1. Well, let's start at the beginning: who the hell are you and why are you here? :P
The name's Melnik, Dennis Melnik (a.k.a. [KaMiKaZe]). I'm the project leader, lead level designer and head music composer for SkyWard Fires. I'm a 15 year old boy (or man) from Lithuania (that's in Europe and no, it's not an African disease). I started my 'mappage' career about 8 or 9 months ago, when I was checking out Deus Ex community and looking for a walkthrough (hehe). Oh well, for some reason I've decided to mod too and started mapping. Deus Ex is the first game I've worked on mods for. SkyWard Fires isnt my first mod though. I've started a few mods before, but I've closed them because of a lack of good team members and time constraints.
2. So what type of mod is Skyward Fires and what can we expect from the finished version?
SkyWard Fires is a Single Player mod for Deus Ex. From the finished version you can expect a well designed, fun, fantasy game. It takes place in the far future where anything unexpected can happen. The mod isn't going to be very long, but there will definitely be enough to give you a great story.
3. Are we going to see any of the history of the original Deus Ex timeline crop up in the story?
Well, not to any great extent. There will definitely be some weapons fro the original used in SkyWard Fires. In addition there may be traces of the history created by the original story (e.g. Computer records about the augmentation project, re-occurrences of familiar names like VersaLife, etc.).
4. So give us a little more on the background of the mod.
Although most of this stuff is on our website, I'll tell you a bit about the world of SkyWard Fire. There are going to be many new places such as the large futuristic city of SkyWard, another large city on the surface of the moon (Zeto), a StarShip named "StarCutter", a moving cargo train of "SunTech", ruined and abandoned New York and numerous other locations.
The mod will have many good and evil characters. Although you shouldn't make the opinions only after you hear about the person. Some evil guys may appear to be good later in the game.
The players will experience what is it like to save the world, how it feels to be on the moon, and how scary it is to fall to Earth in an escape pod! ;)
5. Will the story be non-linear in a similar vein to Deus Ex?
It's hard to tell yet, but I think it will be mixed. We plan to make this mod to be more like a 3D Shooter, not a RPG. There will, however, be small or maybe even occasionally large changes in the storyline, depending on your actions.
6. Well, as a shooter it'll obviously focus on the weaponry. What new arrivals can we expect in the lead character's arsenal and which of the original weapons will be making a reprise?
We are expecting new weapons in the mod, but we are in dire need of animators to achieve this. However, a few of the original Deus Ex weapons such as the combat knife, GEP gun, and the plasma rifle will remain, albeit heavily modified.
Having said that, we do not want to promise much, because it is just as possible that we may disappoint the community in the final release. As I said - a lot depends on the modellers and coders. So if any of you readers are animators contact me immediately. ;) I think that promises are the reasons why most of the mods in the community die. The mods can't handle everything that is expected from them and well, it's just a mod. Not a game.
7. The mod's been up and running for just under a month now and so it's still in relative infancy. Does it worry you that events may overtake you and larger game releases like Unreal 2, Duke Forever (if it arrives) and even Deus Ex 2 might reduce the impact of SkyWard Fires?
Well, yes. A lot of gamers will start playing Unreal 2 and Duke Nukem Forever when they're out, and some guys may even forget Deus Ex community. But I'm sure that Deus Ex 2 isn't going to be released soon, and we have a lot of time. SkyWard Fires is just a mod, and I don't think the new games might reduce the impact of it. Anyhow, it depends on the people who play Deus Ex. But sadly the Deus Ex community is very small.
8. I know this sort of speculation may be a bit early but will there be a chance of seeing your finished mod ported to a multiplayer platform (maybe as a coop mod ...)?
If Im not too worn out by the end I will help the DX Coop team to port the mod into MP, but it really depends on them, not me. I'm not sure if it is going to be suitable for MP though. There may be not enough room for more than 1 player in the mod ;)
9. Looking at the media already available on your site I can see that this mod has some great potential and I personally can't wait. How long are you planning to keep us waiting for a public release?
Wow. This is the most common question asked by the community. And I'm gonna repeat myself over and over (to those who asked me that already), that this mod has just started and it's really hard to tell when the final release will be. It's definately going to be in 2002, although the demo is planned to be released between March and April.
10. We'll certainly keep our eye on the progress and hopefully talk to you again before the release. Well, I think that's about it for now. Before we go is there anything you'd like to say to the readers/community?
GO REST J00 EYEBALLZ!!!! Oh , also Id like to mention that Im planning on launching my studio at some point. Itll be a place where people can find out about me, my mapping, and my music. It's going to have free music tracks for public use in DX mods. Maybe I'll even take orders from a few mods. I'm sure that people are sick (no offence to Alex Brandon and Michiel van den Bos) of the DX music and want something new. Although I'm just a beginner, I hope to master the tracker and release something really good.
In conclusion wed like to thank [KaMiKaZe] for his time and return him to the darkened room where we have him working on the mod while chained to a desk. To see more details of his mod as it grows surf along to http://skyward.deusexgaming.com/ and enjoy.
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