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Most people who have some experience with these things realize that most plugs never get finished. In fact, even more plugs never get started but that is another issue. First of all, you have decided to make a plug. Great. How do you get graphics? Do you get help from other people? How do you go about entering in information into the plug?
I am wondering about other peoples take on successful plug making, the process part.
Here are some ideas:
Lone genius system.
Never tell anyone about the plug. Work on it late at night regularly for hours at a time laboriously crafting everything.
Advantages: you retain sole control over the plug and sole responsibility. Great for avoiding production delays caused by people quitting, slacking off, arguing, etc.
Disadvantages: you have to do everything yourself. You are likely to become bored. Or insane. Or you will just end up procrastinating until something more interesting comes along.
Massive Endeavor system
Why not recruit EVERYONE to work on your plug. With so many people the work will be split up widely reducing your work load and increasing your resources.
Advantages: great way to get lots of activity going due to the social nature of such a project.
Disadvantages: no one ever finishes anything. Instead of channeling the best of everyone you channel the worst. You get the procrastination of 30 instead of one. Was tried in the Delta V plug with no success.
Specialist system: You get someone to do missions. You get someone to do graphics. Someone also washes your computer screen. Someone is chief of periods in ship descriptions. Another person is in charge of the junk resources.
Advantages: with clearly defined roles one can see clearly who is supposed to do what. People know they are accountable and work harder.
Disadvantages: if one of the people quits you have to look for a replacement and if that person was particularly talented then finding someone of equal talent might be difficult.
Spare Parts System
This generally has more to do with graphics than anything else.
Basically you use only pre-made graphics available for free on the internet.
Advantages: you save time you might have to spend to create the many graphics. It also saves you the time of possibly having to learn how to make them in the first place. In the case of the Specialist System you save yourself the trouble of dealing with a finicky outside artist.
Disadvantages
You are limited by content and quality to what is available on the internet. Furthermore, certain ships will likely be recognizable to the player and your plug will lose something of its perceived originality.
Organic System
Start small and add things in increments. Possibly with releases after each increment.
Advantages: allows one to avoid being swallowed up by the complexity of the project.
Disadvantages: might cause one to lose sight of the big picture
What do you all think?
------------------ -Bohemian Muskrat
I'm using the third one for New Era, and it all seems to be going well. I'm trying to stop the procrastination by regulally updating everyone, at leat I will do when the forum is set up (EVula....). The first one is just damn silly, as you want maximum input, either advice or help. That's my Two Cents
------------------ Upcoming website, for the(url="http://"http://www.evula.org/godsunderstudy") New Era (/url) TC. Look out for the New Era!
I'm using the Lone Genius method for the Night's Dawn TC. Kind of, anyway. I've told people about it, but I'm currently redesigning the entire map because I didn't think one system was in the right place. "laboriously crafting everything" indeed!
------------------ (url="http://"http://www.geocities.com/newkongindustries/")New Kong Industries (/url) - Home of the Night's Dawn TC!
I just get the ideas, jot a lot of drawings on paper, think up some cool things the charecters can do, fiddle with an engine feature, start the actual work, and (hopefully) finish it. I usually announce I'm working on it a little too early in production stages, but I'm really commted to this project, so I wanna see it finished. Weeeee.
------------------ While preparing dinner, Edna accidentally opens a can of whoopass. (url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/cgi-bin/ubb/search.cgi?action=intro")soitch!(/url) )( (url="http://"http://www.evula.org/monster")monster!(/url) )( (url="http://"http://www.drudgereport.com")news!(/url) )( (url="http://"http://www.urgaylol.com")!(/url)
(This message has been edited by Mantaray (edited 12-08-2002).)
I actually like the lone genius system. It helps one concentrate on the plug instead of the people making the plug. Instead of writing an email saying: "I want you to make ships like this..." and then another saying: "no let me clarify..." you create the ships yourself exactly how you want them. A variation on the lone genius system is using other peoples graphics but primarily free graphics or graphics from existing plugs used with their permission. This serves to cut down on developement time but avoid the complexity of teams.
I'm doing a lone-genius thing, at least until my plugs reach a state of maturity. Then I might recruit a specialist or two (missions and mapwork, perhaps).
As for how you get things, this probably isn't very helpful to you, but I'm (almost) self-sufficient, in that I can do all the things necessary to create a plugin myself. Sounds are the possible exception...I'm not too good at synthesizing sounds. Yet.
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