I am thinking of writing a fps using the jmonkey engine as my 4th year project. I have just over 3 years experience with java. Unfortunately I have never coded a game (well, other than a board game using swing).
Just wondering if you guys could give me an estimate as to how long it will take to code a game such as this? Just a basic fps, ignore the game content. I don't intend on making my own models or anything like that. The reason I ask is I want to make sure the project is do-able within the college year.
Thanks in advance.
It will largely depend on what sort of features you want.
Much of the time you can spend on developing a game can be spent on the underlying infrastructure.
Making a robust system for handling all types of content, effecient processing of the map, good interaction between game entities etc. If you do the minimum on all of this just to go for something basic and playable, it will cut the development time hugely (but of course, also cut the performance and potential of the game).
I think it's a very wise decision not to think about making your own models, as this can also take a ton of time and leave you with poor graphics (unless you're better than most). Do bear in mind though that if you want to go with free resources, just sifting through everything out there to find things that fit your needs can be a time-sink in itself.
Lastly, I think you will find that getting what seem like the main parts of the game running will take less time than you thought. Doing all of the "simple" stuff that turns that into a game, with all the normal things every game has, will take a lot longer than you thought.
I don't think putting a number on it is very meaningful, but I would say that you could realistically put something simple together in a few months.
Thanks for replying.
I will hopefully have either one or two programmers working with me so that will reduce developement time further.
I will need to make a game of decent quality ifI want a decent grade. So I will not be cutting too many corners.
It will be a very interesting and fun challenge thats for sure.
If you never done anything in 3d / opengl i could be quite hard i think, but if you stay focused and have a clear target it can be done.
Just be realistic and don't expect any quake like game expirience 
Did you think of a single or multiplayer game?
The networking stuff would adds a whole new layer of complexity on top of it .
I have decided to scrap the fps and make a 3d chess game instead. There will be no AI so that should keep the workload down. It will be networked but since it is turn based I can't see it being too difficult.
I assume that this is far easier than a fps? At least less time consuming?
Without AI yes it should be.
battle chess on the amiga was very fun