Just as an aside, I contacted the game director back in 2015/16 and wanted to setup a skype session to show and demonstrate 4 maps/levels created in the Unreal Engine.
These levels were CTF/DM/RUSH/TDM in design and focused on the 4 racial styles.
They had choke points, control points, objectives etc. One on a Desert planet, one in a nondescript military base, one involving a post-battle scavenging ‘space jump’, one on a docking bay of a derelict super-capital. I had BSP original geometry, and had converted/duplicated these in 3D MAX, and re-imported them to lower system resources in the engine, using static meshes/FBX Conversions, to lower polygon count.
In addition to this, I had the source files, used Epic ‘standard’ blueprint materials and textures, meaning that anyone could have taken the project C++ files, imported them into the UE4 engine and incorporated the content into their own files. This is very important, as it would have synched nicely, and allowed any dev team (globally) to DL the UE4 engine (4.14, if memory serves) and patch the content for playtesting ‘round-robins’.
I was told in no uncertain terms there might be a possibility to show these maps off, and had everything setup to do a desktop stream through skype (or even discord, I think) and talk through the design(s) in extensive detail. This would involve me having the UE4 interface open, and simply, talking it through.
I had also additionally prepared 4 design documents/PDF’s detailing the map layouts and all I really needed was the movement speed/jump height player traversal speed to fine-tune, and (using blueprint) was able to scale up/down the environment(s) to match the player interaction. I also ‘lurked’ the discord convos and drew inspiration from what the playerbase (ex-Dust514) was seeking (at that time).
It didn’t go anywhere, and despite a very high level of professional communique from both parties, it became nothing.
I didn’t ask for any $ (most unlike me to do such a thing!) but sought…no more than 1 hour of their collective time. 60 mins. That’s all.
Since then - well, you know the rest.
As a background, I have completed paid work for CCP several years ago and still had an NDA, although it needed a repatriation and subsequent signature(s) for reinforcement.
I (also) did complete a script, synopsis and treatment for what could be either a live-action or animation trilogy, revolving around The Second Genesis. Despite enthusiastic yelps from members of staff in marketing and PR directorships, this came, again, to nothing.
Why did I do this? Well, CCP were everso nice to me prior to this, and I have always been a fairly prolific individual and had the time, at the time, to do the above.
The story I had set out, that might see the light of day, one day, in whatever light that may shine on it, but for now, I really do not feel CCP has any intention whatsoever to actually complete:
a) The continuation of EVE
b) The fortitude to deliver an FPS (of any description)
c) The marketability to create a movie/film/animated film
Sorry.
If anyone wishes to know more about ‘my experience with dealing with CCP’ sorry, not gonna happen. I have too much respect for the staff that are trying to create content, then to kick them when they are down.
AK