Tribes? (A bit long)

Non Entropia Related Off topic
1

GTW? Tribes? (A bit long)

I need some opinion/help/suggestions here people…
I recently recieved a note in my deviant art account that was as follows:
[I]Hey,
I am a scout for the Great Terra War Torque Mod Group, which is currently developing a new futuristic MMOFPS. Im sending this message to you because we would like to express great interest in your talent.

Now, I should make it clear that GTW is strictly non-paying; if you were to join, you would not be payed. But where we can’t offer you money, we can offer you a potential showcase for your art, which is a valuable way to spend your free time.

If you would like to look into us in more detail, im afraid that all of our new media is currently in development (if you were to join, you would take part in making it), so all I can point you to is our old site, [link] our work-in-progress development document, [link] and our partner group [link]
If you would like to take part in our adventure, please send a mail to ******

-Chase Adams
Development Facilitator
GTW Group[/I]

Naturally, I was curious about this whole thing because, frankly, I had little idea what he was talking about, other than he liked something I did. So, I emailed with a few questions…

  1. What exacly is a MMOFPS? I know what an MMORPG, but I’ve never heard of an MMOFPS.
  2. If you could send a bit more information on what exactly you’re asking of me in regards to your project, I’d greatly appreciate it.

To which he replied:
[I]A. As you probably know, MMO stands for Massive Multiplayer Online. FPS stands for First-Person Shooter. MMOFPS is the combination of the standard combat-oriented first-person shooter and the community and persistent global elements of an MMO. The combination has only one precedent, Planetside by Sony Online Entertainment.

B.Our group comes from the Tribes community, Tribes being one of the first team-based tactical FPS games ever created. The original was quite popular, and spawned two less popular sequels. The support for the franchise was dropped by VUG (Vivindi Universal Games), its owner, so the Tribes community, which is one of the most dedicated (and resourceful) community of all games I have seen, has made it their mission to make a new game on their own. My group, GTW, is a big part of one of the new games, which is headed by Renwerx Group. In addition to helping create a base game platform with the Torque Game Engine, we will be responsible for creating a persistent massive-multiplayer mod for it.

If you were to join us, you would be responsible for helping us create the atmosphere of the mod, and at your desire, an epic plot-based story or timeline. Because we have to separate ourselves from the universe of Tribes series, we are quite in need of new material, and because we have nothing to start from, you would have relative freedom in designing it.[/I]

Now, my husband says these people are asking me to help design the plot, and/or atmostphere of the game. Is this what this guys asking? What does he mean exactly by 'epic plot-based story or timeline? Is he asking me to write a story of sorts to base the game on? Should I feel honored or is this something all game companies do and ask thousands of people for ideas? Am I going to get in trouble for posting this guys emails?
Help me out here peeps! I feel a bit confused. :smiley:

Thanks.

2

This “company” is going to do a mob for a already existed game. :slight_smile:
Like CS are a mod to Halflife. They are asking you to write the plot to the game. Its your decied really if you want to do that. Its fun to mod a game. I got some exp in that Area. I modded Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tac.
But get ready for a time consuming work ahead of you. :wise:

3

[QUOTE=Belfegor]
This “company” is going to do a mob for a already existed game. :slight_smile:
Like CS are a mod to Halflife. They are asking you to write the plot to the game. Its your decied really if you want to do that. Its fun to mod a game. I got some exp in that Area. I modded Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tac.
But get ready for a time consuming work ahead of you. :wise:
[/QUOTE]

Ok, it’s those “quotation marks” that throw me off. Is this all kind of a big joke?

4

[QUOTE=Ona]
Ok, it’s those “quotation marks” that throw me off. Is this all kind of a big joke?
[/QUOTE]

I participated in something similar a while back. I’m sorry to say it but it was a complete and utter waste of my time. The “boss” of the operation began saying “Oh, you will all get paid eventually!” After a few months, we learned that this guy was nothing but a scam and has been doing this to many people.

If you do decide to contribute to their project, be careful. I’m not saying it will turn out the same way it did for me, but contributing a lot of time (that you could be getting paid for) to someone you don’t know is something that needs to be thought out well.

5

in other words, get everything in writing… and no, i dont mean an e-mail contract.

first you need to find out if its a credible business. i dont know where you live, but:

  1. most countries consider taxation and gross annual a matter of public property; so, all you need to do is go down to your local city hall (or whatever the equivelant) to find out where those records would be found (if you dont already know.)
  2. if its an overseas company, its a SCAM! guaranteed. for one thing, this is becuase its almost impossible for a private party with a limited amount of funds to track the credibility of a small business overseas. you can be guaranteed theyd take your money and run.
  3. if they offer you stock, ITS A SCAM. this is just an extension of the aforestated scam.
  4. whether or not it IS actually a scam, keep in mind that this IS something they send to thousands, maybe more, of people.

i dont know anything about a “gtw group” in itself, but i have a BA in business (its an american form of college degree) so i know what im talking about… theres an astronomical chance its not a load of bullshit, but if i were you, id just tell them to go screw themselves. :smiley: besides, itll make your day :wink:

6

I am not one to speak on this (so lucky for you the gentlemen above me here have made some valuable and wise contributions to this thread already) :wink: … but immediately I am struck by the fact that it seems they are asking to do A LOT of work for NO MONEY :eek: Hmm… so that’s suspicious to me. If you personally knew the guy writing you and he thought of you b/c of personal experience and assumed you might be willing to work for free, I could see it. But I do find the work-for-nothing mentality a bit strange for something like this…
could be wrong tho :girl:

7

Well, after talking to some other people, I have decided to go ahead with this project. A few things lead me to believe that this is not a skam.

  1. They offer me no money, and ask no money of me (or personal info. for that matter)
  2. It seems to be a voluntary postion that these people are doing for fun, and are just looking for some other ideas
  3. They have since informed me that if at any time I feel the ‘job’, is overwhelming or too time consuming, or that I just don’t enjoy it, I’m free to drop out at any time.
  4. No contracts. :slight_smile:

However, I do think the suggestion of getting a written document is a good idea, but I’m thinking I will ask for some sort of document that says that if they use my stuff, I will get written credit. :silly2:

Thank you all for your advice! I’m completely open for more though. Feel free to continue posting as I will obviously be taking everything I read into account. :wink: