End of an era..

[DaveW]

Is anyone else here saddened by the fact that the era of Deus Ex is coming to an end? With TNM being the last 'proper' mod for Deus Ex, HDTP due to be released soon and New Vision in a state where I have no more time/effort for it anymore - I'm actually saddened looking back at what's been made and thinking nothing like this will ever happen again.

Even if Deus Ex 3 has modding tools, the problem with modern mods is they are so hard to make. No more small, focussed team - you need an army of people to make something look good. And with no more lease of life what with Deus Ex Reborn being stagnant/dead, nothing like the likes of Burden of 80 proof, the Cassandra project Redsun 2020 or TNM is likely to happen again. The Deus Ex community has pretty much died.

Kinda sad to think about really.

[Moonbo]

Yeah, though somehow I think that as long as there are people who are inspired by DX then it's legacy will carry on .

-Gelo

[Magnas]

I'm not really sad, personally. Deus Ex is still capable of living up to modern standards when it comes to gameplay and The Nameless Mod took that and ran with it. Giving us a brand new experience that still manages to appeal to a sentimental part of us is a monumental task.

But as for Deus Ex modding and the death of the game, so to speak, I'd say that it's a good time to be alive. Imagine what OTP can accomplish now. They have a lot ahead of them, but knowing that they're looking into more projects is a relief. Between games like Left 4 Dead, Hitman, etc. having an influence on them as well as Deus Ex, I'm looking forward to seeing what they can accomplish. TNM was limited to its engine and to Deus Ex, but now they're free to do their own, completely original IP without the restrictions imposed by the game.

Sure, modding may be dead, but the lessons learned from Deus Ex are still strong.

[chris the cynic]

I want to say, "I dreamed I saw Deus Ex last night," but my poetry conversion skills are lacking (note that it isn't just a poem, someone put music to it at some point.) If someone else wants to give it a shot, here is I Dreamed I saw Joe Hill Last Night:

I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night
Alive as you and me
Says I, "But Joe, you're ten years dead,"
"I never died," says he, "I never died," says he.
"In Salt Lake, Joe, by God," says I
Him standing by my bed,
"They framed you on a murder charge."
Says Joe, "But I ain't dead," says Joe, "But I ain't dead."

"The copper bosses shot you, Joe,
They killed you, Joe," says I.
"Takes more than guns to kill a man,"
Says Joe, "I didn't die," says Joe, "I didn't die."

And standing there as big as life
And smiling with his eyes
Joe says, "What they forgot to kill
Went on to organize, went on to organize."

"Joe Hill ain't dead," he says to me,
"Joe Hill ain't never died.
Where workingmen are out on strike
Joe Hill is at their side, Joe Hill is at their side."

"From San Diego up to Maine
In every mine and mill
Where workers strike and organize,"
Says he, "You'll find Joe Hill," says he, "You'll find Joe Hill."

[metche_steele]

It is sad but I know my team (emmersive studios) and off topic productions, have other projects on the horizon.

Deus Ex will remain forever fondly in our hearts

[chris the cynic]

Says metche, "What they could never kill
Went on to organize, went on to organize."

I'll make a full poem of it yet. Or not, I'm betting on not.

[DDL]

Sure, modding may be dead, but the lessons learned from Deus Ex are still strong.

Well, in my seven or so years on the DX scene I've seen a number of mods finish, a number of mods start, and a number of mods start AND also finish. Not die: finish. Yes, people are still starting up DX mods even this many years later, and are also finishing them! OMG WUT.

In the world of "four-second attention spans" modding may be dead, but from the longer perspective I can assure you the scene is still alive.


Plus there's always Klystron... ARE YOU LISTENING, SMIKE?

[Magnas]

Sure, modding may be dead, but the lessons learned from Deus Ex are still strong.

Well, in my seven or so years on the DX scene I've seen a number of mods finish, a number of mods start, and a number of mods start AND also finish. Not die: finish. Yes, people are still starting up DX mods even this many years later, and are also finishing them! OMG WUT.

In the world of "four-second attention spans" modding may be dead, but from the longer perspective I can assure you the scene is still alive.


Plus there's always Klystron... ARE YOU LISTENING, SMIKE?

Very true. I was thinking more along the lines of dead as in 'not quite as active.' As in... compared to certain games. And the scope of the mods tend to be different- in my experience, more inventive, though. Sure, there are games where the modders may incorporate a slightly modified shotgun or a better assault rifle. But Deus Ex really fuels creativity, leading to some bizarre but awesome weapon mods. They're around in other games, but I think Deus Ex has the most appealing. For me, at least.

Deus Ex is just difficult to mod on a larger scale, obviously. It's hard to keep a burgeoning mod scene when you attract more than just the typical run-n-gunners.

But, no, certainly not dead.

Smaller would be the better word.

[Jonas]

*Cough*

[Pointman]

For sure, we're waiting for that one.

DDL?

[DDL]

Should maybe get some screenies up, yes.

EMPable lights, people!

Still, there's also Terthos's mutations series, there's MIB, there's 2027, there's klystron, and so on.

[Jonas]

there's klystron

Uh, sort of...

[DDL]

Keep the faith! It's not dead till Smike says it is, which'll be never.

A man can dream, right?

[AgentSmithereens]

One day when I'm bored of TNM, I'm definitely going to finish my mod. It was about half done the last time I touched it, which was about a year ago.

[antoblake]

The Unreal Engine (1) is obsolete since the second one came out, no need to be sad about it.
But when it comes to the subject of Deus Ex, I do understand that you can feel nostalgic, because there is very few people who continues to play it.
However, what is great about Deus Ex is:
-It's a FPS=better immersion for shooting or stealth action. (I'm thinking about the comparison with MGS who is great game but lack a real infitration gameplay in my opinion)
-There is a huge interactivity with the environment, like picking locks, hacking computers, reading books and newspaper, etc... The simple fact that you can open almost any drawer or cupboard is something amazing if you think about it.
-Directly linked with the interactivity, there is a game system that support various skills, objects and augmentations, like in a RPG.
-Open maps: You can complete the objectives in multiple ways.
-Choice in the conversations that influence the rest of the game.

At this point, I'm thinking about a recent game who has the same qualities:
Fallout 3
But as far as I'm concerned, compared to DX, it sucks. (Although it's still a good game)
Why ? Because of the scenario and the background. (And the coherence between those two)

My point is: We can apply all these qualities to a more recent game engine.
Honestly, I tried to map with the Unreal Engine, and I know it sucks. I think this is why Eidos chose to switch to Crystal. (Wich I know nothing about)
I tried the Quake 3 Engine, and IMO it sucks even more.
I tried open source engine like Cube (2), it was good for mapping, but I've crawled in the code for two days to implement a simple crouch function. But still... I think it's a good engine for modders.

BUT

I'm really thinking about the CryEngine 2. (And the 3 is supposed to be out in a week)
I've been messing up with this engine since the demo of crysis was released, and I can tell you: It kicks your ass.
I don't think Crysis was really a good game, but the Sandbox2 is worth buying it.
First of all, you can build a map of 16km2 in an hour with procedural functions.
You can import huge prefabs (with no BSP errors )
I know you can create mutliple-choices conversations, but I've never tried. There is already a mods that support skills and stuff.
It uses LUA to script most of the game functions, wich is really simple to modify.
And, well, I know it doesn't seems to have anything to do with DX at the first glance, but I can tell you have huge possibilities. (And it's a beautiful engine)

So guys, don't be sad ! There is plenty of others game engine waiting for modders. As long as there is a community like yours ready to spend hours behind a computer to reborn Deus Ex, nothing is lost !



Hidden message: To all the TNM team, please start a new mod of DX with the CryEngine, I'll be ready to spend years mapping and coding for such a project.