Making my own multiplayer FPS game

[Rayhaan Jiwani]

Hello Forum,

 

Before you start discouraging/warning me I'd like to tell you not to since this is a long-term project and I don't need to make it in one summer break.

Ok, so as you read in the title, I want to make my own multiplayer FPS game. And since I'm just 13 and have not used UE4 before, here are my questions/ideas.

 

1) It's gonna be multiplayer so can I make it peer-to-peer? 2 hosts in a lobby of 16? 1 host for 8 players?

2) How can I incorporate an anti-cheat system since it's gonna be p2p? I can't trust everyone.

3) Where can I get high quality assets I'll need for this game without spending much? Animations, materials, objects, etc.

4) How can I make different materials such as glass wallbangable?

5) How can I make destructive environments like in Battlefield?

6) What system should I have? Minimap of HRV like in Blacklight;Retribution? I really like CoD:AW's UAV which sent a pulse which showed enemy players in red striped lines through walls and I might use that.

7) Can someone be my mentor or at least answer questions which I have within a day?

8) Which version of UE4 should I use? Most assets on the UE Marketplace are compatible with v4.8 but v4.9 is much better for making a game.

9) How can I incorporate Nvidia's GameWorks technology and DX12 support if possible. If not, it's ok.

10) How do I make the game online multiplayer? Will I need a server for the player and item database 'cause IDK if my parents will let me even pay a company for hosting.

11) How can I update the guns and other items in the shop without a patch?

12) After gameplay mechanics, I really need to understand the menu system and how online multiplayer works.

13) What about animations? Gun reload, sprint, crouch, etc.?

 

As I said before please don't discourage me and I am ready to do whatever it takes to make this game as long as it's not at the cost of my studies.

 

Thanks!

[ShadowCaptain]

 

As I said before please don't discourage me and I am ready to do whatever it takes to make this game as long as it's not at the cost of my studies.

 

Thanks!

 

You can take video game development courses if you are serious 

 

BUT - there is NO WAY you can make a game as complicated as you want without spending years, or without tons of staff - just not possible to alone without any experience

 

The most you could hope for would be like a CS;GO style game - or just building your gaming in Unity and buying your asssets - but this has its own problems

 

 

I would never want to discourage you-  but you should start with a SIMPLE game - make like an Unreal Tournament arena shooter - static maps, basic gun models - let people frag each other

 

 

You dont start your first game by making battlefield 4 on your own mate!

[desertcomputer]

First starts off with basics side shooter? 2D shooter... for a truly your own creation FPS you would have spend hours creating a engine or used of bunch of free but some are limited (Unity is great start or the source 1/2). Making a game will take you a lifetime to make something you are proud of and this could effect your time for you studies down the track if you want do something other than game development unless this is your dream. Sure.

 

 

These question can be easily answer after you find engine you will be working with. I would suggest have look at source 2 as it pretty new but you still have to spend money or time on texture and animations... Even the best game developers didn't start their career with something like battlefield or cod ... they started off small and work they way up. I really think you should learn the basic first. 

 

 

[Sauron]

1) you can. you can do whatever you want really, as long as you know how to.

2) that's up to you. depending on how the game works you need to pre-emptively imagine how it could be exploited and have a subroutine checking for that kind of exploit running in the background.

3) not sure

4) you need to code it that way. it's not something that can be explained from the ground up in a few lines of post, this sort of thing you'll need to figure out for yourself once you have the base code.

5) same as above - there is no one way of doing it, you can implement it any way you like, either through scripted events or through general particle physics, but you need to know how to code very well and for a long time. If it were easy or quick anyone would do it.

6) I like minimaps

7) post on the forum, someone will answer - unless nobody knows the answer

8) I advise to use the latest and greatest whenever possible

9) Contact nVidia and see if they are willing to actively support a 1-man ultra long term hobby project   since gameworks is proprietary software that's the only way

10) isn't this redundant with the first question?

11) the game can fetch information serverside.

12) yes you do.

13) using animation software like blender or maya.

 

if it wasn't clear enough from the above answers, you are most likely getting in way over your head. I don't think you realize what it takes to make such a complex game. I'm studying I.T. engineering and it would take me years to make something even remotely acceptable at an alpha stage given your goals, let alone a release version. Unless you have literally nothing to do all day and extreme dedication, you should really start with something much simpler and when you really kow what you're doing, recruit some collaborators and try and tackle your original project.

 

@ShadowCaptain is right, this sort of game is extremely complex to do even for a very experienced programmer if done alone - I mean, even a studio as big as DICE couldn't release a properly working game after 2 years of development (bf4), imagine what it would take a single man to do that.

[Rayhaan Jiwani]

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I have a friend who's also in Grade 8 and made a tank battle game on his own in 3 years. What about making something like Blacklight:Retribution and then adding more features?

[trag1c]

*disclaimer*

Your idea is completely unfeasible for a single developer. Especially for one that has no experience with any sort of game development or even any related fields. You need to reevaluate your expectations because for you to do this by your self it would probably take over a decade. Start by developing (and most importantly finishing) small games , you will learn a lot this way. Don't expect to learn any of this overnight, it will take you years to learn and become proficient. Stay determined and always learn new things.

 

1) UE4 takes care of most of the details.

2) Get into C++ and Assembly as well as get your self a debugger/hex editor and you will have your answer. Everything is "hackable" with enough know how and determination but you can at least deter or slow down a hacker.

3) You hire artists or make it your self. No other way around it. 

4) Shaders and an artist.

5) I can think of at least a half a dozen ways of accomplishing this. Particles, Prebaked animations, instancing + physics, ect.

6) Pick whatever fits your game. Minimaps are fairly trivial to implement so prototyping a few wouldn't set you too far back.

7) www.gamedev.net is your best friend.

8) Forget about the marketplace it's not very feasible for the scale of what you want to try to accomplish.

9) Never going to happen without fame or fortune. Direct3D 12 on the other hand is fairly achievable.

10) This is the same as #1. You can go about this a few different ways though. You can host, a single player can host, or every player in the room can host. Those are your basic options.

11) This is what a server is for. 

12) Get a firm grasp on UI since it can cripple any application.

13) Blender, Maya, 3DS Max. Do this your self or hire an artist.

[ShadowCaptain]

I have a friend who's also in Grade 8 and made a tank battle game on his own in 3 years. What about making something like Blacklight:Retribution and then adding more features?

 

You cannot make blacklight retribution on your own haha

 

You could probably manage to make PONG in few months if its your first time making a game, maybe a basic scrolling shooter game

 

 

You could buy asset packs for Unity / Unreal and create some sort of MOD based off existing assets and package them into something to distribute for free

[Sauron]

I have a friend who's also in Grade 8 and made a tank battle game on his own in 3 years. What about making something like Blacklight:Retribution and then adding more features?

 

"tank battle game" as in he made a world of tanks clone, or something more basic? Making a basic quake-like first person shooter is not too hard, what IS hard is adding all the features you mentioned like anti-cheat, destruction phisics, proper multiplayer and a shop?? etc.

[snamakool123]

One thing I can tell you is that if you do manage to make a game your parents will be willing to pay for the server hosting. I mean I am also Indian and I know this. I worked on many websites which are currently live and in the beginning I would just host them on my pc and use laptops as clients and once it was finished I asked if they could pay for a host and they agreed so that will not be a problem. Also you could earn money from your game I guess if you are willing to publish it to the world, but this would mean that all the assets you use, you have the permission for. So that you don't get blocked for copyrights and stuff.

 

Also one more thing like every one is saying this will take over a decade. First I will recommend taking online courses on game development and then once you think you are capable enough start working on it and if you are stuck come to the forums or watch more tuts. How much time are you willing to spend per day on this. My parents said that "Abhi IB ke exam game banane ka nahi aaega" (Translation: "You wont have to write about how to make a game on the IB exam"). And only let me work 1 hour per day max which slowed me down enormously. So keep in mind how much time you get.

[Sauron]

You could probably manage to make PONG in few months

 

well come on, pong takes 2 weeks ^^

[Bittenfleax]

I made "half" a shitty FPS in unity in a week. That was only following tutorials though so no real skill. It was multiplayer but all you did is run around. Mind you, there was no animations, models or anything. Just running around as default unity circle on a flat white surface.

 

Animation and modeling are trickey. It is perfectly do able but you need a lot of dedication and time. Because, I got through "phases" of really wanting to do stuff then after 2 weeks it goes. So I either succeed in 2 weeks or don't do it at all. 

[trag1c]

I have a friend who's also in Grade 8 and made a tank battle game on his own in 3 years. What about making something like Blacklight:Retribution and then adding more features?

It took a team of highly experienced/educated developers over a year to make that game. The scale at which you are thinking is way to big.

 

Give up any thought of making any serious or large game for the next few years and educate your self on the various roles in game development.

[ShadowCaptain]

well come on, pong takes 2 weeks ^^

 

yeah ok, but something like a 1942 clone could take somebody a big of work especially if they are making it from scratch etc and that is a super simple concept

 

I think making a simple quake style game would be doable to some degree

[Sauron]

I was just wondering, wouldn't you be content with a quake 3/openarena mod? the source code has been in the wild for years, it's a tried and true engine and you won't have to redo all the physics from scratch. What's left for you to do is weapon balance and creating assets.

[vorticalbox]

well come on, pong takes 2 weeks ^^

multi player pong with padle upgrades? and a shop

[Sauron]

multi player pong with padle upgrades? and a shop

 

the shop probably takes more time then everything else put together lol

[Rayhaan Jiwani]

"tank battle game"

It's like futuristic tanks. It's 3D with a shop and multiplayer online. I think he used Unity of UE.

[Rayhaan Jiwani]

"tank battle game"

It's like futuristic tanks. It's 3D with a shop and multiplayer online. I think he used Unity of UE. And if he can, then why can't I?

[Rayhaan Jiwani]

@ShadowCaptain which UE4 version should I use? And if I make assets in Blender then how am I supposed to use them in UE4 and hop they're compatible?

[Sauron]

It's like futuristic tanks. It's 3D with a shop and multiplayer online. I think he used Unity of UE. And if he can, then why can't I?

 

I'd really like to see exactly what he did and how he did it. I'd also like to know how safe it is against cheats and hacking. And again, making a simple 3d shooter is not particularly hard, it's all the physics and effects you listed that would really drag you down.

 

For UE tutorials just check out their youtube channel, they have all sorts of how-to videos on there.

[Rayhaan Jiwani]

SNIP

Well, that's my plan. Make a smiple 3D shooter with one or two maps and then add more stuff along the way. I'm obviously gonna save destructible building maps for the end. BTW, answer my last question please. Which version of UE4 should I use? And will assets made in Blender work?

[Sauron]

Well, that's my plan. Make a smiple 3D shooter with one or two maps and then add more stuff along the way. I'm obviously gonna save destructible building maps for the end. BTW, answer my last question please. Which version of UE4 should I use? And will assets made in Blender work?

 

I'd use the latest, blender should work but I'm not sure if you need to do something particular to use it

[LukeTim]

I don't think anyone here would discourage you from taking up a project and working on it through to completion. It's admirable

However, from your admission of having never used UE 4 I am guessing you are new to this. So, as somebody who has learned the hard way not to be too ambitious, in taking on a project this size you will be discouraged a lot by the magnitude, not knowing where to begin etc.

What you want to start out doing is the simplest possible, playable, game. No need for complex assets, physics or environment destruction. Just some weapons, a single not-too-complicated map, a little animation, first person view and some stuff to shoot at, with some audible/visual feed back from the hits. It can even include some basic networking/MP features. This is actually what is often done in professional product development, it is called a minimum viable product.

Point is, get something basic under your belt first, and then that will give you the confidence to move on to the more complicated work. So, show the game to your friends and/or us at the LTT forums, making sure to note any feedback, and then drop that project and start completely fresh, with your new experience and feedback from your first project to make you better informed about how to approach the new project.

You are going to encounter a lot of problems which you are going to need to overcome. If you can get some experience overcoming some of the basic problems, by starting out with a smaller project first, then you will be better equipped to deal with the more complex challenges that your proposed game idea will pose. It will not be so daunting, and you will have a better chance of not only finishing it but finishing it well.

If I have misjudged your experience with this then I apologize, but I get the impression that this is your first attempt at making a game like this. Also, please do not take this as discouragement. I am trying to advise you that getting some basic experience first is a better idea than going head first into a fairly ambitious project like this. You wouldn't jump in the deep end of the pool before you could swim, would you?

[Rayhaan Jiwani]

SNIP

Sir, this is the best advice I've received in this thread. That's what I had planned, bare minimum and add more stuff along the development process although the size of this is overwhelming. I'll follow a tutorial which I found on YouTube and shall keep the people of LTT updated about my project.

[Rayhaan Jiwani]

SNIP

But most of the assets on the UE Marketplace don't even support v4.9