TresCom Community Project 1 - Trespasser: Reloaded

[Draconisaurus]

Been a while since anyone made any updates here. Not easy to hold a community project 'round these parts. This project is far from dead, though. Just sleepin' I guess.

Few notes. One is that there definitely won't be time for any updates on the project from me for the next month or more. Too busy. Also, with the beta coming out, I really doubt anyone will want to spend time on it, so that's understandable.
Other than all that, I can tell you now that the reappearance of the beta makes the aspect of this project which aimed to return the game to previous "beta" states is now far less important, since we can just go and see for ourselves. With that in mind, I believe the entire project of Tres Reloaded should have a more definitive aim of recreating the whole game from a completely fresh perspective - rather than starting from retail levels or depending on retail/beta/mystery-model assets, I think we should try to make this crap totally new. This was what I'd envisioned for SUM and all the new levels, anyway.. And some special things in the beta have given new hints as to what the ORIGINAL plans for the game were, which I plan to put to very good use, here. The beta also reveals much about the Plains, in an unexpected way, and I can't wait to work on that. This all does mean that the release of IT I made is probably total garbage. I may or may not start out from that terrain, still, but everything is now potentially up in the air other than the general level layouts. The most surviving piece of the original game is probably going to be certain areas of terrain and perhaps major buildings.

Until then!

[machf]

Trespasser Revamped?
Using TC dinos, trees, vehicles... and the demo engine. Custom TPAs, custom menus... basically using as few as possible original assets.

[hppav]

lol, would give me a reason to iron out my Operations Building.

[Nick3069]

How about splitting this project in three; one to remake Trespasser by re-spoofing everything (possibly making everything as movie canon as possible?), an other to make the beta completely playable (if it isn't already) and maybe expand it, and the final for the TresCom Town?

[Draconisaurus]

Okay well actually, here's the thing. I am at this point very interested in a direct beta mod - using the beta and some other Tres-original things to create a fully functional game (some things from retail would be used - the later beta levels are missing many things). I am also interested in using the beta player mesh - Sam is not We'll see how that goes.

So anyway, that project would be quicker I think. Sam wants to take on PV all by himself, which honestly, if anyone is ready to do that, he is. Since we actually have PV, now, I don't have to worry about him or anyone fraking it up completely and he's doing a fine job so far behind the scenes. He's also done a bit of work on the town - I might like to do that level revamped as a joint project between me and him.

I'd like to personally take on the "restoration" of IJ myself. Since we have the beta, I am - actually, I can't reveal too much about it's current state (or anyway, I don't want to spoil the fun). But it's something I'm very interested in taking care of, and I'd like to return it to the state of some earlier screenshots, which it is much closer to in this beta.

If, after the beta has been released and sufficient analysis has taken place, anyone is interested in picking a beta level to "restore"/revamp, PLEASE let it be known in here. I'm sure we could also use some help with IT.


As for this business of redoing Trespasser with TC_Isle etc. assets - while that's an interesting idea, I'd rather not pull things from TC so much. A lot of their stuff is grand, but we have been making levels with it for a while, now. I'd even like to continue seeing more levels use their stuff (JPDS1 certainly uses it in the extreme), but not this project. I'd like to personally generate a new jungle foliage set which represents a fully developed version of what you see here and in this vid (which btw, someone ought to upload - I suggest Matt (or someone) put it on the Trespasser youtube channel). Also notice for example, in this image, the town road and raised sidewalk is with the church, so it's definitely the town (even if it's simply a concept). I'm planning that in the reimagining, the town will actually be in a pine setting (most of TLW movie was in pines, anyway, right?). This would totally not work in a beta modification, but would be great in a more comprehensive make-over. Oh and of course, all the pine zones would be made to look like the oldest pine concepts, or as close as Trespasser is capable of stably representing it today.
Oh and Sam mentioned his Ops Center - that would also go in the more complete make-over. I think that one should still be called Trespasser Reloaded. The smaller "beta revamp" has yet to reach a final name.. Let's give it a bit of time to see if more names come up, and hold a vote.

Oh yeah, and Sam suggests this is what the Summit should really look like. What if this here is part of the highest ridge of Mt. Watson, where that ridge in the bg is the other side, being collapsed in between??

[makairu]

This is a very exciting project. I would help, but as you know, I am currently working on an ambitious project all by myself (and currently am having some serious collision detection issues when pushing boxes, though picking them up will be later implemented). I really want you guys to succeed, and from what I hear it seems to be a project that can be easily completed if enough people help and commit. Both reloaded and the beta revamp sound great, and may bring to light how trespasser was meant to be. I can't wait for Christmas so I can get another copy of trespasser and start playing levels again.

[Second Illiteration]

In TLW I think outer areas of the island were pine forests, but more so jungle as they moved towards the interior. And I don't think it was actually supposed to be seen as "pine" forests...

[Draconisaurus]

Hmmmm, right, well Spielberg wanted truly prehistoric landscapes (since the appeal of TLW to him was dinosaurs roaming free of enclosures), which is why they went for redwood forests in Cali. It doesn't get more pine than that, I think.. (there's a great image of this in my Making Of book which I didn't scan) And well, JP3 is another story.

[Second Illiteration]

I understand and know they used the pine forests, but you didn't see a lot of the "Pine" parts...the tops of the trees, you saw a lot of the undergrowth...that's what I'm talking about making it more jungle like

[Draconisaurus]

Right yeah okay. Well it will be quite a task to bring all that to life in a fresh vision of the game. It's actually a much better idea than trying to base it off Tres and Tres models - when we finally start it, I'll plan the entire project from start to finish, as I've done with a certain other secret project..

[tatu]

How does it go for everyone with their house?

[Draconisaurus]

Afraid mine's not been worked on... And with the development of the Build 96, it's unclear what the fate of the TresCom Town is. We might just want to make a totally new town for TresCom, as was the original premise.. I'm not sure. With the new "vision" of Tres Reloaded, making it all from scratch etc., how many ---- wait, I'll make a poll.

[Draconisaurus]

New development! The game may only be in the conceptual and early building stages, but the new Tomb Raider reboot game sounds like the perfect engine to realize Trespasser how it was meant to be. Imagine, for example, even the original idle vocals being used, as had once been imagined. 100% open-ended terrain... All the original puzzles working as they should... It's hard to fathom! I am officially putting off Trespasser Reloaded, as of today, until we see what this upcoming game is made of. So instead, we can use this forum for discussion of Tres Revamped if we want, and/or continue to bounce ideas off each other for how drastically different Tres Reloaded could be from the original game, once we work on it...


I really think this is the best way to go for us. Tres Reloaded, even as a Trespasser mod, would be such a huge endeavor. We have enough projects going on now as it is, that I think we do benefit from putting this cleanly on the backburner for now. It also gives the opportunity for such a project to reach out to ALL gamers, and THAT just might be enough to get the original Trespasser development team some due credit and respect for their hard work.

[TheGuy]

Hmm, I'm a little sceptical about this because of a few reasons... 1) Tomb Raider games have never been good for modding, only extracting tools and texture replacement are possible with the newer engines, 2) the games have no FPS elements (not a problem if you're having it as a TPS mind) and 3) what has the actual game design got to do with using an engine for remaking Tres? They could've designed it as a fluffy bunny game using the same engine... would you still want to use it then?

Sorry if I'm coming of a bit doomy it's just that I don't really see it working, simply because that's the concept for the next TR game, and not the concept for the engine design. Modding is also very unlikely.

Edit: but hey, the game may be entirely different. It is a re-boot afterall. So yeah... we'll have to wait and see.

[Draconisaurus]

Hmm, I'm a little sceptical about this because of a few reasons... 1) Tomb Raider games have never been good for modding, only extracting tools and texture replacement are possible with the newer engines,

We'll get top men to work on it. Top. Men.

2) the games have no FPS elements (not a problem if you're having it as a TPS mind)

We believe Trespasser was meant to be third-person.. Wasn't it in an interview or something?

3) what has the actual game design got to do with using an engine for remaking Tres? They could've designed it as a fluffy bunny game using the same engine... would you still want to use it then?

The point is considering the engine's technical capabilities (regardless of graphics). It seems like a game which intends to meet the same demands as the original Trespasser design had. It sounds like you are going to be able to use random objects from your environment to aid you in survival (check), go anywhere in a non-linear fashion across the island to figure out what to do (check), an emphasis on physical solutions rather than shoot-em-up (check), expansive abandoned civilization (check), creepy monsters that go bump in the night and are not every few meters (check), island (check), adolescent girl player-character (check). It just so happens that Minnie Driver even voiced young Laura Croft in that one cartoon. That would be just too unreal if she also voices young Lara in this game, haha. Anyway, those are the reasons..

Sorry if I'm coming of a bit doomy it's just that I don't really see it working, simply because that's the concept for the next TR game, and not the concept for the engine design.

Eh? What's the difference? A concept for a game follows that the concept of the engine will need to support it. Of course, we don't know how successful they will be, yet, nor how long from now it will be..

Modding is also very unlikely.

Edit: but hey, the game may be entirely different. It is a re-boot afterall. So yeah... we'll have to wait and see.

Yeah, we will be waiting...