Development cost for a ev. "EnB 2"

[Zaxxon]

Hello everyone!

This is a serious question, so please dont reply with off topic responses.

I've been playing numerous online RPG over the years (im 40 years old), still, i havent played a game thats even close to the thrill i had with EnB.

So, my question to the community (i have to start somewhere). What whould it cost in develeopment time (ish) ... (dont bother the cost (for now)), to make a "EnB-2"?

If im to finance (part or whole, we dont need to discuss that now) a eventual game release of "EnB-2", i need to get in contact with people who has the same interest in this game as me.

So please contact me (site devs have the info).

Regards

/Zaxxon

[Asmir[IS]]

I will admit up front, my answers here will be pretty vague since there is very little project data available to answer a very broad question. Be assured I am taking your question seriously and giving a guess based on at least a limited sense of the variables that affect the amount of time it takes to develop what you suggest, having worked in the industry, albeit from a QA standpoint, and watching games develop closely since at least the late 90s. Lets look at a few variables first since we need to have some kind of template to work from.

First of all, it will need to be done pretty much from scratch. Even if EA were to work out a deal on the copyright I doubt they will give up the engine, though they might and even then it will likely require a lot of work to bring it up to today's gaming standards. Thats not to say such a project couldn't be done under a different title with similar dynamics in gameplay which might save a good deal of time that would be eaten up in negotiations.

Next, the scope of the project would need to be defined to get a better idea how the game is to be presented and what expectations there are in regard to what it will look like, what engine will be used, will it be built from scratch or based off of an existing engine. This can have a fairly significant impact on time.

Next is staffing. We won't have a clue what the staffing needs are until there is a design document in place outlining for one the above along with the storyline, assets needed and such things as that. If we used well experienced designers that cost more, we might see a dramatic reduction in production time as opposed to using less experienced and less expensive designers. In any case, to do it right your looking at from probably 16 to 25 developers if you want to get it off the ground in a reasonable amount of time, maybe more. This doesn't even get into staff for testing and marketing or administration.

Of course there is much more to think about than I could even begin to get into here, and as I am fairly sure I'm exceeding the scope of detail you were looking for, I can safely say that a top notch game will take 2-4 years to put together properly assuming the time is taken to put together a quality team working full time on the project. That's from the first brainstorming session to putting the box on the shelf.

As for being interested in working on the project, I'd be crazy not to want to. I'm a huge EnB fan and would love to see such a thing happen. While I'm not a developer or a designer I'm sure I can be useful in a myriad of other ways.

[posfordfan1220]

You could look at the source code to Vega Strike. It's got a lot of the basics already up and running. Just needs some fresh blood, and maybe money will even help.

[seekeronos]

You could look at the source code to Vega Strike. It's got a lot of the basics already up and running. Just needs some fresh blood, and maybe money will even help.

Interesting that you mention Vega Strike, which was (iirc) an emulator of the 1990s classic "Wing Commander Privateer"... which I think itself served as a sort of a template for Westwood/EA when they developed EnB.

Privateer had a lot of the same sort of elements (factions, missions, ships, upgrades to ships and equipment, trade runs, combat &c.)

With the noteable exception of any sort of multiplayer ability.

[Moche]

i had never really thought about enb being an mmo version of privateer but you're right there are several similar elements that that game was my all time favorite before i found enb, The Darkening and Freelancer were fun but in some respect never measured up. you know that EA bought out Origin, the company that made Privateer too don't you? i believe they closed down a project for a privateer online game that was underway in roughly 2000. the smilarities are spooky ehh

[posfordfan1220]

you know that EA bought out Origin, the company that made Privateer too don't you? i believe they closed down a project for a privateer online game that was underway in roughly 2000. the smilarities are spooky ehh

Freelancer started out being developed by the same guy (Chris Roberts) that was behind Privateer. Then EA started taking over his role.

[Daywolf]

Anything "EnB", EA owns the rights to, especially EnB2. So unless it's a "just for fun" project with no plans for monetary return on the investment, best to find another name. You could solicit EA to sell it to you, but having some idea of how EA operates, expect to bring the cash to them in wheelbarrows

Though if I were going to buy anything from EA, it'd be Privateer -Online. Yes, when EnB lanuched, "Privateer" was said over the chat channel countless times.

As for dev time on any project, depends on the specifics of how you want to go about developing a game. The shortcut is to license existing engines and develop it from them. The long road is to do it from scratch, which is becoming less and less common. But in most estimates, yes 2-5 years... or longer.