Frequently Asked Questions
As we develop the game, we tend to get certain questions popping up from time to time. More than likely, your question about Neptune might have already been asked. We offer this page as a resource to allow you to see the more common questions and alleviate any confusion about the mod.
Q: When will the mod get released?
A: The team has been fairly organic since its inception and therefore targeting a set-in-stone release date has been difficult. Coupled with a development team literally spread across the globe and constantly improving expectations for the game, this comes as no real surprise. It was originally set for spring of 2009.
However, the Neptune has a team philosophy. What's important to us is that we don't rush this. We could probably spend another month on the mod and have it playable, but who does that benefit? We want this to be really good, and we're prepared to put in the extra time to ensure this is the case.
Release dates almost seem like a requirement in the video game and mod community. "Its done when its done" isn't good enough and we respect that. However, we want to deliver something good. The new release date is tenatively set for late summer, but as stated... this thing's getting better and better. What started off as a simple pet project has attracted some good talent and we now owe it to ourselves and to you, the reader and player, to make the release, strong, memorable, fun and above all polished.
Is this game a RPG/FPS or horror shooter?Liner or nonlinear ?
It's very much a first-person shooter/adventure. Its atmosphere takes heavy influence from games such as System Shock but there will be no skills or resource management, and while there will be non-essential areas to explore the main path through the game will be kept linear.
Will the stealth gameplay exist?
Stealth gameplay will be minimal, but it's not an all-out blaster. There will be quiet, exploration-based sections of the game. Imagine it, if you will, as a first-person survival horror game. Scarcity of weapons, ammunition and health; dark and threatening atmosphere; lots of room for exploration.
How often do you release Media?
it was never the intention to do a full media release each week or anything... maybe just a development blog or just popping up to say hello.
If you want all the cutting edge information, the best thing to do is join our recently created
forums, or check us out on
Moddb.com.
I am a xxxxxx (moddler, coder, skinner, mapper)Can I help?
We are always looking for motivated talent to help out! You can check our
recruitment page to see if we do or don't have a position filled. If you have any questions at all, just
email us. We are very friendly folk, and we love making games! Don't be discouraged if you think you have something to offer, and we are not asking for it specifically. Contact us anyways!
Heeeeyyyyy!!! Are you ripping off Bioshock?
What started as a puzzling and (and silly to us), yet recurring question we are now taking seriously. For some reason, most readers see a boat, and survival gameplay and instantly associate the game with bioshock.
The question has come up enough, that we felt it merits a formal responce. To put it simply, no.
Now to put it 'not-so-simply':
Like any game, we are standing on the shoulders of giants. Bioshock owes much if not all of its gameplay to System Shock 2, which owes its gameplay to System Shock. Thief, Deus Ex, Fallout 3 Obilivion and a host of other games also share similar elements.
Furthermore, virtually every action shooter owes its roots to the Doom franchise, and inheritably to Wolfenstein 3D
For some reason, some elements of modern gaming are so ubititous that we take it for granted. Did Painkiller rip off Serious Sam that ripped off of Doom that ripped off of Wolfenstein that Ripped off of Commander Keen
that ripped off Pong?? Well... in some sense. yes. But really? No.
With no leveling system, no "magic system" (read: gene splicing) and completely different story, cast, weapons and feel, the only thing that Neptune shares with Bioshock is the fact that the ocean is involved at some point (marginally) and there is some era music from the thirties and fourties. Thats really it.
Technically, the game has much more in common with Half-Life, if anything, but for all practical purposes its signifigantly different from anything else out there.