[Josiah]

what really needs to happen is planning. the storyline, models, gameplay, etc. needs to be later. to successfully create and release a game, the very first thing to do is plan. by this I mean:

Features:
 -awesome graphics
   -realistic physics
     -NVIDIA PhysX
     -custom vehicle classes

 -deadly AI
    -smart navigation
    -think twice as fast as you

 -good mp
    -doesn't need the best internet connection
    -very little lag
      -dedicated team working on this

 -engaging storyline
 
 -doesn't need an i7 to run
   -research how to accomplish this
      -dedicated team working on this

I'm sure I missed a lot, but this is the first step in making anything. And once planning is finished, the platform needs to be done... don't go off on writing a storyline if there isn't a platform to put it on! if you are really going to do this, it will take a loooooonnngg time; there will be a time for the story later, but not now.

Timeline

-platform
-vehicle classes
-models/odfs
-storyline
-missions/MP?
-alpha testing
-bug fixing
-beta testing
-RC1
(again, I probably left half of it out, as this is just an example)

I suggest the UDK, simply because it will be waaaayy easier than the only other choice: OGRE(in my opinion). if you don't want the UDK, do something for me. Goto the OGRE homepage and DL the SDK. install it. Now start writing. If you are like 90% of all the people in the world, your brain will just explode. I know, because I started a year ago with OGRE, and let me tell you; if you are wanting to do more than just have dweebs running around the screen w/o sound, input, or interface, you are going to have to spend at least 6 months-1 year+, with a large dedicated team, to accomplish anything.

I looked at your help signup topic; excellent start. knowing who and how many is extremely essential. having a dedicated website is also a smart move. when I first started, I just asked around on the bz forums I knew about at the time, and it was quickly evident that my own webpage would be needed to even start. not having one puts a little bug in people mind saying, 'they aren't that dedicated, they don't even have a website; they'll piddle out after while...' I was very discouraged, and figured it would be better to do it myself, than wait on them. that would be an astronomically time consuming undertaking for just one person, and I figured it out pretty quickly... enter battlezone3.com; it renews my hope. keep it up and count me in! 

[arcanise]

hey, im very knowledgeable with computers and can teach my self a slew of information very quickly, but my best trait is organization, so if you wanna take the lead in this project you have my vote and i will be here to help in the leadership and guidance aspects. also Ive been talking with nvidia to try and grab a sponsorship from them. also looking into Razer, and perhaps Intel, we will see.

[Josiah]

I am not pushing to take over this project, just giving some hard learned advice... I will take over if you guys want me to, but I think there are better suited people already here who could accomplish the task better than I can. I will help out however. 

[BZRanger]

Welcome to the board. While I have yet to check out OGRE myself. I have checked out th terms for UDK (unreal, right?) and they are somewhat demanding. The best terms, and support, I have found exist in the new Quake engine - it's totally free, designed to be easy, and they will help you on the big issues (or so they say.) Aside from that, try e-mailing Activision because they already have a decent engine which has proven to sell games, just not BZ-2.

[Josiah]

Welcome to the board. While I have yet to check out OGRE myself. I have checked out th terms for UDK (unreal, right?) and they are somewhat demanding. The best terms, and support, I have found exist in the new Quake engine - it's totally free, designed to be easy, and they will help you on the big issues (or so they say.) Aside from that, try e-mailing Activision because they already have a decent engine which has proven to sell games, just not BZ-2.

I think OGRE is the best. Unfortunately it isn't a piece of cake. There are better sdks out there than UDK, but for ease of use, I think UDK beats them. At least all the ones I've checked with. feel free to prove me wrong, as I don't always have a very good view of things. 

this is good, as it is actually part of the planning 'phase'. knowing what engine you are going to use is very important.

[Josiah]

I think this is a good tut on designing a program, in this case, BzIII:

http://www.learncpp.com/cpp-tutorial/1-10a-how-to-design-your-first-programs/

while it may not be your first program/game, it is a good way to get started; lets get a topic going! <looks at watch> OH!, maybe tomorrow <falls over from lack of sleep> 

[BZRanger]

"I think OGRE is the best. Unfortunately it isn't a piece of cake."
Not having any experience with these engines myself there's nothing I can add.  My personal programming goals are related more towards creating my own game engine.  I've done well with 2-d but the 3-d math tends to bogg me down. Most of the 3D code_books I have read want to turn me into Alfred Einstien instead of answering a simple friggin vector question.

[arcanise]

i forgot the name of it but the smallest team Ive seen successfully create a working SDK was a 32 man team, all of which were seasoned programmers with decades of experience with working with big companies, i believe they sold the engine and the development kit to Atari.

[BZRanger]

Well, I don't want to get too far off topic but me thinks developing a decent 3d game engine myself is possible, I just to find need better books, LOL.

[Josiah]

Well, I don't want to get too far off topic but me thinks developing a decent 3d game engine myself is possible, I just to find need better books, LOL.

time is another thing; how long are you guys wanting to take? 6 months? 1 year? 3 years? more than Duke Nukem: Forever will be in development? 

[BZRanger]

This site creates some confusion with newer people - there might be a super secret project underway but I have yet to hear of anything..  Of course people might be saying "SHHH!!! don't tell that BZRanger guy anything, " LOL....

I mostly just hang out here myself, research new tech whilst watching for updates to BZ-2.

[arcanise]

well from what Ive read this project is about to just be put under the rug, to make a game that looks like crysis/unreal and plays like halo/bz2 and make any profit would require a nasty assortment of programmers, rich people, and a slew of artists and graphics designers.

what we have is a few novice programmers, a few wannabe programmers, a few novice graphic artists and from what ive seen 1 artist, and we have one guy that has a plan.

current funds towards rights and licenses 0
current amount of dedicated programmers 0
current solid no shit plans and guide lines 0
current licenses and or rights to use a SDK 0
number of free lance artists/designers 0
number of idea (lost count at 604)

and do we have a building where we all work together to make this happen? nope

[joannis11]

A BUILDING -.-
Ur expecting way too much!
This isn't professional game making, it's a bunch of people loving Battlezone, witch are trying to make the next battlezone, together from their homes. With all they can find, to help them. (However some are professional) At least I'm not a prof I'm just the idk how manyest guy that wants to make the next battlezone

[Josiah]

exactly. this is not going to be a commercial project. so you don't have to worry about how much you will have to spend to get full rights to the game engine. if this were to be a commercial project, it wouldn't work...

[doclike]

Josiah has outlined the main points that need to be done. I don't know what Computers you guys have, but I think the minimum requirements should be somewhere around a Dualcore with 2 GHZ, 2 GB Ram and DX9 Graphicscard.
I currently have a Quadcore with an ATI 4850, which would be imo the optimum/maximum system req. to run the game on a decent resolution like Full HD.

cheers