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  • Liblast - a FOSS multiplayer FPS game made with 100% open-source software

A very interesting project. 👍️ Special great thanks for the source code. Will you be introducing open levels and destructibility?

We're trying to spot and avoid inherent issues present in beloved but troubled arena shooters.

Arena shooters widely suffer from skill inflation.

This is a very big problem. I wonder what, in principle, proposed solutions.

It's the far future<…> 8 bazillion dollars in funding.

Well, for the far future, you can think of another currency... 🤑

  • unfa replied to this.

    Tomcat Hey, thanks! The game is licensed under AGPL + CC-BY-SA, so that other FOSS project can use it.

    Do you mean destructible environments like in Red Faction? I did not think or discuss that before. I think it would require a lot more work to make that function decently especially multiplayer game.

    I want to make the game easily moddable and expandable so a lot is possible, but that was not something considered for the base game.

      unfa Do you mean destructible environments like in Red Faction?

      Oh, yep! (stingy tear of nostalgia) 🥲

      It's really complicated, but it will give the game a charm and distinction from others.

      I'd love to experiment with that, but I have limited resources, and scope creep is what kills most indie (and not only) projects 😃

      I'd be glad to add a "Demolition" game mode later where levels are destructible and it's a major gameplay element. But that also sounds like a technical challenge as big or bigger than making the whole game I have planned so far 😃

      I am hoping that once the game reaches 1.0, more people will want to contribute to it and that could open up lots of possibilities. But that might never happen 🙂

      Help is always welcome!

        unfa …and scope creep is what kills most indie (and not only) projects

        In general, of course it does…

        The primary platform is Linux?

        • unfa replied to this.

          Tomcat I do work on Linux and so does the majority of contributors, but Windows is also an important target.

          Though the recent release 0.1.4 has broken Windows build right now :/

          Anyway - a new video update!

          6 days later

          if i find some time i could make some fp weapons and animations for u if ur interested.
          i like the foss idea of your project, id only ask to be credited in the contributors or credits menu.
          the game doesnt seem to have an artstyle yet. would be fun to design some weird guns.

          • unfa replied to this.

            DJM Hey, thanks!

            I'd be really happy to work with you or gun designs 🙂

            The game doesn't have a clearly defined artstyle yet, though I have some ideas. one of the primary goals I have in mind are:

            • visual clarity and readability
            • utilizing the PBR model but with restraint (mot detail in roughness and normals, leaving albedo on low contrast to not be visually overwhelming and noisy).
            • deliberate use of color
            • Sci-Fi with self-aware humor

            As for the weapons - I have some ideas base on the game's story, here's some resources:

            All contributors are listed here (I think adding an in-game credits screen that uses this is a great idea!):
            https://codeberg.org/Liblast/Liblast/src/branch/main/AUTHORS.adoc

            The game is licensed under AGPL + CC-BY-SA to protect the artist work (as well as game's openness in case of forks), while remaining an open resource for other FOSS games.

            If you'd like to talk in a more immediate way, we have a chat channel on my Rocket.Chat instance:
            https://chat.unfa.xyz/channel/liblast
            Also available through Discord:
            https://discord.gg/4hZZhf5x5D

              unfa The game doesn't have a clearly defined artstyle yet…

              Well the first idea is that it is desirable to make robots in the style of T-800 or Adam Smasher.

              A Rocket Launcher or Grenade Launcher used to uh... blow holes in rock I guess?

              It goes back to the idea of destructible levels.

              A modified welder?

              A weird flamethrower - some kind of short-ranged metal-melting tool for extracting metal ore, breaking heavy rock or stuff?

              And that requires melting the affected enemy model.

              All of this will make the game much heavier and more complex.

              The big challenge however is to ensure game updates won't break existing mods.

              I imagine this is extremely difficult to do.

              Here's some thoughts on mods and add-ons.

                Tomcat in the style of T-800 or Adam Smasher.

                I'd be wary of using the style of others IP's not that it's a definite problem but it has the potential to be.

                  i only have discord.
                  that discord server is more about music or am i wrong? where do i post? in the subsection of liblast?

                  ive read the game design doc,
                  u want 3 types of playables, light, medium and heavy, each with a specific weapon and they all have the same secondary sidearm and melee weapon.
                  so thats' basicly 5 weapons as of now. i would stick with that as ive seen u want to support modding.

                  do u have some art references to give me a better idea what ur looking for? scifi pbr with minimal colors isnt saying much.

                  if i were u, i would stick with the proven working equivalents in fps games of knife, pistol, shotgun, smg or assault rifle, rifle(scoped or not), rocket (or grenadelauncher).
                  but in a scifi setting with a weird twist.

                  • unfa replied to this.

                    Megalomaniak I'd be wary of using the style of others IP's not that it's a definite problem but it has the potential to be.

                    Well, I meant for the characters to be more robot-like. Smasher's not a problem, is he? But he's, like, a T-800 in style.

                    • unfa replied to this.

                      Tomcat A Rocket Launcher or Grenade Launcher used to uh... blow holes in rock I guess?

                      It goes back to the idea of destructible levels.
                      Game story and game mechanics are separate 🙂
                      That was an explanation of why are there weapons of this kind present in the game, not what they'll do in-game.

                      Tomcat A weird flamethrower - some kind of short-ranged metal-melting tool for extracting metal ore, breaking heavy rock or stuff?

                      And that requires melting the affected enemy model.

                      Again: story explanation of weapon origins vs use in-game. No fluid physics for whatever you hit with the flamethrower if we'll have one 😃
                      (unless someone comes around to make that work 😃 )

                      Tomcat The big challenge however is to ensure game updates won't break existing mods.

                      I imagine this is extremely difficult to do.

                      Yeah, this is going to require some prototyping and solid testing before it's marked as "good to go". Nobody likes when their work suddenly stops working because of a game update, though to some extent it might be unavoidable. But at lest it should be possible to minimize this.
                      Probably it'd require to codify versions and provide backwards-compatibility code to still read and work with data made on old versions of the game.

                      DJM that discord server is more about music or am i wrong? where do i post? in the subsection of liblast?

                      Yes, you are correct 🙂 I've mentioned you in there before I read your reply here.

                      DJM do u have some art references to give me a better idea what ur looking for? scifi pbr with minimal colors isn't saying much.
                      I should try and make a moodboard - this is something on the backburner, as I'm mainly focused on getting the game functional, but art direction is something I want to treat seriously (I'm an artist after all) - I am hoping someone might want to help out with that - it'd speed things up.

                      DJM if i were u, i would stick with the proven working equivalents in fps games of knife, pistol, shotgun, smg or assault rifle, rifle(scoped or not), rocket (or grenadelauncher).
                      but in a scifi setting with a weird twist.
                      Yeah that sounds like the best course, t least until 1.0 is out
                      So far there's a basic handgun and an SMG - these are all placeholders for now.

                      So you know that my idea was to have a light, medium and a heavy class for 1.0 (possibly more in the future, but it all has to be balanced and fun, not just hastily added in for the sake of having more stuff) with 1 unique gun each for version 1.0 of the game.
                      That's a minimum viable product really - if it's possible to do more, like add fun and balanced secondary modes to the primary guns fro each class or make unique secondaries - that's great!

                      I guess light class could maybe use something with limited range but high damage up close (the current SMG could be nice for that!). I want to avoid copying TF2's design...
                      The handgun would be the common secondary (kinda like the stock shotgun in TF2). It's probably a bit overpowered for that role at the moment.

                      Tomcat Well, I meant for the characters to be more robot-like. Smasher's not a problem, is he? But he's, like, a T-800 in style.
                      We have a custom humanoidal model that should server as the basis for all 2 classes for 1.0 (unless we can do more, but I am sticking to the mindset of getting MVP done, then taking up more).

                      I've come up with a lore explanation for the robots to be human-like, and I don't think we need to go very deep into making them look mechanical. Some slight paneling on a normal map and materials should be enough.

                      I should mention that I've decided to go with no gore for the game (that's partially why the characters are robots, and you don't see blood, but team-colored particles).
                      Both T-800 and Adam Smasher have a very sinister, imposing look, and I'm going for some more silly and a bit cartoon-like robots. With the wacky faces projected from their heads.

                        unfa Again: story explanation of weapon origins vs use in-game.

                        When the explanation says one thing, and the game weapon behaves differently… well, this causes cognitive dissonance. Partly, a significant amount of negativity towards Cyberpunk 2077, quite rightly due to the fact that the promises of the developers far exceeded their modest capabilities. They were even forced to shamefully wiggle and excuses that they were "misunderstood".

                        • unfa replied to this.

                          so 3 weapons then.
                          say wich ones ud like and ill have a go at concept sketching them

                          • unfa replied to this.

                            Tomcat promises of the developers far exceeded their modest capabilities

                            Ok, we can say the weapons were brought/manufactured on the asteroid because humans were expecting possible visit from a hostile alien race 😃
                            And maybe even... they found the aliens after digging too deep! Maybe the asteroid is not "just some place" but a source of a rare element that humans and aliens crave?
                            Kinda like... tarydium from Unreal I...

                            Note that the backstory will not be explicitly told within the game - it only serves as a framework to allow building a coherent game world.

                            DJM so 3 weapons then.
                            say wich ones ud like and ill have a go at concept sketching them

                            Wow, awesome! I've spent some time coming up with the ideas for you, and I think I have a decent vision fro where this could go gameplay and balance-wise.

                            My 3 weapon ideas:

                            1. A Rocket Launcher (for the heavy class?)

                            Medium to long range, splash damage, self-harm up close

                            Triple-barreled! I initially thought of a single-barreled one, but after writing down the other 2 weapons I think a triple-barreled design will be much better and more flexible for the future. Primary trigger could shoot rockets full-auto relatively quickly, secondary could charge up a 3-rocket burst.

                            Inspirations: Doom, UT 2k4 / 4

                            2. SMG / Shotgun? (for the light class?)

                            Short to medium range, high damage up close.

                            I imagine a multiple-barreled-gun that could fire the barrels in succession like a minigun (but be less powerful and have a lot of spread - lie the current SMG), but it could also load up and shoot all the barrels at once for a shotgun-like effect. Inspirations: Duke Nukem 3D's Chaingun Cannon, UT's Flak Cannon (UT3 could be the best reference), Unreal's Minigun.

                            3. Energy/plasma weapon (For the medium class?)

                            Most versatile in regards to range, but not the most dangerous at any of them. Perfect medium weapon 🙂

                            The first firing mode could be a small energy projectile firing full auto - more precise but slower than the SMG, alternate fire could change up a more powerful projectile that'd be larger, consume more ammo but deal splash damage. To limit the gun's usefulness in long range, the projectiles could fizzle out at some distance or explode (we can say that it's shooting plasma balls, that are unstable and will collapse at some point in the don't collide with anything first.

                            Inspirations: UT's Shock Rifle, Q3A/Quake Live's Plasma Gun.

                            General visual design idea:

                            It'd be great to have a place for a dynamic display showing ammo count in 1st person view - I loved that in UT'99 and I still think these displays on Sci-Fi weapons are very cool - not necessarily functional but flashy 😃

                            I've created a collaborative whiteboard* and put the reference images there for you:
                            https://excalidraw.com/#room=5c88f5aa2990ce7a95a6,vzdXtzEdz1gslMABLbO4Kg

                            Please let me know what do you think of these ideas.
                            Or just go nuts 😃

                            • I've been using Excalidraw for this kind of stuff a lot. These collaborative boards stay online, boards made a year ago are still accessible, and we can also download the data and then just open an existing board from disk. Or even self-host this service if need be, because it's FOSS 🙂

                            pm me with your mail , id prefer discussing there further, ill start with the plasmagun, seems most fun to do to me atm.
                            also how will reloads be handled, will they include first person arms or will only the gun be visible?

                            • unfa replied to this.