I see new people. Fresh blood?
Anyway, it's gotten to the point where I'm almost hoping 1.1 won't be. Tremulous, and for that matter, Quake3, seem to be dead, and anyone who develops dead projects is (more than) a little bit crazy. I think that, to survive, Trem will need new gameplay mechanics and a more appropriate engine to be revitalized and reintroduced to the masses. I don't expect a few balance tweaks to bring Tremulous back from the dead, as its lack of community is because of its age and its restrictions. That being said, though, I certainly don't think slapping on raytracing, mipmapping, dynamic lights, and ten thousand poly models will incur a fresh new community either; At least, not without plenty of thought put into their implementation. Trem is an arcade RTS/FPS, so atmosphere isn't as important as it is in, say, Natural Selection. All the same, though, better handling of dark areas would be benefit to even the most archaic of arcade games. A revamped and more dynamic resource system would also help to revive Trem. An engine capable of more... Colorful moving architecture and map scripting would be fantastic, too. Now, take heed: I'm not suggesting... Well, I'm not suggesting anything, really. I'm just giving my opinions on what would make Tremulous more appealing to new players. I'm not saying that flashier graphics are better. I'm not saying that Tremulous' core gameplay mechanic is broken, either. What I am saying is that for a game to appeal to people these days (both gamers and designers, alike) it needs a little spice, a little zing, a little shazaam. Tremulous is lacking all of that. Its got func_trains that don't turn corners, boring doors, revolting lighting, repetitive maps, and a rather restricting level mapper. Unless that changes (which I'm confident it won't), Tremulous will remain a twenty player game. Myself? I like being a (relatively) oldfag and dropping in every once in a while. There's a sense of community here, which I think is due in part the the steadily declining size of the player- and forum-base. Whether or not Tremulous lives or dies; is succeeded or is not; it is, and was, great, and from it came great things.
Ah, there's my two pence.
