Gonna run through this in parts.
BlackJesus420 link said:
With the current knowledge, database, and people, what is missing in the AKI wrestling world? Do we not have enough DEVS?
This one is the hardest to answer...
Unlike some other N64 game hacking scenes, we really don't have a good tool to do ROM-level hacking. Of course,
I've been working on that, but it's not currently available to the public. The main issue is that not enough features are implemented. Also, the program's really rough around the edges, with no real documentation to speak of. I'd be spending half of my time trying to help people learn how to use the program (and deal with various game design choices; e.g. how the costume palettes work) instead of getting it done. :-X (A lot of this is a lack of proper documentation, which needs to be changed every time the program does...)
Furthermore, I don't see myself being able to learn how to add 3D rendering to a Windows Form as a Control properly, so I'd like to have someone with C# and 3D experience help me out. I may have to power through this myself at some point, but I would prefer to have someone else do it.
I would like WldFb to come back, just so I can show/give him VPW Studio. A lot of things we were stumped on required decompression, which is now possible throughout the 6 N64 AKI games.
On the other side, we need more intermediate to advanced level reverse engineers. Zoinkity is great, but his focus is split across many projects, so we can't always rely on him to solve all our problems. WldFb was doing great work but has disappeared off the face of the AKI scene??
In an ideal world, we'd be able to have a re-compilable disassembly, a la the Sonic the Hedgehog games on Genesis/Mega Drive and the Pokémon games on Game Boy. While not completely impossible, it seems a bit improbable. The only N64 games I know of that have made any headway with this progress are Super Mario 64 (of course) and Goldeneye.
(I personally know someone who is working on the Goldeneye project.) Other N64 games are being worked on (primarily first party junk I don't care about), but I don't know the status of them.
BlackJesus420 link said:
Is there a certain rom hack that you would like to see? What about ports?
I'm working on a VPW2 ROM hack I've been wanting to make since around 2000 (though it's changed a lot since then). Not sure what you mean by ports; porting wrestlers between games?
BlackJesus420 link said:
I saw something in the headlines, "'GoldenEye 007' Is Getting An Unreal Engine 4 Remake". This is a n64 port using the Unreal 4 Engine. I do not know much about programming, but if these people are able to use orginal programming and somehow convert it to the unreal engine, do you think the AKI community can do the same? Is this something you would want to see? I guess the down side will be that is that the graphics may be too modern and it could lose it's look.
The thing about the Goldeneye remake is they're doing it from scratch without using any of the original code (as far as I know). On the other hand, there is a different group of people working on getting a re-compilable disassembly of N64 Goldeneye working.
About making an AKI-like wrestling game on Unreal Engine 4: It's possible, and I could've sworn someone here was hoping the animations could get ripped so they could continue their progress. Is it something I want to see? Maybe, but it's not really a priority for me.
You can still use the low resolution textures and low polygon count models, but things would look out of place if you used other modern rendering techniques at the same time (e.g. lighting).
