http://www.multiverse.net/games/built.jsp?cid=4&scid=1

Don't forget about indy's either

http://www.multiverse.net/games/built.jsp?cid=4&scid=1

Some coming that may fit the bill

http://www.multiverse.net/games/built.jsp?cid=4&scid=1

Take your pick

If you are looking to do the modeling, graphic or animations. Maya and Milkshape offer some free products for the community to use. There are some limitations to these of course since they are not of commercial grade but they'll do to learn. Hell even google has a tool, there are plenty of others like Blender and wings as well. Modeling animation and other graphics are not easy either. They may be more creative in some aspects then just being a code fool but they normally are much easier to learn especially if you are apt at drawing and art.

3 hours to draw a boot last night, also says something about the monotany of modelling as well. Sometimes you can go over board on things with detail and need to take a step back away from the project. I imagine coders can be the same way, but i'm not a code monkey, i'm lucky enough to be able to get my scripting to work.

That would actually be doable in not only a combat sense but also within the roleplay realm. For instance, if a group of 5-10 sg teams (20-40 people) were to take an assualt to a planet and then have to fight some powerful go'uld then that would defintely explain the reasoning and need to have raids setup within the game. Also, they could do a number of things including making solo content available to individuals while still providing for the 'feel" for a team situation.

For example, like guild wars you hire your group, in this case it'd be a team of 1 scientist, 1 warrior, 1 bookworm so to speak and you the leader/warrior could take that "hired" team out on trips to investiage worlds on an away mission. Just some thought, but it definitely opens up the possibilities for solo gamers.

Well, my perspective is from a small company standpoint. We formed up our little group a little over a year and a half ago. Most of us disgruntled gamers upset with current space games (aka swg). From there, we started to work on a business plan, form a company, and look at feasabilty within the business model. Then when we figured we had that down pat, we started searching for an engine. Many products have been used before but many are so overly expensive as to keep indie devs from actually being able to make their product. Big world for example, you mentioned above costs an arm and a leg at roughly a half million dollars plus support price tag.

Looking at the insight from DNL we chose not to go that route because everything there looked/looks subpar even a month post-launch. We then looked into pseudo-publishers like Kaneva and eventually settled on one. Which is still in a beta itself. We as indie gamers have experience with games for sure, most of us have a great group of developers who are commited. We just do not have the large funds to throw at an engine and all of the liittle costs that creep into projects (aka models) that we didn't think about when it first started. All in all, our game/company is self-funded. We have no name when it comes to branding so we're attempting to follow along a similar lines of mythic. We have a very stable combat system so game play should turn out well. What we lack is quality modelers and artists (although recently got a couple onboard). We intend to put out a fun, working free/to cheap game at first so that we can build up our own reputation in the industry as quality gamer devs.

From there we hope we see our vision come true, with the first step a success, investors and even players would/should jump at the chance to see our final project come to fruition. Gone are the days of SOE just making crap games, or Bliz making huge kiddie games. Gamer markets change, people get older. They like more complexity, new gamers enter the market. We know our customer for sure, we want those older gamers. We want a niche market and NOT the masses. That why I think we will succeed, as we are gamers first and developers 2nd as some of you have mentioned. We want to make a quality working game that is fun to play and that players will want to play. So hold out for us you space/mech fans....we're coming.......and if we build it ...they will come.