent game has been GI Joe all along? Dang, I guess I can be a GI Joe fan now."

Now I've gone and elaborated way off topic. LOL

Okay, to further answer your question, but to hopefully stay on topic, I will say what I can do for subscribers (these and more are all covered on the Patreon page):

3A: In order to demonstrate these assets in action in real-time as they are being developed, I have started a live-streaming account for Subscribers to watch the testing of the assets. There will also be an interactive chat. Subscribers will get prior notifications of these interactive sessions, and I will most likely do a few repeat sessions on streaming days, to accommodate for different time zones. As we get more artists, testers, and other team members, more assets, and of course more Subscribers, there will be more potential for more sessions and more other videos. MORE MORE MORE!!! ;-) I've left this at a lower donation level for the masses, and this is where we want the masses to be because it's extremely affordable and somewhat unique. While most other Gamecasters/Streamers are just showing their gamer skillz, shortcuts, and cleavage, we are actually giving a window to part of the production process. I hope this entices more than just GI Joe fans, Arma 3 fans, or game fans. This is Discovery/History/A&E Channel level stuff!!!
3B: I have reduced some of the older, large scale images on my deviantArt site, so that Subscribers (at the "Collector" level) can have access to updated, larger images that will be suitable for 4k wallpapers, or maybe even prints.
3C: For "Sponsor" level supporters, your name or logo or image will be placed in-game - a kind of shout-out for your commitment. It's an expensive level, though, because I want it to be reserved for serious donators and keep it from getting out of control.

As a Subscriber, the best thing you can do is to recruit other Subscribers. The focus of the Patreon is to generate interest for a fantastic game with a unique setting. It happens to fit well enough into what Arma3/RV can do right now. The donations are to help perpetuate the development, live streams, and videos, and also to give the whole thing some legitimacy. It doesn't pay for product at all, and it's important to distinguish this. We want to attract professionals to develop this project, and motivate the people involved to up their game to a pro level, so we can all get paid and put out something great. If/when the project goes into AAA title production, the donations will still be used for a team set aside for the streams and other developmental coverage, whereas development itself will be funded by big brand.

This is all very fluid right now, and may change at anytime for whatever really works. More info can be found on the Patreon site.

[Digger James 133]

all this futuristic stuff is nice but lets rewind the clock and look at the old Joe's!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X382bCvVvo

[scotg 204]

40 minutes ago, Digger James said:

all this futuristic stuff is nice but lets rewind the clock and look at the old Joe's!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X382bCvVvo

I love how you say "futuristic" for stuff that was around in the '80s! LOL I get what you're saying though. Some of the aspects of modern war, and not just in games but also in real life, are kind of de-personalized. But conflict, war, violence - whatever you want to call it - has always been in a constant state of refinement since Cain killed Abel.

[Digger James 133]

Yea, sure. and It was half a joke for fun lol! 

[scotg 204]

https://www.patreon.com/Rooster3D

At 1:00 PM PDT (about 5 minutes after this post), I will be conducting a live stream of the "Diamondback" VSTOL aircraft. For those of you familiar with GI Joe and Cobra, this is the name I chose (tentatively) for my homage to the Rattler. For those of you out of the loop, it's an A-10 with VTOL capabilities, and some other modifications.

If you miss the demo, and want to see it again, I can hold another stream session later today or tomorrow, granted enough requests.

The Live stream can be found here:

https://www.patreon.com/Rooster3D

[scotg 204]

The live stream went smoothly, but I have a few followers request me to do it again. I will, and this time it will be during the weekend so that more people can watch. If you missed the last session, and you love airplanes, especially VTOLs and A-10s, then you don't want to miss this!!!! Stay tuned here in the next 24 hrs. for time announcement. Actual live stream will be held on the coming weekend, likely in the late afternoon PDT.

EDIT: I'm sorry I forgot to make the announcement on Tuesday [kicks self in teeth, Cantrell style]

[scotg 204]

Hey y'all! This Sunday, at 5:00 PM, I will be conducting a demonstration of a vehicle in flight. If you're interested in participating (in the chat room) in the Live Asset Test Streams, and you want to watch me demonstrate these fine vehicles, then be sure to subscribe here:

 

 

 

I will be talking via microphone with subscribers in the chat room (via their keyboards), in a typical Twitch-style session (although, this is not a Twitch session). I will show things like up-close what the plane looks like, how it flies, and what other features it has, and I will answer any other possible questions. Be sure to check it out!!!
 

[scotg 204]

I should mention that I'm making the Stream demonstration available for free to interested individuals. If you want to participate, then PM me before 3:00 PM US Pacific Time, tomorrow, Sunday, May 20. Be sure to keep a look out in your PM inbox for my response, which will have a link to the stream. You may share the link with your friends outside of this forum. Any PMs received after that may not be seen, as I will be prepping for the demo.