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Red Orchestra 40,000

C_Gibby

Grizzled Veteran
Jan 18, 2010
7,193
2,714
Righto, many of you may have already seen the older thread for Red Orchestra 40,000 made last year which got messy in a confusion of whether the project had been dropped or not. Truthfully, yes, it had been but now it's being picked back up! cheers to the moderators for getting rid of it for me!

Now the first thing you want to know is, what is Red Orchestra 40,000? Simply a mod for Red Orchestra: Heroes of Stalingrad with content related to the Warhammer 40,000 universe,
and with altered Red Orchestra gameplay.

For those who are not familar with Warhammer 40,000, click the spoiler below and you'll see everything you'll need to help you develop an understanding of what it is.

Spoiler!


Now, the mod in question is going to feature Red Orchestra gameplay with a few twists in mind. We're planning to make the first version of the mod relatively small, with Ork mobs and Imperial guard regiments in infantry combat across several maps for different kinds of games. We aim to send in more content post-release which will come in the forms of different maps, new infantry units and if at all possible, vehicles and all-new factions from other parts of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, tied to specific maps.

The biggest ambition of this mod is to become an ongoing project that lives on way past its initial release by being fed new content, just like Killing Floor and Red Orchestra have already done and showed us that it's possible.

The Imperial Guard and Ork factions will be just as you'd expect them, if you know the WH40k universe.

Gameplay concept

Orks will be hulking thick-skinned barbaric warriors capable of absorbing a significant amount of punishment from Imperial rifles and will be seen equipped with Axes and Pistols as their very main and most common weapons. Other parts of the Ork armory will include certain larger weapons such as "big shootas" capable of dishing out a fast, loud, powerful (yet innacurate) spray of lead by shooting exclusively by hipfiring to suppress Imperial lines, or explosive weaponry such as throwable high-explosive charges and large amounts of dodgy-looking disposable rocket launchers. The Ork faction is one that relies heavily on fast and overwhelming attacks and suppression to break imperial lines and many other infantry tactics.

The Imperial Guard are your usual footsoldiers, almost the same as the current RO soldiers. They're good shots with their rifles or "lasguns" and their heavy weaponry is just as accurate, yet cumbersome and requires deployment to use. All weapons that are not pistols or rifles will be rockets, mortars and automatic heavy bolters, all of which have to be deployed in defensive positions to be used. The Imperial faction's strength relies on the ability to "dig into" positions and remove their enemies with accuracy.

Both sides play very differently from each other, although they are both balanced because they both have their strengths and weaknesses, e.g. the Imperial soldiers have weak, frail bodies and are unable to move their heavy equipment at speed, yet their equipment is by far better and more efficient than that of the Orks. The Orks are strong and can hold their heavy guns with ease and absorb large amounts of punishment, but the Orks lack true defensive capabilities and are generally poor shots. The balance in the mod is very similar to the balance found in the tabletop game.

Creation

Well, that is the idea so far and it is subject to change. Now, I say again, this is meant to start out very small with just a few infantry units and maps. This will be done with a single team, and when the mod is finally released, we will be looking to expand upon the mod even more.

Anyone is allowed to create and submit content to the Red Orchestra: 40,000 team to be included in the mod. If you do submit content, you are not at all tied to the RO40k team and you're not at all obliged to create any more content for RO40k, unless you want to. Upon creating content that makes it into the mod, you'll be credited in-mod and will of course have our undying gratitude.

Remember, RO40k is not intended for profit purposes (unless both TWI and GW give us the all-clear :p) but it's intended as a homage to the Warhammer 40,000 units and its gigantic (and very hungry) fanbase.

Join us

Now, we (Echonian and I) are looking for all levels of talent in all areas of development to help us out with the development of this mod over its "lifespan."
If you'd like to help us out by contributing to RO40k be it by models, sounds, music, animations or you want to stick with the team as long as possible during hardcore development or even join for just a short time, add me on steam. All input that makes it into the final release will be credited on the forums and in-mod.


Cheers for any responses! :]

- Gibby
 
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I would be glad to help now and again due to my job i work 7 days a week with little rest however i can be assistance as an artist and researcher if needed please consider me i would be of great assistance and support i only ask in return slight help for some of my ongoing modifications if possible thank you very much.


KompanyCommands.
 
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Glad to see you got the thread up. Guess that means we're settled on an idea.

Contact me or Gibby if you are interested in joining the team - all the help we could get would be appreciated. Also, list what sorts of skills you have if any related to modding and UDK.

Please can you make a steam group and i will have to arrange dates between my working hours i do 7 days a week its going to be tight but any help i can give i will try obviously.
:)
 
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Me to :D the more the harder it gets LMFAO i have to stop my own mod for this and western mod now >_>.

Thats if they get anywhere i dont like time wasters.
:cool:;)

I am working on 2 Commercial Quality Games that are in Pre-Production.

1 is nearing the Prototype phase.

So for me to work on a War-hammer 40k Modification for when 2 of the projects look like they have EXTREMELY HIGH prospects of going commercial is very well lets say straining on me.

But I do veiw this as a Vent for me. So C_Gibby Respond soon. So i can get some maps done!
 
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Firstly I would love to see a good GW FPS and I don't mean to put a damper on things and sorry if some of the following is stating the obvious but hopefully some of it is helpful. (This has come from my experience from being on Burning Sands/Mare Nostrum from the first few weeks to it's completion and the start up of In Country)

In the short term get a website up and theme going. A TC of this magnitude will require a serious amount of work as you'll be changing an awful lot. You're going to need something early on to attract potential members as skilled people aren't likely to sign up for MODs that claim they'll be the best MOD ever but have unrealistic goals and a lack of focus. A lot of the moding talent within the RO community are already on a project or aren't interested in joining a lengthy project so you'll need to attract people from further afield and they most likely haven't heard of RO. Figure out how to realistically attract these people. You'll need them.

You're going to need a core group of people who are willing to hang in there for the next two or three years depending on how much you intend to achieve. You'll be surprised how many people come and go from a mod over it's life span but there will always be a core group who drive the project towards completion. Make sure you pick the right ones. A lot of people will claim to offer you a lot but end up offering little, always check their previous work and try and pick people who have worked on completed MODs. The last thing you want are people who jump from MOD to MOD month after month as you'll just be wasting your time. That's not to say don't pick up inexperienced people just make sure you've got a good balance.

Start small, the biggest danger is to overreach, especially if many of the members are new to moding and if it's a learning process for many things will take twice as long and mistakes will be made. So don't plan to make a MOD that'll end all MODs as it will end up uncompleted and a waste of time. Plan small and achievable goals. You can always build on the foundations once you hit first release. So look at your original plans and strip them right back, cut out anything that isn't completely needed to make a playable beta stage. If you've planned 15 weapons per side cut this back to 4 or so. This can be applied to everything.

This is where good planning and management come into it, you're going to need to be on people all the time, set them markers to hit and make sure they hit them. There will be a lot of chasing people to complete things and it'll eat a lot of your free time.

You'll also greatly appreciate help TWI can provide. It'll make a big difference to the speed and effectiveness you can complete your mod. If you are totally serious about this project do as Yoshiro recommends, form a legal entity and all of your members be tied to that entity and that entity be legally tied to TWI with NDA's and other paperwork. If you do go down this route prepare all for everything. Make sure you know what you can and can't do with other people's property. It always pays to be read up on this. For Example

I guess what I'm trying to say is go into this thing with your eyes open :)
 
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Modifications, Total Conversions, and Games
We want people to express their enjoyment of our games with as little interference from us as possible, as long as they behave reasonably with our IP and follow any reasonable requests that we may make. We are not inherently opposed to hobbyists creating games or mods using our IP, in fact we are flattered that people want to spend so much time creating games and mods in the GW universes.
If you want to make a game, TC or a mod using our IP you must adhere to the following (in addition to the general principles as outlined above):
Any game or mod must be a "total conversion." In other words, you must not use our intellectual property (logos, images, names etc.) in relation to the worlds, names, logos, or images of any other company. For example, you cannot place our Space Marines in a Disney total conversion using the Unreal engine, but you could make a TC solely using Space Marines with the Unreal engine. This is, of course, assuming that you have permission to use the Unreal engine.
Please bear in mind that we may require you to remove the game or mod from any public forum at any time so that we can comply with any licenses that we may have with computer game publishers/developers. Be aware that we may even have to insist that the mod be destroyed. Please take very careful note of this statement, as we would not want you to feel unfairly treated at a later date.
The game or mod must be strictly non-commercial - this includes any web site that the mod or game is hosted on. You also cannot pay a printing company to publilsh copies of it onto CD. It may also mean that you cannot get sponsorship.
It must be made clear on any readme files, splash/intro screens and accompanying material that the game or mod is unofficial and the origins of the intellectual property must be made obvious (e.g., your mod might say "Battletoes * a total conversion for XXXX (insert game name) using intellectual property owned by Games Workshop. Used without permission...etc." See the relevant disclaimer on the following page.).
The game or mod must not devalue any Games Workshop product in any way.
Any distribution (zipped or otherwise) of the whole, or any part, of the mod or game must be accompanied with the appropriate disclaimers and must also follow these guidelines.
The functionality, atmosphere, and parameters of any mod or game must be consistent with the relevant IP.
Skins
Unfortunately, GW cannot allow thirds parties to use our IP without properly crediting our ownership. It is not possible to credit ownership with skins and accordingly we do not allow their creation."

:eek:.
 
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Firstly I would love to see a good GW FPS and I don't mean to put a damper on things and sorry if some of the following is stating the obvious but hopefully some of it is helpful. (This has come from my experience from being on Burning Sands/Mare Nostrum from the first few weeks to it's completion and the start up of In Country)

No problem, your advice is welcome!

In the short term get a website up and theme going. A TC of this magnitude will require a serious amount of work as you'll be changing an awful lot. You're going to need something early on to attract potential members as skilled people aren't likely to sign up for MODs that claim they'll be the best MOD ever but have unrealistic goals and a lack of focus. A lot of the moding talent within the RO community are already on a project or aren't interested in joining a lengthy project so you'll need to attract people from further afield and they most likely haven't heard of RO. Figure out how to realistically attract these people. You'll need them.

As a matter of fact, our TC doesn't involve much aside from being essentially a reskin with some slight alterations to gameplay. We're already looking into picking up people with experience from several places and we're going to work on making our project known from there.

You're going to need a core group of people who are willing to hang in there for the next two or three years depending on how much you intend to achieve. You'll be surprised how many people come and go from a mod over it's life span but there will always be a core group who drive the project towards completion. Make sure you pick the right ones. A lot of people will claim to offer you a lot but end up offering little, always check their previous work and try and pick people who have worked on completed MODs. The last thing you want are people who jump from MOD to MOD month after month as you'll just be wasting your time. That's not to say don't pick up inexperienced people just make sure you've got a good balance.

Yes, I have seen this happen a few times before but then again, it doesn't always happen especially when you pick the right people with a passion for the project - something we're going to be a little bit careful with.

Start small, the biggest danger is to overreach, especially if many of the members are new to moding and if it's a learning process for many things will take twice as long and mistakes will be made. So don't plan to make a MOD that'll end all MODs as it will end up uncompleted and a waste of time. Plan small and achievable goals. You can always build on the foundations once you hit first release. So look at your original plans and strip them right back, cut out anything that isn't completely needed to make a playable beta stage. If you've planned 15 weapons per side cut this back to 4 or so. This can be applied to everything.

We like to think about the future and see what our mod evolves into, but the core team so far stresses the fact that we're going to make a first release with a small amount of content. In this case, Infantry units, a small handful of maps and maybe twists to the RO2 gamemode. The Warhammer 40,000 universe is bursting with content and I understand how it sounds when we say we want to make a TC with it. I personally feel a little bit silly posting about it because there have been heavily ambitious 40k mods that wanted to do things like include every faction, every weapon, planet, creature, vehicle, all of that and each of them have failed miserably and it's very easy to imagine that the same thing will happen with this one, just because we want to put in the 40k universe. We only want a tiny little fraction of it. We don't want to make a TC that has a Dawn-of-War amount of content all over it. What we really want to do is have something that looks like 40k and actually works. For that reason, we're going to aim for minimal content and if we're faced with success, aim for just a little bit more, we do our first release and if the mod proves popular, then a bit more here and a bit more there.

This is where good planning and management come into it, you're going to need to be on people all the time, set them markers to hit and make sure they hit them. There will be a lot of chasing people to complete things and it'll eat a lot of your free time.

Having helped out with a commercial RPG built with UDK for half a year (company couldn't secure funding for long enough) and having studied the rise and falls of mods and games for a long time, I can say that I'm confident that I understand the importance of this.

You'll also greatly appreciate help TWI can provide. It'll make a big difference to the speed and effectiveness you can complete your mod. If you are totally serious about this project do as Yoshiro recommends, form a legal entity and all of your members be tied to that entity and that entity be legally tied to TWI with NDA's and other paperwork. If you do go down this route prepare all for everything. Make sure you know what you can and can't do with other people's property. It always pays to be read up on this. For Example

I'd be very happy to see how/if TWI will help us out in the future! I have read the RO2 modding guidelines and various other articles related to modding for RO2 but I am a little bit confused with the legal entity part, what exactly do you mean by that? I have looked into the info on the same link you posted already and we're making sure to follow the guidelines. We've already thought about really stressing the fact that we don't own GW's IP and the mod is intended for non-profit purposes, possibly on the mod's start-up screens or at the beginning/end of a promotional video. Or both. Or more! Looking at the part about not linking two IPs together, it's because of this we haven't decided on a name. In the end, we know we're not going to be using the title Red Orchestra 40,000, but personally, I like the sound of Warhammer 40,000: Heroes of ____ instead.

I guess what I'm trying to say is go into this thing with your eyes open :)

I wouldn't worry too much if I were you! If this gets known, I imagine that we wouldn't be too short on hands thanks to the talented 40k fanbase. Take a look at HeadClot, an experienced UDK mapper and 40k fan, for a starter. :p


Answers in bold and thanks for the input! Yes I have to admit I have heard a lot of this stuff already, but at least thank you for expressing a little support for what we're trying to achieve!

:IS2: be with you.

PS - HeadClot, you may just call me Gibby c:
 
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I only left my message originally as it seemed like an awful lot of work and I also want a 40k to succeed. It looks like you've already given it a lot of thought so my advice wasn't really needed. :D

I would send a PM to Yohsiro and find out exatcly what they expect of you legally before they can offer help. All I can say is it'll be worth it in the long run.

Anyway good luck with the MOD and it's now on my most wanted MOD list after IC:V :p :p
 
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