Will there be a Dominions 4

[Gandalf Parker]

Ive done many jobs in wildly different fields. Email me if you want a list.
Im now multiply retired so I dont do anything. I have managed such projects in the past and might at one time have been tempted, but health issues make it impossible now to take on new commitments. In fact Im trying to pull out of the ones I still have.

As to the second paragraph...
Managing donated things has a headache factor to it. Managing donated moneys against donated resources against donated time and skills in a way to stay clear of any suspicion of misuse is something only a few people can do well. Ask any charity admin how 'easy' their job must be to get an earful of that. Its easier to use one donated factor to fuel the others as non-donated factors. Not sure if that was clear or not.

You can purchase engines which can vastly cut down the programming time. Some are specific for games. Im out of touch with that area so I cant recommend one. But I remember that the problem falls into the choice of language. Would you prefer to select the language and then search for libraries and programmers? or the other way around? AND what about operating system? Will you maintain the "Linux game ported to Windows and Mac" or go with the easier Windows environment then headache trying to avoid win specific things that might not port well to the others?

SourceForge is a good place to look. What is being used, what they might have developed for themselves. Asking there should be no problem. After all, they are all supposed to be open source so even asking is just a courtesy. (Id never recommend not asking, Im just saying that refusal is unlikely compared to other directions)

[WraithLord]

python has good libs for game dev. SPQR is a good example.

[weimaar]

So in other words, leave it to the proffessionals?

[WraithLord]

*sigh* making a good game is soooo difficult. And not all professionals are capable of producing a good game. IMO It's that rare combo of good programming capabilities+creativity+innovation+luck that leads to a good game.

Most games on the market today are soulless run-of-the-mill video game equivalent of junk food. Just my personal opinion, no offense intended.

[NTJedi]

Originally Posted by WraithLord

*sigh* making a good game is soooo difficult. And not all professionals are capable of producing a good game. IMO It's that rare combo of good programming capabilities+creativity+innovation+luck that leads to a good game.

Most games on the market today are soulless run-of-the-mill video game equivalent of junk food. Just my personal opinion, no offense intended.

Junk food is being nice... I'd say many games are radioactive waste. Which means not only are they terrible in gameplay, but they install advertisements, push for account/registration activations, ugly DRM, and some even want monthly memberships.

Even when a company has good intentions, good developers, financial support, and an active community the game can still fail as what happened with Elemental. The biggest mistake made by game companies and developers is they place too high of a focus on graphics at the sacrifice of game content, game balance, game options, game strategy, game depth, etc., etc., . The end result is a very pretty looking piece of garbage.

[WraithLord]

Yes. It looks like the gaming industry has undergone some serious changes since its early roots in the 70-80s. Back then games were a niche and you'd see innovation and genious all over the place. Today the gaming industry ever more resembles the movie industry - mass production + lowest common denomenator are the name of the game: i.e. if it looks good + you can attach additional sources of revenue then you're doing good so who cares about content, creativity and innovation?- they are, alas, obsolete as they aren't revenue enginees.