Ninja MoD

New Studio Page Coming Soon !!!

2009-01-23T00:57:00.000-08:00

We're turning this mod into a small Studio Project. Working on getting the demo completed and finding a publisher. Things have been moving a long VERY well for Ninja:Rekishi. We will have a new web page specifically for the Studio and Ninja:Rekishi shortly and will be posting the address here once the site is complete.

We appreciate all your support. Come back soon to check out our new website address!

New Title Art !!!

2008-09-18T22:21:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Tama Farani Ninja: Rekishi has some nice new title art. He will be helping out here and there when available, but we appreciate the time he's given so far! Things have been progressing well and we should have some new animation tests and environmental shots up for you.

Introduction to the Story...

2008-09-08T01:22:00.000-07:00

So we're finally going to give out a little bit more information on the story of Ninja:Rekishi without ruining the game for you all. Ninja:Rekishi - Ninja:History

You the player, the Ninja warrior will complete tasks and missions given to your clan. These missions will help aid the Tokugawa Clan to eventually win the battle of Sekigahara and overall help Tokugawa Ieyasu become the Shogun of Japan. The story is based on actual Japanese history, the end of the Azuchi-Momoyama period and the beginning of the Edo period.

Missions through out the game will involve secret delivery, assassination and the crippling of enemy forces, just to name a few. Utilizing your skills in stealth, combat and demolition.

New members on board...

2008-08-10T04:43:00.001-07:00

As you can see by our visits that the MOD's popularity has gone up a little. Some good friends of mine have also come aboard to help move Ninja: mod along. So welcome aboard Jeroen, good to have you here to help!

There should also be more to show soon. Keep coming back every so often as things will be picking up!

No update in a while..

2008-05-15T19:42:00.001-07:00

Hey there,
Sorry there's been no update for quite some time. Rest assured we are getting things done. Rasmus is moving to a new location and I'm still working on the in game animations. There should be another update with NEW screenshots soon. Visit again soon.

Moving along...

2008-04-28T04:19:00.000-07:00

Things are moving along slowly but surely. Rasmus has been testing a lot of new environmental effects we may use in game. Get the place looking all sexy and such. I have quite a list of animations to do and may bring in another animator to help, though I am getting them done and blocking them all out. So really we're still on track but I may start looking to add to the team and speed things along. Thanks for dropping by!

Updates.. Getting there step by step!

2008-04-16T18:42:00.000-07:00

As you can see things are starting to progress. Seems like its moving along rather well actually considering this is a spare time project (due to peoples work or school etc). Animations are now underway but still works in progress and as you can see Rasmus's map is starting to come along well. Not only is he laying out the in game models but he's working on particles and environmental effects such as rain and fog as well. So yeah, were heading in the right direction and starting to get things going.

Make Something Unreal Contest!

2008-04-16T17:31:00.000-07:00

This is Great! makesomethingunreal.com
Epic have made a contest for Modding groups such as our own. Basically what will happen is that Modding groups from around the world that use the Unreal 3 Engine have a chance to win a full licence to publish the game they make, not to mention make some $$$. I this this as a great opportunity for us to gain so interest from around the world! So we will be entering this competition. Wish us luck (^__^)

Animation Underway!

2008-04-05T19:56:00.000-07:00

As you can see the rigging has been completed and animations are now underway. There's a HUGE library of animations to get done. So I'll most likely take on some help for that at some stage. As you can see I have used the Character Studio biped for the Ninja, as it's what I'm most comfortable with and is used throughout multiple titles. The basic animations will be the starting point mainly working on movement rather then attacks. Such as:

* Idle - Standing/Crouched
* Walk - All directions
* Run - All directions
* Rolls
* Jumping and Climbing etc

I feel like we're making a lot of progress in both the character and mapping departments. While the animations will take some time I'll be sure to post animations for you to watch as well as updates about how we're doing. There is a lot for us to show.

Model Textured.

2008-04-02T17:32:00.000-07:00

So the model has now been textured by Hunter. We plan to later have the Ninja himself a bit more customisable, different colored Gi's ect. I am now currently working on the rig for Ninja now, so that we can get him in game as soon as possible. Then I have the long journey of working on all the animations while Rasmus continues with the training map. Back to work on the rig now!

Positions open..

2008-04-01T01:54:00.000-07:00

Ninja: Is moving along great, but as well as its going we do have positions we'd love to have talented individuals fill. This well not only speed up the pace of development but also help us keep up the quality we wish to be reaching. While our team is small, we're a fun bunch of people looking for some kindred spirits to fill the gaps in our team. The team is fairly laid back but we still work hard! If your wanting to be part of this team and great experience and also feel like you have something to contribute to one of the position below please contact us on our Gmail address. Thank you!

All applications must include examples of work!

* Programmers
- Have a good knowledge of UnrealScript.
- Experience in game development coding.
- Creative mind (can figuring out how to make our ideas work in the Unreal Engine).

* Sound Engineers
- Make and compose soundtracks.
- Edit and create ambient and in game Sound FX.
- Edit voice clips and recordings.

* 2D Conceptual Artist
- Has a creative 2D flare.
- Great Photoshop painting skills.
- Architecturally minded.
- Strong character design skills.
- Understanding of History Japanese design.

* Modeler
- Great Character or Environment modeling skills.
- Unwrapping and texturing skill.
- Zbrush, Mudbox Normal mapping skills.

Thank you for any interest in these positions. Not all skills are required but definitely help.
Again.. All applications must include examples of work!

Rigging underway!

2008-03-31T02:21:00.000-07:00

The rigging is underway for the in game model at the moment. This should only take a day or two, meaning you should see a few shots of our character running about in game soon. Weighting the verts can take a little while but I think he's moving really well so far. I will upload a few test animations when I complete the rig so you can see how the body moves. Not much to say then "I'm working on the rig" but I hope you enjoy the update :P

Ninja Character almost in game...

2008-03-28T22:50:00.000-07:00

As you can see Hunter has now got the low poly model in engine with the normal map. The texture is underway now so hopefully it wont be long until we start posting in game shots for you all to see. I have to say I'm very happy with the outcome of Hunters model. It's low enough poly to run smoothly in game but also has so much detail. Animation is also underway along with the training map. So things are going great!

Progress..

2008-03-21T02:57:00.000-07:00

Well, things are moving along quite well. I've had a lot of emails from people wanting to help out and join the team. Hunter's lowpoly model is almost complete and it shouldn't take him too long to texture it up. Once thats done I'll have him rigged up within a day or two and ready for animation an in game trial. While I'm animating and rigging Rasmus will be continuing with the training map. Once this is all underway we should be more into code work too. We've got a few coders applying for the team but if your a good coder and want to help out please send through an email. All in all things are moving along better then I could have hoped for (^__^)

New Team Member!

2008-03-20T05:46:00.000-07:00

If you look down to the team section or team link you'll notice Rasmus Bremholm!!!

Rasmus will be doing the maps for "Ninja". Due to the fact we're moving along quite well with more and more to do I've needed to bring on some extra help. After only a few days Rasmus was producing great work. Expect some great maps from this guy!

Weapons of the Ninja!

2008-03-13T17:20:00.001-07:00

So as you can see I've been playing about with some low poly versions of the Ninja-to the players will be using. While the models I've shown here will most likely change before release I thought I'd put it up here for all too see. The use of normal maps on weapons have not been ruled out, that being said it depends how close the camera will get to the player in game. While this texture is just a 2 minute work in progress please note the lighting was not done in 3dsMax and is just part of the texture. Not a huge update but thought you might like to see my progress!

Again... I've really just been playing about with weapon ideas and normal maps etc. The weapon models seen above will probably not be used in the game itself though the weapons will. There will also be many more ranged weapons besides the throwing needles, Shuriken and Caltrops.

Please note there will be MANY more weapons to come...

A Real Ninja Experiance

2008-03-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

Not only am I aiming to make "Ninja" as a historically correct as possible, the weapons and Taijutsu moves themselves will be authentic. All the weapons and hand to hand combat techniques seen in the game will be actual techniques used by Taijutsu fighters of feudal Japan. While the weapons will have a large array of techniques from stealth, stabbing, cutting and vital point striking the hand to hand is an area I particularly want to focus on. Such techniques as..

Taijutsu:

Striking and Knockouts,
Pressure points,
Throws,
Chokes,
Locks and Breaks.

Demo Map Layout

2008-03-09T19:53:00.001-07:00

As you can see I've been working on the layout of the Demo/Training map for the first level of our game. This concept itself will most likely change but for now it will give you a rough outline of what I'm going to go for. The map will most likely be a lot larger give players more room to move but you get the idea. The plan is for the Demo map to make players learn all the necessary skills in order to play the game. It also gives us the chance to get every movement working correctly before any future maps are made. I thought it would be best to build a rough miniature for scaling and layout purposes before taking all the time to build a final version in UE3.

Background of Ninja MoD

2008-03-01T16:58:00.000-08:00

A lot of people may be wondering what exactly this game will involve. So this post will hopefully clear up what we're going for with this Mod. Ninja (title to be chosen) will be a historically correct Ninja simulation/stealth game. There will be NO flying grappling hooks or invisibility techniques. The game will come down to pure skill such as misdirection, stealth and technique.

A lot of historical ninja tools will be available such as: Tanto, Testu-bishi, Ninja-to, Bo, Fukiya and Metsubishi. Just to name a few. For those who have no idea of the few tools I just named. It means you will be able to use everything from Blinding powders, Ninja swords and knives to blowpipes and grappling hooks. All in all the game will be very well rounded when it comes to the tools and weapons available. Though the tools themselves will be historically correct and wont have any "special" abilities and so on.

The game is obviously based around the feudal Japan era, and while trying to keep historically correct the game itself will have a fictional story.

At the moment the Single player demo is underway, which will let players go through the training stage. Later we plan to release Single Player Story, Co-Op Story and Multiplayer Vs Modes.

Ninja Character Development

2008-03-01T00:12:00.000-08:00

As you can see Hunter has got the character development looking great. What a talented guy! Soon enough this Ninja will be at your control. Sneaking through shadows, scaling walls and snapping joints. Once the lowpoly version is done I will be rigging him up and starting the animation while Hunter finishes off his texture. It shouldn't be to long before we have some in game shot for you all to check out.

Meet the Team!

2008-02-29T23:09:00.000-08:00

Quinn Paynter
24/10/1983
Auckland, New Zealand
Project Leader, Animator, Rigs and all sorts.
www.quinnpaynter.com (under construction)

Hunter Mortenson
08/05/1987
Tempe, AZ
Character Artist
www.huntermortenson.com

Rasmus Bremholm
15/10/1989
Goteborg,Sweden
Mapper/Level Development
(webpage to be updated later)

Well, this is it. Our Ninja Mod for the new Unreal Engine 3 is now underway. While it's still a nameless game its starting to get well underway. The Purpose of this Blog is to show the process we've gone through to produce what should be a very entertaining game and demo for PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. We will be continuously updating this site with many new screenshots and info about how the game has progressed. Hope you enjoy reading this blog!