[s87]

Maybe someone around here still remembers Outcast, an Action-Adventure developed by Appeal (released in 1999). Some years later Outcast 2 was announced but Appeal went bankrupt before finishing it. Unhappy about this a group of OC fans wanted to create an unofficial successor and started the open Outcast project (or ocmod as it was called back then).

Always having in mind to create a game that is comparable with commercial titles both in gameplay and in graphics we concluded, after trying different engines and tools, creating a total conversion mod for Crysis Wars is the best way to reach that goal.

So today we released our first tech preview: Oasis.
Though the level/story isn't directly connected with the final open Outcast version we tried to get as close as possible to the feeling and gameplay of the original OC (and how we imagined that of Outcast2).

To play the mod you will need Crysis Wars - but don't worry, it works with the free Trial version as well (explained here: http://www.openoutcast.org/board/vie...php?f=41&t=722)!

Features:
* New Map (desert Oasis village)
* Custom textures and models
* Conversation with NPCs
* Voice acting (partially)
* Various connected quests
* Custom Music

If you still are unsure whether you should download the trial version take a look at our screenshot gallery
http://www.openoutcast.org/gallery_dyn.php?name=Oasis

[UPtimist]

Hey, I haven't remembered to check the project for, good that you posted here. And amazing progress, I followed the project quite a lot earlier, but I'm astonished by how far it's come since then. I remember some really early alpha playtest that's completely from another planet to where this is now.

Personally I'm not liking the face on the character, but that's just my little thing. Other than that it looks absolutely marvellous. Too bad I can't actually go downloading both the (Crysis) game and the demo, but I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this thing again

Glad that you're still on it

(Edit): Hmm... Either the team has changed more or less or some of the members have just changed names since the last time...

[Owskie]

OMG.. mind blown.. looks amazing.

[Monolith]

For a minute there, I thought this was a Frontend for Outcast that updated the graphics! Oh well. Still looks great!

[Henke]

Wow, this seems like a really ambitious project. I'll be watching it closely.

[Ninja Dodo]

Impressed with how far you've come with this. I'm a big Outcast fan so I look forward to seeing more.

Couple of thoughts from an initial playthrough:

(bear in mind some of this is really nitpicky)

- The colours feel a bit off. The saturated greens and blues give it a bit of an Oblivion vibe. I know the original Outcast has a lot saturated colour too, but it uses a lot of muted tones as well.



- The sand noise texture seems really jittery. Maybe this depends on settings.

- Dialogue should be skippable (one sentence at a time).

- Camera needs work, often obscured in interiors. Maybe just go with making things transparent if they're in the way.

- Here's the big one for me: Cutter doesn't really look like Cutter. Now this is a tricky one cause it's up for debate whether you should go for his original in-game appearance the cutscene version or the early previews from the sequel ... I'm going to guess you were going more for the sequel version, but I think you could err a little more on the side of nostalgia.

Also his Ulukai shirt isn't the right orange.


- Sound is going to be huge part of making this feel like Outcast. Since you're using the name and concepts I don't see any reason not to rip the sound effects from the original: sounds like picking up objects, jumping, walking in the snow, the HUD, etc.

...speaking of which, the HUD is going to be pretty integral to capturing the Outcast feel as well. The green lines lighting up the screen with readings and dialogue options, all that needs to be there.

- The animation needs work. Some of the poses feel rather stiff and gorilla-like (maybe start with loosening up the hands and fingers) and he seems really fond of crouching (like when going up stairs). Could use some more transitions as well.

I'm curious what you plan on doing in terms of game structure, setting, story and all that. Are you sticking to what was known of the direction Appeal was taking for the sequel, or staying closer to the original game?

[tassitassi]

Hi guys! Thanks for all your feedback!
This is tassitassi from the OpenOutcast team. I'm really sorry you haven't got a response until now.

Originally Posted by Ninja Dodo

- The colours feel a bit off. The saturated greens and blues give it a bit of an Oblivion vibe. I know the original Outcast has a lot saturated colour too, but it uses a lot of muted tones as well.

We're working on getting the color schemes just right.

Originally Posted by Ninja Dodo

- The sand noise texture seems really jittery. Maybe this depends on settings.

Not sure what's causing this, but I'll forward it to our 3D artists.

Originally Posted by Ninja Dodo

- Dialogue should be skippable (one sentence at a time).

We've redesigned the whole dialogue system and this is one of the implemented features.

Originally Posted by Ninja Dodo

- Camera needs work, often obscured in interiors. Maybe just go with making things transparent if they're in the way.

The camera in OASIS wasn't really meant to be used for 3rd person view, this is why it's so bad. We'll eventually add a proper 3rd person camera with collision detection.

Originally Posted by Ninja Dodo

- Here's the big one for me: Cutter doesn't really look like Cutter. Now this is a tricky one cause it's up for debate whether you should go for his original in-game appearance the cutscene version or the early previews from the sequel ... I'm going to guess you were going more for the sequel version, but I think you could err a little more on the side of nostalgia.

Also his Ulukai shirt isn't the right orange.

Here's the latest version of Cutter. Hopefully you'll find him a lot more "Cuttery"

Originally Posted by Ninja Dodo

- Sound is going to be huge part of making this feel like Outcast. Since you're using the name and concepts I don't see any reason not to rip the sound effects from the original: sounds like picking up objects, jumping, walking in the snow, the HUD, etc.

...speaking of which, the HUD is going to be pretty integral to capturing the Outcast feel as well. The green lines lighting up the screen with readings and dialogue options, all that needs to be there.

We won't use any of the original media. The HUD is being worked on as we speak =)

Originally Posted by Ninja Dodo

- The animation needs work. Some of the poses feel rather stiff and gorilla-like (maybe start with loosening up the hands and fingers) and he seems really fond of crouching (like when going up stairs). Could use some more transitions as well.

He sure does. Haha. We're looking into this.

Originally Posted by Ninja Dodo

I'm curious what you plan on doing in terms of game structure, setting, story and all that. Are you sticking to what was known of the direction Appeal was taking for the sequel, or staying closer to the original game?

We're discussing the story right now so I can't really tell you much. But we are definitely checking out the stuff that Appeal had planning.

[Ninja Dodo]

That is quality work. Kudos to your art team.

As for the sound, even if you're not going to directly re-use anything I would strongly recommend attempting some sound-alike effects, because much of what made Outcast distinctive was its sound design.

You'll definitely also want to replicate the GAIA artificial intelligence that made Adelpha seem so alive, with NPC agents roaming around tending to their wants and needs...

Best of luck on this! I look forward to seeing more.

[tassitassi]

Originally Posted by Ninja Dodo

That is quality work. Kudos to your art team.

As for the sound, even if you're not going to directly re-use anything I would strongly recommend attempting some sound-alike effects, because much of what made Outcast distinctive was its sound design.

You'll definitely also want to replicate the GAIA artificial intelligence that made Adelpha seem so alive, with NPC agents roaming around tending to their wants and needs...

Best of luck on this! I look forward to seeing more.

Thanks! We will try our best to make people "feel like home".

[UPtimist]

Great job on the Cutter so far

Also, I'm still interested about how much has changed since the more earlier days? I mean, is the team completely different nowadays or are there still some of the original makers there? How are your plans compared to what was going on then and what's going on now?

[tassitassi]

Originally Posted by UPtimist

Great job on the Cutter so far

Also, I'm still interested about how much has changed since the more earlier days? I mean, is the team completely different nowadays or are there still some of the original makers there? How are your plans compared to what was going on then and what's going on now?

I'm new in the team, but here's the response from one of the original guys:

We have a lot of new people, but at least half of the core team is the same as years ago. Our plans are now much clearer, we are better organized and it looks more then ever that we could finish the game