Primal 2050 - A Dead Frontier - Garry's Mod

[img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8416055/Primal2050_Banner.png[/img] [b][highlight]Brief Summary:[/highlight][/b] [b]Primal 2050[/b] is a new gamemode taking the classic "zombie survival" and spinning it in an entirely new way (for Garry's Mod, at least). Powered by the InfiniDungeon system, [b]Primal 2050[/b] places you, the survivors, in a massive, dynamically generated urban wasteland, where you're the only thing living - but not the only one roaming these abandoned streets. [release][b]Media[/b] I could give you the most beautiful novel of a post ever, but it means nothing without media. I believe in first impressions, and how better to make good impressions than with media? In order of newest to oldest, though they're all relatively up-to-date. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYU_Yqn9FwE[/media] [b][highlight]NEW!![/highlight][/b] [i]Short video showing off the various mission filters, allowing you to find the exact mission you want. Best viewed in [b]720p full-screen[/b].[/i] [img_thumb]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8416055/Frontier%20-%20Mission%20Board%20-%20WIP%2001.PNG[/img_thumb] [b][highlight]NEW!![/highlight][/b] [i]Work-in-progress picture of the dynamically-generated mission board.[/i] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2FzYKigaRQ[/media] [i]Gameplay video.[/i] [img_thumb]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8416055/Frontier_Gameplay_WIP_003.PNG[/img_thumb] [i]An in-game screenshot of gameplay. In this case, me looting some money somewhere inside the city.[/i] [img_thumb]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8416055/Frontier_Gameplay_WIP_002.jpg[/img_thumb] [i]Another in-game screenshot (slightly older) of me being cornered by some zombies.[/i] [img_thumb]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8416055/Frontier_Inventory_006.PNG[/img_thumb] [i]The inventory/equipment system. Currently the only lootable/equippable item is the pistol, but that will change once I get the base systems down.[/i] [img_thumb]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8416055/Frontier_Marketplace_002.PNG[/img_thumb] [i]The player-based market economy.[/i] [img_thumb]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8416055/Frontier_VMap_Elaborate_001.jpg[/img_thumb] [i]The dynamically generated HUD map, representing the map that is randomly generated by the InfiniDungeon system. The green segment is the block that I am currently in.[/i] [img_thumb]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8416055/Frontier_Help_001.PNG[/img_thumb] [i]The double-tab help menu.[/i] [/release] [release][b]Story[/b] Taken directly from the "Story" section of the Help menu (named "General" in the outdated screenshot above): [b]The Outpost:[/b] The Outpost is a small district that has been sealed off from the rest of the City. There is very little in the Outpost - a high school converted into sleeping quarters, a bank building, an old warehouse, a church converted into a meeting hall - and nothing can be said to be lavish or grand. There is only a single entrance into the City, and that is strictly controlled and strongly monitored - the Undead are constantly trying to break their way into the Outpost, lured by the odor of living flesh. [b]The City:[/b] The City, a massive sprawling metropolis, was once a hive of activity, from the highest orders of classy living to the dirtiest slums and ghettos. However, the Apocalypse was an indiscriminate equalizer, simplifying the City's incredibly complex and oppressive social structure down into two categories: the Living, and the Undead. While never a "safe" or "clean" place, the City DID once offer refuge from the harsh forces that thrived outside its borders. Now, though, it is as much a cemetary as the cemetaries that once resided within it. Going into the City unprepared for what awaits you is a sure way to get yourself killed. Only the bravest - or the foolish - of the Survivors dare the City. And then only the most courageous - or ignorant - of them dare consider themselves the City's master. Are you one of those elite few? [b]The Survivors:[/b] The Survivors are the rare few that, for some reason or another, were not affected by the initial waves of the Apocalypse. These people - only a few thousand - are all that remain of human society, as far as we know. There are rumors that there are other survivors, stranded somewhere, in the world beyond, but there are no ways of verifying the authenticity of them; the Outpost is too far into the City, and even if someone somehow managed to escape, there is no telling what waits beyond the City's limits. What motivates the Survivors to keep on moving varies as much as the Survivors do themselves. They all share one common goal, though: to survive. Though, to survive to what, no one can really say... [b]The Undead:[/b] Known as the Infected, the Inflicted, the Forsaken, or more colloquially as zombies, the Undead aren't technically dead. Rather, from what rare autospies of Undead can tell us, they're living people with all higher brain functions stunted or completely destroyed. They have little more than rudimentary motor skills - but that's more than enough to satisfy their irrational hunger for human flesh. They vary in strength and numbers, and it seems that the older an Undead exists, the stronger it becomes. The strongest of them all - the victims of the First Wave - can be found deep in the heart of the city, though sometimes they can be spotted wandering closer to the Outpost. Confrontation of an Ancient is highly advised against - not only are they known to be extremely resistant to firepower, but they also tend to amass a horde of Undead that swarm around them. More often than not, this swarm causes more damage than the Ancients themselves.[/release] [release] [highlight][b]About the Game Itself[/b][/highlight] As some of you have probably been able to assume, if not by the thread title itself, then by the screenshots, yes, this game is heavily influenced (RE: almost a direct port) of the browser-based game "Dead Frontier." Whatever your opinion of Dead Frontier may be, I myself have been encapsulated on its approach to the generic zombie apocalypse. While the game certainly has issues to work out - not the least of which includes the networking problems - over all, it is one of the best "zombie apocalypse" games I have yet to find. Not to mention, seeing as Dead Frontier was one of my primary influences in creating the InfiniDungeon system, I only saw it fit to pay the game some respects in recreating it into Garry's Mod, with some modification. [highlight][b]Game Mechanics - Prospective[/b][/highlight] As the screenshots suggest, yes, the game is mostly top-down. However, unlike Dead Frontier, the game is not [b]entirely[/b] top-down - interiors (explained further down) are first-person, to give a more personal feel to the zombie slaying you'll be doing. [highlight][b]Game Mechanics - The City[/b][/highlight] The mechanics behind the city are so simple it borders on beauty. Everyone starts in the outskirt of the Outpost. From the Outpost, they head down into the City. The City operates off the InfiniDungeon system and, like the InfiniDungeon's vanilla release, whenever a player tries to enter a new area, the game will randomly pick a new zone that fills all the requested parameters. In this case, the parameters are set in such a way that the streets generated flow fluidly and as a single piece. Each city "block", as these areas are referred to, get their own dynamically generated goodies: zombies, cars and other junk, and a single interior zone, elaborated on below. They're linked logically (north <-> south, east <-> west) and have a virtual map - the VMap - to graphically represent where in the city you are. Due to the fact that InfiniDungeon does not take up physical space, the City is restricted by the logical flows of physics. This means that if it looks like two areas would collide in the VMap (like [url=http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8416055/Frontier_VMap_Collision_001.jpg]this picture[/url]), then they are physically prevented from colliding, in the form of roadblocks. Likewise, if it looks like two areas would join together, then they do just that. Zombies randomly spawn around p

dayum Gmod, looks epic!

Kewl this looks like its going to be out soon or something :D

THIS IS EPIC!!!!!!!! too bad steam dont accept my credit card so i cant buy gmod damm it

So is it like top down survival, apocalypse style?... Also, what is the model in first picture? It looks like the Tac-Rebel but the clothes aren't black, they are normal rebel color.

[QUOTE=Diet Taco;24668596]So is it like top down survival, apocalypse style?... Also, what is the model in first picture? It looks like the Tac-Rebel but the clothes aren't black, they are normal rebel color.[/QUOTE] Pretty much. Not entirely top-down, but a good portion. Apocalypse-style survival is a pretty good summary. As to the banner, the model is one of my redone gasmask rebels (I did the original Tac-Rebel, but the model hack had some issues with the mask). The new one is a lot better, and has female gasmask rebels, too. :v:

Me like it :D

[QUOTE=Gmod4ever;24668826]Pretty much. Not entirely top-down, but a good portion. Apocalypse-style survival is a pretty good summary. As to the banner, the model is one of my redone gasmask rebels (I did the original Tac-Rebel, but the model hack had some issues with the mask). The new one is a lot better, and has female gasmask rebels, too. :v:[/QUOTE] Can I download these, "New & Improved" Gas Mask Rebels? The one in the banner looks very decent and would be cool for some gamemodes :D

Glad you finally got around to making a thread on this. Best of luck, and I look forward to seeing this in game.

Thanks, Jake. Means a lot to me. And Taco, I'll PM you the models I have either later tonight, or sometime tomorrow. To everyone in general, I just updated the progress log. Things are moving pretty quickly, and I'm hoping that I'll have the mission system workable (probably just Elimination missions) before Friday comes around. Once that is established, I need to add the food system, add more weapons, and possibly get the armor system working. Once all that is done, I should be able to look around for someone willing to host a public test server of the game. :buddy:

Hey Gmod4ever, if you ever need help testing... Jake could probably help you. And I can too :P

Wow, so many great new gamemodes lately! Will the armor you find actually change your physical appearance? I hate it when armor is only stat changing and has no cosmetic purpose :frown:

In response to your ambient music proposal: [url]http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/358728[/url] [url]http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/252184[/url]

[QUOTE=Blah360;24680577]Wow, so many great new gamemodes lately! Will the armor you find actually change your physical appearance? I hate it when armor is only stat changing and has no cosmetic purpose :frown:[/QUOTE] Unfortunately, armor will have no physical representation. It's like I told jakegadget in this regard: The Source engine simply isn't build for it. Besides, having barrels strapped to your legs isn't that convincing for cloth trousers, if you get my meaning. [editline]04:30AM[/editline] [QUOTE=vulmer;24680834]In response to your ambient music proposal: [url]http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/358728[/url] [url]http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/252184[/url][/QUOTE] Cool, thanks Vulmer. Unfortunately, it's too late tonight for me to give them a real listen right now. I'll give them a listen as soon as I can tomorrow, though. :unsmith:

[QUOTE=Gmod4ever;24680929]Unfortunately, armor will have no physical representation. It's like I told jakegadget in this regard: The Source engine simply isn't build for it. Besides, having barrels strapped to your legs isn't that convincing for cloth trousers, if you get my meaning.[/QUOTE] Ah, okay. It's all cool, I mean, we're in it for the gameplay, right?

Sure... Some people like having armor to brag, but that really doesnt matter.

Updated first post with progress. I got some questions to pose to the community: Firstly, how should I represent Ancient zombies? I was thinking pick a random zombie class, and give them a green glow to represent that they're a mini-boss. Secondly, I need some more zombie ideas, with models. So far all I have are citizen shamblers, citizen runners (ReDead), riot police zombies (Nightmare House 2), and Goliaths (poison zombie). Any other ideas?

:O :sotw:

i swear if it 3rd person only ima cry...

[QUOTE=ToxicX;24714129]i swear if it 3rd person only ima cry...[/QUOTE] May I ask whats wrong with 3rd person? It seems to fit games like this one quite nicely. [editline]03:29PM[/editline] Also: [QUOTE=Gmod4ever]As the screenshots suggest, yes, the game is mostly top-down. However, unlike Dead Frontier, the game is not entirely top-down - interiors (explained further down) are first-person, to give a more personal feel to the zombie slaying you'll be doing.[/QUOTE]

[url]http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=18320[/url] Perhaps that model would do as an Ancient?

[QUOTE=jakegadget;24717654]May I ask whats wrong with 3rd person? It seems to fit games like this one quite nicely. [editline]03:29PM[/editline] Also:[/QUOTE] 3rd Person alone is a scourge of gaming. My exact points? Noobonic Plague... You can't make tactics when the person can see you behind cover... It fricking impossible I tell you!

You don't need tactics for this game... You're not fighting other people. Just mindless zombies that walk/run in a straight line at you.

[QUOTE=jakegadget;24717654]May I ask whats wrong with 3rd person? It seems to fit games like this one quite nicely. [editline]03:29PM[/editline] Also:[/QUOTE] Well come on there are so many games like this in 3rd person never first...

To be completely honest, the third person is more a ploy to solve the problem of realistic transitions. If it was first-person, you'd be walking toward an abrupt end of the street, then suddenly teleport to a new area. It'd look really weird. Besides, the scenery would be quite boring in first person, out in the city. Be glad I made the interiors first-person. :v:

I agree with Gmod4ever. Get used to it.

Gmod4ever, your Avatar seems to ALWAYS be animating to the beat of what ever song I'm listening to... It's distracting. [editline]04:47PM[/editline] Also, on topic: I feel like we don't see enough zombie games in 3rd person, so this is refreshing.

What Jake said. But I listen to music thats in 6/4 or 6/8 so im cool like that.

So it's like a GMOD version of Dead Frontier? [editline]11:49PM[/editline] Will you be adding outpost defence to it as well? [editline]11:53PM[/editline] What about the equivalent of the behemoth?

[QUOTE=Pat.Lithium;24777268]So it's like a GMOD version of Dead Frontier? [editline]11:49PM[/editline] Will you be adding outpost defence to it as well? [editline]11:53PM[/editline] What about the equivalent of the behemoth?[/QUOTE] Yes. Maybe (it'd require me to add some more zones; we'll have to see). I intend to, if I can find a good model for it. :smile: