News
October 13, 2009
(As posted on Moddb by 'Thegooch69')
There have been a lot of changes going on the past few months for the Neptune team.
The biggest being that
Lewis Denby has stepped down as Project Lead handing over
the position to me. Regrettably, progress slowed down a lot during the summer for
various reasons but I stayed committed to motive the team and recruited new talent.
Our newest level designer, the very talented
Armageddon104, has gracefully picked
up design duties hitting the ground running along with
Gunz, our other level designer.
Along with a new level designer I've also recruited a talented artist, 0x40. Obviously,
this mod needs lots of custom models, a daunting task for any 3d modeler. However,
0x40 has already created amazing pieces for our level designers to decorate the
Neptune with. So with the new talent things have begun to pick up and a lot of work
is getting accomplished. We have playable builds and begun playtesting many of the
mechanics that are in place, tweaking, adding and more importantly removing anything
that just doesn't feel right. I'm proud to say we are all very happy of how the
mod is coming along.
The Neptune team is set out to do one thing, create a compelling quality singleplayer
experience like the mod community has never seen before. This mod has become more
than a portfolio piece for all us, it's turned into a true passion project that
we all want to see to the end, completed and in the hands of the mod community.
We will be releasing new and exciting media soon along with first true gameplay
footage within the coming months so keep your eyes peeled for it.
See you at sea!
October 11, 2009
After a lot of trial and error, we have reworked the team and tackled new problems.
The good news is that the mod is by no means dead, and will not die as long as we
can help it! We have recruited new level designers, who are working diligently to
create sterling gameplay that will grab your attention and transport you, the player,
into another place.
The truth is the mod has undergone some design reconsiderations, and all for the
better. By narrowing our scope,a nd focusing on what is truly important (narrative,
mood and gameplay), we are distilling our ideas into something stronger and more
likely to leave a lasting impression on a gamer.
We are proud to announce a new team member,
Ryan Trawick
that has been a pivotal force in creating new interesting levels, that are sure
to immerse the player. Keep your eyes on us here, and on our
ModDB page
for updates as we release them.
March 24, 2009
A couple of new screenshots from the early sections of the mod
It's been a while! Sorry about that. We've been working away at Neptune reasonably
solidly, and, slowly but surely, everything's starting to come together a little
bit.
Firstly, some bad news. We had a meeting a couple of weeks ago and decided our provisional
release date of "Spring 2009" is no longer feasible. We are now tentatively aiming
for a "late Summer" release. 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. Hopefully you're on our side with this.
At least we have a bit of something to show for our efforts. Here are a couple of
new screenshots. Both are work-in-progress. One is from the very, very beginning
of the mod. Literally a few seconds in. That's why it's all bright and sunny and
docked, and why there aren't any crazy horrible foes lurching about. The second
is a short while later, after everything goes a bit wrong and you find yourself
clambering aboard that mammoth Neptune Ocean Liner. In other words: the ship's foyer.
Our brilliant sound designer
Jesse Harlin
has, in addition to making noises into a microphone and twiddling knobs to make
them sound good, been slaving away on a wonderful website. It's pretty much finished
now, and you can go and have a look at www.neptunemod.com! We're still tweaking
little bits and bats, so do go easy on us until it's all functioning smoothly and
in line with this here page.
Oh, and the captain's written a new entry in his log. I wonder what on Earth he's
talking about...
Right. Back to work, then. Let's try figure out where this bloody leak is. Serves
us right for setting the game on a delapidated ship, eh?
All the best, chaps. Onwards!
The crew x
Feb 19th, 2009
Site is redesigned. Functional forums are added to the Neptune Website
Feb 10th, 2009
What we've been up to, and a quick note on the video and some confusion over it
We've had a few messages and comments relating to "disappointment with the way the
game starts." I believe this may have stemmed from a feature on Podcast 17, in which
the presenters talked about the gameplay video we recently posted. In the feature,
the presenters mistakenly claimed that the footage was of the first few minutes
of the mod. In fact, it showcases a small area around 15-20 minutes in - so, near
the start, rather than right at it.
We thank Podcast 17 unreservedly for featuring Neptune on their show, and mean this
as no complaint to what they said. We merely wish to clarify the issue so as to
avoid confusion, and assure readers that one of our brilliant level designers is
currently staging an elaborate introductory sequence that explains the set-up far
more clearly than this dark section in the bowels of the ship ever could.
Elsewhere, we're making steady progress with the mod. No new media to show, but
we're currently hard at work on modelling, skinning and animating the game's new
weapons, developing a new HUD, and - of course - cracking on with the level design.
Keep your eyes peeled - we'll no doubt have more to show off soon...
Jan 27th, 2009
At last! In-game footage...
At last, we have some in-game footage to show you! Taken from an early part of the
game, this section sees you attempting to restore power to the bowels of the ship,
and set the engines in motion. But is someone trying to thwart your progress...?
Apologies for the rubbish quality. We should have a higher-definition version available
to download in the very near future. And don't worry - the whole game's not this
brutally dark. Once the power's back on, you'll be able to see Neptune in all her
glory!
Head to the
Jan 24th, 2009
Beta of Neptune website site is released on private servers
Dec 17th, 2008
Hello all!
Merry Christmas, then, folks. We've been working extremely hard to get a decent
media release ready for your present. Will
eight screenshots,
including new NPCs and weapons and all sorts, suffice? Hope so - there's no receipt.
You'll notice the NPCs are reskins of Half-Life 2 models. This is something that
won't be entirely true throughout the mod, but do have a read of our initial design
philosophy. The idea, from the very start, was to utilise as much existing content
as possible, in order to spend as much time as possible actually focusing on the
game design, atmosphere, and generally the core of the game, the soul of the whole
thing, that comprises the really important side of what we're trying to achieve
here.
So we'll be continuing to plough away at this baby in the coming weeks. We should
also have a
Proper Website
launching in the near future, so do keep your eyes on that. Finally, as usual, if
you feel you could contribute anything to the project, please feel free to
get in touch.
We might not need you, but hell, it's worth asking anyway, isn't it?
Peace, love and loads of chocolate coins,
Lewis "Santa" Denby and the Neptunian Elves x