In other threads I've posted vague information about the future of UrT Superman. You've undoubtedly heard of the next iteration of the map known as Supersoldier. If you weren't around at the time, I constructed a team of about 10 people from the community to join the effort as the Supersoldier dev team, a radical approach to map-making in Urban Terror. Mind you, in UrT, a mapper is essentially a one-man development studio wearing a dozen hats. The team aimed to unify that development process. We made great strides, learned a lot. Many came into the team only knowing they had various real world professional skills, but no clue how to "make maps" or video games for that matter - an intimidating position. Yet they found their nitches, becoming self-sustaining developers contributing to the project. The team eventually dissolved due to the ever uncertain release of UrTHD.

Last year, I left the game to pursue other interests. Several members of FSK405 and Frozen Sand rallied to bring me back to the community. Needless to say, they were successful. :) So much so, that I have re-involved myself in game development. Not as a hobby either - as a profession.

I stumbled into a programmer who had posted his interests to join up with a team online, contributing his programming skills. What I learned is that he had a spectacular idea that absolutely amazed me in that I hadn't thought of it first - and no one else has done it either. It's an opportunity to build a gaming platform. We decided the flagship game of the platform will be Supersoldier. On this platform, genres are not limited to only FPS's. The integrated nature of this platform will have profound effects on the game industry.

Thus I've taken up education and training in business operations for a new start-up. No public information is available on this besides what I am revealing today. As I mentioned, this is a serious venture. I am starting to look for investors and beginning to recruit people for potential employment.

Currently I'm primarily interested in engineering/programming and engineering/design (Unity, Blender, etc). I'm sure there's no shortage of people willing to test this new platform, that time will come, but it's too early for that. Make no mistake, I fully intend to bring in all of you early adopters to test and shape the platform and its games. I have no doubts the majority of you have come to expect a certain level of intuitive, ingenious quality design behind my work. It is not easy, I assure you, but it is truly worth the amazing results.

I also intend to begin a kickstarter or similar crowdfunding campaign. An equivalent would be like FSK405's monthly donation pool - a way to fund an organization from any willing party. The difference here is that FSK405 is a non-profit organization, while - is a commercial entity. Also, people can contribute to a kickstarter project -and- get something in return. Like a t-shirt, or pre-order, or even a fly-in personal visit from the projects' lead over lunch in exceptional cases. Here is an example kickstarter project (picked at random): Planetary Annihilation - A Next Generation RTS

I am interested to hear all of your responses, comments, and questions. I'll be sure to answer each. (for more discretionary questions, PM me if you'd like, or email @)

I'd like to hear more.

I implore everyone to vote, as it is statistically important to understand how the FSK405 and Superman community feels about this venture. Please be totally honest!

For Sasquatch - the design behind Supersoldier will be worlds further than anything ever conceived in UrT, in terms of size, gameplay, and interactivity. While it will be the flagship game, it will not be the only game. I expect games of much smaller capacity to be completed and released well before Supersoldier is completed. The platform itself is designed as a highly scalable hybrid cloud architecture, operating in a fashion that makes it a next-generation user/developer friendly environment of highly accessible resources.

Don't forget to vote!

Wow! My thoughts are...I wonder what this will do to our superman server. It seems you will run this new game/map on your own server? I am always looking forward to what you do and I'm sure, if nothing else, it will be fun to play. I'm holding off right now on voting ( I sometimes vote early, and then change my mind, so I'm going to wait a while, and see what impressions others may have.
Always in favor of whatever you attempt, and I may not have been much help on the map we were developing, but willing to help if needed.

Boogie - It is most helpful in this instance to just vote based on your knee-jerk reaction as is. We can always hold another voting thread later to feel out any changes. I won't be offended by anyone's honest response. I expect absolutely no shift in player numbers away from the FSK405 superman server. Development of Supersoldier can easily be a 2 to 3 year project, although testers will be able to play long before any release, just like the Superman beta tests. If anything, this may attract more players to the FSK405 Superman server.

Great point brought up on the effect on the server though, I'm sure that's a question many people have. Keep them coming!

First off, It's good to see you showing an interest in the gaming community once again.

As for your project outline: Seems quite ambitious. Thought if you feel you and your partner/team can work on the project without getting burnt out , or having it become burdensome on real life. ~ Build it and they will come.

The ability to develop a game from the ground up with community support could be a fantastic playground with boundless potential.

I think the concept could be a great addition to the gaming community and would not devalue Superman.

Good Luck, I hope the idea sticks.

Thanks DankRider, good to see you. As of a couple months ago, this is my new real life, surrounding and enveloping my entirety. Ambitious? Certainly. Do-able? Definitely. I've been slowly, meticulously working out the operations and planning aspects to avoid the minefield that lies ahead. I've discussed my methodology with several well-informed and experienced small business and corporate owners, and each has found my approach to be favorable with a high probability of success. I have been sure to get all ducks in a row well before stepping before the community to request the opinions of everyone familiar with my previous work.

Happy to help in any way.

You have my complete support on this and if I can help you with any testing or anything else, please let me know.

Didn't get as much feedback as expected over the past day. This in itself is informative. Maybe a matter of stand-off-ish-ness, or intimidation, or maybe perceived as inappropriate to validate this next step in game development in the superman forums. Who knows? You do! lol. That's why I put a vote up! :D

I understand what's been revealed here is pretty big ... a lot to take in at once. I'll come back in a while to see how people are feeling about this situation then, give some space and breathing room to let the dust settle.

At least you know this now:
- What I've been up to
- What I'm doing with the future of superman/supersoldier
- Why I was really busy and didn't make the BBQ
- What a kickstarter project is! Check this one out! lmao! Duck Quest?