Good evening,
I did read over what you had and the work stations you were looking at. So let me start with the easiest first. Of course, others may differ in some thoughts based on their experience as well.
Computers/Workstations: Here is the bare minimum for development computers I would go with:
Game Development:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA6V66DU0600Writers and non graphic designers:
https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/cty/pdp/spd/optiplex-3050-desktop/s005o3050mtus?oc=s005o3050mtus&model_id=optiplex-3050-desktopThe Dell would be good for basic computing, word processing and watching videos. However, I could not recomend it to be used with any development or engine. It might work with HE right now, but in a year, it will really be chugging along.
The primary focus you want for any graphic developers or in engine developers would be a
Bare minimum:
- nvidia 970
- 8 gb of ram (ddr4 preferably)
- 2.8 quad core or better Preferred requirements:
- 1080 nvidia
- 16 gb ddr4
- 3.2 six core (or better)Art: Daz3d is good, but it really requires a lot of work to bring it down poly and vert wise for a multiplayer and especially an MMO. I think you could do a lot better cost wise by hiring an experienced character artist and/or animator.
Even if you purchased premade characters from another site and hired an artist/animator to get them into your project would be a lot cheaper and you would have the one that did the work on hand.
If you did pay for Daz3d license then the character packs themselves, you would still have to have someone that can get them into the project for you, which would be an added cost.
I am sure you could find someone around the community here or in other game development groups that would do the work for the same cost or lower
AND you would have that added support to make sure all is working, any adjustments needed, etc.
Client build:The concern about lower end specs required for your clients to be able to run the project would be dependent on you and your design scope. If lower end systems are what you are aiming for, then you want to focus on lower poly/vert count, less flashy hsls shaders and lower load and draws.
Low end and public PC's: Since your focus is for lower end and public pc's, I would therefore focus on the following to start with:
- Low poly characters
- Lower bone count (keeping it around 50-60 is good for lower/older systems)
- Low number of material and texture counts (utilize the material bank system)
- Focus on using atlas maps that can be used across multiple assets at one time
- Lower asset draws (Export assets already attached so you can place them easily and keep draws down)
- Lower poly AND vert count (helps load and draw assets much faster the lower the vert count is)
Note that you can get some really good high end looking graphics in engine with the focus of high performance and lower poly/vert counts. It really depends on your artist and the style you are going for.
Expected costs: The basic expected costs outside of your world for development can vary depending on what each of your team members already have and what they do as part of their job. For some of these there are exceptions to the costs, but it is always good to budget on what the highest cost could be, then work from there so you can end up with some extra working capital.
Website (for public and for development tasking and documentation):
- Web server: $ 120.00 per year for Shared hosting (Starting out, I would not go with a vps or dedicated)
- Misc. Website components: $ 0 - 300.00 a year
Development tools (Often cheaper getting group discounts)
- Adobe Photoshop: $ 407 per year (team cost up to 5 seats)
- Autodesk ADN: $ 1,400 - 2,400 (for up to five seats for all software)
- Documentation software: $ 50 - 400 per year (Team costs)
In the end your costs could be as little as a few hundred a year to around $5,000 a year. Again a lot depends on what your team has, what they need and what you apply for.
Business:Regarding business registration itself, this really varies from person to person and team to team. This is something I would not mind discussing with you on an one on one basis and see where your needs and wants are and perhaps help you with some documentation for your local area.
but I love it!
