Information About Contributing To Cardinal Fall's Development
We welcome everyone who has a desire contribute, regardless of their skill level.
The first question that most will probably ask is, well, what should I create? That's a good question. We are working on an exhaustive list of everything we need here, but that takes time. In the meantime, follow these instructions and pick something from that list, or create whatever your imagination inspires you to do that still fits within the theme of the project.
To contribute, please follow the Contribution Instructions along with the more detailed instructions for Step 4 (Intent Reply), Step 5 (Contribution Reply), the section How To Structure The Content You Submit, and any Special Instructions that apply to you below.
The project's development files can be downloaded here. (The install instructions are in the project's readme file.) It would be useful to have played the game's small demo on Epic or Steam and to glance at the design document.
Please stay on topic. Community replies are welcome, but only if they are directly related to an Intent or Contribution reply. To make one, use the reply button that's directly on the post you're referencing so this thread stays organized. For more general discussions, please start a separate new topic.
Project Requirements
This project has an established quality level, tone, style, theme, and story which can be seen by playing the game's introductory level on Epic or Steam. We aim to maintain the same or better level of quality and system requirements as development continues.
This means that, unfortunately, we cannot accept every contribution our community members present to us.
Here is a short, but not exhaustive, list of the criteria which must be followed before we will consider including your content in the game:
- Has a similar aesthetic and style without appearing jarring to the player
- Fits within the world, which is set in a futuristic science fiction horror setting
- Is equal or better to the artistic quality of the demo, with equal being the minimum
- Follows industry conventions and is optimized for use in a real-time game
- Runs on 10 year old mid-range hardware (E.g. an nVidia GeForce GTX 1050)
- Does not have an excessively large file size when compared to similar assets
- Was made by you, or with the permission of the original creator which you credited
- Does not violate any laws where we are located (The United States of America)
Step 4: Post What You Intend To Create:
To help with clarity, please begin your reply on this thread with the title "Step 4: Intent To Create XYZ-AssetName" in bold so we know the topic.
- Please provide detailed information about your concept so we fully understand what you envision. Providing concept art, examples, or sketches can be very helpful, especially if your idea is elaborate. We strongly encourage it.
- After posting, you should check this thread often. Suggestions or input might appear that may alter your plans. For example, it's possible we already have the asset you're suggesting.
- Also, make sure you follow the project's requirements listed above.
Step 5: Post Your Contribution
To help with clarity, please begin your reply by clicking the reply button directly below your original Step 4, so everything stays better organized, and add the title "Step 5: Contribution Of XYZ-AssetName" in bold so we know the topic.
Step 6: Sherpa's Reply
To help with clarity, a Sherpa will nest their reply directly below your original Step 5 with the title "Step 6: Sherpa's Reply To XYZ" in bold.
- Not all content will make it into the project, but that doesn't mean you should be discouraged if what you created wasn't accepted. You will still earn the forum's Contributor badge for your efforts, you can use it for your portfolio, and the experience you gained will be valuable in the future.
How To Structure The Content You Submit
The sheer number of assets in a game project can be daunting. That is why it's important to make sure our projects are organized. When you submit a contribution, we require you to follow a few guidelines.
The files you create must be placed in their appropriate directories.
-
When creating new files, please use this structure: /Content/Imports/YourName/YourAssetTypeFolder/AssetTypePrefix_YourName_AssetName
-
If your contribution becomes a part of the project, we may move these files into their corresponding project directories.
For any existing files that you modified, you must do the following:
-
If it's possible with the asset in question, such as with a material, you should make a copy of it and place it into /Content/Imports/YourName/YourAssetTypeFolder/ instead of modifying the original.
-
If you have to modify an existing file, you should keep them where they are at.
-
If there's an ability to add comments, such as with blueprints, you must place comments in blue explaining what the changes do while including your name and date.
-
In your contribution forum post, you must include detailed information about exactly what you modified.
The content you submit must follow an existing naming convention.
- Unreal projects follow certain naming conventions. You should either follow the existing naming conventions already used in the project or this one from Epic.
When you submit content, you should include both the game's files and your source files in the same directory with the same name but with a different extension, if possible.
- For example, if you're making a texture you will likely have two separate assets. One will be the source asset you imported, such as a photoshop (.psd) file, and the other will likely be the asset used by the editor, such as Unreal's binary .uasset format. You should include both of these files. Also, for simplicity, they should be placed in the same directory with the same file name, but with their different corresponding extension.
Finally, when you submit a contribution, you should compress it into a single file with the following naming convention.
- YourName_AssetName_FourDigitYear-TwoDigitMonth-TwoDigitDay
Special Instructions For Level Designers
The rules for level designers are as follows:
- Each level you create must be in a separate map file.
- Your maps should be named Nadir_YourSectionName.
- The maps should be placed in /Content/Imports/YourName/Maps.
- You should include the MapName_BuiltData.uasset file for easier inspection.
- Maps should occupy their own space that is separated from the other maps.
- Like other maps, the level must be centered on 0 of the X axis. (Where the player walks)
- You cannot modify any existing maps until you're a Committer.
- You can base your map off of existing maps through copy and paste.
- Your maps must be of equal or better in visual quality to the demo.
- Your level design must perform reasonably on a GeForce GTX 1050 or better.
How To File A Bug Report
Please leave your bug reports in the bug reports page here.
(If you have the repository committer badge, please make detailed reports on the repository issues page.)
We appreciate the bug reports we receive. They are invaluable, especially since we don't have the hardware to test every configuration that is possible.
